Charles Alfred Wright

Notes:

Art Peck showed that he was born and died in Cass City. Janet Wright instead lists his places of birth and death as Sanilac County, Michigan. Janet shows that he worked as a finish carpenter. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer prior to his death.

The Cass City Chronicle
Thursday, May 22, 1958
Page One

Body of Charles Wright Found in Car Saturday


The body of Charles A. Wright, 49, of Deford was found Saturday morning after he had been reported missing since Monday. Bad Axe State Police who investigated said that the body was found in a car behind an abandoned cabin, three quarter of a mile east of M-53 on Seeger Road in Sanilac County.

A report by the Sanilac County coroner ruled that the death was caused by carbon monixide poisoning and that Mr. Wright was a suicide victim. He died sometime Wednesday.

Police said that her ran a radiator house from the exhaust into a vacuum cleaner hose which was placed throught he back window into the car.

Surviving besides his wife are 13 children; Delbert, John, Darlene, Katherine, Carol and Philllip at home; Robert of Kingston; Richard of Wilmot; Mrs. Harold Mills, Deford; Mrs. Roger Guinther, Cass Cit, and James, Charles and Mrs. John Mannarino, all of Detroit.

Funeral services were held Monday at 2 p.m. at Little's Funeral Home. Rev. R. G. Weckle,, pastor of the Baptist Church, Cass City, officiated.

Burial was in Elkland Cemetery.

(Transcribed by Melinda McLemore Strong, June 2009)

Charles married Elizabeth Hansine Aune on 3 Aug 1929 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan. Elizabeth was born on 20 Aug 1912 in Preeseville, Saskatchewan, Canada; died on 15 Sep 1992 in Caro, Tuscola County, Michigan; was buried in Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Married:
They had thirteen children: Charles Frederick, Laure Christine, Richard Henry, James Leroy, Gladys Ethel, Sharon Elizabeth, Robert Weston, Delbert Neil, John Michael, Darlene Gail, Katherine Ann, Caroll Lynn (born ca 1948) and Phillip Alvin.

1. Charles "Chuck" Frederick Wright was born on 15 Feb 1930 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan; died on 17 Sep 2007; was buried on 22 Sep 2007 in White Chapel Cemetery, Troy, Oakland County, Michigan.
2. Laura Christine Wright was born on 15 Feb 1930 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan; died on 2 Jan 1999 in Adrian, Lenawee County, Michigan; was buried in Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan.
3. Richard Henry Wright was born on 10 Aug 1932 in Brown City, Sanilac County, Michigan; died on 29 Mar 2000 in Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan; was buried in Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan.
4. James Leroy Wright was born on 21 Aug 1933 in Brown City, Sanilac County, Michigan; died on 4 Nov 1963 in Wayne County, Michigan; was buried in White Chapel Cemetery, Troy, Oakland County, Michigan.
5. Gladys Ethel Wright was born on 31 Oct 1934 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan; died on 30 Dec 2006 in Houston, Harris County, Texas.
6. Living
7. Robert Weston Wright was born on 7 Jul 1938 in Pontiac, Oakland County, Michigan; died on 1 Feb 1999 in Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tennessee; was buried in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida.
8. Living
9. John Michael Wright was born on 28 Jan 1946 in Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan; died on 12 Jul 2004 in Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan; was buried in Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan.
10. Darlene Gail Wright was born on 31 Jan 1947 in Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan; died on 14 Apr 2005 in Carson City, Montcalm County, Michigan; was buried in Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan.
11. Living
12. Living
13. Living

Notes:

Art Peck wrote that he was killed by an enraged bull. However, from his obituary, transcribed below, this does not appear to have been the case.

Cass City Chronicle
October 19, 1923
Page 5

Fred Wright Died at Bad Axe October 11

Frederic E. Wright passed away Thursday, October 11, at Bad Axe hospital. Mr. Wright was taken sick Sunday, October 7, and taken to the hospital Monday, where he was immediately operated upon for ulcer of the stomach. Until late Wednesday his condition was most favorable, when he developed pneumonia and passed away the following day. Mr. Wright has been a patient sufferer with stomach trouble for several years.

Frederic Eldred Wright was born in Greenleaf November 23, 1878, and has always lived in this township. On August 10, 1904, he was united in marriage with Miss Laurel C. Kolb, who passed away July 31, 1917. Mr. Wright was a kind father and a good neighbor and will be greatly missed in this community.

He leaves to mourn his sudden death hsi four sons, Morley, Charles, Maurice and Eldred, three brothers, Philip Wright of Oscoda, Mich., John Wright of Greenleaf, Albert Wright of Detroit; three sisters, Mrs. Mary M. Caldwell, Mrs. Emily J. Ferrin, Mrs. Minnie A. McConnell, all of Detroit, many nephews and nieces and a host of sorrowing friends.

Relatives from a distance who attended the funeral were Mr. and Mrs. Albert Wright and daughters, Misses Gertrude, Alice and Marjorie, Mr. and Mrs. William Wright and sons, Billy and George, Mrs. Emily Ferrin, Mrs. Minnie McConnell, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Kolb, Mrs. Walter Markin, all of Detroit, Mrs. E.F. Wright and sons, Alvin and Curtis, Mr. and Mrs. Gust Frahm, Miss Myrtle Wright and Dwight Barnes of Pontiac.

Funeral services were held Saturday, October 13 with Rev. Newberry officiating and interment made in Elkland Cemetery.

(Transcribed by Melinda McLemore Strong, summer 2007)

Janet Wright provided the following transcription of his death certificate:

Death certificate: October 13, 1923, He was under the care of Frank Morris MD, cause of death was Lobar Pneumonia following an operation for stomach ulcer. The surgery took place on Oct 8th at the Bad Axe Hospital. Fred died at 1 pm on Oct 12, 1923. Date of birth was Nov 24 1877.

Frederic married Laurel Catherine Kolb on 10 Aug 1904 in Tuscola County, Michigan. Laurel (daughter of George Henry Kolb and Caroline Annabel "Annie" Holmes) was born on 21 Jan 1886 in Tuscola County, Michigan; died on 27 Jul 1917 in Tuscola County, Michigan; was buried in Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Cass City Chronicle
Friday, August 3, 1917

Mrs. Fred Wright
Sudden Death Leaves Four Small Children Motherless

The community was shocked and pained to hear Tuesday of the sudden and unexpected death of Mrs. Fred E. Wright at her home on West St. that morning. Mr. and Mrs. Wright welcomed a little son into their home on July 22 and the mother was gaining strength and until early Tuesday morning her condition was most favorable. Death was due to apoplexy of the heart.

Laurel Catherine Kolb was born in Indianfields township January 21, 1886. At the age of foru years she with her parents, moved to St. Johns. In 1900 they moved to a farm in Cass City.

On August 10, 1904 she was united in marriage to Frederick E. Wright. They resided on a farm near Cass City until last November when they moved to Cass City. To this union four children were born: Morley, Charles, Maurice and Eldred. The latter was but nine days old at the time of his mother's death.

The funeral was held Thursday morning at the home on West street. Rev. John Willerton of Greenleaf Baptist church, which Mrs. Wright attended, officiated. The burial was in Elkland cemetery.

Besides her husband and family, she is survived by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Kolb, two brothers, Clarence and Harold, and five sisters, Misses Iva, Bernice and Elsie, all of Cass City, Mrs. Leon ORMES of St. Johns and Miss Helen KOLB of Lansing.

Friends and relatives from a distance who attended the funeral were Mrs. Leon Ormes of St. Johns, Mrs. John WAGNER of Mayville, Mr. and Mrs. A.D. WRIGHT and family, Mrs. Minnie McCONNELL amd family, Mrs. Emma FORREN and Mrs. Geo. CALDWELL, all of Detroit.

(Transcribed by Melinda McLemore Strong, Summer 2007)

Notes:

George took up homesteading across the road from his folks, but when his mother died, he sold the homestead to pay for her funeral.

He worked in the area known as Harwick Pines.

He was over six-and-a-half feet tall. Wife Annie was not quite five feet. It was said that when George died, the undertaker had a problem finding a large enough casket. It was rumored George's legs had to broken for him to fit.

Cass City Chronicle
Friday, March 4, 1932
Vol. 26, Number 47

Pioneer Residents Called By Death Edw. Knoblet, Geo. Kolb and Geo. Parrott Have all Resided Here over 50 years

Geo. H. Kolb

Geo. H. Kolb passed away at Pleasant Home hospital at Cass City on Friday morning, Feb. 26, at the age of 74 years. Funeral services were conducted at the Evangelical church by Rev. C.E. Smith, on Sunday afternoon.

Born Nov. 5, 1857, at Milwaukee, Wis., Mr. Kolb came to Michigan with his parents when he was 7 years of age. Except for 10 years residence at St. Johns, he lived in the vicinity of Cass City. In September, 1883, he was married to Anne Holmes Cleaver. To them nine children were born, three of whom prededed the father in death.

Mr. Kolb is survived by his widow, five daughters, Mrs. Edith Ormes of St. Johns, Mrs. Iva Wisniewski and Mrs. Helen Markin, both of Detroit, Mrs. Elsie Brueggeman of Philadelphia, and Mrs. Bernice Kleinschmidt of Cass City; one son, Harold Kolb of Pontiac; two sisters, Mrs. A.J. Craw and Mrs. Rose Don, both of Caro; eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren. All the children were present at the funeral service.

Kindness was a crowning virtue of the deceased and to the surviving family and his friends he will be remembered as a kind man.

(Transcribed by Melinda McLemore Strong, Summer 2007)

George married Caroline Annabel "Annie" Holmes in Sep 1883 in Tuscola County, Michigan. Caroline was born on 15 Apr 1867 in Ellington Township, Tuscola County, Michigan; died on 21 Mar 1951 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; was buried in Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Called "Annie." She was legally adopted by the Cleaver's when she was 12 years old, as her mother had died at the birth of her last child, who was stillborn. Annie remembered her brothers using a little ditty to remember their names. She said "they were Alf and Doug and Mac, Charlie, Keat and Jack, James and Henry." Her sister was named Catherine, after their mother. All contact was lost with her birth family. Apparently only the girls were adopted out, the boys all being big enough for their father, Caleb, to care for and to help him with the farm.

Annie went to with the Cleaver family to help cook for the men that worked in the forest. There she met George and they were married. Later they moved to St. John, Michigan, and then on to Cass City.

An item in the Cass City paper (circa 1947) reads:

""One Cow Heard" Brings Owner Nice Revenue

The "one cow heard" of Mrs. Geo Kolb, who lives in Elkland Township, on the Tuscola-Sanilac County Line, brought its owner a check for $20.30 for milk produced the first two weeks of July. Mrs. Kolb is in the eightieth year and cares for the cow herself and does the milking.

Her grandchildren, sent over to help with the chores, remember that she would not allow anyone to milk HER cow. She would, however, put them to work, telling them she'd have a surprise for them at supper. When they came in, their would be a big, deep dish apple pie, warm from the oven. She had apples years round, as she would thread the excess on a string to dry.

Annie was thrifty, drinking hot water reather than coffee. She would sometimes flavor it with hot milk and call it 'Cambridge tea.'

At Easter, the children could have all the eggs they wanted, but this was the only time. The rest of the year, eggs were sold for money that was needed to help raise such a large family.

(Excerpted from Art Peck's book)

Cass City Chronicle
Friday, March 23, 1951

BULLETIN

Mrs. George Kolb, for many years a resident of Elkland township, died Wednesday in the home of her daughter, Mrs. Ted Bruggeman, in Philadelphia, Pa. and was brought to Cass City Saturday. Funeral services will be held in the Douglas Funeral Home Sunday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock.

Cass City Chronicle
Friday, March 30, 1951

Mrs. Kolb Funeral Rites Held Sunday

Funeral services for Mrs. George H. Kolb, former Elkland township resident, who died in Philadelphia last week, were held Sunday afternoon at the Douglas Funeral Home, Rev. S.R. Wurtz officiating. Interment was in Elkland cemetery.

The former Annie Holmes, she was born April 15, 1867 in Ellington Township. She married George H. Kolb in 1883 at Caro. In 1900, Mr. and Mrs. Kolb moved to their farm in Elkland Township on Greenland Road where Mr. Kolb died 18 years ago. Mrs. Kolb remained on the farm until a few years ago when she went to live with her daughters in Detroit, St. Johns and Philadelphia because of her failing health.

Mrs. Kolb is survived by five daughters, Mrs. Leon Ormes of St. Johns, Mrs. Walter Wisniewski of Detroit, Mrs. Charles Kleinschmidt of Dearborn, Mrs. Ted Brueggeman of Philadelphia, Pa. and Mrs. Walter Markin of Birmingham, one son, Harold Kolb of Pontiac, 11 grandchildren and 24 great grandchildren. Three children also preceded her in death.

Other out-of-town relatives who attended her funeral included Mrs. Ferris Jamison and daughters of Saginaw, Mr. and Mrs. Ellis Abke of Caro, Mr. and Mrs. Robt Wagner and family of North Branch, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Gordon of Pontiac, Mr. and Mrs. Morley Wright of Oxford, Mr.a nd Mrs. Lester Theill of Flint, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Helbeck and family of St. Johns and Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Nix, Mr. and Mrs. Thos. Theill, Mr. and Mrs. Eldred Wright, and Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Theill, all of Detroit.

(Transcribed by Melinda McLemore Strong, Summer 2007)

The classified section of the Cass City Chronicle, March 30, 1951, page 7, also contained the following note of thanks:

It is with deep appreciation and gratitude that we acknowledge the kindness and thoughtful consideration of our loving friends in sharing with us the loss of our dear mother, Mrs. Annie Kolb. We also express our thanks to Rev. Wurtz and those assisting him in the services. The family.

Notes:

Lived for 6 years in Anendorf, Guzzengen before he came to America on 19 March 1852. He had been studying to be a doctor but to avoid being drafted into the Army, he used his fathers passport and emigrated to America, settling in Greenfield, Wisconsin, where he met Catherina Benkelman. They moved to Cass City in 1864, and made their homestead on an 80 acre farm, 3 miles east and 1 1/2 miles north of Cass City. He was Elkland Township treasurer in 1867. They lived on their homestead until they lost everything they had in the "great fire" of 1881. They only saved their lives by staying in the sorghum fields and the Cass City river that ran behind the house. One son, George Henry, had taken up homesteading across the road from his parents, but sold his land to pay for his mothers funeral in 1883. (Courtesy of Janet Wright of DeFord, MI, September, 1996) BonnieMargaret Jacobs also wrote of George using his father's papers to emigrate, citing correspondence with Mrs. Thoams R. Harvey of Aldan, PA, a descendant of George and Catherine's.

Cass City Enterprise
January 8, 1903, Page 1

George Kolb, an old and respected resident of Caro and a pioneer of Tuscola County, died Monday afternoon at four o'clock, aged seventy-one years. Deceased was born at Wurteburger, Germany, October 7, 1831, and came to this country when twenty years of age, settling in New York state where he lived for two years. He then moved to Wisconsin, where he was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Benkelman. In 1865 they moved to Tuscola county where he has since resided. His wife died in 1893, leaving nine children, one of whom, Henry, died in 1899. The surviving children are George and John of Cass City; Mrs. WAGNER of Fremont; Mrs. BURK, Mrs. HOYT, Mrs. DON, Miss Lydia KOLB and Mrs. A.J. CRAW, of Caro. Short services were held Wednesday afternoon at four o'clock at the residence of his daughter, Mrs. A.J. CRAW, after which the remains were taken to Cass City, where funeral services were held Thursday afternoon at four o'clock, the remains being laid to rest in the Cass City cemetery. - Caro Journal

(Transcribed by Melinda McLemore Strong)

BonnieMargaret Jacobs wrote, in her 1981 unpublished manuscript, that in addition to farming, George was in itinerant preacher, doctor and undertaker, it being often said of him that "he got people coming and going"...bringing people into the world, ministering to them while they were here, and finally laying them to rest." (p. 141).

(Research):

Census Information:

1880 Federal Census
Census Place: Elkland, Tuscola, Michigan Source:FHL Film 12
54607 National Archives Film T9-0607
Page 97A
RelationSexMarrRaceAgeBirthplace
George A. KOLB Self M M W 49 WERTENBERG Occ: Farmer Fa: WERTENBERG Mo: WERTENBERG
Catherine KOLB Wife F M W 49 WERTENBERG Occ: Keeping House Fa: WERTENBERG Mo: WERTENBERG
Lydia KOLB Dau F S W 8 MI Occ: At Home Fa: WERTENBERG Mo: WERTENBERG
Henry KOLB Son M S W 7 MI Occ: Farmer Fa: WERTENBERG Mo: WERTENBERG

George married Maria Catharina Benkelman on 6 Dec 1854 in Greenfield, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Maria (daughter of Johann Leonhard Benkelmann and Maria Dorothea St?hle) was born on 16 Aug 1831 in Schneiderhof, Waldhausen Parish, Welzheim, Jagstkreis, W?rttemberg, Germany; died on 9 Dec 1883 in Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan; was buried in Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

German Parish records show "ist 1853 ausgewandert" (left for America) in 1853.

On the Oberant Welzheim Emmigrants list, 1818-1891, She is listed as Maria Catharina, g. d. 16t. August 1831 ledig, and travelling in a party headed by her mother, Maria Dorothea, the widow of Johann Leonhard Benkelmann, a farmer of Schneiderhof. Three of her sisters were on this journey as well.

BonnieMargaret's full source citation was: Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, "Verzeichnis der Auswanderung aus dem Oberamt Welzheim 1818-1891" F 214 B?schel 91 Fortlaufende Number 42 [or possibly 47] ).