"The Jeptha Wright Story" By: Jeffrey C. Rehm From Jewel Wright Hager concerning her Grand Father Silas Wright, 1976: I am sorry I am not able to quote stories from my Grandfather. He did not like small children. I remember him lowering his newspaper and looking over the top of his steel rimmed reading glasses at me if I made a noise. I would almost die of fright! I did not see him after I was five years old as we moved to Nampa, Idaho and were still living there when he passed on in 1922. Silas was a member of the Methodist Church. His wife, Martha, was a member of the Christian Church. Martha pestered Silas constantly to go to church (Christian) with her. He did so many times but she would not reciprocate and go to church with him (Methodist). He finally set his foot down and refused to go with her until she went with him. Several times she made him angry with her persistence, trying to get him to go to church with her. When he was angry, he told her many times not to bury him at the Christian Church and that if she did, he would come back and burn the Christian Church down. The day of the funeral, which was at the Christian Church, was a very warm day. As the funeral procession was going up the hill to the cemetery, my Father looked back to see the Christian Church all aflame. It did burn to the ground before the grave side service was finished. There was no fire in the church or sign of fire when they left the church, yet it was engulfed in flames by the time they traveled seven blocks (hearse was drawn by a team)! My father was not a superstitious man, but he said that he felt extremely chilled when he observed this. Note: Silas Wright died in Heppner, Oregon on 15 February 1922, at the age of nearly 68 and his wife
Martha Cantwell Wright died 2 August 1947 at the age of 83. Both are buried in the Heppner Cemetery.
 Please place in the Subject Line: WEBPAGE-HISTORY 
|