Patterson Cemetery is located on the north side of the junction of

Patterson Dr & Sam Day Rd & Cedar Hollow RD

 

 

Patterson Cemetery

Bradleyville, Taney Co., MO

(original stone on right)

In 1989 efforts were undertaken by Lynn Wright to prove to the U.S. Government, that Nathan Wright had honorably served in the U.S. Army and was eligible for a suitable marker for his grave. Lynn had in his possession the service record of Nathan which he had obtained from the National Archives in Washington , DC , and after providing this to the government, the Veterans Administration approved the request and ordered that a marble marker be provided. 

This marker was manufactured in Georgia, and because Patterson Cemetery has no caretaker, the government would not ship direct to the cemetery, so they trucked it to Arizona where Lynn in turn placed the 240 pound stone into his vehicle, drove to Missouri where he was met by his brother Mike Wright, and they erected it on his grave on June 3, 1991.

 

The following is the text which I had written and spoke after we placed the headstone (a copy was left taped to the headstone):

 

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We are gathered here today, in Patterson Cemetery , Bradleyville , Missouri , to honor our great grandfather, Nathan Wright who was born in 1843, and died of pneumonia, Sunday, October 23, 1887 in his home on Beaver Creek, just a short distance from here.

 

Nathan was born the third son of John D. Wright and Sarah Rebecca Pierce. His siblings were James Curtis, William R., and Mary Wright.

 

Nathan’s parents died when he was only three years old and he, along with his brothers and sister, were raised by their step-father/uncle Lazarus and Rebecca Sarah Wright (who married her late husband’s brother) on a farm in what is now Campbell Township, Douglas County, Missouri.

 

When Nathan was 21 years old he enlisted in the Union Army, Company B, of the 16 th Missouri Cavalry where he served until the conclusion of the war and was discharged at Springfield , Missouri in 1865.

 

Upon returning to his home after the war, he married his first wife, Rhoda Barnes from this marriage were born three children; Sarah, Susannah & Lewis Nathan.

 

After the death of Nathan’s first wife, in about 1870, he married his neighbor, Elmina Caroline Stanley whose body rest in this cemetery.

 

On December 1, 1879 Nathan married his third wife, Mary Elizabeth Moseley. From this union there were two children, Charles Easton and James Curtis. It is from Charles Easton that we are descended.

 

As one tragedy would follow another, Nathan died at his home on Beaver Creek the evening of October 23, 1887 and was laid to rest on this spot.

 

On the 10 th day after his death, his wife Mary also died. She died on November 2, 1887. At this time we do not know the place of her burial but she may lie beneath our feet in an unmarked grave. The two orphan children from this marriage were taken into the home of their maternal grandfather, Easton Moseley, who lived very near this spot.

 

Here they would remain until December 1888, when they were taken from Taney County , Missouri to the home of their Uncle Roland and Aunt Mary Ann Moseley, who were living near Gainesville , Texas in the small town of Rosston .

 

Nathan was not a famous person, he didn’t serve in any great battles during the Civil War, he wasn’t a very prosperous farmer, he never served in any civic capacity and he died in debt. And tragedy seemed to follow him throughout his life.

 

To die at age 44 and leave such young children was difficult for all, but if not for these events, there would be no us.

 

With the taking of the children to Texas and the subsequent marriage of Charles Wright to Martha Foster, made it possible for there to be “an us”.

 

Today, June 3, 1991 we dedicate this monument in your memory Nathan. We are 103 years late in getting this erected, but we trust you will understand and we look forward to meeting you someday.