Rogers’ Souvenir History of Mercer County, Missouri and Dictionary of Local Dates; 1911 Ed. Photo contributed by Kathy Wright-Wainer from the collection of Eldon and Esta Wright.
The following is taken from Rogers’ Souvenir History of Mercer County, Missouri and Dictionary of Local Dates; 1911 Ed.
One of the most eminently successful farmers in Mercer county is JOHN H. WRIGHT, who owns 92 acres of land in Morgan township, and, in partnership with Hon. Ira B. Hyde, 310 acres north of Mill Grove. Mr. Wright handles cattle, hogs, horses and mules and makes a specialty of raising corn of high quality. He exhibited some corn of his own cultivation at the World’s Fair at St. Louis and won a first prize.
John H. Wright was born in Ross county, O., Feb. 3, 1865, and is a son of James and Mary A. (Gleason) Wright, both natives of that state. He was reared on the Ohio farm and in Mercer county, where his parents came when he was a lad of six. His education was received in the county schools and at Princeton. He married Lizzie Snyder at Princeton Apr. 6, 1890. She was born in 1870. They have one son, Eldon, born in 1891, and one daughter, Mamie, born in 1893. Mr. Wright is a member of the Christian church and of the M.W.A. (page 633).
At the state corn show held in St. Louis on February 15th, 1904, John H. Wright of Princeton was awarded the first premium, $25, for the longest corn exhibited. Some of the ears measured eighteen inches in length (page 94).
The John Harvey Wright family on their property in Princeton and his winning corn displayed with the awarded trophy from the 1904 World’s Fair held in St. Louis. Pictures are from the Rogers’ book. The family is seeking the return of this trophy cup into our possession. It disappeared after John, Elizabeth, and Mamie passed. It disappeared from their home and did not make it into son Eldon’s possession. Please use the Contact Us page with any information. Thank you.
1904 World’s Fair Paper Weight
1904 World’s Fair Ladies RingEldon purchased this hand blown glass paperweight and ring at the 1904 World’s Fair. He told me he was a single young man at the time and bought it for his future wife. Being the young girl that I was and thinking as such, I asked him how he knew it would be Grandma; and, how did he know her ring size. He and Grandma just had these little wry smirks on their faces as they looked at each other and then at me. He said, “I didn’t. I just knew I wanted it to give my future wife.” Now, as an adult and understanding the timeline I can see why they had the cute smirks on their faces. . . Grandma would have only been four years old at that time! Oh, the innocence of childhood, right? —Kathy Wright-Wainer
Links to the 1904 World’s Fair:
Pictures of the “Special Corn Exhibit” taken from The Louisiana Purchase Exposition: The 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair
Autograph book of John Harvey Wright containing sentiments by friends and some of his siblings.
Autograph Book of John Harvey Wright PowerPoint Show format
Autograph Book of John Harvey Wright pdf format
Why Do You Whistle So Much?
A fond remembrance of my grandpa Eldon was that he whistled much of the day while working, walking about the farm, or even reading the newspaper. When talking with him one day, I asked him why he whistled so much. His reply was so simple and endearing, “My mother was a whistler and whistled all the day long. I learned from her.” As a child and into my adulthood, my dad (Eldon’s son Harold P. Wright) whistled as well. This then carried over into the lives of my brother Jim and myself as we whistled as children and into adulthood. In fact, as young adults, Jim and I both commented that we knew Dad was at his happiest when he was whistling. —Kathy Wright-Wainer
Click on the pause button to stop the slideshow; use the arrows to navigate forward or backward. Photos contributed by Kathy Wright-Wainer from the collection of Eldon and Esta Wright.
Broken Arrowheads
—Kathy Wright-Wainer
A highlight of Dad’s (Harold P. Wright) life was spending time at his Grandpa and Grandma Wright’s farm as well as Pop Johnson’s farm which is his mother’s parents. Nonetheless, this very short story is about John and Lizzie’s property.
Dad spoke of a large flint mount that the Indians had unearthed which was exposed and scarred from tool marks where the flint was chipped away from its face. The immediate area was littered with arrowheads in abundance! He talked of how the Indians would sit at the rock and use larger pieces of the flint to chip the edges off another piece to craft arrow and spear heads of different sizes. Within the area were broken arrowheads that would splinter while an Indian worked at shaping it. He said the family had gathered bucket after bucket full of the broken arrowheads which great grandpa kept up at the barn. Dad also said they did find a few completed arrowheads and surmised that the Indian had to drop it and run off in a hurry; or, maybe it accidently fell out of a pouch. One can only imagine!
Additional Biographical Information
John married Elizabeth “Lizzie” Snyder, daughter of Simeon Frank Snyder and Mary J. Mulvany, on April 6, 1890, in Princeton, Mercer County, Missouri. Elizabeth was born of September 3, 1870, in Missouri. She died on January 16, 1947, in Princeton, Mercer County, Missouri. She was buried on January 18, 1947, in Princeton, Mercer County, Missouri. Supplied by Glenda Wright.
Mamie WRIGHT was born on 12 Sep 1893 in Mercer Co, Missouri. She died on 14 Jul 1962 in St Joseph, Buchanan Co, Missouri. She was buried in Princeton, Mercer Co, Missouri. Supplied by Glenda Wright.
John, Lizzie, Eldon & Mamie Wright – 1910 Census by Kathy Wright-Wainer
Death Certificates
♥ John H Wright DC ♥ Elizabeth (Snyder) Wright DC ♥
Errors on John’s Death Certificate
Contributing researchers: Herald Stevenson, Kathy Wright-Wainer, JoAnn Wright-Wintenburg.
- Section 1.d Place of death, In this community “all his life.” His family moved from Ohio through Indiana to Mercer County Missouri by covered wagon when he was 6 (1871).
- Line 7 Birth date of deceased is incorrectly listed at February 3, 1876. The correct year is 1865.
The conjecture regarding these errors could be grounded in the fact that the informant was his wife Lizzie who could have either been under duress at the moment or was already exhibiting signs of dementia which is listed on her death certificate when she passed the following year.
Daughter Mamie
♥ Mamie Wright DC ♥
While having been too young to remember Aunt Mamie specifically, I do however remember being at the funeral home for Aunt Mamie’s service. Then many years later as a teen, I remember a conversation between my grandmother Esta Wright and her sister Eva Johnson-Sires talking about how kind Aunt Mamie was (having a gentle spirit and being an animal lover) and because she never married, her whole life was dedicated to my great grandparents and their farm. Even though she was surrounded by family after the passing of John Harvey and Lizzie, she was heartbroken and pined for them continually. —Kathy Wright-Wainer
Find A Grave Links
John Harvey Wright ♥ Elizabeth Snyder-Wright ♥ Mamie Wright ♥ Eldon Herman Wright
Lizzie Snyder-Wright’s Parents: S. Frank Snyder ♥ Mary J. Snyder
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