My Corner Online

 

 


Wright Genealogy |

(1) Wilson Alvin Rutledge, Sr. | Rubina Mae Wright Rutledge | Andrew Jackson Wright & Mary Lucinda Marshall | Timothy Wright and Emeline Cavalry |

Joseph Albert Wright (Andrew's son, amazing story)

(2) Jessie Mae Wright Rutledge | James William Wright & Lucille Jane Schnell | Nathaniel Thomas Wright & Louisa Isabelle Edwards | John R. Wright & Aley Shumake

THIS IS MY WORKING GENEALOGY BIOGRAPHIES, PLEASE DO NOT COPY AS FACT. Some photos are personal and should not be copied and republished; other images are okay. Documentation I collected as proof to support facts (i.e. dates, relationships, etc.) are available for your use. I share freely, but please do not abuse copyright or perpetuate any information without supporting facts that may or may not be in error. I try to mark in red my questions or documents I need to look for, so your assistance in making this a complete collection is always appreciated.

 

 

Nathaniel Thomas Wright and Louisa Isabelle Edwards

 

Nathaniel Thomas Wright was born May 8, 1856, in St. Francois County, I believe in French Village where his mother and brothers were also born, born to John & Aley Wright. He goes by his middle name of Thomas and is the oldest of three brothers.

 

Louisa Isabelle Edwards would have been born before 1875, based on the birth of her first child in 1890. As of the date of this writing, little is known of Belle and her marriage record 1888 is the only document that has been found, which gives her the name Louisa Isabelle Edwards. She was living on Bonne Terre, St. Franciois County, Missouri. In her son James William Wright's death certificate, she is listed as "Bell Edwards." Her daughter Aley Melvina Wright Heitman's death certificate lists her name as merely "Edwards." In her daughter Jesse Marion Wright's death certificate's she listed as "Isabelle Edwards."

 

In the 1860 Census, Ste. Genevieve County, Jackson Township, Post office Punjaub, Thomas is age 4, which puts his birth date about 1856. The enumerator misspelled his father's name as "John R. Reice" at age 35 (born about 1825). His mother is listed as Elvina E. (age 32), with two children Nathaniel T. (age 4) and Jasson B (age 2). Read notes about Punjab on John and Alee's page. It is my belief that Jasson B is Thomas's brother Daniel Boone Wright who changed his name around the age of 18-20.

 

In the July 1, 1870, Marion Township, St. Francois County, Missouri census, post office Farmington, Thomas is 14 years old living with his mother, Allie who is listed as "Alice Wright" at the age of 42, and his two brothers, Jason B. (age 12; aka Daniel B.), and James W. (age 6.) Thomas and Daniel are farm hands. It would seem that their father, John, has passed away before 1870 and the young sons are earning a living for the family. Thomas is marked as unable to write and Daniel is marked as unable to read and write. It is noted that the family has moved from French Village to west of Farmington, possibly due to the death of their Dad, John (see maps).

 

On Febrary 18, 1879, Thomas married Martha J. Reeder (marriage record), both of St. Francois County.

 

One December 14, 1879, ten months after they were married, Thomas and Martha have a son, John Raniel Wright. He is 22 years old and she is 23 years old. According to John Raniel Wright's death certificate, he was born in Caledonia, Missouri, which is in Washington County, near Banner and Pilot Knob in Iron County. (Note: I have a DNA match to a decendant of John which indicates the same Thomas Wright as I believe there are two in the area.) John married Nettie Hele. John's second wife was Rosene | Rozine Tucker and they had ten children. He died September 30, 1956, in St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri.

 

In the June 3, 1880, Marion Township, St. Francois County, Missouri census, Thomas is 24 years old, his wife Martha J. is 24 years old, and they have a 7 month old son (born Dec.) named after his grandfather, John R. Wright. Thomas's mother, Allie is living with them as "Ala M. Wright" at the age of 51, at dwelling 21. Thomas is farming and he and his mother are born in Missouri, and his father is born in Kentucky. His brother, Daniel Boone Wright, is living next door (dwelling 20) as a farm hand with the John T. Mostiler (age 25) family.

 

Note: Where is Belle (Louisa Isabelle Edwards) in the 1880 census with her parents?

 

On May 27, 1888, Thomas Wright married Louisa I. Edwards, both being of Bonne Terre, Missouri (marriage record). We know from her child's death record that she is known as Belle Edwards. Her middle name is assumed to be Isabelle. Did Thomas's first wife, Martha die between 1880 and 1888?

 

On January 14, 1890, Thomas and Belle have a daughter, Aley Melvina Wright, who is born in Bonne Terre, St. Francois County, Missouri (according to Aley's death certificate). She would be named after her Grandma, Allie Melvina Shoemaker/Shumaker Wright. Her Grandma died in October 1891. Thomas was 33 years old. Belle's age is unknown. Aley would marry Henry Elijah Heitman and have five children. Aley would live to be 32 years old. She died in Flat River, St. Francois County, Missouri, on March 9, 1922, and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Leadington, Missouri. Aleys funeral was at a Methodist Church. Henry Heitman wrote in his Bible an accounting of Aley's illiness and death.

These images are of Aley Wright and Henry Heitman. The left image shows the full original frame and the bad condition of the frame. The right image has been slightly edited digitally. Originally someone had marked them as James Bernard Rutledge and an unknown, but in 2021 I connected with distant relatives who also had the same photo, giving identification to this photo in our family photos.

This photo was provided to me by Sarah Heiman Cook who received it from Aley's granddaughter named Debbie Ulrich.

This Bible entry was provided by Sarah Heiman Cook regarding Aley's marriage. It is important to note that John Wright, her half brother, signed the marriage certificate.

The Minister of the Gospel is John T. Manard. They were married at the Taylor Avenue ME Church in Flat River. [Note: this church formed in 1900, so it gives no clear indication where I might find any baptism records.]

This 1911 newspaper article mentions the Reverand Maynard as serving in both Graniteville and Flat River, which includes both Iron and St. Francois Counties where the family has been found. [Note: Locate Church in Graniteville] The phrase "blood-stained banner of Prince Immanuel" is a reference for Jesus, so I do not believe this is the name of a Church.

This funeral card was provided by Aley's granddaughter named Debbie Ulrich. Her funeral was at the Taylor Avenue ME Church in Flat River.

This is Aley Wright Heitman, provided by Aley's granddaughter named Debbie Ulrich.

 

The 1890 census was destroyed and is unavailable. (Big sigh!)

 

On September 7, 1893, Thomas and Belle have a daughter, Jesse Marion Wright, who is born in Bonne Terre, St. Francois County, Missouri (according to Jesse's death certificate). Thomas was 37 years old. Belle's age is unknown. In the 1900 census, her name is spelled Jessie, but on her death certificate it is Jesse. Thomas's son, James William, would name his daughter Jessie Mae, presumably after his aunt. Jesse had a son, Oscar Wright, born June 30, 1913 in Brule, Missouri. Jesse died November 18, 1914, in Kaolin Township, Iron County, Missouri.

This is Jessie Marion Wright, provided by Aley's granddaughter named Debbie Ulrich.

I put these photos together because I can see the family resemblance. James William Wright named his daughter, my Grandma Jessie Mae after his sister, Jesse Marion Wright.

 

On March 25, 1896, Thomas and Belle have a son, James William Wright, who is born in Flat River, St. Francois County, Missouri. James Wm. was named after his Uncle, his father's brother. Thomas was 39 years old. This record indicates that between 1983 and 1896, the family moved from Bonne Terre to Flat River. Both cities are lead mining areas and it was common for the miners to move from one mine to another to follow the available employment.

 

Note: Thomas's third marriage below was 1 year, 5 months after the birth of James William, which may be an indication that his wife, Louisa Isabelle, had died. When did Belle die? Did she die in child birth? Maybe during James's birth? In the 1900 census, James William is 4 years old living with his Uncle Dan in Iron County. Since he is not living with his mother, this also would indicate that she had died.

 

This photo was provided to me by Sarah Heiman Cook in June 2021. I was so excited to see a photo of Thomas for the first time! Sarah wrote, "I was told that it was Vernon (my great-grandfather/Aley's son) who wrote "my mother and her parents" on the back."

The BIG question regarding this photo is whether the older woman is Belle (Edwards) Wright or Margaret Jane (Duncan Lynn) Wright, Vernon's natural mother or Vernon's step-mother. If the photo is indeed Belle, then that would mean she did not die after James William's birth and we need to look for her as divorced from Thomas and possibly remarried. I have thought of this before and poked around and found no records. This is a difficult thing to find. Another thing on my mind would be the possibility that Belle is Native American. My Grandma said she was 1/16 Indian and I have not figured it out yet. Belle is on that 1/16th line. What if she felt pulled to return to her Indian roots? That would explain why she may have left her children. There are many unimaginable circumstances that could be a reason why she would leave her children with her husband.

I asked a group of experts to date the image. The conclusion was that the women's clothes were between 1912 and 1915, but that the ment's ties and collars dated later around 1918-1922. It is possible the women were wearing older clothing. Since we know Alley in the photo and she died in 1922 at the age of 32 years, the photo has to be before 1922, which is consistent with the dating of the photo. These experts are amazing how they analyze photos! However, Margaret died at the age of 63 in 1915, so the year 1915 is the pivotal date of this photo. If it is before 1915, then the woman may be either Margaret or Belle. If it is after 1915, then the woman would be Belle.

 

--I asked a group of people to tell me what age they thought each person to try to narrow it down. Here is important data:

1) Person Unknown

2) Margaret Jane (Duncan Lynn) Wright was born August 1852; Died in 1915 at the age of 63

2) OR Belle Edwards's birthdate is unknown; married May 27, 1888; Probably similar age to Thomas and Margaret 1856-1858.

3) Alley was born in 1890; She was married in 1906 at the age of 16 (so young!) ; 1915 Age: 25; She died March 9, 1922, at the age of 32 years

4) Thomas was born in 1856; 1915 age: 59; 1922 age: 66

5) John was born 1879; 1915 age: 36; 1922 age: 43

--I averaged all of the guesses of the people:

1)28; we do not know who he is

2)54; would date the photo 1906

3)38; She died at 32, but she does look old for her age in the photo, so I can see this.

4)58; would date the photo at 1914

5)29; would date the photo at 1908

--I feel no closer to the answer as to who the older woman in the photo.

I took the photo of Thomas Wright from the above photo and edited it in Photoshop. I was able to see that he is wearing glasses and bring out detail of his fun mustache!

 

On August 22, 1897, Thomas married Margaret Jane Duncan. (Marriage Record) Margaret was first married to Alfred K. Lynn in Tennessee. Margaret and Alfred had 5 children (Daniel Lynn, Julia Lynn, James Lynn, Pearl Lynn, and Joel Lynn). Alfred died in 1881 and Margaret and the children moved to Missouri, where her brother William Duncan had already settled. In 1891, Margaret married Rev. Richard M. Freeman in Dent County, Missouri. When Rev. Freeman dies, she marries Thomas Wright. The record indicates that Margaret is from Flat River, the same city where Thomas's son James William was born, indicating that he was living in Flat River in 1896. However, this marriage record indicates Thomas was living in "Boyer Prairie" in 1897. Thomas was 41 years old and Margaret was 40 years old.

According to Zimmer, Gertrude M. "Place Names Of Five Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1944, Boyer's Prairie was "Twelve miles north of Farmington. It was a Spanish grant to Boyer of wild prairie land, where roamed wild horses. A straight race track, one mile long, was established there. According to Dorrance, "in the hills behind the hamlet of Racola in Washington County today there is a long straight clearing still known as the Race Track." (Dorrance, 37; Shelt T. Horn) "

I mapped 12 miles directly north of Farmington and discovered this was near French Village, the city where I believe Thomas was born. On this map, Park Hills is combined with Flat River, which I have circled. Bonne Terre is also shown on this map. This map shows us that Thomas has remained living closely in the same area all of his life thus far. The dots on the map are for a walking distance.

 

Thomas appears in two 1900 census. I believe this to be because of the mixing of two families, that being Thomas and Maragret each having children from previous marriages. One is Thomas living with his mother and brother and the other is Thomas living with his wife. I would suspect Thomas was not present with the enumerator and each family did not know the other had included him and his children. His oldest son, John R., remained with his uncle and grandma, while the other three children most likely stayed a period of time at each home. I wonder how long this went on, maybe quiet a while since Thomas owned his home. Since the children show up again in 1910, as seen below, in different homes in the census, with James William in Dan Wright's home, it is my belief that their Uncle Dan raised them. There is no indication that Thomas and his third wife Margaret raised the children. It could be that in 1900 the census taker merely asked "do you have any children" and the names were given.

The two census are quite a distance apart, one being in Wayne County and the other in St. Francois County where the family had always lived.

 

On the June 4, 1900, Randolph Township, St. Francois County, District 0096 census, Thomas (Nathaniel T.) (age 44, born May 1856) is living in his brother Daniel Boone's (age 41) home, along with his mother, Alee M. who is 72 years old. Nathaniel T has been married 3, but where is Nathaniel T's wife if he is still married? She is in the other census below. Thomas and Daniel's brother, James William, is also living in Randolph County, in Desloge, with his wife Malinda, one of many indicators that this is a close knit family. Their mother, Alee, is widowed, having given birth to 6, with 3 living. Thomas's four children by his previous wives are also living in the home: John R. (age 20), Alee M. (age 10), Jessie (age 6), and James Wm (age 4). There are 11 people in the house, the others including Daniel's wife Clara (age 32), Daniel's daughter Stella M. (age 2) and two boarders, Claud Laparte (age 17) and Frank Triplett (age 18). Thomas's mother's father was born in Virginia and Thomas's mother's mother in Kentucky. Thomas's mother's occupation is "Weaver Rug Carpet" and she has not been employed for six months. She can read, write, and speak english. It is interest that Daniel's father is born in Kentucky and his mother in Missouri, but Thomas's are reversed, an obvious error. Daniel has been married 13 years and Daniel is a farmer and the home they live in is a rented farm. Thomas and his son John R. are lead miners, as well as the two boarders. Thomas was not employed 3 months.

In the June 21, 1900 St. Francois township of Wayne County census, Thomas (age 40) is listed with his wife Margaret (age 42), and his children from a previous marriage, that being Aley (age 11), Jesse (age 7), James (age 3), and her children from a previous marriage, that being Joel Lynn (age 21) and Pearl Lynn (age 35). Thomas is listed as farming and owning the farm free of mortgage. The farm schedule is listed as "211."

There are a number of inaccuracies in this census. First, he is listed as having been married 20 years and she was listed as having been married 25 years, scratched out and inserted 20 years. With his first marriage in 1879 (near 1880), it would seem that the informant misunderstood the question and stated the number of years in total of marriage. The enumorator must have realized the years of marriage were not the same and crossed out her figure to make them the same. A second error is that Jesse is marked as a son when she is a daughter. Thomas's birth year is marked as 1860 and the month as "unknown." In the previous census, his birth is May 1856. Thomas's parents are all marked as born in Missouri, when his father was born in Kentucky. Also, Aley is born Jan 1890, not Mar 1889; Jesse was born Sept 1893, not May; James was born in March 1896, not Feb 1897, Margaret is born in 1853, not 1858; Margaret only has 5 children living, not 6; Joel was born in 1873, not 1874, and Pearl was born Sept. 13 1874, not 1865, and he is also married, but appears to be working in the area and living with his mother. 

 

Where is Thomas in the 1910 census? His wife, Margaret, is in the 1910 census St. Francis Township, St. Francois County, City of Flat River, Missouri, District 92 (sheet 21). Margaret is 54 years old and married for 12 years. If she is still married, where is Thomas? This is an indication that Thomas is alive in 1910. Margaret is living with two grandsons, children of her son Perry Lynn from her first marriage, Jeff Lynn (age 17) and Willilam P. Lynn (age 15). There are four boarders in the house, that being Frank Morgan, William Pruitt, Mike Cass, and Ernest Mitchell. Boarders were often miners in the lead mines. In the 1910 census, Thomas's son, James William, is 16 and continuing to live with his brother, Daniel Boone Wright, where the family resided in Caledonia. Caledonia and Flat River are approximately 19 miles apart. In the 1910 census, Thomas's daughter, Aley, is living with her husband in St. Francis Township, District 93 (noting Margaret is in District 92). In the 1910 census, Thomas's daughter Jesse (age 16) is living as a servant (cook, boarding house) in St. Francois Township District 92 (Flat River City), the same district as Margaret, but on sheet 16. Find 1910 census for son John R.

 

Thomas was the informant on his grandson Oscar's death certificate who died March 21, 1914, living at Shepard, Missouri. Oscar was the son of Jesse who died at the age of 21. Oscar lived 8 months and 21 days. A post office called Shepard was established in 1913, and remained in operation until 1929. There is also a Shepard Mountain near Pilot Knob in Iron County.

 

Thomas was the informant on daughter Jesse's death certificate November 18, 1914 and indicated he lived at Brule, Missouri. Jesse was 21 years old, and died only 8 months after her son of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Thomas's brother will be buried in Nelson Cemetary which is in Banner, which is the same place where Thomas was living in 1914. (Banner is a small town in Kaolin Township, with a post office since 1925. The post office was originally called Brule, 1900-1917. The name was changed to Banner when Highway 32 was built through the settlement. No information could be obtained about the source of either name. On the Hevenor Map, however, Banner and Brule are put as separate places about two miles apart. Only Brule is given on the 1940 Highway Map.) (Banner It is 6 1/2 miles west of Belleview, in northern part of the county). Banner is 8.6 miles from Caledonia.

Thomas's son, James William, would marry Lucille whose Douglas family was also living in Caledonia, indicating the family had taken up roots in this area. Lucille's heart was always with Iron County, Caledonia, and Pilot Knob where she grew up and would return to live and eventually die.

 

Thomas was the informant on his wife Margaret's death certificate on October 10, 1915, of dropsy, and indicated he lived at Brule, Missouri.

 

Jesse, Oscar, and Margaret are all buried in Trolinger Cemetery, Goodland, Iron County, Missouri. 12 people buried here.

Goodland is number 12 on this map and Banner is number 22 on this map from Mackley Genealogy.

Also buried in the Trollinger Cemetery is John Henry Trollinger. There seems to be some confusion on his date of death. I found his death listed twice in the Iron County Register Nov 19, 1914. It lists his death as Saturday, November 14, 1914. As above noted, Thomas and Belle's daughter, Jesse Marion Wright, died on November 18, 1914 and we wonder why she is buried in the Trollinger Cemetery. It is my belief that these two took ill at the same time because they were near each other. They both died suddenly. Jesse of pulmonary tuberculosis and John of pneumonia. I am having trouble finding his death certificate. However, Jesse's son died 8 months earlier and is buried in the same cemetery and his father his listed as unknown. Could it be that John his the child's father? I looked into John Henry Trollinger and he was a married man with a family and older than Jesse; She being born 1893 and he being born April 6, 1855, more her father Thomas's age. It could be that the Trollingers were gracious to take her in as a border during her pregnancy out of wedlock and difficult time.

 

James William Wright and Lucille Schnell were married on September 16, 1915. At the time of his marriage, he was living in Calendonia, presumably with his Uncle Dan as in the 1910 census.

What an eventful time in the life of Thomas with his daughter, grandson, and wife's death, as well as his son's marriage, all in a year's time.

An interesting tidbit I discovered is that Lucille's great-grandpa, John Jefferson Harbison, was married a second time to Stacy Lucinda Bell, the only child of James Stacy Bell and Lucinda Trollinger.

 

The 1920 Census, Washington County, Concord Township, District 0163 there is a Thomas Wright listed as widowed, renting, at the age of 63 years (1857 birth), father born in Kentucky, with an occupation as "maker R.R. ties" for wages.

Concord Township is very near Caledonia where his brother Daniel is living.

 

When did Nathaniel Thomas Wright die? The Missouri death certificates are online beginning in 1910 and we know Thomas died sometime after 1915, yet a record cannot be found as of the date of writing.

 

NOTES

Here are some names that I keep coming across in researching this family that may or may not be related.

 

There is a Thomas Wright that is buried in Caledonia Methodist Cemetery. He is born September 28, 1867, in Irondale, Missouri, to Thomas Wright and Elizabeth Robinson (no more info on the parents). He died April 18, 1947, and is buried in Caledonia, with a usual residence of 2 miles west of Caledonia. His wife is Rozella May "Rose" Hartzell, married September 15, 1901. They have three children, Thomas Frank Wright (born October 27, 1902), Allie Marple Wright (born July 23, 1904, in Brule, Missouri), and Elizabeth M. Wright (born December 6, 1906). I note that this is 3 generations of "Thomas Wright" in the Caledonia area, the same area where my Thomas has lived. I wondered if this were my Thomas Wright because it could be logical that he had a 4th marriage because the children are born after his last in 1896. This Thomas is living in 1910 in Big Rock, Pulaski, Arkansa, his children ages 7, 5, 3; his parents are both shown as being born in Missouri. In 1920, he is living on Belleview and Cale Donia Road in Iron County and his children are 17, 14, and 12; his parents are both shown as being born in Missouri.. In the 1930 census, he is living in Iron Township, Iron County, with his children ages 27, 25, and 23, and his wife Rose; his father born in Virginia and his mother in Tennessee (different than previous census). It is interesting that my Daniel Boone Wright, brother of my Thomas Wright, married a Carrie Hartzell. Also, my Thomas Wright was with his wife Margaret in the 1900 census, but not in the 1910 census (we cannot find him in 1910). It is possible that they could have separated due to an affair and Thomas married this Rose in 1901 and began having children in 1902 with her. (note to self: look again at sources for his birth date of May 8, 1856 in St. Francois County--11 years earlier than this birth date) I find it interesting that there is yet another Allie M. (different middle name, but my Thomas was living in Brule in 1914/15 and it is such a small place). Another difference is the parents of Thomas and Elizabeth rather John and Aley, however, I have followed Aley's parents up to the Shumakes and I am getting no DNA hits, which I have found is strange. What if these parental John and Thomas are brothers, and the Thomas dies and the brother John raises my Nathaniel Thomas? The only thing that is linking John and Aley as parents to my Thomas Wright are the census; there is the 1900 census that lists Aley as the mother of Daniel Boone Wright. I have thought this before, "what if Daniel Boone Wright and Nathaniel T. Wright are half siblings?

 

There is a Thomas Coke Wright, born December 28, 1858, in Berryman, Crawford County, Missouri, and died in November 25, 1934, in Bonne Terre, Missouri. His father is Asa Samuel Wright. He married Mary Elizabeth Dycus and Mary F. Skaggs.

 

There is a Mary Louisa Wright, born May 24, 1853, Belgrade, Washington County, Missouri, and died August 29, 1926, Bonne Terre, St. Francois County, Missouri. Her father is John Fountain Wright and her mother is Prisilla Jarvis.

John Fountain Wright was born April 22, 1818, in Tennessee, and died April 24, 1893, Washington County, Missouri, buried in a Wright family cemetery. He marries Priscilla Jarvis and then Sarah Jarvis. His father is Phineas B. Wright born in 1789 in North Carolina and his mother is Juda Ann Fountain. Phineas's father is a Thomas Wright born 1760 in Philadelphia, Pennsyvania.

 

It seems to me that the Wrights were close to the Trollingers in Iron County. I also have other ancestry lines that tied into them, so I feel this is a clue in genealogy in that we look at the neighbors.

Grandpa’s line: Joseph Kirkpatrick Jr married Margaret Trollinger, whose Father is Absolum Trollinger (b. 1819) and sister is Lucinda Trollinger.

Grandma's maternal line: Lucinda Trollinger, married James Stacy Bell, daughter Stacy Lucinda Bell. Stacy married John Jefferson Harbison my 4th Great Grandpa.

Grandma’s paternal line (above): Nathaniel Thomas, buried daughter and grandchild in Trolinger Cemetery and only 12 people buried there. John Henry Trollinger's (b. 1855) parents are Samuel Trollinger (B. 1822) and Elizabeth Jane Gallaher. Samuel's parents are Joseph Trollinger (b. 1796) and Susanna Plummer. [I have not yet connected these Trollingers to the above Absolum Trollinger.]

 


Copyright Cheryl Rutledge-Brennecke
Thank you for visiting.

Follow me: Substack | Facebook | Instagram | Youtube | X | Pinterest | Facebook Group Rutledge | Facebook Group Boyer & Marechal | Etsy Store