Thursday, October 29, 2009

Edna Muriel (Pierce) Wright (1897-1968)

Edna Muriel "Peach" (PIERCE) WRIGHT was my maternal great-grandmother, the wife of Virgil Lee WRIGHT. So far, I have not been able to uncover exactly why she was known as "Peach".

The following facts about Edna's life are known:
  • Birth: She was born February 16, 1897 in Madison County, Indiana, the daughter of William Francis and Clara (PENNISTEN) PIERCE.
  • Census: 1900 - she is living in the household of William Pierce in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana
  • Census: 1910 - she is living in the household of W.F. Pierce in Lafayette Township, Madison County, Indiana
  • Graduation: she graduated June 22, 1913 from Lafayette Township Schools in Madison County, Indiana
  • Marriage: She married Virgil Lee WRIGHT on June 19, 1915 in Madison County, Indiana. Will post a copy of her marriage license in a later post.
  • Census: 1920 - she is living in the household of Virgil Wright in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana
  • Census: 1930 - she is living in the household of Virgil Wright in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana
  • Death: Edna died March 3, 1968 of a pulmonary edema and congestive heart failure at Community Hospital in Anderson, Madison County, Indiana.
The following facts need further research and/or documentation to complete my research:
  • Birth: Although I have her birthdate from other sources, I've never managed to obtain an official birth certificate from the Madison County Health Department. There also is some confusion as to whether she was born on the 7th or the 16th of February, as I have seen both dates given.
  • Obituary: I have her obituary from the Alexandria Times-Tribune in my database notes, but didn't extract the date! Also, need to search out mentions in other papers such as Anderson and Elwood.
  • Newspaper Research: Cursory research in local newspapers in Anderson and Alexandria show that my great-grandmother was quite active in social and civic affairs, and I need to add these details to my research.
Ancestry of Edna Muriel (PIERCE) WRIGHT, Ahnentafel # 13 in my ancestry:

Ahnentafel # 26: William Francis PIERCE (1865-1950); Madison Co., IN

Ahnentafel # 52: Edmund G. PIERCE (1837-1875); Wayne Co., IN>Madison Co., IN

Ahnentafel # 104: Francis S. PIERCE (1806-1881); Vermont>Wayne Co., IN

Ahnentafel # 208: Gordon PIERCE (1773-1875); Worcester Co., MA>Chenango Co., NY

Ahnentafel # 416: Seth PIERCE (1744-1835); Middlesex Co., MA>Cortland Co., NY

Ahnentafel # 832: Seth PIERCE (1716-1794); Middlesex Co., MA>Windham Co., CT

Ahnentafel # 1664: Samuel PIERCE (1681-1774); Middlesex Co., MA>Windham Co., CT

Ahnentafel # 3328: Samuel PIERCE (1656-1721); Middlesex Co., MA

Ahnentafel # 6656: Thomas PIERCE (1608-1683); the immigrant; England>Middlesex Co., MA

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Sam the Music Man


When I think of musical ancestors, I think of the LAMBERTSON family. My grandmother told me that the family was very musically inclined and mentioned that many members were talented with the piano, banjo, etc.

The above photograph is of my maternal 2nd-great grand-uncle, SAMUEL S. LAMBERTSON (1875-1911). Every time I see this photograph, I'm intrigued by the man. Obviously, he was very proud of his banjo - wonder why this picture was taken? Did he play publicly? If so, I've been unable to discover any articles that give details.

Samuel LAMBERTSON was born January 11, 1875 in Preble County, Ohio, the son of Carey W. and Clara E. (COOK) LAMBERTSON. He married Ida M. STONE on March 19, 1897 in Tipton County, Indiana. They had one child, name yet unknown, who died between 1897-1900. They were enumerated in Hamilton County, Indiana in the 1900 census. Ida died June 19, 1900 of spinal meningitis in Hamilton County. Samuel remarried to Nellie H. LEARY on July 22, 1908 in Marion County, Indiana. They were enumerated in Elwood, Madison County, Indiana in the 1910 census. Samuel died October 15, 1911 in Elwood and is buried in the Elwood City Cemetery.

Samuel's obituary in the Tipton Tribune stated that he was a sufferer of Bright's disease, but that his friends didn't think he was in so serious a condition.

There are others in the family who are descended from the Lambertson line who have displayed musical talent, but my piano playing days ended rather early in my career. Today I wish I had stuck with the lessons I took in elementary and junior high. Music is great for the soul and I wish I could express some of the songs I have in my head.

Written for the 83rd Carnival of Genealogy(COG 83).



Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Virgil Lee Wright (1894-1972)

Virgil Lee WRIGHT was my maternal great-grandfather. He died when I was young, and I have no memories of him. I need to interview my mother and other relatives that might have 'family stories' about him. I know that he was a farmer and that he worked for the county highway department. The farmhouse where he raised his family in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana is where I grew up as a boy.

The following facts about Virgil's life are known:
  • Birth: He was born July 6, 1894 in Orestes, Madison County, Indiana, son of John William & Ellen (KING) WRIGHT
  • Census: 1900 - appears in the household of John W. WRIGHT in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana
  • Census: 1910 - appears in the household of John W. WRIGHT in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana
  • Graduation: 1912 - graduated April 16th from Monroe Township Public Schools (8th grade) in Madison County, Indiana. He was aged 17 at the time.
  • Marriage: He married Edna Muriel PIERCE on June 19, 1915 in Alexandria, Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana. I will be posting a copy of his marriage license application later.
  • Census: 1920 - appears as head of household in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana
  • Census: 1930 - appears as head of household in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana
  • Death: He died March 25, 1972 of hypostatic pneumonia in Alexandria, Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana. See the link to a copy of his death certificate below.
The following facts need further research and/or documentation to complete my research:
  • Birth: Need to obtain a copy of Virgil's birth certificate from the Madison County Health Department. Though I have the date of his birth from other sources, for some reason I have failed to collect an official record of his birth.
  • Draft Records: With my new access to Ancestry.com databases, I hope to locate draft board records for Virgil.
  • Obituary: Somewhere in my files I have his obituary from the Anderson and Alexandria newspapers, but in my database have only sourced one from the Elwood newspaper. Need to fix this.
Ancestry of Virgil Lee Wright (1894-1972), Ahnentafel # 12 in my ancestry :

Ahnentafel # 24: John William WRIGHT (1860-1945); Brown Co., OH>Madison Co., IN

Ahnentafel # 48: Joseph W. WRIGHT (1838-1919); Brown Co., OH>Madison Co., IN

Ahnentafel # 96: John WRIGHT (1814-1890); Brown Co., OH

Ahnentafel # 192: George WRIGHT (1780-1853); Pennsylvania>Brown Co., OH

Ahnentafel # 384: John WRIGHT (1755-1810); Middlesex Co.,MA>Brown Co., OH

Ahnentafel # 768: Deacon John WRIGHT (1727-1772); the immigrant; Fife, Scotland to Cambridge, MA

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