The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1924, Page 4

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4 The Lutheran Pioneer.

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But now Mother Wright is no more among the
living on this earth. She departed this life on
November 22, 1923, at the ripe age of one hundred
and three years.

Mary C. Wright was a native of the Virgin
Islands, at the time of her birth a Danish possession,
having been born on the Island of St. Thomas in
the year 1820. When she was nine years old, a very
severe earthquake visited the islands and prompted
her parents with others to emigrate to the United
States. The Stuart family — such was Mrs.
Wright’s maiden name — located in Greencastle,
Pa., and here the subject of our sketch passed the
days of her youth and earlier womanhood.

When the Civil War broke out, she joined the
Northern forces as a practical nurse and was among
the first of those who entered New Orleans on the
day of its surrender in 1862. New Orleans now
became her home till the day of her death, though
she made frequent and long journeys in her capacit y
as a children’s nurse. During the yellow fever
epidemics, which frequently occurred in. New Or-
leans during the last three decades of the last cen-
tury, Mary Stuart did miost useful service as a
sick-nurse..

As a nurse for children her services were much
in demand, and not a few among the prominent
men and women of New, Orleans were in her watch-
ful and faithful care during their childhood days.
While serving these prominent families, she would
accompany them on their summer tours, thus seeing
much of our country and meeting many of its
prominent people. The last family which she served
was that of District Attorney St. Clair Adams, and’
at the time of this service she was well past ninety.

When already over sixty years of age, she was
married to Walton Wright, with whom she lived in
happy wedlock till death took him from her side in
1893. She was among the first to join our Lutheran
Colored Missions when it was opened in the old’
“Sailors’ Home,” near the river front, and when,
towards the end of 1882, a large old church-building
was purchased by the Mission Board on South

Franklin Ave., she followed Pastor Bakke to the
new church home and remained a faithful member
there till the Lord transferred her from the Church

_ Militant to the Church Triumphant.
| Mother Wright was industrious and thrifty and

succeeded in saving sufficient to provide for her

old age. Her thrift, however, did not prevent her
from doing her share for her church. Not only

was she among the best regular contributors, but
again and again she found it possible to make a
special gift to the Lord’s cause. Thus she donated
to Mount Zion, the church of which she was a mem-
ber, a very handsome and expensive altar and a
beautiful altar painting representing our Lord’s
ascension. ‘The bell which calls the worshipers to
Mount Zion Church is also her gift, and a year
before her death she had the spire of the church
repaired and crowned with a new copper cross at
her own expense. PF. J. L.

Items from North Carolina.

ConFERENCE AT GREENSBORO, N. C. — Early
Friday morning, November 30, Immanuel Confer-
ence convened at our college for its fall session.

Rev. W. H. Lash.

Rev. W. O. Hill.

All the brethren except Professors Smith, Schuelke,
and Lankenau, as well as Pastors Dorpat and Alston,
were present. ‘They were excused on account of
sickness. Prof. F. Berg called the conference to
order, conducted the religious exercises, and pre-
sided at the morning session. As it was resolved
before conference that matters pertaining to our
parochial schools were to be considered first of all,
our lady teachers attended the sessions on Friday.
Since North Carolina is making gigantic strides in
secular education, and as we want our schools to
be fully accredited, the whole morning ‘session and
part of the afternoon session was devoted to the
consideration of how our teachers could attend the
State summer normal and also a normal at our
college, where they would receive special religious.
training. Conference then made arrangements for
a uniform schedule of lessons for our schools. At

“night divine services were held in Grace Church.