Return to the Land

Grave Markers of Johnny W. A. Wright (on left) and Lettitia Wright (on right) Wright Cemetery Poplar Hill, Giles County, Va.

David Oliver was born on February 15, 1842 to Johnny W.A. and Lettitia Wright. As a young man he stood 5’7” tall, had blue eyes, and red hair. He married Martha Jane Morehead , the daughter of Daniel F. and Elizabeth Saunders Morehead. My paternal great-grandmother, Martha Jane Morehead Wright, died on July 25, 1875 at the birth of her fifth child, William. To our family, William became known as Uncle Willie and lived adjacent to our farm on Nobusiness . David married twice more after Martha’s death. Immediately following Martha’s death, David’s family helped raise his youngsters and the infant William. Martha and David’s daughter Minnie Catherine, my Grandmother Miller, was only 2½ years old and her grandparents, Daniel F. and Elizabeth Saunders Morehead, raised her to adulthood. Daniel F. and Elizabeth Saunders Morehead settled in front of Shiloh Church near Hollybrook. Later they moved to some land above this where there was spring water that would supply their needs. Daniel was born on September 13, 1817 and died on September 11, 1899. Elizabeth was born on May 23, 1827 and died on December 11, 1881. (For a full list of their children refer to The History of Bland County. ) One of their sons, Baxter Morehead, remained on the same farm and one of his sons was Lake D. Morehead who became close to my father and mother on Nobusiness during and after the Great Depression of the 1930’s. Lake’s son, Rex, became a dairy farmer and a close friend to my parents and me. David O. and Martha Jane Wright had five children: Wiley Warren married Eugenia Bailey; Laura Ellen , known to our family as Aunt Ellie, lived just north of my father’s farm on Nobusiness married George Faulkner; Texie May married C. W. Wilson, better known as Uncle

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