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Riley Matthew Wright
Riley Matthew Wright was born February 23, 1826, in northeast Tennessee, (Greene
County, perhaps?), died November 19, 1904, in McCreary County, Kentucky, and is buried
there, at Parkers Lake, in Roberts Cemetery. His father was Matthew
W. Wright, who was born April 14, 1789, in Maryland, died November 7, 1865, in
Fentress County, Tennessee, and is buried there, in Wright Cemetery. His mother was
Margeret Ann (Ritchie) Wright, who was born July 5, 1790, in Virginia, died March 11,
1882, in Fentress County, Tennessee, and is buried there, in Wright Cemetery. Riley's
brothers and sisters were as follows: Mary Wright, b. May 15, 1814, in Va.; Mathias Austin
Wright, b. 1818, in Va., died Aug. 3, 1899, in Fentress County, Tenn., and is buried
there, in Bailey Bowden Cemetery, at Little Crab; Jacob Wright,
b. 1822, in northeast Tenn., d. 1913, in Fentress County, and is buried there, in Wright
Cemetery; Margaret Ann (Wright) Black, b. 1824, in northeast Tenn.; and William Wright, b.
1829, in northeast Tenn.; d. during the 18708, in Fentress County, Tennessee.
Riley Matthew Wright was married about 1849, in Fentress County, Tenn., to a first cousin,
Nancy Wright. Nancy was born September 24, 1822, in northeast Tennessee, died July 14,
1906, in McCreary County, Kentucky, and is buried there, at Parkers Lake, in Roberts
Cemetery. She was a daughter of John Wright (a brother to Matthew W. Wright) and Elizabeth
(Lindley) Wright; who both were born in Maryland or Virginia, and died in Fentress County,
Tennessee. Nancy's sister and brothers were as follows: Elizabeth Jane Wright, who was
born 1817-20, in Va., and died May 18, 1899, in Fentress County, Tenn.; John C. Wright,
who was born 1818-20, in Va., and died during the 18608, in Fentress County, Tenn.; David
F. Wright, who was born in 1829, in northeast Tenn.; Elihu Wright, who was born in 1834,
in Fentress County, Tenn.; and Lemuel C. Wright, who was born in 1837, in Fentress County,
Tenn., and died in 1909, in Texas.
The children of Riley and Nancy Wright, all of which were born in Fentress County, were as
follows: Michael Wright, b. 1850, died as a child; Elizabeth J. Wright, b. 1852; Sarah M.
Wright, b. 1854; John Lindsay Wright, the 1st, Dec. 5, 1855-Jan. 24, 1924; Mary A. Wright,
b. 1857; Lemuel S. Wright, b. 1860; Patience Wright, b. 1862; and Permelia M. Wright, b.
1866. Mary A. Wright was a spinster. She is buried in Roberts Cemetery, at Parkers Lake,
in McCreary County, Ky. Patience Wright married William Story. She is buried in Wright
Cemetery, in McCreary County, Kentucky.
Some of the grandchildren of Riley and Nancy Wright, the children of John Lindsay Wright,
the 1st, by Nancy (Clayborn) Wright, Aug. 11, 1859-Dec. 30, 1928, d/o Dr. Bob Clayborn, of
Jamestown, Tennessee, whom he married Jan. 28, 1877, which were as follows: 1. Nancy Jane
Wright, Jan. 1, 1878-Dec. 10, 1914; married July 1895, to Jim Reagan. 2. Robert Tanner
Wright, Aug. 6, 1879-June 18, 1945; married Apr. 13, 1902, to Myrtle Sears, Apr. 9,
1881-Nov. 19, 1949. 3. Permelia Catherine Wright, June 5, 1881-Apr. 20, 1969; married June
1912, to Columbus King, July 30, 1877-Dec. 25, 1967. 4. John Lindsay Wright, the 2nd, July
9, 1884-Apr. 24, 1974; married Nov. 7, 1902, to Laura Bell Roberts, Apr. 9, 1SS9-June 13,
1978. 5. Ermine Ellen Wright, Feb. 19, 1883-June 17, 1953; married June 1903, to Logan
Stephens, May 15, 1883-Jan. 28, 1958. 6. Dillard Logan Wright, July 18, 1887-June 12,
1968; married 1908, to Sylvia Marler, born Jan. 7, 1892. 7. Rosetta Wright, born Sept. 5,
1889; married Sept. 5, 1909, to Cornelius Keith. 8. Lemuel Artor Wright, b. Oct. 8, 1891:
1st marriage, June 19, 1912, to Minnie Barnett. and marriage to Ruby E. Lewis, 1898-1949.
9. Porter Lee Wright, b. Jan. 8, 1894; married Lucy Hamilton.
Some of the great-grandchildren of Riley and Nancy Wright. The children of John Lindsay
Wright, the 2nd, by Laura Bell (Roberts) Wright, Apr. 9, 1889-June 13, 1978, whom he
married Nov. 7, 1902, which were as follows: 1. Bessie Ellie Wright, married John Andrew
Lockhart. 2. Hattie Estelle Wright, married Kenneth Meridith Parsons. 3. Dorothy Aileen
Wright, married George Strunk. 4. Augusts Frances Wright, married Golda Jennings Deakins.
5. Betty Jane Wright, married Billy Don Perkins. 6. John Lindsay Wright, the 3rd, married
Margie Stanley. 7. Arthur Donald Wright, married Anna Lee Rose. 8. Fred Carroll Wright,
married Thelma Anderson. And 9. Billy Gene Wright, married Carlene Calhoun.
Some of the great-great-grandchildren of Riley and Nancy Wright. The children of Hattie
Estelle Wright, Apr. 19, 1912-Oct. 14, 1976, by her 1st husband, Kenneth Meridith Parsons,
Oct. 12, 1909-Mar. 26, 1938, whom she married Nov. 16, 1929, were: Kenneth Ward Parsons,
b. January 4, 1931, and Alan Wright Parsons, b. July 11, 1932. Kenneth Ward Parsons was
married Nov. 29, 1958, to Frances Eleandor Helton, b. Nov. 19, 1930. They have one son,
Kenneth Ward Parsons, Jr., b. Feb. 8, 1960; and one daughter, Frances Nan Parsons, b. July
18, 1962. Alan Wright Parsons is married to Freda Jean Parker, b. Oct. 24, 1932. They have
2 daughters, Kimberly Jean, b. Dec. 24, 1955, who is married to Kent Morton; and Mary
Patricia Parsons, who was born July 5, 1959. After Hattie Estelle's 1st husband, Kenneth
Meridith Parsons, died, she married Andrew L. Cowherd and had one daughter, Hattie Susan
Cowherd, by him. Hattie Susan Cowherd, b. Mar. 18, 1945, was married Oct. 27, 1973, to
William Hysinger, b. Feb. 14, 1945. They have 2 sons: William Lyle Hysinger, b. Aug. 2,
1975; and Andrew Lee Hysinger, b. Dec. 6, 1978. Kenneth Ward Parsons and his wife, Frances
(Helton) Parsons, live in Pineville, Ky. He works for Kentucky Utilities, and she teaches
school. Their son, Kenneth, Jr., works in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and their daughter,
Frances Nan Parsons, teaches school in South Carolina. Frances - the wife and mother -
sent me this new information on Riley Matthew Wright and his descendents.
Riley Matthew Wright lived in Fentress County from about 1833, probably, until after 1880,
then moved to Pulaski or McCreary County, Kentucky, with his family. During the Civil War,
he drove a team of government mules for the Union Army. He was a Republican. He lived at
Little Crab a while. He is the same person that Tom Mackey (my cousin) and I have been
calling Matthew K. Wright. I don't know where Tom got that "K" from. He was
listed in the census records as just Matthew Wright. After Riley's son John Lindsay
Wright, the 1st, moved to Kentucky, he worked at logging for 7 dollars and a half per
month. And he worked at a sawmill and in a coal mine for 54 cents per day.
Some other great-grandchildren of Riley Wright (grandchildren of John Lindsay Wright, the
1st) were: Alta Wright and Minnie Wright; daughter of Robert. Clyde Wright, Aileen Wright,
Troy Wright, Josephine Wright, Joe Wright, Carl Wright, Dillard Wright, Jr., Donald
Wright, Evelyn Wright, Minnie Wright, Denna Lou Wright, and Bessie Wright; children of
Dillard Logan Wright. Theodore Wright, Thurston Wright, Claudie Wright, Porter Wright,
Jr., and Ralph Wright; children of Porter Lee Wright. And Riley had several other
descendants.
by Roscoe Hollis Wright
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