Saturday, December 28, 2013

2013 Wright Family Christmas @ The Historic Bednego Wright Home Place, c1863

                 *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.
                 Abednego F. Wright  Mary Elizabeth Jenkins Wright
 (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. Benjamin Franklin Wright and Mary Ella Peek 
   (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
(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  
(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. 

 Ed Wright's Wife and 6 children
(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.

                               (Ed & Lorene Wright at their 50th anniversary celebration)

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

December 23, 2013 Wright Family Christmas Event Photos:

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)

(Cousins, left to right: Stephanie Wright Gardner, Bobbie Wright Grogan, Drew Bowers and wife, Leslie McKee Bowers)
                                                                                                  


                                                   Thanks for stopping by!

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