July 23, 1941 (Wednesday)

A VISITOR FROM ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.

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Very hot.

Mrs. Gusta Wright (nee Aldrich)

from St. Petersburg, Fla.

called this A.M. she is in

Mich on a 9 wks vacation.

I gave her a dish of

raspberries with cream + sugar

and spice cake which she

enjoyed very much also

gave her a pint of raspberry

jam.

Ironed this P.M.

Helen and Dean here

this evening. I gave Helen

a pair of silk hose for

her birthday.

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Finding documents and news items and photos to support things my great grandmother writes in her journal is always fun and interesting. Sometimes the discovery is easy and other times it takes a lot of digging.

This entry had me a bit confused at first because I made an assumption about Edna's visitor from St. Petersburg. It was common then to use the husband's first name after the title of missus. So I incorrectly assumed I needed to figure out Mrs. Wright's first name because Gustus must have been short for Augustus, her husband.

I think I actually uttered "thank you, Edna" when I saw she made note of her visitor's maiden name —nee Aldrich. My search for information about Mrs. Gustus Wright was going to be a lot easier.

I immediately found several news articles from the St. Petersburg, Florida area from the 50's referencing Mrs. Augustus Wright attending church group meetings and garden club parties. But I could not find any information about an Augustus Wright that matched records for a spouse with the maiden name of Aldrich. It was just a coincidence and not the right person.

I adjusted my search a bit using another assumption. The Aldrich family was probably from the Bowne Center area. Almost immediately I came upon a census record from 1880. Mr. James Aldrich and his family resided in Bowne Center in 1880 and they had a daughter, age 8, by the name of Gusty.

1880 Census - Aldrich Family in Bowne Center

I searched a little bit more and found a marriage record for Gusta Aldrich to Charles Wright on October 25, 1902. Charles was 39. Gusta was 31.

1902 Marriage Record for Gusta Aldrich and Chas Wright

I have not discovered any records to indicate that Charles and Gusta ever had children.

Charles Wright died on New Year's day in 1931 in Greenville, Michigan.

According to the death certificate, Charles had been under a doctor's care for several months for "carcinoma of the rectum."

Gusta Aldrich Wright died in 1961, thirty years after the death of her husband.

Both Charles and Gusta are buried in the cemetery at Bowne Center.

I am not sure how Gusta ended up in Florida or when she made her final journey back to Bowne Center.

Someday, I hope to know more of Gusta's story.

I hope Gusta enjoyed her visit with my grandmother (and that jar of raspberry jam).