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James William Wight, a
prominent citizen of
Randolph County, now
retired at Moberly, is a
native of
this county and is the only
son
to James Francis Ratcliff
Wight
and Frances Burton
Wight. A
sketch of James Francis
Ratcliff
Wight appears in this
volume. James
Wight was born in
Randolph County,
June 13, 1842, and has
spent
all his life in his native
county.
He was given more than
ordinary
educational advantages.
He attended
Mount Pleasant College in
Randolph County,
graduating with the
highest honors of the class
and being
chosen by the president of
the school
from among the entire list
to
deliver the valedictory
address. Subsequently
he was again chosen to
de-
liver an address about two
years later,
at 'which time he was
awarded
the degree of Master of
Arts. Mr. Wight's
career as an active
business
man was largely devoted
to the beautiful
old country estate of
Wightiand
in Randolph County.
An influential Democrat,
he was elected
and served for eight years
as
clerk of the Randolph
County Court.
Mr. Wight is one of the
prominent
laymen of the Southern
Methodist Church
of the county, having
served as
recording steward, church
treasurer,
steward, district steward,
Sunday
school, superintendent,
member of the board
of trustees of church
prop-
erty, chairman of said
board of the church
in Moberly. He holds the
office
of chairman of the board
of trustees
at the present time. His
only fra-
ternal or social relation is
with the
Order of Good Templars.
On May 12, 1868, Mr.
Wight was married
in Shelby County,
Kentucky
to Aurelia Tevis
Fullinwider. She was
educated at ScIence Hall,
Shelby-
ville, Ky. Her parents were
Henry Winter
and Jane Amanda
(Shipman)
Fullinwider. Her
grandfather Jacob Fullinwider
was born at Hagerstown,
Md., in 1767,. moved with
his father to
Kentucky in 1783 and on
the fron-
tier of Kentucky became
noted as one of
the greaL Indian fighters.
Later
he served in the last
campaign of
Mad Anthony Wayne
against the
Indians of the Northwest.
Rev. Peter Fullinwider,
father of Jacob and
great grandfather of Mrs.
Wight, settled at
Hagerstown, Md., in 1752.
He was a Reformed
Presbyterian minister,
and one of the great
desires
of his life was to preach
the gospel
to the Indians. It was on
this mission
that he sought the
bordering countries
in the same year that peace
was
declared between Great
Britian and the
colonies and only a short
time
after George Rogers
Clarke and his
Virginia soldiers had
conquered the
Ohio valley and made a
permanent part
of the colonial
possessions. Rev.
Peter Fuflinwider was a
great power
for good during his
generation, and
one of the most noted of
the early ministers
of the gospel in the west.
He died in Shelby County
in 1799 and was buried
under the house, safe
from Indian scalp-hunters.
The old bible which is
now in possession
of one of the great grand-
daughters was brought
from Switzerland in
1752, and was carried by
him
in all his wanderings,
wrapped in a buckskin,
taking part in many pic-
turesque incidents in his
remarkable career.
To him it was the
cherished
treasure of his heart.
Although it weighed
30 pounds, it was carried
on
horseback all over the
country and from its
pages the little
congregations,
of Wights, Rice's and
many of the other
forts were taught the
gospeL
Many were the Indians that
listened to
his translation from this
book, for
he tried to study their
language as far
as possible. In old age it
was for
years his custom to sit at
the table
and read from this
cherished volume,
and daily he could be
seen, his silvery
locks falling over his
shoulders,
stooping over the book,
enjoying its
promises and enraptured
with its
beauties. One morning
when his little
grandsons were tiny boys
playing
about the room with their
little sisters
and cousins, the venerable
grand-
father was found to be
dead with his face
in the old Bible. God hath
taken him thus, it was said.
There are two children of
Mr. Wight
and wife: James Winter
Wight,
further mention of whom
is made in this
volume and Frances
Amanda
Wight who was born at
Wightland,
Randolph County, Oct. 7,
1876. She
received her education at
Central Female
College at Lexington and
was married to
john b jennings a sketch of
whom
appears in this volume.
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