Individual record
Mary Jane Nott
1848–1927 · 79 years
Life
Notes & Recollections
Her parents moved to Fitchburg, Dane County, Wisconsin, in March, 1848. She attended a young ladies' seminary in Madison, Wisconsin. The family moved to Portage in 1864 and to Northfield in 1865. Two brothers were Bill and Pafe. One sister died young. Two brothers, Charles and Nathaniel, were killed in the Civil War. Uncle Leon believes that the family came from Cheshire, New York, which is south of Canandaigua on Hwy. 21.
Records & Research
Mary Jane Nott was born 22 January 1848 in White Pigeon Township, St. Joseph County, Michigan, the daughter of Philetus S. Nott (1820-1893) and Mary (Goff) Nott (b. 1814). On 19 April 1868 she married Zenas Wright in Northfield, Jackson County, Wisconsin, and they had at least seven children. She lived in the Garden Valley / Jackson County, Wisconsin, area for about 30 years and died 30 August 1927 in Altoona, Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, at age 79. The FamilySearch tree (KZS8-5KP) is a strong multi-anchor identity match, agreeing with the trusted facts on birth date and place, marriage date and place and spouse, death date and place, and both parents. Two points remain unresolved: the exact cemetery of burial (the report says Garden Valley Cemetery in Jackson County, but the tree narrative says she was buried in Humbird, Clark County), and the spouse's middle name (Hovey vs Harvey) and birth year (1838 vs 1840). The family's earlier residence in Fitchburg, Dane County, Wisconsin, is independently corroborated by a Wisconsin Historical Society property record naming a Philetus Nott as a Fitchburg postmaster, though that record does not explicitly tie him to Mary Jane.
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Mary Jane Nott was born 22 January 1848 in White Pigeon Township, St. Joseph County, Michigan, to Philetus S. Nott (1820-1893) and Mary (b. 1814).
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She married Zenas Wright on 19 April 1868 in Northfield, Jackson County, Wisconsin.
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She died 30 August 1927 in Altoona, Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, at age 79.
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Her children, per the FamilySearch tree, included Maude Irene Wright (1869-1935), Louis Lester Wright (b. 1879), James Leon Wright (1885-1964), and Leslie Wright (1886-1895), plus several children who died young: Philete Wright (1870-1878), Lulie Wright (1874-1879), and Melda Wright (1876-1879).
Differs from the report
birth.place: report says “White Pidgeon, Michigan”, records indicate “White Pigeon Township, St. Joseph County, Michigan”. Same place; the report simply misspells 'Pigeon' as 'Pidgeon' and omits the county (St. Joseph). Not a substantive discrepancy. tree ↗
Not yet confirmed — probable matches and family lore, shown for research. Treat with caution.
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She lived in the Garden Valley, Jackson County, Wisconsin, area for about 30 years and was reportedly in Jackson County, Wisconsin, in 1920. likely
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Her father's family lived in Fitchburg, Dane County, Wisconsin; a Philetus Nott served as Fitchburg postmaster by April 1861, and his brother Benjamin Frank Nott built the stone Nott-Barry House there in 1856. likely
likely burial: report “Garden Valley Cemetary, Jackson County, Wisconsin” vs. found “Buried in Humbird, Clark County, Wisconsin (per tree narrative)”. The FamilySearch tree narrative states she 'was buried in Humbird, Clark, Wisconsin.' This conflicts with the report's Garden Valley Cemetery (Jackson County). Humbird (Clark Co.) is adjacent to the Garden Valley/Northfield area, which straddles the Jackson/Clark county line, so the two may describe the same general locale or a place-vs-cemetery confusion. The FamilySearch entry is sourced to a 'Find a Grave Index' record, but the specific FindAGrave memorial naming the exact cemetery could not be opened to confirm; the cemetery of burial remains an open question.
likely spouse: report “Zenas Hovey Wright (1838-1926)” vs. found “Zenas Harvey Wright (1840-1926)”. FamilySearch records the middle name as 'Harvey' and birth year 1840, versus the report's 'Hovey' and 1838. Death year (1926) and marriage details agree. 'Harvey' vs 'Hovey' is almost certainly a transcription variant of the same man; the birth-year difference (1838 vs 1840) is unresolved and would need a primary source (gravestone or census) to settle.
Open questions (7)
- Exact cemetery of burial: the report says Garden Valley Cemetery, Jackson County, WI, but the FamilySearch narrative says she was buried in Humbird, Clark County, WI. The specific FindAGrave memorial could not be opened to confirm which cemetery is correct; the two may reflect a place-vs-cemetery confusion in an area that straddles the Jackson/Clark county line.
- Zenas Wright's true middle name (Hovey vs Harvey) and birth year (1838 vs 1840) need a primary source (his own gravestone or a census) to resolve.
- The report names children 'Claytus Wright' and an unknown Wright not found in the FamilySearch tree; conversely the tree's Philete, Lulie and Melda (all died young) appear to map to the report's Lula/Mede and 'one sister died young', but that correspondence is inferential and unverified.
- Mother is named 'Mary Goff (1814)' in the report; FamilySearch lists only 'Mary Nott' (b. 1814) with no maiden name — the Goff surname is uncorroborated in the records consulted.
- Report claims two brothers, Charles and Nathaniel Nott, were killed in the Civil War; not verified. (A 'Charles Nathan Nott' 1864-1940 found in searches is a different, later individual.) The tree's parents-and-siblings panel lists no siblings for Mary Jane, so her brothers Bill, Pafe, Charles and Nathaniel are unconfirmed.
- Report's claim that the family originated in Cheshire, New York (near Canandaigua) was not verified.
- The 1920 census residence in Jackson County is asserted by the FamilySearch tree narrative but the underlying census image was not directly examined here.
Sources consulted (4)
- Mary Jane Nott (1848-1927) - FamilySearch Family Tree (KZS8-5KP) · tree
- 5526 County Highway M / Nott-Barry House, Fitchburg, Dane County - Wisconsin Historical Society · other
- West Garden Valley Cemetery, Northfield, Wisconsin - Find a Grave · cemetery
- Find a Grave memorial search, Mary Wright, b.~1848 d.~1927, Wisconsin (no clear match found in top results) · cemetery
Sources
- Raeburn I. Paulson
p. 30 Ancestry
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