*See above link for more photos
The 2013 Wright Family Christmas Story…
Antioch, Polk County, Georgia; December 23, 2013
by Bobbie Wright Grogan
The Bednego Wright Home Place,
established in 1863
For the first time in
many, many Christmases, the Wright House hosted a wonderful family Christmas
gathering of a few descendants of the original Wrights in this community.
Incidentally, the year 2013 marks the 150th anniversary of the
completed Wright Home Place. We were all blessed to call Bednego (aka
B.F. & Bed) Wright and Mary "Lizzie" Jenkins our direct
ancestors, who chose to establish our family in this wonderful community of
Antioch, which was still called Yellow Stone by many at the time of their
arrival during the height of the Civil War in 1863.
(Bednego Wright & Mary “Lizzie”
Jenkins)
Furthermore, we were
blessed to call Dr. Benjamin Franklin (B.F.) Wright & Mary Ella Peek our
grandparents, as Dr. Wright was always known to be so generous and kind to give
medical care to everyone in and around this community, whether they could or
couldn't pay for the services. His tombstone is lovingly carved with this
statement, "He that giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord."
Dr. Wright also served as a State Senator and representative from Polk for
two separate terms. Dr. Wright & Ella's home place was down in the
"S-curves" just this side of the cemetery he gave a portion of his
own land to create. It is commonly called the "Peek-Wright
Cemetery," but the original name was simply "The B.F. Wright
Cemetery."
(Dr. B. F. Wright & Mary Ella Peek)
According to Ed Coker,
my great-uncle by marriage, who I trust fully with all things Antioch and all
things historical, told me that a windstorm knocked the house of Dr.
Wright's off its foundation after his death, and the rooms that were
salvageable were moved to his son's home less than a mile down the road.
That son was Jim Wright, who was only two years old when his mother, Mary Ella,
died giving birth to his youngest sibling, a girl, also given her mother’s
namesake, Ella. Jim was just a mere 13 when his father passed away. We as a family are also
blessed to be descendants of James Thomas (Jim) Wright and Aily Simpson.
I have been told amazing stories of each of these amazing individuals, and I
remember just a tiny glimpse of "Grandma Wright," as I was only three
years old when she passed. Ms. Martha Davis told me a while back that my
great-grandmother Aily could pick a handful of 'weeds' and turn it into the
most amazing and beautiful floral bouquet you've ever seen.
(Jim & Aily Wright outside their home)
At Ms. Martha’s words, I thought then that my Paw Wright sure had
picked a wife after his mother's own heart when he picked our Granny, Lorene
Smith Wright, for she truly is the BEST floral bouquet maker I have personally
ever known. She blessed EVERYONE around her with beautiful flowers
directly from her yard and garden, and a person could NEVER get bored observing
the miraculous and ever-changing display of colors, scents, and images of the
flowers that she grew. For my Granny, flowers were as much a part of her
as she was a part of them.
(Lorene Smith Wright, our beloved “Granny
Wright”)
In her life, which I was
blessed to be a part of for 29 years, when I thought of Granny, I thought of
love, flowers, and good food. Since her death in 2005, there has
been such a void in my life, but so much life, as well, as I see bits and
pieces of her every day in my love for flowers and in many of my children’s
actions, mannerisms, and hobbies. Since her death, when I think of Granny,
the main thing that shines in my mind about her is how much love and amazing
strength she possessed to raise six children and make the endless chores of
cooking (well, I if may add,) cleaning, gardening, farming, and caring for all
six children seem completely effortless, on her part. When others look
back upon her life with young children, they all say she had the best-behaved
children everywhere she went. Her children (my father, uncles, and
aunt) say she would still be cooking late on Saturday night when they all went
to bed, and when they got up early for breakfast and Church on Sunday mornings,
she would have six perfectly-pressed little outfits hanging across the mantle
and a breakfast feast fit for kings. And a king is what Granny thought
every man and boy deserved to be treated like, and she felt they should be
waited on hand and foot. Her men and boys were her royalty, and she
served each of them a huge dose of love and extra helpings of pie at every
single opportunity she could find. It is a quality that was so Granny and
so endearing to her, even if all the female descendants didn’t follow suit, in
that regard. Do not feel any pity for us girls, though! Granny had
plenty of leftovers of both food and love for us, too; she never failed to have
enough to give to any and every person that graced the doors of her life.
She was truly one-of-a-kind! I have not and probably will never meet
another person who holds a candle to who she was. She was called simply
“Granny Wright,” by almost every person of my generation in and around the
Antioch Church and Community.
(Granny & Her Six Children (Back Row L
to R: Jimmy, Ben, Robert, Thomas & Front Row L to R: Granny [Lorene], Laura, Jack)
In addition to her delectable Sunday breakfasts, Granny always had lunch completely finished by the time her kids were up on Sunday mornings, and there was always plenty for several extra mouths of lucky friends that got to come home from church with the kids. Throughout her life, others knew what would be waiting in her kitchen as soon as church was out, and no one had to be asked twice if they would like to come over to have lunch with them. Everyone between the ages of zero and one hundred and ten was welcome. Granny turned no one away from her love, her food, or her flowers…she was known well for these gifts.
Our Paw Wright (Edwin
Coleman Wright) was one lucky man to have someone like Granny to create a
legacy with him, and he left his own unique stamp on us kids and grandkids, as
well. We are all fortunate to have been blessed in so many ways as the
descendants of this union. Yes, Paw (aka Granddaddy) was waited on and
spoiled rotten by Granny before he hit the ripe old age of twenty, as he had
taken her hand in marriage when he was a young 18 years old, and she was only
15. Theirs was a sweet love story, as well. Although my memory has
faded on the exact details and circumstances I was told of their courtship, I
do remember Granny telling me that “Ed” came a-courtin’ her when he came to
work on her Daddy’s farm in South Georgia for two summers. Granny said
that she and her family and Paw and his family both had farms and residences
close by at the time. Her family was located in Dooly County, while his
was located in the neighboring Crisp County. She said her Daddy’s farm
was bigger, and he would hire out young men from neighboring areas and families
to help them out in summer and at harvest. Granny said he came to work
for two consecutive summers, and then asked for her hand in marriage. She
said she thought he just came to work primarily, and then they met and started
“courtin,” but Paw told her later the reason he came back the second time to
work the farm wasn’t exactly to farm, but to have an excuse to see her
again. She said he told her that he knew his family was moving back to
Antioch in Polk County soon, and he “wanted her for his woman,” so he could
take her back with him. They were married by the Justice of the Peace at
Vienna, Georgia, on December 28, 1934, and within a few short weeks, she left
the area of the families’ farms in South Georgia to reside in Polk County with
her new husband and his family. The Wright family had been in Antioch and
had lived here for several generations prior to their short time spent farming
in Crisp County, GA, where the seed of love was planted by my grandparents.
Spending some quality
family time and a wonderful Christmas meal together in the Old Home place was a
first for our specific family members, but we all enjoyed ourselves
greatly. We have even had some thoughts to make this a tradition to
gather our family here again in the near future for other holidays. I
think all of us present would agree that the absolute best part of this night
was the sound of laughter we all heard over the course of the evening coming
from the youngest six family members present. Our kids, ranging in age
from two to ten, had the best time playing together in one of the
bedrooms. The play area of choice was none other than the bed with Granny
Wright’s solid white bedspread on it, and no one minded one bit that the kids
were giggling loudly, jumping on the bed, or getting dirt on the covers while
playing “Riding Hood and the Bad Wolf,” and anything else they chose to
make-believe while together. These sweet cousins are rarely together, and
I am not sure there has ever been another time when these same six have gotten
to play together before.
I told several there
that Granny Wright would have loved nothing better than to see and hear her
great- grandchildren and great-great grandchildren laughing and playing
together the way they were. It was magical. It was musical.
It was an amazing family connection of love and continuance that we know will
go on and on, no matter which family members gather together on the next
occasion. Just like every other family in existence, we have lost some
vital members who helped make us who we are, and if we allow ourselves, we can
get bogged down with the sadness and loss, and I am sure we all do from time to
time. This year was especially hard for some, because we lost my Uncle
Thomas to pulmonary fibrosis a few months back. He was a light to all of
us with his kind and gentle nature, and he was the first of Granny’s six
children called home to Heaven. But for each loss, we can look
around and count the gain in the eyes of our little ones. We find the
love that was given to us by those who have gone on to be with Jesus, is the
same kind of love that we are called upon to offer to the next generation of
our family. They need us to be that foundation for them that our
grandparents, fathers, mothers, uncles, aunts, and cousins are and have been to
us over our lifetimes. The lyrics “We are the world; we are the children”
comes to my mind, because we have the choice to create the memories our
children need from us. No matter how hard it is to lose the foundational
rocks of our family, the children need for us to rebuild properly to enable us
to be the strong foundational rocks for theirs. That was family, that is
family, and that will be family.
This year, I know I
experienced Christmas, and I am so thankful to the family that helped make that
happen. Last but not least, I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father that
He allowed His only Son to be born here on this earth that we may have life and
have it more abundantly, when we have chosen Him to live within our
hearts. For me, Christ is Christmas, and there is no other way around
it. Our God gave HIS ONLY SON to create the proper foundation we need to
flourish and that is the epitome of what life and sacrifice for family is all
about. None of us could ever come close to the sacrifice we were given,
as Jesus hung on that Old Rugged Cross.
We had many special
family members present at our Christmas Gathering this year, although some of
those near and dear to us were not able to attend. Our event took place
on Monday, December 23, at 5:00 in the evening. I will attempt to name
and identify the relationships of those present. I will only call age
with those I know exactly. First of all, we had the youngest three of
Granny and Paw Wright’s children in attendance: Robert (my Daddy,) Aunt Laura,
and Uncle Ben. Thomas’ Anne (aka Aunt Anne to me) was there and was a
shining matriarch who had the most generations of her direct family members
present at this year’s gathering. She seemed to enjoy the young children
more than ever this year, as she had her grandchildren, Drew Bowers (age 36)
with wife Leslie, and Ella Anne Wright (Barron’s daughter, age 5) present,
along with her great-granddaughter, Tucker Bowers, who is Drew and Leslie’s
5-year old daughter. Cindy Wright Bowers and Barron Wright were her
two children present. Therefore, there were seven members and four
generations present of Thomas Wright’s family, who was the oldest child of Ed
and Lorene Wright.
The next two oldest of
their six children, Jimmy and Jack, respectively, were not present, nor were
any of their direct descendants present. We missed having them with us,
but we are thankful to have been able to see many of them at Aunt Laura’s House
on Thanksgiving last month. Both Jimmy and Jack have children,
grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
The fourth oldest child
of Ed and Lorene is my Daddy, Robert Wright. He and my Mom (aka Robert’s
Ann) were both present, as were all of their direct descendants: both children,
Stephanie Wright Gardner (my sister, age 39) and I (Bobbie Wright Grogan, age
37,) both sons-in-law (Micah Gardner and Ryan Grogan [age 35]) and both
grandchildren, Kylie Brynn Grogan (age 10) and Kaden Wright Grogan (age
7.) Stephanie and her husband Micah reside in Islamorada, in the
Florida Keys, so we were all excited that they were able to attend this
year. Including our Dad, there were eight members and three generations
present of the Robert Wright Family.
Aunt Laura (Wright
Merritt) is the next oldest child of the six siblings. She and her
husband (Uncle Phil Merritt) were both present at our Christmas
gathering. They have one son, Jess, who was not present.
The youngest sibling is
my Uncle Ben Wright. He and his wife, Cindy Forsyth Wright, were both
present, as was their son Doug (age 33) and his wife, Kayla. Doug and
Kayla’s two children, Aily Lorene Wright (age 3) and Benson Douglas Wright (age
2) were both present, as well. Therefore, there were six members and
three generations present of the Ben Wright Family.
There were 23 members
total of our Wright Family present at our 2013 Family Christmas Gathering at
the Historic Wright House in Antioch. It was a tremendous blessing for us
all to be together under that roof. There has never been a time in the
history of our living family that we have gathered together in the home where
our legacy began in this county and community 150 years ago. The home had
previously been passed down through the line of Dr. Wright’s youngest brother,
Thomas, after their parents, Bednego and Lizzie, had both passed away. We
are blessed and honored to have been able to purchase the home of my 3rd-great
grandparents 3 ½ years ago in 2010, and we are not sure why we waited this long
to share its past and present with our beloved Wright Family. According
to some, the house is too old and decrepit, but to me and my family, it is
historical perfection. It holds much of our history, the fruits of our
ancestors’ labor, and now holds new memories of fun and family within each of
us who were present at this year’s event. If walls could talk and could
utter only one phrase, I believe they would be saying simply, “happy and
blessed.” The laughter of eight generations that have now been present
under that same roof emanates loud and clear throughout the Historic Antioch
Community.
Written by Bobbie Wright
Grogan; Dedicated to all of my Wright Family - past, present, and future
December 26, 2013
Both photos above are of Aunt Anne, (Left to
right) her granddaughter, Ella Anne Wright, her great-granddaughter, Tucker
Bowers, both age 5, and her great niece, Aily Lorene Wright, age 3, who carries
the namesake of both Grandma Wright (Aily) and Granny Wright (Lorene.)
Photo Above: Aunt Anne Wright with Tucker (on left, her
great-granddaughter, age 5,) and Ella Anne (her granddaughter, also age
5.) Tucker was the only individual
present to represent the 8th generation of Wrights who have now been
under the same roof in the Historic Bednego Wright Home Place…I, myself, find
that amazing.
The following photos are action shots of
their “Riding Hood” game. Tucker was
“Riding Hood” and Kaden was the bad
wolf. Ella Anne was a “helper of the
wolf.”
These are full of movement and accompanied
by lots of laughter:
L to R: Aily, Tucker, Ella Anne
Kaden (bottom left) & Tucker (standing)
Tucker under the blanket as “Riding Hood;”
Kaden as the “Bad Wolf”
trying to trick her to come out of hiding;
Aily in the corner J
(Left to Right: Tucker, Ella Anne, Kaden)
.jpg)
(Cousins, left to right: Stephanie Wright Gardner, Bobbie Wright Grogan, Drew Bowers and wife, Leslie McKee Bowers)
Thanks for stopping by!
