H/O Elizabeth Mace Thompson.

OBITUARY OF JAMES LAWRENCE WRIGHT (6 Jan 1818 - 25 April 1896)

The following is kindly furnished in the Autogram by the editor of the
Eye-Opener, son of the deceased.

It has been twice our painful duty to chronicle the death of our dear
darling infant offsprings, a beloved sister and many more distant relatives
since we have been publishing a paper, and now we are called upon, this
week to mention the death of our dear aged father, who departed his life at
his home this Saturday morning, April 25, at 2 o'clock P.M. There were
present at his bedside, his son Green Lee WRIGHT, his wife and myself. He
was not thought to be dangerously ill but for a short time, although he had
been rapidly on the decline for about one week. His suffering at times
seemed intense till a short time before his death, though seemingly
unconscious for about 12 hours of his last moments. The scene would of been
hard indeed for us to have borne had our father not given any expression of
hope beyond the grave, but while we lonely seated by his bed near the hour
of midnight, the night before he died, he said he would " soon be in glory".
" I want to go home" and other expressions of like character which we could
not remember. Whether real or not, this will offer us comfort through life,
when we think of him as a kind father who taught us to walk and talk.

The funeral was on Sunday, beginning about 12 o'clock, conducted in the
Christian Church by Hon. W.F. Freeman, prayer and remarks were offered by
Eld. Albert McCubbin, Eld. L. E. Melton had been expected to perform this
duty, but the rain in the morning prevented him from arriving on time, There
we were a goodly number of relatives and friends present.

Our father was born in Pennsylvania, January 6, 1818, moved to Missouri
with his parents and family of several children in 1838 or 1839, we think
and settled near Brazito, Cole County. He was married to Elizabeth Mace
Tomson, Sept. 13, 1842. To this union were six boys and two girls. The girls
are both dead but all the boys are living and were all present except the
oldest C.M. Wright of Fulton, MO. Mother died June 4th, 1879. He was again
married to Eliza Jane (Pittman) Melton, the widow of John Melton, on Dec.
25,1879 by Eld. J.C. Glover. Eliza Jane now survives him.

While a boy our father worked two or three years in a screw factory in his
native state. He was for a time a Justice of the Peace in Cole County, a
member of the jury that convicted Burr on circumstantial evidence for
murdering his wife and hanged in Jefferson City, confessing his guilt on
the scaffold. He built and operated several water mills, was a neat workman
in wood, and has done much hard work. He moved his family to Miller County
about 1854 or 1855, locating on the Saline north of town. When the war broke
out he took sides with the Union, and served as first Lieutenant of a
company of militia for quite a while, but never forced into any active
service.

We might mention more of his life, but will close by saying we never
heard him swear or take a dram of whiskey, except for medical purposes to
our knowledge. Or did we ever hear him express a doubt as to the truth of
the bible. He for years held to the ideal that it was possible to live a
sinless life from infancy, but made up his mind with our mother to confess
Christ and be baptized and take membership with the Church of Christ some 20
odd years ago. Becoming feeble from farm work, he moved to town with his
wife and two step-daughters, where he ended his days. His power of talking
and reasoning seems to have been marred by partial deafness for some time.
But his labors and trials on earth are ended and we hope to meet him with
all the good shining banks of sweet deliverance where partings will shall be
no more and the weary shall rest.