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Matthew W. Wright
Matthew W. Wright was born April 14, 1789, in Maryland, and died November 7, 1865, in
Fentress County, Tennessee. He was married by December 1814, or earlier, to Margaret Ann
Ritchie, who was born July 5, 1790, in Virginia, and died March 11, 1882, in Fentress
County. He had 2 older brothers, David Wright, Sr. and John
Wright. I don't know the names of their parents, nor Margaret's either. I first saw
the name of Matthew W. and 2 of his sons, Mathias and Riley Matthew Wright, all listed by
the name Matthew Wright, in the 1850 Fentress County census records with their families. I
then learned that the middle Matthew, in age, was my great-grandfather Mathias Wright. But
I thought that his parents had died back in Virginia. Then Wilma (Reagan) Pinckley, my 4th
cousin, in Jamestown, Tennessee, told me that Matthew W. and Margaret Ann Wright were
Mathias's parents; and that they were buried in the old George Allred Cemetery, near
Manson, in Fentress County. Then, from October 1980 till the summer of 1982, I drove
around, off and on, searching for their graves -- without success. Wilma told me that,
sometime, she would show me the location of the old Allred farm, if I couldn't find it:
So, in July 1982, my nephew Ralph Dean and his son Harry went down to Fentress County with
me. And we went to Wilma's house and she went along with us and showed us the old Allred
farm. Then Ralph and I searched over perhaps 6 to 8 acres of fields and woods in the
midday heat. We were hot and tired, and had found nothing that resembled a grave. So, I
called off the search. Then, Wilma showed us to the King-Beatytown Cemetery, and to the
farm where the old grownup Joel Beaty Cemetery is located. Then, on our way back to
Jamestown, we stopped at Wright Cemetery a while. While we were there, Ralph got to
inspecting an old marble headstone with part of the name "Wright" showing. He
rubbed the inscription with a small piece of rock until we could read it. The inscription
was "M.W. Wright", with the birth and death dates. I said, "This is the
grave that we've been looking for." I was sitting between that grave and the next
one, watching Ralph. Then, I reached and patted the next headstone and said, "And
I'll bet that this is his wife's rock." The birth date on Matthew's rock was off only
2 years from the date that we already had for him. Then, when Ralph had rubbed the other
inscription, which was Margaret's, it was off only one year from the birthdate that we
already had for her. Her name is listed as just "M. Wright." And Wilma said,
"Yes, I agree. These are the graves for which we've been searching." I had been
there 4 times before; and each time I had walked right by Matthew's grave.
Since March 1981, I had been corresponding with Thomas Edward Mackey in Wilmington,
Delaware, who was a great-greatgrandson of Matthew W.' brother David Wright, Sr. Tom and I
thought that John Wright, who had lived near Moodyville, was their brother; but we were
not certain. Then, in August 1982, I located John's great-granddaughter, Ada (Wright)
Rains, in Pickett County, and got some information from her. And, about that same time, my
second cousin, Judy Moulton at Parker City, Indiana, acquired copies of John's widow
Elizabeth (Lindley) Wright's war pension application papers, which definitely proved that
John and Matthew W. Wright were brothers. And various things indicate that Elizabeth Jane
Wright, who married Mathias Austin Wright, the oldest son of Matthew W. Wright, was a
daughter of John and Elizabeth (Lindley) Wright. So, Matthew and Margaret were my paternal
great-great-grandparents, grandparents, while John and Elizabeth were my maternal
great-great-grandparents. And, recently, (a few days ago), I learned that Riley Matthew
Wright, (whom I have been calling Matthew K. Wright), a younger brother to Mathias,
married Nancy Wright, a younger sister to Elizabeth Jane, wife of Mathias.
Both the 1850 and the 1860 Fentress County census records list Matthew W. Wright as having
been born in Maryland. And the 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 Fentress County census records
all list Margaret Ann as having been born in Virginia. Some of the census records list
John's birthplace as Maryland, some list it as Virginia. It is the sane with his wife
Elizabeth. Mathias Austin Wright and Elizabeth Jane (Wright) Wright, my
great-grandparents, both are listed as born in Virginia. And the pension application
papers also prove that Matthew, Margaret, John and Elizabeth all 4 were living in southern
Virginia in December 1814. And their children's birthplace indicate that they lived in
Virginia until 1822. Then they moved into Tennessee; probably the
Sullivan-Washington-Greene County area.
Yet, in spite of all these facts, some persons say that "one of the
grandmothers" (Margeret, Elizabeth, or Elizabeth Jane) was a "fullblooded
German" or Dutch, and that, when she got angry, they couldn't understand a word that
she said. But one of the rumors "takes the cake," by stating that Matthew W.
Wright was a "full-blooded German" who immigrated from Germany to North
Carolina; then came from there to Fentress County. Just how absurd can people be
sometimes'!
In the first place, the name "Wright" is of English origin. "Lindley"
probably is too. And "Ritchie" is Scottish in origin; meaning "of
Richard", "stern ruler." And, in the second place, the records indicate
that the idea of Matthew having immigrated to this country from Germany is ridiculous!
Some of his ancestors may have even come over from England on the Mayflower, as far as I
know. Anyway, it is certain that several Wrights came to this country during the 1600s. It
is possible that the mother of Margaret, Elizabeth, or John and Matthew wee German or
Dutch. But I have not seen one iota of proof that any one of these 4 had as much as one
drop of German or Dutch blood. If one of them spoke a foreign Language, I suspect that it
was Scottish. But my grandmother Wright (Dad's mother) may have bad a great-grandmother
who was a full-blooded Cherokee Indian. If so, that would give me one drop of Cherokee
blood out of every 32.
Six Ritchie brothers: Long John, James, Alexander, Gabriel, Isaac and Andrew, came over
from England to Virginia, about 1768. It is said that they were born in Scotland. Long
John and James fought through the American Revolutionary War, (on the American side),
where Long John distinguished himself. James ended up in Kentucky. He was a
great-great-great-grandfather of the Ritchie girls who attended Berea College with Fred
Burkhard of Casey County. After the war, Long John settled at Cranes Nest, in what is now
Wise County, Virginia; which probably was at one time a part of Scott County, Virginia;
which probably is where my Wright ancestors lived in 1814. So, I think that Long John may
have been the father of my great-great-grandmother, Margaret Ann (Ritchie) Wright. During
the Civil War, James Ritchie's folks were for the Confederacy; but Long John's family
sided with the Union. And all my ancestors and relatives were strongly pro-Union. And
Matthew W. Wright probably was never anywhere near Germany. And he probably never set foot
in North Carolina. His children were: Mathias Austin Wright, b. 1815; Jacob Wright, b.
1822; Margaret Ann Wright, b. 1824; Riley Matthew Wright, b. 1826; and William Wright, b.
1829. Riley bur. McCreary Co., Ky.
by Roscoe Hollis Wright
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