Author Description

Didn't Come From Nothing is an insightful and amazing story of an African American family based on oral tradition and years of academic research. The Wright-Euell family of Lake Charles, Louisiana lived, loved and sometimes accomplished surprising things. They defended themselves in court and survived a tumultuous era of war and slavery. For me, specifically, they bequeathed a wealth of stories and whispered words that were carried and treasured for generations. My great-great-grandfather was a Union soldier from Maryland and my great-great grandmother was a former slave in Lake Charles, Louisiana. In a hotbed of Confederacy, they chose to marry each other. Against the odds, this couple would become well-known, respected and wealthy in their southern home, but disaster loomed ahead. Nonetheless, their descendants would remember them with pride. Descendants spread from Lake Charles, Louisiana to Arizona, Texas, Michigan, California and beyond. One of their grandchildren, my grandmother Mary Louise Wright-Euell left Louisiana in the early 1900s, becoming part of a great migration that took her, her husband and her children to Northern Arizona. They road the rails in one long single train, traveling with other black, white and Mexican lumberjack families. Mary would shape her own life with dignity and strength, never forgetting her Civil War grandparents. She also told family stories to her children and grandchildren and this is how I learned of their lives. If you ever wondered what you were missing from history, Didn't Come From Nothing has some relevant perspectives. This history is a definitive answer to who the nation is and how that links back to what it was. It focuses on a black family but incorporates Native American and European American aspects. This is a book to share with your entire family. It reminds us that we are linked in more ways than we understand.Didn't Come From Nothing is a loving genealogy of Wright-Moss families, with Euell, Holly, Perkins, Sa