Saturday, April 28, 2012

Snapshot: Elizabeth (aka Eliza or Lizzie) Wright Bleecker


Elizabeth, who was Leslie and Mary Ann’s third child was born in Scotland in 1852.  She came to America with the family in 1854 and eventually settled in Elba, Wisconsin. 


On 23 November  1877, Elizabeth married John R. Bleecker in Dodge County.  John had a Canadian father and his mother was from New Hampshire.   Elizabeth and George had five children; Mary Eliza (1880-1946), William L. (1881-1938), Dean E. (1884-1941), Lulu(1889-1966), and George (1890-1949).  In 1895 the family was living in Waterloo Wisconsin.  In 1900 they lived in Portland Township Wisconsin, and in 1910 they lived in Concord Minnesota. By 1917 they were back in Wisconsin; they really moved around!  In 1920 John and Lulu were back in Waterloo.  Lulu was 30 at this time. None of the other kids are there, perhaps they stayed in Minnesota.


Elizabeth died in 1917, and is buried in Waterloo City Cemetery.


In 1922 John married his second wife, Clara, and they moved out to California.  John died in California in 1937.  He has a marker at Waterloo City Cemetery.


One interesting mystery we found; in 1895 Mary Eliza was with the family, in 1900 she was not with them, and then in 1905 in Minnesota she was back with the family.  Where was Mary from 1900 to sometime before 1905?

Stay tuned!  Next week belongs to George L. Wright.  If any descendants of George are out there and have information about him we would love to have it. Also, if you have any information on any of the folks we already did a snapshot of, feel free to send it to us! wrightreunion@sbcglobal.net

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Snapshot: Mary Wright Bleecker Randall

Snapshot: Mary A. Wright Bleecker Randall

Mary A. Wright was born in Scotland in 1849, the oldest child of Leslie and Mary Ann Wright. She travelled with them across the Atlantic to settle in Ohio, then moved with them to Wisconsin.

Mary Wright married her first husband, Henry Bleecker in Columbia County Wisconsin. We don’t know when Henry was born, but he died in the year 1874, the same year that their daughter, Nellie, was born. We assume that Mary and Nellie lived with her folks until 1880 when she married Eugene A. Randall.

Eugene was born 1851 in Dodge C. Wisconsin. He enlisted in the US Army and was stationed
during the 1870’s at Fort Sanders, Albany, Wyoming Territory, 4th Infantry Company C. He married Mary sometime shortly before the 1880 census. Mary is on the 1880 census as Mary Randall, living with Leslie and Mary Ann, along with Nellie. We think maybe Eugene was out sussing out a place to live during that year, and they settled in Hetland Township, Kingsbury County, South Dakota. Mary and Eugene had six kids, George, Jessie, L. Maud, Mary, Amos, and Lizzie.

Mary died in 1933 in Hetland Township, Kingsbury County, South Dakota. She is buried in Hetland Cemetery.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Snapshot: Leslie and Mary Ann, Jeannie, and Charles Wright

Leslie and Mary Ann, Jeannie and Charles Wright

The Wright family has roots in Old Rayne, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The children of James and Elizabeth (Hay) Wright were christened in St. Nicholas Church near Old Rayne and the family births marriages, and deaths are recorded in the Old Parish registers. Wright family graves still exist in the Kirkyard. One of James and Elizabeth's children was Leslie Wright. Here is a small exerpt of how Leslie got his name:

Copied from the back of a postcard showing Leslie Castle c.1900 - brought to
the Wright Family Reunion 2001 by Harry Wright - William Leslie, who owned this
estate, was a friend of Leslie Wright (dad's father) & it was from him the
name "Leslie" originally came. Leslie Wright was a tenant in the
estate at one time. Dad and Mother brought home a piece of slate from the roof.
It was here Dad met an old lady who remembered carrying him in her arms. She
said she wouldn't have recognized him.



On 28 Dec 1848 Leslie Wright married Mary Ann Lowe, who was born in 1825, also in Old Rayne. They had four children born in Scotland; Mary, Jeannie, Eliza, and George. Sometime between 1854 and 1855 they came to the United States and settled in Harrisville Township in the County of Medina in Ohio where Leslie made his living as a farmer. While in Ohio they had six more Children, William, Jessie, May, Charles, Alexander and Leslie. Sometime between Leslie’s birth in Ohio it 1863., and Albert’s birth in 1865 the growing family moved to Elba in Dodge County, Wisconsin. After Albert was born in Wisconsin came the couple’s last child, Abbie, also in Wisconsin. Leslie died 4 Jan 1905 one year after the death of his wife in 1904.

This paragraph, copied from the typewritten Leslie Wright obit, gives us more information about Leslie's life. "Being an early settler, he was well known and highly respected for his sterling Scotch qualities and business integrity. He was a consistent member of the Presbyterian church in
Scotland and Ohio, but when he came to Wisconsin, he united with the Methodist Episcopal church of which he was an active member until promoted to the church triumphant. A greal [sic] lover of God's word, much of which he had committed to memory, a good singer and a lover of good music, and a splendid conversationalist, his company was eagerly sought by all who knew him and his presence was always an inspiration and benediction and no words seem so fitting
to the close of such a full rounded life as the words of St. Paul: 'I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.'"
~~~
Not much is known about Jeannie or Jane Wright, Leslie and Mary Ann’s second child who was born 1850 in Scotland. Tragically she died in 1866, in Wisconsin, at only 16 years of age.
~~~
Charles Wright, Leslie and Mary Ann’s 8th son had no living descendants. He was born in
1860 in Ohio. In 1889 he married Eula Snow, and they had one son, Allen Wright, who died only thirteen days after he was born. Eula died in 1917 and in 1921 Charles married his second wife, Grace Freitag. Charles lived until 1937. Grace died in 1960.

If you have any other tidbits of information about these
folks, put them in the comments are send them to wrightreunion@sbcglobal.net

Next week: Mary Wright Bleeker

Snapshots Introduction

In our final days as your secretary and secretary's genealogist (my husband
Nathan) we have decided to do a little genealogy project for your enjoyment and
edification. Each week we will take one of the twelve and write a little
"snapshot" of each, with basic genealogical research, and, we hope, input from
you. It will be posted to our blog, http://www.wrightsofoldrayne.blogspot.com/ .
Our first week is dedicated to Leslie and Mary Ann, the mother and father of the
twelve, and Jeannie (AKA Jane) (who died young) and Charles Wright, who had no
living descendants. If you have more information about these folks PLEASE write
them in as comments on the blog or send them to wrightreunion@sbcglobal.net. If
you send info about any of Leslie and Mary Ann's 12 children, please send it to
us before we post the "snapshot" then we can incorporate the information which
will be so much fun. So please send us stories or information about your "12"
family member! Except for Jeannie and Charles we will go in chronological
order, so the second snapshot will be Mary Wright Bleecker, then Eliza Wright Bleecker, followed by George L. Wright, William Wright, Jessie Wright Newton, May Wright Bleecker, Alexander H. Wright, Leslie Allyn Wright, Albert L. Wright, Abbie Wright Austin.

Have fun and enjoy, and we will see you in July!

Cheers,

Mary Bubenzer
Secretary

and

Nathan Bubenzer
Secretary's genealogist

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

88th Reunion

Hello Wrights!

Join us for the 88th Wright Family Reunion! We will be gathering at the
Cedar Community Beach House once again, 5595 County Road Z, West Bend, WI 53095

July 8th 2012 at 10:00 in the morning. We will gather, have a meal (bring
a dish to pass!) have our family business meeting and hang out together at
Beautiful Cedar Lake. You can find a map at our blog:

http://www.wrightsofoldrayne.blogspot.com/

or if you need futher instructions feel free to contact me, Mary Bubenzer
(your secretary) at

bubenzer@charter.net

If you are unable to come this year please send us a note via email to
share with us "doings" in your family!

Due to cost and ease of use after this year we will be sending email only,
and not the paper mailing. If you know someone who is still getting the
mailing, please encourage them to send us their email addresses.

Hope you can come in July! We'd love to see you there!

Cheers,

Mary Bubenzer
Wright Family Secretary