Lillie’s father, William Corbet Le Breton was a Jerseyman educated at Winchester and Pembroke and Exeter Colleges, Oxford who became Dean of Jersey. Lillie (#1243 in the family tree) rated him one of the handsomest men in the world; vigorous, six foot and with majestic bearing and a luxuriant head of hair. His piercing blue eyes, so familiar to the beautiful young members of his congregation were passed on to his daughter and striding around his parish in ecclesiastical gaiters he displayed a pair of calves to be envied.
Clearly he did not attract the epithet ‘the Dirty Dean’ for no reason and Lillie is said to have been denied one of her first loves because his blue eyes were no accident of chance!
Against this background the following Love Poem, believed to have originated in West Virginia about 1912 brings a smile to our lips.
Susie Lee done fell in love,
She planned to marry Joe.
She was so happy ‘bout it all
She told her Pappy so.
Pappy told her, “Susie gal,
You’ll have to find another.
I’d just as soon yo’ Ma don’t know,
But Joe is yo’ half brother.”
So Susie put aside her Joe
And planned to marry Will.
But after telling Pappy this,
He said, “There’s trouble still…
You can’t marry Will, my gal,
And please don’t tell your Mother,
But Will and Joe and several mo’
I know is yo’ half brother.”
But Mama knew and said, “My child,
Just do what makes you happy.
Marry Will or marry Joe,
You ain’t no kin to Pappy!”
