What Was Once

. . . The Wilson James Wright Farm Is No More

Less than a mile down the road from me, the rabid clear-cutting so popular lately in Franklin County has revealed what used to be the Wright Farm. The cemetery and what's left of the house and barn are now exposed—and their remains now expose a way of life that's gone.

 

In the picture above, the fenced cemetery is in the foreground.  To its right, in the background, is the barn's roof. To the right of the barn is what remains of a two-story farmhouse.

Only a few graves are in the little cemetery. This was the easiest to read:

 

I'm not sure what kin Ina J. Dudley was to the Wrights. A daughter, perhaps? The parents graves are side by side. The father's stone is leaning.

 On the stone inscribed "Father," most of the information has worn smooth.

The mother's stone is only slightly more readable.

Outside the iron fence is a small plot.

Little Nelson Wright was born sometime in 1922 and died in 1923.

It looks like someone has been removing lumber from the farmhouse, but its framework is still visible.  To the left of the farmhouse, a chimney stands. No doubt that marks the spot where the kitchen once was.

 

The house isn't very far from the barn, so it was convenient to tend the stock. Also, the closeness no doubt made it easy to keep an eye on things.

 

The barn, at least from a distance, still looks sturdy.

 

But the farm itself is no more. 

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UPDATE: Thanks to ancestry.com and the Franklin County Genealogy Facebook group, I now have more info. The Wrights buried in the cemetery are Wilson James Wright (1860-1940) and Ada Ammon Dudley Wright (1864-1921. They were married 16 October 1885: Here's their picture:

Ada's death certificate was signed by their neighbor, Dr. George O. Giles, who lived second house from where I live now.

 

Ina J. Dudley was their daughter, the wife of S. T. Dudley. She and her husband lived on Jamison Avenue in Roanoke.  Her death certificate:

 

Nelson Wright died when he was only seven months old of "cholera infantum." He was the son of Charles William and Ethel Lee Brooks Wright. Charles—known as Will—was the son of Wilson and Ada. Nelson's death certificate:

Wilson and Ada had eight children: Ina J (1887), Elmo S. (1889), Annie W. (1891), Claude Leonard (1893), Henry Joseph (1895),  Gladys B. (1898), Charles William (1899) and Early (1901). No wonder they had such a large house.

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The Wright Cemetery can be found online here: https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2644492/memorial-search?page=1#sr-180592932