LOUISA COUNTY, IOWA

Submitted by Barbara McCoy on September 22, 2017
Barbara explains that she is not related to this family and neither is her husband who discovered this folder among his mother’s files after her death. A descendant of Hebert Agnew Wright was her second husband and he left it to her presumably.

Brief Biography of the Parents of Herbert Agnew (H. A.) and Dr. F. R. Wright

My parents, John Riburn Wright and Rebecca Hand Wright were married in Madison County, Indiana, thirty-five miles northwest of Cincinnati, and their post office address was College Corner, Ohio. They moved to Morning Sun, Iowa, about 1858, to the farm just west of town, on the north side of the road, being the first farm west of Morning Sun, where they lived a few years, and then our father moved into Morning Sun, and went into the grocery business which he conducted for some years, and then sold out and went to Burlington, where he clerked in a clothing store for a firm known as Metzgar and Libstatter, for some years and then he and a man J. C. Kufus, moved to Woodhull, Henry County, Ill, twenty miles N.W. from Galesburg, and opened a store. Later, my father sold his interest in the store to his partner and opened a store of his own, and on May 4th 1871, that store burned down one night and the fire was “undetermined origin”. His insurance expired the first of that week, and the agent went to see my father to reinsure, but my father expected to sell and deliver possession Saturday, May 4th, and said he would not insure for an short a time. I remembered hearing one lady say, who lived nearly and in plain view of it, that she saw a man acting very suspicious and she watched him and she saw him stoop down and look as though he were looking under the store, and shortly after that the store was on fire, and everything burned. My father had but $17.00 in his pocket, at that time, and he was in most wretched health and that was the reason he was selling out, to get out of the store and in the hope that he would regain his health in time. He was in wretched health for years, after that, in fact long as he lived. He died November 30th, 1871, at Morning Sun, having moved back there from Woodull, Ill. After the fire, I went to live with Uncle Cryp Wright and remained there for two years and Brother Warren went to live with Uncle Will Butner, but he stayed there not a great while, but I stayed at Uncle Cyp’s the two years and then went to live with Uncle M. W. Branneger and stayed there two years, and until I began working out on the farm by the month.

Charlie was our oldest brother and he practiced law, but his health failed and he became an expert practitioner in the government departments, particularly the pension bureau, and had the reputation over the state of Iowa of being the most prominent attorney in those departments, in the state of Iowa. His health failed and he bought the paper at Wapelo, known as the Luisa County Record, and edited that for some years, and I heard a party say that he was the best newspaper man that was ever in that county seat. He was the oldest child. He died about 1915, very suddenly and unexpectedly.

May was the second child, and she became a teacher and a very fine one, and taught in Morning Sun for two years and then at Kearney, Nebraska, and later at Columbus Junction, and I heard Rev. Chas. W. Blanchard, a minister in the Christian Church at Wapello for many years, and had been principal of schools for some years, and later an editor of a paper at Des Moines, say of her “May Wright was the greatest teacher he ever knew.” I never heard such a funeral sermon at any other time or place as at her funeral. And it was conducted at the Presbyterian Church at Morning Sun, and people came from as far away as Columbus Junction, to attend the funeral, and she certainly was held in the highest esteem by all who knew her. She also taught school at Salem and at Reinbeck / Rhinebeck, Iowa, and one year at Clarence, Mo., and in Noral Institutes, twice in Grundy County, Iowa, and in Shelby Jefferson, Mercer and Grant Counties, Mo.

I studied law and practiced Law.

Warren was next to me, and he learned telegraphy and R. R. business and made a specialty of it, and he became an expert station agent and held some of the most responsible positions for different R. R.s and was most highly esteemed by the railroad officials and he was retired on pension some years ago, and he died in a hospital in Burlington, where he was taken for treatment, after being in wretched health for a long time.

Fred was next to Warren and he was a stenographer for the Clark Drug Co., of Omaha, and was taken sick with croupous pneumonia and died very suddenly in April 1886, at twenty years of age. He had a most brilliant mind, and it always seemed to me that he could see things quicker and learn more rapidly and was the most witty one of the family. His death was a great shock, not only to all of us, but to the people of Morning Sun, as we had no intimation of such a thing.

Frank was next to Fred, and he taught the Potter school and then the Oakville or Ellerick school and the school five miles north of Morning Sun. He attended college at Valpariaso one summer term, and he studied dentistry and became very successful at that, after graduating at Iowa State University, and was practicing at Wapello. He then took a postgraduate course at Union College of Dental Surgery at Chicago, then practiced some years, when he took a further postgraduate course at a dental college at Philadelphia, and was known as one of the greatest dentists in southeastern Iowa, and his practice was so extensive that he completely broke himself down,, at the early age of 37 and passed on to his reward, leaving his widow, Emma and his two dear sons, Raymond and Robert, and his funeral was the longest one that I ever saw. He was indeed one of the most popular and highly esteemed men of the cunt, and I never knew any other man to attend so high in the estimation of the people.

Robert was next to Frank and he certainly had one of the most brilliant minds that I ever knew, and his teachers and others gave the same opinion many times. He was attending school at Morning Sun, but had been out of school two or three days, because he was not feeling well, but one morning about 5 o’clock our mother was awakened by his breathing and got up to see to him and she saw that he was very sick and she ran to the nearest neighbor and asked someone to go for the doctor at once and someone to come to the house, and as Mother entered the house Robbie was breathing his last. He sudden and unexpected death was a tremendous shock t all of the people.

Our mother always had the very highest respect, love and esteem, of the people, who sympathized very greatly with her in her afflictions and bereavements, and so also did all of her children have the highest respect and esteem of those knew them well. In fact, I was the Democratic nominee for the county superintendant of schools in ur county, against W. A. Lester, who was the Republican nominee, and the Republican party was about 1100 majority in that county, and I was defeated 243 votes, showing how far ahead of the Democratic ticket I ran, and the Republican candidate put out money and hired workers to work for him, and it looked like I would be elected even against that tremendous majority. In Columbis City Township, the vote was a tie, one-half for me and the same number for the Republican candidate. Our mother had been spending the winters with me and with Warren, the last eight winters of her life and three of those winters she spent with Warren and five with me, and she passed away at my home about two weeks before she would have been eighty years of age. Many people said, in speaking of our family, that: “The word Wright is a synonym for honor,” and we are certainly proud of the record that we earned by hard work.

Our father was the oldest child in his family , and Uncle Will Wright who lived near Frankton, Ind. Was the next, and Uncle Tom, who died at Morning Sun, was next, then Uncle Cyp who died at Maryville, Mo., then Uncle Charlie Wright, who died in Iowa, and Uncle Manson Wright, who died at Omaha, and Aunt Mary J. Delzell, Aunt Mag Butner and Aunt Sallie Brannager are the names of the brothers and sisters of our father, and they are all at rest and all lived very honorable lives and were highly esteemed and stood high with the people in their communities. Uncle Cyp Wright was a Union soldier and served with Dan McCay and with other Louisa County soldiers in the Civil War, and he was getting a pension for some years, prior to his death. He moved to Nodaway County, Mo, in 1879, and lived in that county the remainder of this life. He preceded his wife in death, and his oldest son, Bert, lives near Denver, and Zoe, his oldest daughter, now a widow, lives at Maryville, I think, and George, his second son practices law at Maryville, and served as county attorney of that county for several years, and Jessie Wright Snyder, lives at Chillicothe, Mo., and Marie lives some place in California.

It is believed that some of our father’s ancestors served in the Revolutionary War, but as they have been dead so long, we do not know how to prove that up at this late date, but it has been confidently believed for many years past, that some of our ancestors came to America in an early day, and were in the Revolutionary War. My father and mother were buried in the cemetery at Morning Sun, and the earthly remains of my sister, May, and buried in Iowa City, and she left one child, Nellie Mezick, who is a registered nurse and her husband has been employed in the postoffice dept at Iowa City for many years. Brother Charlie left two daughters, Mrs. Kitty Maffitt, now a widow, living at Oakville, Iowa, and Mrs. Zella McNeal, living at Wapelo, Iowa, and she was a teacher at Columbus Junction and at Wapello for many years. Warren’s widow, Mary, lives at Wapelo, where she has lived for many years, but I think she is in very poor health and has been in poor health for some years. Robert and Raymond, my two nephews have done remarkably well and I think of them so often, and I rejoice so much in their achievements, and that they have made such wonderful records for themselves, and have so highly honored their dear parents, by what they have made of themselves.

I do not know of any two other brothers who had such great love, esteem and friendship for themselves, as brother Frank and I had for each other. I took him to Chicago t the Presbyterian Hospital, for treatment, and following that, he taught the Potter School and as I was teaching and earning a good salary,, I helped to put him through the dental dept at Iowa City and furnished him the money to go through Valpardise, and he certainly made good and more than good, and I rejoice more and more in that fact, that I did what I did for my dear brother, and in fact for all of the family.

This is written as a brief biography, for my son Fred, and for my nephew Raymond.

H. A. Wright

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Wright Family Notes ~ compiled by Barbara McCoy (email: barbmccoy@bellsouth.net )

John Riburn and Rebecca Hand Wright

Their children:
1. Charles Wright – died about 1915
2. May Wright
3. Herbet Agnew Wright
4. Warren E. Wright b. Feb. 1862
5. Fred H. Wright b. 7 Jul 1865 d. 9 Apr 1886 in Omaha, Douglas Co., Nebraska
6. Frank Wright b. 13 Sep 1867 d. 17 Aug 1903 in Wapello, Louisa Co., iowa. He married Emma Hook in 1895. She was born 1868 in Louisa Co., Iowa, She died on 28 Mar 1934. For more information on Frank Wright, M. D. see History of Louisa Co. Iowa, Vol. II, Biographical Sketches, 1911 page 148.
7. Robert Wright

Herbert Agnew Wright was born 7 Nov 1859 in Morning Sun, IA. He died 8 Sep 1950 and is buried in Maplewood Cemetery, Clarence, Shelby Co., MO.

He married Mary Frances Carothers, daughter of William T. Carothers and Frances Ellen Phillips, was born on 19 Mar 1868 in Clarence, Shelby Co., MO. She died 24 Apr 1940 and is also buried, next to her husband, in Maplewood Cemetery.

They had a son Fred Carothers Wright who was born on 9 Dec 1894 in Clarence Shelby Co., MO. He died on 4 Sep 1976 in Lake Wales, Polk Co., Florida.

He married Leonara Pat Tucker, daughter of Ashley R. Tucker and Nona Matt Edwards. She was born n 26 Nov 1893 in Clarence, Shelby Co., MO. She died on 2 Jun 1982 in Polk Co. Florida.

They had a son Ashley Tucker Wright born 2 Dec 1920 in Chicago area. He died 14 Jun 1995 in Lake Wales, Polk Co., Florida on 14 Jun 1995. Ashley was married twice. His 2nd marriage was to Martha Stanford on 24 Jul 1971 in Lake Wales, Polk Co., Florida. She was born on 15 Jan 1921 in Indianapolis, Marion Co., Indiana. She died 7 Jan 2012 in Lake Wales, Polk Co, Florida. Ashley Tucker Wright had an original typewritten copy of the Brief Biography of the Parents of Herbert Agnew (H. A.) and Dr. F. R. Wright. It was on legal size paper in four pages. It was found among his papers by his wife Martha who preserved it until her death. Her son, Kenneth B. McCoy, Jr., then acquired it and still has it in 2017.