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David was the son of Malcolm Wright (B. Scotland abt. 1830) and Rose Henderson.
Only David and Annie's son Lorne married. The girls never married and retired in British Columbia (perhaps Victoria), Canada. They all are buried in Isabella, Manitoba.
Rural Reflections, Volume 2, 1879-1982”
Mr. and Mrs. David Wright
written by Rose Wright
The little village of Tillicoultry, north of Stirling,
Scotland was home to James Wright, and his wife,
Christine Aitken, who were married in 1828. In those
days, this part of Scotland was sheep country, and
James was also a weaver. When weaving moved out
of the home into factories, the family, like many
others, set...
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David was the son of Malcolm Wright (B. Scotland abt. 1830) and Rose Henderson.
Only David and Annie's son Lorne married. The girls never married and retired in British Columbia (perhaps Victoria), Canada. They all are buried in Isabella, Manitoba.
Rural Reflections, Volume 2, 1879-1982”
Mr. and Mrs. David Wright
written by Rose Wright
The little village of Tillicoultry, north of Stirling,
Scotland was home to James Wright, and his wife,
Christine Aitken, who were married in 1828. In those
days, this part of Scotland was sheep country, and
James was also a weaver. When weaving moved out
of the home into factories, the family, like many
others, set off for a new land. Australia was considered,
but friends were coming to Upper Canada, so
the Wrights settled on coming to Canada too. The
exact date of their arrival has been lost, but it was
about the same time as the Cochranes who came on
the sailing ship "Susan" on the 17th day of April,
1852, to Montreal.
Sons and daughter of the James Wright family (all
of whom came to Canada) were; Malcolm, Hugh,
John, Agnes, Robert and James. At first they settled at Smith Falls, Ontario, but soon moved on westward where the father and four sons took up land in Wellington County between Harriston and Clifford. The four older brothers
farmed; James studied and was ordained as a minister.
Malcolm Wright married Rose Henderson who had come with her widowed mother and brother, David Henderson, to Bennington, Vermont. Their children were Margaret, David (born September 8th, 1869), and James. The mother died in 1871 and was buried in the little cemetery across the road from the Bowes Church, as were Mr. and Mrs. James Wright.
The pioneers began a Sunday School for their
children, and soon engaged in building a church. The
Wrights had been Congregationalists and worked in the building of the new church. A title to the land where the church was built was obtained from John Bowes, but none was granted by the Porterfields for the little churchyard. For some years preceding 1869, and after, the people were ministered to by Mr. Snider. Grandfather Malcolm, aided by a tuning fork, was proud to have been precentor. The children went to school at Greenbush, near Fulton's Mill.
In 1895, David Wright, influenced by his cousins at Casselton, N. D., decided to see the wonderful prairies. For two years, he worked for Bishop Shanely, the Roman Catholic Bishop in Fargo, N.D. There he was impressed by the rich farm lands and the force of North Dakota blizzards. Even with the stable doors closed, the snow could sift in and leave the stalls half-filled. Tragic was the outcome for any settler who was caught in such a storm - no landmarks - no bluffs. Another cousin, Mrs. Craig, had settled in the Blaris district of Manitoba. In 1897, David Wright came to Hamiota, then the end of the C.P.R. line. For
the next two summers he worked for Mr. Charlie Craig. Wild geese, ducks and partridges seemed to be more plentiful then, but you didn't waste shells unnecessarily. Most of the grain would be stacked, waiting for the big steam outfits to come to thresh it. While the men were stacking, partridges and prairie chicken would come quite close. Mr. Craig taught them to become adept at spearing a chicken with a fork. Sec.8-twp.15-R25 was a Hudson's Bay section.
In 1899, David Wright bought the east half of this
section. That fall, he brought a car of settlers effects
from Ontario. Craig's house continued to be home
until he got started. He had only one team of horses which he brought from Ontario. Aided by his uncle, Alan MacDonald,
he hauled the lumber from Birtle for the first buildings.
This team also pulled the walking plow for all the breaking - two hundred and twenty acres. He was very fond of these and all subsequent horses he had. It was well known that others could be coaxing and bribing vainly with oat sheaves, while all he needed to do was whistle, call them by name, and the horses would come walking into the barn.
Two factors determined the choice of the southeast
corner as the site for the buildings. One was a shallow well with drinking water. He had dug wells in
the ravine and up on "the prairie" - all these had to be done slowly and by hand-digging and were failures. The quarter to the south was even more heart-breaking and back-breaking. Mr. Ed. Ariss and Mr. Francis Brown lost track of the wells they dug. The other reason was that this spot was on the Birtle Trail, and being at the south end of the farm, it was nearer to Blaris. He used to walk to services at Blaris Church, a distance of four miles. Mr. Bob Clark recalled that he was their Bible Class teacher.
For eleven summers he farmed and bached. When asked about the winters, he recalled that he didn't keep cattle then, so after looking after the welfare of his horses, he would go to Weaverville, N . C., U. S. A. or back to Ontario. During summers, he would take turns with Mr. Wes. Stewart and Mr. Harry Reid, who were also bachelors, in going to Old
Beulah for supplies. At threshing time, if he took the
meat, sugar, butter, flour, etc. to Mrs. Kelly, she would cook for the threshing gang. It seems they had real Paul Bunyan appetites, but Mrs. Kelly was an organizer, who was never fazed by a matter of twenty odd men dropping in for dinner. In pre-telephone days, there was often short notice that the outfit was moving in. In 1909, people could scarcely believe that the railroad had come to them. David Wright tells about piling up railway ties to the level of the boxcar door, backing the grain box up to that, and loading the first car of wheat. In 1910, Malcolm Wright and several of his family moved to Hamiota, Manitoba. James went to Weaverville, North Carolina, U.S.A. Hugh remained
in Harriston, Ontario. The John Wright family went to Casselton, N.D., the Robert Wrights went to the Westhope, N.D. area, and the James Wrights to Bellingham, Washington. Agnes became Mrs. Ned. Harding and one of her daughters became Mrs. Charlie Craig, a pioneer of the Blaris-Isabella district. On January 17th, 1910, David Wright and Annie
Hood were married at Clifford, Ontario. They came to the farm at Isabella, where they added the kitchen, upstairs, and verandah to the frame house. One morning they were sitting at breakfast during a thunderstorm. Lightening struck the chimney, sending stove lids and a pot of porridge hurtling across the kitchen. Windstorms sometimes took wagon racks and chicken coops to new locations.
Interests then, and in the years following, centered on the work of the church, the Sunday School and its annual picnics to "The Narrows" , the school with its winter high-light of the Christmas Tree, a variety concert held in the Church, the summer with "The Boys and Girls Club" fair. Later Field Days were added. Before this, the baseball games were played on the picnic grounds south-west of Brad's store, now Hec. Calder's yard. The big rock in the bluff north of the house there, used to be visited by the
children who wondered if it could possibly have been a huge meteorite. This wonder was squelched by the boys, who declared if anything, it was more like a "buffalo wallow".
The adults built the rink, formed the Agricultural
Society with its fair, held plowing matches, the political
meetings sometimes held in the implement shed - no need for oratorical contests, really. A sheltered spot on the edge of the picnic grounds was often Sioux Benn's camping site in the summer. From here he visited the homes that were friendly to him. He also visited the Church occasionally, sitting like a statue in the back seat, attentive and reverent. His visits to the schools were sometimes disconcerting to the teachers. Children he recognized, he would pat on the head as "good papooses". Then he would
make his way to the back of the room, sit with both hands resting on his cane, listen through a lesson, rise and walk out without a comment. Chores around the house consisted of straining the fresh milk night and morning into milk pans set on shelves in the basement, and covered with cheesecloth. After some hours, the cream was skimmed off
the top into a crock to sour for churning. Not only
was butter made at home, but bread, laundry soap (with rendered fat and lye), and quilts. Children were handy at "teasing" wool after the fleeces had been washed and dried. The teasing was done to fluff up the wool and get it ready for "carding". Miss Mary Heise was known as the most skilled carder, and everyone looked forward to her visit when she came to card wool. Her wire carding combs left the wool in soft little bats ready to lay on the material which had been tacked to the quilting frames. The top was then
pinned over, and was quilted into a warm, but light,
"comforter" . First chores of the morning were usually the
taking out of ashes, and the lighting of wood fires. The wood-box could never stay filled very long, nor the swill pail empty. Another morning chore was the cleaning and shining of the lamp glasses, and the filling of the lamps and lanterns with "coal oil". These were set on the "lamp shelf", ready for night. By the time a family had acquired a gas lamp, it had reached the height of elegance. People who were children in this era, will have among their happy memories the devoted teaching of Mrs. Kennedy, the good work done for boys and girls by Mrs. Warren - her parties and open house, hallowe'en parties at the Heise's, skating on the sloughs, disgracing ourselves with a sticks, stones
and mud fight with our Decker guests, local skirmishes
between the snobs and the heathen, three years with Miss H. B. Corbett who straightened us out and taught us some good work habits, three years with Mr. Dibblee, who kept us straightened out - flattened if necessary, but who really imparted solid ground work - we loved every minute of it; the coming of Rev. and Mrs. H. I. Bowman and the
inestimable value of their lives in our community.
Wonderful friends and neighbors on old "Line 17" were: the Manse, the Tom Ariss family, Bridges, Kellys, Browns, Heises, Craigs, Millers, Calders, Stevensons and Clarks. .
The children of the David Wright family were Rose, and Marion and Lorne, who were twins:' Marion and Rose have taught in many schools in Manitoba. Lorne is on the home farm at Isabella.
Update
by Rose and Marion Wright
What a debt of gratitude we owe to the men and women who compiled, edited and published "Rural Reflections", 1879-19621 Now we are equally indebted to another dedicated group of people for giving us the opportunity to add to that first book of memories. When the book first came into our home our mother said "I wish there had been a little about my mother's people, the Cochranes, who came from
Kilmarnock in Ayrshire." Since ancestors of many families who came to Canada endured similar experiences, perhaps a quote of part of the contract agreement for sailing may be of interest. Excerpts from record of: "Ship Susan of Glasgow, 390 tons, registered burden, to sail from Glasgow to Montreal 17th day of April, 1852.
Names: ages
John Cochrane 44
Margaret Cochrane 44 (nee McGaan)
Janet Cochrane 19
John Cochrane 17
James Cochrane 13
Mary Cochrane 10
Margaret Cochrane 8
In addition to any provisions which the passengers
may themselves bring, the following quantities, at
least of water and provisions, will be supplied to each
passenger by the master of the ship as required by
law, and also fires and suitable places for cooking,
Per week:
3 qts. water daily
10 navy biscuits
2Y2 Ibs. bread or biscuits, not inferior in quality
1 lb. wheat flour
5 lb. oatmeal
21b. rice
l Ib. sugar
Y21b. molasses
2 oz. tea
5 lb. good potatoes may at the option of the master of
the vessel, be substituted for 1 lb. oatmeal or rice,
and in ships sailing from Liverpool, or from Irish or
Scotch ports, oatmeal may be substituted in equal
quantities for the whole or any part of the issues of
rice.
Berths no. 4, 5, and 6
7th April, 1852
Total £19.5
N.B. This contract ticket exempt from stamp duty."
The Margaret Cochrane who was eight lived with her family at Hillsgreen, near Hensall in Huron County. On January 17, 1860, she married William Hood and they lived farther north in Howick, near Clifford, Ontario. They were buried there. Their daughter, Annie Hood (Feb. 5, 1884-Aug. 21, 1967)
married David Wright (Sept. 8, 1869-0ct. 6, 1962)
on January 17, 1910 and they made a home at Isabella,
Manitoba. Their children were:
Margaret Rose Feb. 28, 1911
Anne Marion Jan. 28, 1914
David Lome Jan. 28, 1914
The first weekend in July, 1980, many of us returned to Isabella school ground for the unveiling of the cairn. Everyone there had his or her own Isabella in unspoken memories. We were remembering those who had blessed us with their lives and labors. The buildings will go, for life is change, but "remembering" unites caring and sharing people. We thank those who, by preserving these family stories, have
forged the link joining the past with the future in our
genuine sense of community.
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