The Infamous Box

I have a second cousin once removed whom I have never met. Well, I undoubtedly have many second cousins once removed whom I have never met, but this one shares my interest in genealogy and has a blog of her own. I just recently met her parents. Her father is my second cousin whom I have become acquainted with on Facebook. We think we might have met once at a picnic where I knew no one and marveled that all these people shared my great-grandparents, Charles and Jennie Wright. 

Brianna wrote on her blog of May 22, 2015 at briannaaudreywright.wordpress.com that she had received a box from her father's cousin full of genealogy material. She was ecstatic, and I was just a little envious.  However, the box is now at my house.  I must say I think I have some very generous second cousins whom I have only recently had the pleasure to spend a little time talking with, remembering and sharing family stories.

As I have had the opportunity to read through the contents of this box, I have discovered that I have most of the information. For example, I knew the story of Royal Wright.

  This was my great-great grandfather. 

 I did find an amazing piece of new information, well new to me. Royal was the son of Elihu and Margarett Wright, my 3rd great grandparents. They had six children. Ebenezer B. appears to be Elihu's first son by his first wife, Hipsibuth (although I am not totally sure this is correct). The mother of Ebenezer must have died when the family still lived in New York. He was 17 years older than Royal and appears to have married in 1833. He would have been 23 years old. The family moved to Illinois in 1836. Their other children were (my great-great grandfather) Royal age 9, Roswell age 7, Asahel age 2. It is said that James was born in a covered wagon in 1836 and was possibly the  first white child born in Sycamore township. (I might have to do a little research on first born children in the west. You may remember that there was a Grisso child said to be the first white child born in Oklahoma).  Their last child, Burt, was born in Illinois in 1856.

The interesting document I noticed was the marriage certificate of
 Ebenezer B. (older 1/2 brother to my great-great grandfather Royal) 

 

 

 

 

Read it again. Did you catch the ages of the bridge and groom?

 

And who could think genealogy is boring?

 

Such fun discoveries.

 

Wrights on Wednesday

I found this picture in my mom's photo album. According to the note, the picture was taken in Sept. 1984 at a Wright Reunion. The location is my parent's farm because I recognize the background.

I am sorry to say I only know my dad in this picture and assume the others are his cousins. Several of them are probably the fathers of my second cousins.

I hope my Wright cousins will supply the names of these relatives.

Left to right:
1. Adam Wright
2. Marlin Henson
3.
4.
5.  Vern Wright
6.  Merle Wright
7.  Donnie Henson

 

School Reunion

The school I attended, my mother and her siblings attended, my great aunts and uncles attended, my husband attended, his siblings attended, their mother and uncle attended closed a number of years ago. The old three story brick structure has been razed, but the new gym (dedicated in 1953) is now a community center. Many community members have worked hard to update the facility and to especially have everything in pristeen shape for the 2015 Scranton All School Reunion. Since 1965 this event has occurred. I have never missed even one.

This year I had the opportunity to work in the memorabilia room. It was the vocational agriculture room when I was in school. It is filled with the large class pictures which used to line the upstairs hallways. I always loved looking at those composites when I was a student to see my mom, her siblings, and so many faces that I knew in our little town but didn't exactly look quite so young anymore. Every five years at this gathering those faces age a little more. And some of those faces are no longer with us.  But, we remember.

By helping in the memorabilia room, I had the opportunity to help people locate their own family members. I met a man that knew my mother and told me how she lived down the road from him when they were kids.  He pointed out to me one of her classmates that had died in WWII and who had been a beau of his sister. His sister was a generation older than me, but someone I had always known. However, the story was new.

I talked with a woman who said she was good friends in high school with my aunt. My aunt died about ten years ago after several years of living in a nursing home with dementia. But, there in the academic setting with those pictures, letter jackets and school annuals, she was young and vibrant in this woman's memory.

Seeing my classmates from the class of '63 and those up and down the years is delightful since we were such a small school. Anyone in high school from when we were freshman to when we were seniors could have been some of one's closest pals.

And then everyone's brothers and sisters come. It is simply a family reunion of those related by blood and those related by memories. I saw my four very favorite second cousins and hugged my third cousin once removed who just takes my word for it that my genealogy research is correct and that we are related.

It is always over too soon, but every five years we get a more little tired from the hoopla. Still, our next All School Reunion is scheduled for June 20, 2020. I want to say that I can't wait, but at this age I really don't want to wish anymore years away.  I guess I just need to say I hope everyone enjoys the daily blessings of the next five years and reports back in 2020.

My second cousins and me