Lottie Jones and the Wright Family

(Revised 11/5/23) Lottie Taylor was born in Kentucky in 1874, the same year Katharine Wright was born in Dayton, Ohio. Lottie married young at the age of 19 to John Luther Jones also originally from Kentucky, December 18, 1893. The year Lottie began to provide laundry services to the Wright family is open to debate. Her obituary states that her relationship with the Wright's began when she was just 17 years old (1891), however, according to a 1936 account, the Wright's became a client when she was 21 years old (1895). In either case, Lottie provided laundry and maid services to the Wright Family for almost her entire adult life. In addition to that, she was also a good friend to the family. She even purchased and lived in the birthplace home of Orville and Katharine Wright, 7 Hawthorn, from late 1923 through 1936, eventually selling the home to Henry Ford for relocation to Greenfield Village at Dearborn, Michigan.

As written by Charles J. Bauer in the Dayton Daily News in 1936, "Lottie Jones was a vigorous young woman of 21 when she started doing the Wright's washing. To her they were just another customer. But one day something happened that made her cross them off her list. 'I never had no trouble with the boys,' Lottie recalls (meaning by 'the boys' Orville and Wilbur); 'and I only had trouble with Miss Katharine once. You see, I used to charge a certain price each week for the washing. One week Miss Katharine put a blanket in the wash. Well, you know people ain't supposed to put no bedclothes in the wash. When I brought the wash back I told her it would be 25 cents extra. She wanted to know what for. When I told her she said she wouldn't pay it; said it wasn't worth that much. I asked her what she thought it was worth and she said: 'Ten cents'. 'Well, give me the 10 cents,' I said, and when she did I walked out. I didn't ever intend to go back. But I used to do the people's washing next door, and I sent my nephew over to pick up their wash,' Lottie continued. 'Miss Wright called him over. She wanted to know why I hadn't been around. 'Lottie ain't gonna do your wash no more,' he told her. 'She says she won't do nobody's wash if they won't pay what it's worth.'  Well, Miss Wright came down after me. She said,'Lottie, if money is all that's worrying you, come on back.' She laughed and laughed about my nephew and what he said. He just told the truth, but pshaw, I didn't expect him to repeat what I said. I went back and I've been with the Wright's ever since."(1)

 

Photo courtesy of the Dayton Daily News November 22, 1936 issue.

Milton Wright kept a diary throughout his adult life, noting day to day activities of his ministry, or details of family events, mention of letters he received or wrote that day, physical ailments, or really anything that he so chose to write. His interest in Wilbur and Orville's work is well documented. He also occasionally mentioned  Lottie Jones helping at the home. 

Milton Wright recorded in his diary entry of October 30, 1908, "Mrs. Lottie Jones spends the day in sweeping and cleaning the house, $1.25. The evening paper reports that Wilbur's motor exploded to-day, while his Flyer was in the air. Lorin & Netta called in the evening." During this time, Katharine had been at Ft. Myer with her brother Orville while he was recovering from the September 17 accident in which Lt. Thomas Selfridge was killed. They would return to Dayton November 1. Milton also records that Carrie Grumbaugh "came to look after our dinner...". November 10, Milton wrote, "Lottie Jones worked for Katharine and Mrs. Carrie Davis came back to keep house, in the afternoon."

November 27, 1909, Milton wrote, "At home. Some women visit Katharine in the afternoon. Lottie Jones helps. Katharine goes to Ida Grabill's an hour in the evening."

Apparently time for Spring cleaning, Milton recorded in his diary Friday April 1, 1910, "Lottie Jones helps clean the house." And again Monday April 4, "Lottie Jones and Celia....are cleaning our house." And Tuesday, "Women are cleaning up my room." And Wednesday, "Lottie is still cleaning house."

Milton Wright wrote in his diary entry of February 22, 1911, "...Mrs. J. L. Stevens came and she and Katharine visit Lottie Jones, who has been sick two weeks." Assuming Lottie was at her home, the visit would have occurred at 298 South Dunbar Ave.

The Wright's new Hawthorn Hill home in Oakwood was under construction during 1913 while the family continued to live at 7 Hawthorn in Dayton.  When the March 1913 Dayton flood occurred, all furniture at the first floor level of 7 Hawthorn was destroyed. Lottie and Luther were fortunate to have been just beyond the flood waters at 298 South Dunbar Ave. The amount of cleaning and restoration work required throughout the neighborhood was extensive. Milton recorded in his diary that Lottie worked for Katharine April 19th, and then again on the 26th. Luther advertised in the July 31, 1913 issue of the Dayton Daily News "Plastering and patch-work neatly done. Address Luther Jones, 298 Dunbar Av".

Family life was not easy in the Jones household. By November of 1913, Luther was living separately from the family at 23 Weidner Street, and Lottie had filed complaint of non-support.(9) In November of 1915, it was reported that Luther Jones of "298 Dunbar avenue, arrested Monday night on a charge of abusing his family, will have a hearing Wednesday."(6) Lottie, and her husband were listed as living at 298 S Dunbar Ave through 1920 per the Dayton Directories, but it is not known with certainty from year to year if they both lived there, or if they were separated occasionally. In July of 1919, Lottie reported that her pocket was picked of $4 by a junker while "talking of buying scrap paper...She said he dashed down an alley in the rear of her home after getting the money."(8) In March of 1922, Luther is reported to have been robbed of $84, then living at 205 Dunbar Ave.(4) In June of 1923, Luther "pleaded guilty in police court Thursday morning to charges of false registration and was fined $200 and costs. Jones, according to police, was arrested following a complaint made by the Phillips Hotel company that he had registered under a fictitious name and that several towels had been stolen from the rooms."(7) Then, in January of 1925, Luther was attacked and beaten with a blackjack in front of 32 Hawthorn. "Jones told police that the highwayman followed him from a Fifth street restaurant, and accosted him near his home. He was armed with a revolver and a blackjack, but obtained nothing from Jones."  Luther lived at 20 Hawthorn at this time. (5) Luther becomes absent from the record until 1930 where he is listed living with the family per the 1930 census. The 1930 Census information for Lottie's family is all subject to doubt as there are numerous errors. Lottie's age is given as 50, but she was 56 in 1930. Her son Edward is listed as age 29, but he was 25 in 1930. His wife's name is listed as Wilmar, but her name was Connie. Their six children were listed with ages ranging from 2 years old to 8 years old. Lottie's sons Paul, and Wilbur are not listed in the census. Lottie filed for divorce in September of 1934; Luther was living at 647 Grand Avenue at this time.(10) Lottie was listed as Mrs. Lottie Jones in the 1939 Dayton Directory, either in error, or the 1934 divorce hadn't been finalized. In the 1940 census, Lottie was listed as widowed; however, this was in error as Luther was still living at this time. Oddly, Luther was also listed as widowed in the 1940 census, listed as living with his son Edward's family at 409 Norwood Avenue. Luther would remain here until his death in 1943.

According to notes within the Wright Brother Archives at the Benson Ford Library in Dearborn, Michigan, in a paper titled "Birthplace",  Milton Wright gave the 7 Hawthorn home to his daughter Katharine March 31, 1900. Katharine, in an October 16, 1925 letter to Harry Haskell, wrote "Then I had the house on Hawthorn Street which Father gave me in 1900...".  Lottie stated that she rented the house from Katharine from 1914 to 1922 until September of that year when she purchased it for $4000. Orville Wright's recollection was that Lottie purchased the home in October of 1923. Neither Lottie nor Orville's memory was correct in this case. Per a letter from Katharine to Harry Haskell, dated December 22, 1924, Katharine announced "I am selling our house, on Hawthorn Street, to Lottie, our laundress". The Dayton Directories indicate other individuals living at 7 Hawthorn from 1914 through 1923 in lieu of Lottie and family. The 1924 Dayton Directory lists for the first time Lottie and her son Edward living in the home, and the Directories show Lottie continuing to occupy 7 Hawthorn until 1936.(11)(12)(15) As Katharine was discussing selling the home to Lottie in December of 1924, it is apparent then that Katharine leased the home initially in late 1923 to Lottie, only later making arrangements to sell the home to her. Perhaps Lottie was misunderstood when questioned in November of 1936, meaning to communicate that Katharine leased the home from 1914 through the early 1920's (to others), until finally leasing the home to Lottie and family. Katharine wrote in the October 16, 1925 letter to Harry Haskell, that "Lottie is paying me four thousand for the Hawthorn St. house".  Rather than paying for the house outright, evidence points to Lottie making semi-annual payments of $40 to Katharine toward the principle owed on the home.Later, to settle Katharine's estate (Katharine died in 1929), Lottie borrowed from Orville to pay the remaining balance owed on the home. In a letter written to his nephew Herbert Wright dated December 13, 1933, Orville wrote "I will be sending in a few days for your signature a deed for the Hawthorn Street property. This deed will require either fourteen or fifteen signatures. Lottie Jones, to whom Katharine contracted to sell it, can not now keep up her payments even on the taxes. She worries so much for fear Katharine's heirs will take the property away from her that I have decided to advance the balance for her, have the property  transferred into her name, and I take a mortgage for the money I advance and then let her pay it back when she can." (14)

Lottie Jones' signature from check dated July 9, 1929.

Wilkinson Wright, in a 1996 interview with Ann Deines (Honious), was asked about employees at Hawthorn Hill. He responded, "Well, Lottie- Charlotte Jones- and she was always just called Lottie. She was the laundress and she came, I think, a couple of days a week. You know, Orville had all these stiff collars and cuffs and so on, and she came there to the house and did the washing. Then when the bishop died, he left the Hawthorne Street house to Katharine, and later, and I can't tell you the date, Katharine sold that house to Lottie." Wilkinson's memory was incorrect concerning Bishop Wright leaving the Hawthorn Street house to Katharine after he died. In lieu of this, he had given it to her in 1900.

In her book "Twelve Seconds to the Moon", Rosamond Young wrote "Henry Ford who was building Greenfield Village at Dearborn, Michigan, wanted the old Wright home at 7 Hawthorn Street and the West Third Street Bicycle Shop for his village. He inquired of Orville whether he could buy them. The home had been in Katharine Wright's name and she had sold it before her death in 1929 to Charlotte Jones, the Wright laundress. One day in 1936 Charlotte Jones answered a knock on the door at 7 Hawthorn Street. Standing on the porch were Mr. Orville and a thin man Mr. Orville introduced as Henry Ford. The two men sat on the sofa facing her. 'Mr. Ford is building a museum and village at Dearborn, Michigan. He would like to move this house and the shed behind it and the bicycle shop to the village. He would like to buy the furnishings along with the house. Now Charlotte, will you sell to Mr. Ford?' 'Well, Mr. Orville, if you say so, I will'."

In a phone conversation between Fred Black of the Ford Motor Company and Orville Wright in November of 1936, the negotiations with Lottie in parting with her home for preservation at Greenfield Village were discussed. Fred asked, "Did you have a nice trip to Baltimore?" "Yes, a very nice trip. I've been a little sore ever since", Orville responded. "I imagine the ride gave you quite a jolt", said Fred. Orville mentioned Lottie, "Mrs. Jones came in Saturday morning." "How does she feel about it?", Fred asked. This is funny, Orville responded, "She feels she ought to have a living for the rest of her life." So Fred asks, "What do you think we ought to do, let her wait a while?" Orville agreed, "Let her wait..." Fred mentions he offered Lottie $4000 for the house and various household items.(2)

The Dayton Daily News, on November 22, 1936, headlined, "Old Wright Homestead is Purchased by Henry Ford". "The sale includes besides the house a number of pieces that had belonged to the Wrights- a table, a mirror, a settee, a chair, a washstand and a number of pictures. For these Ford is reported to have paid $100. Mrs. Jones said that a stove used by the Wrights also will go to Ford. While not disclosing the sale price, she said that it is less than $7000 but enough, even deducting the mortgage held by Wright, to build a home elsewhere. Mrs. Jones owns another property on Fitch st. She acquired the Hawthorne st. property by purchase from Katharine Wright in 1922. At the time of the latter's death about five years later, Mrs. Jones said she borrowed on the property from Wright to settle the estate. Removal of the home is to start as soon as the present occupants have moved, Mrs. Jones said. Only the original five rooms of the 10-room structure are to be restored, with such changes in arrangement of the stairway and other features as will replace the house as it was before remodeling."

 

7 Hawthorn home, 1936, with later addition to rear. Note bay window at second floor level. Photo courtesy of The Henry Ford. This addition had already been in place by 1922 (16).

 

Reconstructed 7 Hawthorn home at Greenfield Village, Dearborn, Michigan. Compare with photo above; second floor addition to rear has been removed. Photo by author, August 2018.

1936 views of 7 Hawthorn home from north face rear side and rear view of second level addition, photos courtesy of The Henry Ford. 1 Hawthorn, the darker home pictured above just north of 7 Hawthorn, burned to the ground in 1993.

August 2018 views of side and rear view of Wright home at Greenfield Village, photos by author. Compare to 1936 views above.

After the sale of 7 Hawthorn, Lottie and family lived at 402 Norwood Avenue till 1939, and then to 137 S Williams street until her death August 4th, 1943.

In 2003, in an interview with Lottie's granddaughter Peggy Jones Phillips, Peggy said of her grandmother, "Katharine Wright was a friend of hers. She worked for the family at their house on Hawthorn Street and she also worked for them when they moved to Hawthorn Hill. I loved her, but I told her one day she was stingy. I asked her for a nickle, and she said no, and I flew out of the house."(3) Perhaps if Peggy had offered to perform some chores for the nickle, she may have had better luck!

Lottie Jones, courtesy of Dayton Daily News, from October 5, 2003 issue.

 

July 10, 1929 check, Orville Wright to Lottie Jones.

Courtesy of The Journal Herald, Friday August 6, 1943. Lottie died at her home at 137 South Williams street after an illness of two years. Her estate was valued at $7130. The obituary mentions in error that both Orville and Wilbur were born at 7 Hawthorn. Orville and Katharine were born at 7 Hawthorn, but Wilbur was born near Millville, Indiana.

 

Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio, view from Lottie Jones' grave site looking toward Goose Lake in the distance. Her head stone partially shows in this picture, lower right. Photo by author, June 2021.

 

Orville Wright died on January 30, 1948. His will had been signed June 21, 1937. At that time, his will had a provision to leave a portion of his estate, $300,000, to be received by the Board of Trustees at Oberlin College to be held as an Endowment Fund to provide payments to a select group of seven people who had touched Orville's life. Payments were to be distributed quarterly, for the remaining years of their lives. Named were Orville's brother Lorin, his sister-in-law Lulu, his secretary Mabel Beck, his life long friend Ed Sines, his mechanic and friend Charles Taylor, his housekeeper Carrie Grumbach, and his laundress Charlotte Jones. Orville had outlived Lorin (1939), Ed (1940), and Lottie (1943).

 

Check written to Lottie Jones from Orville Wright, July 31, 1943. Lottie died at her home after an illness of two years. This check was written to Lottie just four days before her death.

Items left to investigate

• The date of Luther Jones death and burial location. Answer 6/26/21- Though the 1940 Census indicated Lottie as widowed, Luther was alive in 1940. John Luther Jones, born in 1873, died September 20th, 1943, six weeks after Lottie passed. Luther's address was given as 409 Norwood Ave, his son Edward's residence. His grave marker is in the area of Lottie's grave site.

  

  John Luther Jones, born November 23, 1873, died September 20, 1943, buried at Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio.
  

  
  
  
• 

  Lottie Taylor Jones, born 1874, died August 4, 1943, buried at Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio.
  

  
  
• Was the Wright's furniture left at 7 Hawthorn from 1914 through 1923 for use by tenants, or had Lottie removed the furniture to her place of residence during these years?
  

Copyright 2021-Getting the Story Wright

Notes:

1. Dayton Daily News, Sunday November 22, 1936, "A Washerwoman's Recollections of the Wrights" by Charles J. Bauer.

2. Benson Ford Research Center Wright Brother Archives.

3. Dayton Daily News, Sunday October 5, 2003, "Time has blurred Lottie Jone's link to Wrights" by James Cummings.

4. Dayton Daily News, Sunday, March 26, 1922 "Larceny Charged".

5. The Dayton Herald, Monday, January 5, 1925, "Police Searching for Highwaymen"

6. Dayton Daily News, Tuesday November 2, 1915, "Good Morning Judge". Luther had shown a violent side in 1908 by hitting a foreman with a rock the previous winter, chased a man "all over Baxter street with a knife, because he would not give him ten cents."(Dayton Herald, May 25, 1908.)

7. The Dayton Herald, Thursday June 7, 1923, "Registered Wrong"

8. The Dayton Herald, Wednesday July 9, 1919, "Junker Took Coin and Then Ran Away".

9. Dayton Daily News, November 12, 1913, "Non-Support Cases".

10. Dayton Daily News, September 27, 1934, "3 Seek Decrees".

11. Ann Honious, in "What Dreams We Have- The Wright Brothers and Their Home Town of Dayton Ohio", Ch 10, Ann wrote, "When they vacated the home at 7 Hawthorne Street in 1914, the Wrights chose not to sell but to lease the home to Lottie Jones, their laundress. Milton gave the house to Katharine in 1900, and in the early 1920's she decided to sell to Lottie for $4000. This sale was either never finalized or recorded, for the deed was not transferred to Lottie until 1929, after Katharine's death." Ann lists multiple sources including letters from Katharine Wright to Harry Haskel, and interview with Wilkinson Wright, and source #1 in this list, "A Washerwoman's Recollections of the Wrights". Seems unlikely that Lottie would have paid Katharine rent, and then leased the home out to others from 1914 through 1923. Ann further wrote "Since Orville and Katharine purchased new furniture, much of the old furniture was left in the Hawthorne Street home for Lottie and her family." This is confusing, because the Dayton directories do not show Lottie and family living at 7 Hawthorn until 1924. So if the furniture was left at 7 Hawthorn, it was used by the various families that rented the house from 1914 through 1923. Then when Lottie moved in in late 1923, the furniture apparently became hers at that time. Comments anyone?

12. Lottie had been making payments from 1924/5 through 1929 directly to Katharine to pay for the home, in lieu of providing the full cash amount up front. From a 2003 Dayton Daily News story, "Property records uncovered by Rene Mays and James McCowan of the Montgomery County Recorder's Office show that Lottie Jones didn't buy the Hawthorn Street house until 1934, when she paid $3500 for it. She bought it from the estate of Katharine Wright Haskell, who died in 1929. It's unclear if Jones rented the house from 1924 to 1933 or had some other arrangement with the Wright family."(3) Lottie had been making payments toward the purchase of the home, and simply paid the balance owed in 1934.

13. Katharine Wright letters to Harry Haskell December 22, 1924 and October 16, 1925 shared by Harry Haskell's grandson, Harry Haskell with author per e-mail correspondence. Harry shared a document dated May 1931 "Receipt and Releases", in which his Grandfather listed $669.45 identified as "Principle payments on Dayton House by Lottie Jones".  Harry also shared of Lottie that "it seems clear that she had not paid off the purchase price before Katharine's death in 1929, because the house is listed among the assets in Katharine's estate in the probate record of her will dated May 19, 1930. The line item reads: 7/1 (1929) Payment received from Lottie Jones on indebtedness ($)40.00."

14. Another letter concerning this subject, see OW letter to Ivonette Wright Miller, January 15, 1935, WSU Archives.

15.  The 1910 Census listed John L(Luther) Jones and Lottie Jones living at 298 Dunbar, with sons Robert Edward, and Wilbur. The Dayton Directories listings require some interpretation, and are as follows, including Census reports:

• 1912 Luther Jones (Lottie) 296 (typo?) S Dunbar Ave
• 1913 Luther Jones (Lottie) 298 S Dunbar Ave 
• 1913 November,  Luther Jones 23 Weidner Street (per news report)
  
• 1914 Luther Jones (Lottie) 298 S Dunbar Ave
• 1915 Edward J Borton (Edna), Mabel Borton, 7 Hawthorn
  
• 1916 Luther Jones (Lottie) 298 S Dunbar Ave
• 1916 Edward J Borton (Edna), Mabel Borton, 7 Hawthorn
  
• 1917 Luther Jones (Lottie) 298 S Dunbar Ave
• 1917 Mrs. Lottie Jones laundress 624 S.Western Ave
• 1917 Chas Grumbach (Carrie M) 7 Hawthorn
  
• 1918 Luther Jones (Lottie) 298 S Dunbar Ave
• 1918 Frank M Sheller (Myrtl M) 7 Hawthorn
• 1919 Frank M Sheller (Myrtl M) 7 Hawthorn 
• 1920 Census, Luther & Lottie Jones, Edward, Paul, Wilbur Jones 298 S Dunbar Ave
  
• 1921 Mrs. Lottie Jones, 1939 W Eaton Ave (Not sure if same Lottie Jones)
  
• 1921 Clara (wid of Louis) & Eva Acton 7 Hawthorn
  
• 1921 Earl Walker, Henry Otto, John Otto all room at 7 Hawthorn
• 1922 Mrs. Lottie Jones, 1947 W Eaton Ave (Not sure if same Lottie Jones)
  
• 1922 Clara Acton, Eva Acton, Grace Acton, Myrtle Sodder, 7 Hawthorn
• 1923 Mrs. Lottie Jones, 1947 W Eaton Ave (Not sure if same Lottie Jones)
  
• 1923 Clara Acton, Grace Acton, Harry Fear (rooms) 7 Hawthorn
  
• 1924 Mrs. Lottie Jones, Edward Jones 7 Hawthorn 
• 1925 Mrs. Lottie Jones, Edward & Connie Jones, 7 Hawthorn
• 1926 Mrs. Lottie Jones, Edward & Connie Jones, Wilbur Jones, 7 Hawthorn
  
• 1927 Mrs. Lottie Jones, Edward Jones, Wilbur Jones, 7 Hawthorn
• 1928 Mrs. Lottie Jones, Edward Jones, Wilbur Jones, 7 Hawthorn
• 1929 Mrs. Lottie Jones, Edward & Connie Jones, Paul Jones, Wilbur Jones, 7 Hawthorn
• 1930 Lottie & Luther Jones, Edward & Connie Jones, Paul Jones, Wilbur Jones, 7 Hawthorn
• 1931 Mrs. Lottie Jones, Edward & Connie Jones, Paul Jones, Wilbur Jones, 7 Hawthorn
• 1932 Mrs. Lottie Jones, Edwd & Connie Jones, Paul Jones, Wilbur & Rebecca Jones, 7 Hawthorn
• 1933 Mrs. Lottie Jones, Edward & Connie Jones, Wilbur & Rebecca Jones, 7 Hawthorn
• 1934 Mrs. Lottie Jones, Edward & Connie Jones, Paul Jones, Wilbur Jones, 7 Hawthorn
• 1936 Mrs. Lottie Jones, Paul Jones, Wilbur Jones, 7 Hawthorn
• 1936 Edward & Connie Jones 400 Norwood Ave
• 1937 Mrs. Lottie Jones, Paul Jones, Wilbur Jones, 402 Norwood Ave
• 1938 Mrs. Lottie Jones, Paul Jones, Wilbur Jones, 402 Norwood Ave
• 1939 Mrs. Lottie Jones, Paul Jones, Wilbur Jones, 402 Norwood Ave
• 1940 Census, Lottie Jones, Paul Jones, Wilbur Jones, 137 S Williams Street 
• 1940 Census, Luther Jones living with Edward & Connie Jones and their children Charlotte, Marie, Mary, and Katharine at 409 Norwood Ave.
  
• 1942 Lottie Jones (widow of John), Paul Jones, 137 S Williams Street

 16.  The addition with 2nd floor bay window to south can be seen pictured in the following postcard which is postmarked 1922.

 

The Miami Wood Specialty and Wright-Dayton Companies

(Updated November 8, 2024) 

Lorin Wright was Orville's only surviving brother during the 1920's and 1930's; Wilbur had died in 1912, and Reuchlin in 1920. Lorin and wife Ivonette Stokes had four children, Milton, Ivonette, Leontine, and Horace. Milton and wife Ann Grosvenor married in 1917 and had two sons, Milton and George Wilkinson. Ivonette and husband Harold Miller married in 1919 and had three children, Jack, Ivonette, and Marianne. Leontine had married John Jameson in 1923, and they had a son and daughter, John and Leontine. Finally, Horace was married to Susan Blair. Lorin lived a full interesting life, and one of his many accomplishments is the subject of this post, The Miami Wood Specialty Company.

The Miami Wood Specialty Company was incorporated January 13, 1922. "The capitalization of the organization is $15,000. Incorporators were Mr. and Mrs. Harold S. Miller and Mr. and Mrs E. A. Short."(1) Harold's wife, Ivonette Wright Miller, recalled the following: "In 1922, a man we knew, needing funds to carry on a wood working business, came to Scribze (Harold) to get financial help to keep his project going. After discussion and inquiry into the business, Scribze decided to put a small amount of money into it. After about a year, a friend by the name of George Gibboney bought into the business. It wasn't long until Gibboney found out that the manager was selling company assets and was not accounting for it. He asked to get out. He did so and surrendered his stock certificates. In about a year they could say they were making money, not much yet, but some." (2) 

In 1922, Eldon A. Short was President of the Miami Wood Specialty Company, and Lorin Wright was Vice President. Lorin's son-in-law Harold S Miller was Secretary & Treasurer. The business location was at Delphos Avenue, west of Westwood Avenue. By 1923, Eldon had left the company, and George C. Gibboney was President. Lorin remained VP, and Harold Secretary and Treasurer.(14)  

Continuing her account, Ivonette wrote, "We remember Uncle Orv's Christmas Eve dinner in 1923 as one of his most interesting. It was on that occasion he showed us a model of a toy he had once seen. It had captured his imagination. He thought it was an ingenious toy, so decided he would make one by hand and bring it out for the family children to play with. It was a contraption with a narrow base board about 18 inches long. One end it had a spring board that could be put under tension and then released by a trigger. It had a launching seat on it and a little wooden clown with wire hooks for arms. On the other end of the base was a revolving double trapeze with a counter balancing clown holding to the bottom side. When a similar clown was released from the spring board, it flew through the air and caught the top side of the trapeze to revolve. 

The whole family had so much fun with it that Scribze asked Uncle Orv if he could take it to the toy factory in which he was a stockholder, (The Miami Wood Specialty Co.) to see if it could be manufactured. In the meantime Uncle Orv had done some scientific experimenting with it. He worked out the angle of the seat, the amount of tension of the spring board, etc., and had a great time working on the details. 

Orville Wright finally patented it and assigned it to the company. The toy was called 'Flips and Flops'. Uncle Orv designed and built several machines to speed up the production and ten thousand were manufactured. Each one had to be replaced because they had wooden spring boards which warped in damp weather. They were replaced by Swedish steel. Mr. Bernard, their salesman, went out and brought in more orders than they could finance. So Dad Wright (Lorin) bought into the company. He had his money back in about six months and still owned 1/3 of the stock. Because he was in the company, they were able to borrow money more freely from the bank. After several years he bought out George Gibboney's stock and transferred 1/2 of it to my two brothers (Horace & Milton). Dad was made president of the company and Bus (Horace) factory manager."(2) 

Author's Flips and Flops, early version as manufactured by The Miami Wood Specialty Co.

In 1924, Lorin Wright was President of the Dayton Company and George Gibboney was Vice President. Milton Wright became Secretary, and Harold S. Miller Treasurer. The company moved to the 2nd floor of 11 St. Mary's. By 1925, Lorin remained President, and Harold became Vice President with the departure of George Gibboney. Milton became Secretary & Treasurer.  Accounts of the success of Flips and Flops were reported in numerous news articles in 1924 and 25, "Business was not all that might have been desired and one day, in the presence of Orville Wright, the question of designing a toy strictly his own, and one that would keep the plant busy the year through, was discussed by Lorin. Orville Wright said nothing in the discussion but at his workshop, gave the problem some thought. Shortly after he startled the family with 'Flips and Flops'. Not only did Orville Wright produce the toy, but he designed and made the machinery to build it. After he had completed the toy and turned it over to his brother, it was discovered that several items in its manufacture were unusually high. It cost a lot of money to make the two little bent wire arms for the clowns. And a few weeks after this was brought to the inventor's notice, a machine was working in his shop which reduced the production cost of the wire arms more than 500 per cent.....Tinkering with the toy at odd times, Orville Wright produced it a finished product in three months. The unsuccessful imitators know that this man of science builds well...." (3) Lorin reported "the flip-flop circus act......has proved a popular seller. The act includes a clown that leaps from a springing board onto a trapeze. This specialty has been sold in all parts of the world, England, New Zealand, Hawaii, Australia and other countries, Mr Wright says."(4) "Orville Wright laughed like a boy as he said he had made the thing almost infallible. It would, spinning, strike the bar almost every time."(5)

Lorin Wright's grandson Wilkinson Wright, interviewed in 1996 by Ann Deines (Honious), shared, "Well, the reason I can remember 'Flips and Flops', when I was a kid- this was before I was nine years old because we moved to another house when I was nine- they used to bring these huge boxes of these little wood turnings that had been enameled. They were white enamel, and it was a turning and it was a little sort of a clown figure, a very simple turning. It had a pointed head, like a hat as I remember, and those had been dipped so that they were either red or blue paint. And my mother would sit there at the table with a pen and India ink and she would draw little faces on those clowns- you know, choo, choo, choo, very fast- with about...it must have been about four marks or five in a slash. She drew thousands of those little clowns. I can remember her doing that." (Wilkinson's parents were Milton Wright and Ann Grosvenor Wright. Milton's parents were Lorin Wright and Ivonette Stokes Wright.) More from Wilkinson later in this post.

December 1928, scene at his home Hawthorn Hill, Oakwood. Orville watching boys playing with toy airplanes. Courtesy of Dayton Daily News, December 17, 1928 front page. The article mentions two boys are his nephews.

Lorin Wright is pictured upper left in this article from The Dayton Daily News, Sunday September 18, 1927. The article mentions Flips and Flops sales in 1923 reached 97,000 units. "Next in popularity is Toby the Tumbler. The company manufacturers a large quantity of the type of playthings known as 'pull toys'. The concern's products are sold in all of the world. Twelve per cent of its toys are sold in foreign countries." In addition to Toby the Tumbler pictured above, one of the pull toys is also displayed, a wooden kangaroo.

 

In addition to Flips and Flops, Toby the Tumbler to the left, and a wood block 24-piece puzzle depicting the Wright Flyer was offered by James D. Julia Auctions in May of 2011. The collection sold for $236.

 

In 1926, the company moved to an 8680 SF building at 49 Front Street, at the southwest corner of Front and Second Streets. Miami Wood Specialty Company would remain at this location through 1939, and beyond as the Wright-Dayton Company to 1948. (16)

The Miami Wood Specialty Company was located at 49 Front Street from 1926 through 1939. After it's sale following Lorin Wright's death, the name changed to The Wright-Dayton Company. It remained at this location through 1948. Map shown is a 1938 aerial view, edited by author. The building still stands today.

49 Front Street, location of The Miami Wood Specialty Company through 1939, and the Wright-Dayton Company through the 1940's. As appears today, courtesy of Google Earth street view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Horace married Susan Blair in 1928, and during an interview in 1996, she recalled, "I was twenty-six years old. I was practically an old maid, is what you'd say. I remember he worked for the Miami Wood Specialty Company, and he was only making twenty-five dollars a week and we couldn't get married or pay rent for that! So one day we just decided, we said, 'Well, we're going to take the bull by the horns and we'll make a go of it some way or other.' So we told them we were going to get married, and you know his father doubled his salary? (laughter)(12)

Letter from Lorin Wright to Ed Ellis, concerning health of Joseph Boyd. On Miami Wood Specialty Company letterhead, June 1931. Joseph died July 18, 1931. Joseph was a member of the 10 Dayton Boys Club, with four survivors- Lorin Wright, Frank Gilbert (of Dayton), Edward Ellis (of Columbus), and Wilbur Landis (of Detroit). Wilbur Wright was the first to die of the group of 10 friends, in 1912, followed by Reuchlin Wright in 1920.

 

Harold and Ivonette's son Jack Wright Miller died at the age of 13, September 25, 1933 after a long illness. At this time, Harold Miller was listed as secretary and manager of the Provident Collateral Loan Company, and vice president of the Miami Wood Specialty Company.(6)

Ivonette and son Jack(15)

 

Ivonette continued in her recollection: "After the volume of 'Flips and Flops' sales decreased, they went into sales incentive toys and made aeroplanes called the 'Wright Flyer'. Uncle Orv designed the printing press that was used to put the advertiser's name on the wings. (Sketch shown later in this post) He also designed a specialized machine to put out parts..." (2) 

 

As displayed at the Wright Dunbar Interpretive Center at West Third Street and South Williams in Dayton, Ohio. "This printing press was used by Miami Wood Specialty...to make balsa wood Wright Flyers. These airplanes were given away as cereal premiums. Children saved a specified number of cereal box tops, sent them in, and received the airplane. On loan from Wright Brothers National Memorial." Photo by author, October 2020.

 

Side view of Miami Wood Specialty printing press. Photo by author, October 2020.

 By 1936, the Company was manufacturing 1.5 million toy airplanes annually. "Virtually all production is consigned to manufacturers who distribute the toy planes as premiums....Lorin stated that 'About eight years ago a young man came in and wanted us to make him some toy planes. Since then, our business has been primarily that', with a total estimated output of 10 million units. (8)

"These Planes are designed and manufactured by Lorin and Orville Wright at Dayton, Ohio. This 1934 model "Wright Dayton" Plane is really three planes in one- it can be flown as a monoplane, bi-plane or sea-plane." Advertisement from Lebanon Daily News, Lebanon, PA, June 25, 1934. Though the name Wright-Dayton is applied to this plane, the Miami Wood Specialty Company did not change it's name to Wright-Dayton until after the death of Lorin Wright in 1939.

Gaylord Marquardt, one of the employees of Miami Wood Specialty Company, was hired at the age of 18 in 1933.  Gayle, who worked second shift, shared the following account with Dale Huffman in July of 2003- "One night this very distinguished gentleman showed up...I soon learned he was Orville Wright and that he had been there before asking for some help on special projects. Orville walked over to me and asked if I could run some pieces of wood through the saw I was operating. Well, of course I told him I would be pleased to do it." Dale Huffman then writes that Gayle's hand was "caught too near the blade...and the knuckle on his right hand was cut." Gayle explained, "It was bleeding and Orville had a fit. He quickly ran to the office and got first aid equipment and put medicine on it, and wrapped it up and asked if I needed a doctor. He was very attentive, and very helpful. He was also very concerned and apologized over and over again....After that, every time Orville came into the shop and saw me he would ask how I was and would mention he was sorry my knuckle had been injured.....I have memories of a lifetime, that include the night Orville Wright bandaged my hand." Gayle was 88 years old when he shared this account with Dale. (9)

To view the table saw used at the Miami Wood Specialty and Wright-Dayton Companies, watch this video presented by Nick Engler.

 

Wilkinson Wright also shared his memories of working at the Miami Wood Specialty Company with Ann Deines (Honious), saying, "I don't remember whether it was high school or maybe junior high, I worked in my grandfather's toy factory. He had a toy factory over on the east side of Dayton off of East Third Street, the Miami Wood Specialty Company, where he made various toys. But the thing that they made the most of were little balsa wood airplanes that you shoot with a rubber band......."

The Miami Wood Specialty Company AutoGiro Plane, once assembled, the shooter (wood dowel and rubber band) would hook on the metal nose and the plane shot in the air, "When the Plane reaches its greatest height the Wings will open out and the Plane will spin slowly down. If the Plane is shot at an angle into the wind it may be made to return to its starting point." From author's collection.

Wilkinson continued, "And Orville often would stop in there. I think he and Lorin saw each other almost every day......Lorin would stop by at South Broadway on his way back to work after lunch....Orville quite often, maybe before he went home for lunch, would stop by and visit Lorin. Or sometimes, as I say, there didn't seem to be any set pattern, but he'd stop out at the toy factory. And he was not a part-owner of that, but he was deeply interested and did a lot of work. He designed a printing press for them to print the designs on the balsa wood, the wings and the bodies of the airplanes. He designed some jigs. This involved sort of clamping and gluing little parts together, and he designed some jigs that did that sort of thing for them. He was always fascinated by anything mechanical. You've seen the modern computers, you know, where you can throw an image on the screen and then it'll revolve around and you get a three-dimensional view? Yeah. Well, Orville when he was working on anything mechanical, he would pick it up and he would turn it over and over and over in his hands. And he seemed almost to communicate through his hands. But he would look at it and look at it and analyze it."(11)

Lorin's grandson Milton Wright recalled the following when discussing his memories of Orville and Katharine, "And, you know, they were perfect fools about the dogs. I mean, they'd talk baby talk to every dog they saw. We had a dog, a fox terrier named Flippy, the name came from a toy that my grandfather's toy company made. The Miami Wood Specialty Company had a toy called Flips and Flops, and we had a dog named Flips and my cousin Jack had a dog named Flops. But he would talk, He would say, 'Oh Flipsy, Flipsy....' He'd talk to him like that all the time." When asked about Orville's involvement with the company, Milton replied, "He helped design the....it was a little balsa wood glider that you shot with a rubber band, and it would do maneuvers. It would turn, it would do a loop-the-loop and so forth, and he would design them. And every time he perfected a design, he'd come over to our house with my grandfather and we'd go out to some fields there and he'd watch the kids try them out. So they had a toy designed by Orville Wright.......And I had a summer job there once when I went to college, working at the toy factory. It didn't go on too much longer after that." When asked if Orville designed the Flips and Flops, Milton replied, "Oh yeah, yeah, all the...And I'm just wondering if any of those are around.....I imagine they're valuable if you can find one...."Milton was asked about his opinion of Mabel Beck, Orville's secretary, who had a reputation for being unfriendly with just about everyone, including Orville's family, and he recalled a time he visited Orville's laboratory at 15 North Broadway. When asked if Mabel was nice to him when he went to the lab, Milton responded "No, she wasn't. I remember I went once and he heard me, my voice, and she was saying something, and he said, 'Oh, come down...' And then I had my dog in the car and she was barking, and he said, 'Oh, bring ol' Flipsy in'. So he brings the dog in, in the office. That didn't please Mabel Beck too much, I don't think. But she was always there."(13)

Orville's cousin Jay R. Petree stated the following: "Orville telegraphed me when his brother Lorin died. In his home that night before the funeral was an aunt from Indiana and myself. He later told me he had wondered whether or not I might have been interested in coming to Dayton and managing the Miami Wood Products Company that the family owned. The words were not spoken at the time, unfortunately, for we would have wanted to come. There was always a reticence in both Orville and me in such matters. He would never presume to make his own wishes known without some indication on my part that I might desire it. The death of his brother was a great loss to him, second only to the loss of his brother Wilbur."(7)

Ivonette concluded with "After Dad Wright died in 1939, the Miami Wood Specialty Company was sold to Lowell Rieger." (2)  The company name was changed to The Wright-Dayton Company. In 1941, Lowell was named Vice President and General Manager of the Monarch Marking Systems Company. Due to his committments at Monarch, in March of 1941, he turned over responsibility of running Wright-Dayton to his sons Frederic Lowell Rieger, and James Herzing Rieger. James is listed at the General Manager in the Dayton 1944 directory.

From a 1946 news article, "The Wright-Dayton company turns out a two-foot ironing board, two models of a flying folding-wing airplane and flip-flop clown novelty. All of these are staple toys that continue popular, according to Fred L. Reiger, firm official."(10)

 

Orville Wright's "Flips and Flops" continued to sell after the Miami Wood Specialty Company was sold and renamed The Wright-Dayton Company. This ad appeared in The Indianapolis Star, Sunday November 2, 1947 issue.

 The last listing of the Wright-Dayton Company is found in the William's Montgomery County Directory for 1948, listing James, Frederick, and their mother Mrs. Wanda Rieger as involved with the company, the manufacturer of model airplanes and toys, still located at 49 Front Street. 

In "Wright & Wright Printers, The Other Career of Wilbur and Orville" by Charlotte K. and August E. Brunsman, 1988, the author's wrote, "Together with sons Milton, Horace and son-in-law Harold Miller, Lorin owned and operated the company. Horace was in charge of manufacturing. When the company began the manufacture of balsa wood toy gliders they sought a method of printing them. Recalling his printing experience, Orville designed and built, circa 1930, a printing press. It had a three roller ink distributor, printed from a curved printing plate, and was fully automatic. After Lorin's death in 1939 the company was sold to Lowell P. Rieger family. Fredrick Rieger, one of the sons, was employed by The Monarch Marking Systems Company and assisted at the toy company. He often operated the printing press and, on occasion, modified its design. In 1987, Horace and Rieger met to recollect the design of the press, which had been disposed of when the toy company was closed in 1947. Based upon their conversations, Rieger made a detailed drawing and, together with Horace, on March 18, 1987 signed a copy of it which is in the Wright & Wright, Printers display in the replica Cycle Shop building in Carillon Historical Park. Along with the drawing is one of the toy gliders loaned to the Park by Ivonette and Harold Miller."

As printed in Wright & Wright Printers, Charlotte K. and August E. Brunsman, Courtesy of Carillon Historical Park.

 

Author's Flips and Flops as manufactured by The Wright-Dayton Company.

 

The Wright-Dayton Company Flips and Flops on display at Carillon Park as gifted by Stephen Wright and Amanda Wright Lane. Stephen and Amanda's father was Wilkinson Wright, son of Milton and Ann.

The Miami Wood Specialty Company Flips and Flops on display at Carillon Park, part of the Dorothy and Richard Cummings Dayton Toy Collection. Top shelf displays A Wright Airplane, The Wright-Dayton Company. Photo by author, October 2020.

Model planes on display at Carillon Park, manufactured by the Miami Wood Specialty Company and the Wright-Dayton Company. Photo by author, October, 2020. The photo of Orville Wright and grandnephew Wilbur H. Wright shows the two with a model plane. The photo is misidentified as Orville with grandnephew Milton Wright.

Notes:

1. The Dayton Herald, Friday January 13, 1922, "New Firm Formed".

2. Wright Reminiscences, Compiled by Ivonette Wright Miller, 1978, "Ivonette Miller's Reminiscences"

3. Dayton Daily News, Sunday December 7, 1924, "Air Pioneer Revealed in Toy Designing Role".

4. Dayton Daily News, Sunday November 30, 1924, "Christmas Demand is Big, Builder's Find".

5. Sioux City Journal, Wednesday March 4, 1925,  "Tells of His First Flight".

6. Dayton Daily News, Tuesday September 26, 1933 "Eight Grade Pupil is Dead".

7. Wright Reminiscences, Complied by Ivonette Wright Miller, 1978, "Memories of My Cousin Orville Wright" by Jay R. Petree.

8. The Cincinnati Enquirer, Friday December 25, 1936, "Lorin Wright Aided Brothers in Selecting Kitty Hawk Site For First Flight, He Alleges". 

9.  Dayton Daily News, Friday July 18, 2003, "Orville applies first aid", Dale Huffman. (In another Dayton Daily News account, this one from August 27, 1928, "Garfield Baugh, 21, of 49 Kiser st., was taken to Miami Valley hospital for treatment after his left thumb was cut on a rip saw while he was at work in the plant of the Miami Wood Specialty Co.")

10. The Journal Herald, Thursday November 28, 1946, "'Made in Dayton' Toys Boost Santa's Prestige."

The Dutch Novelty Shops in Holland Michigan manufactured "Flying Clowns", similar to "Flips and Flops". I haven't investigated the time period this product was produced, and if they obtained the patent rights from Miami Wood Specialty Company. Anyone with knowledge on this company, please leave a comment.

 11. Ann Deines interview with Wilkinson Wright, 1996, Miamisburg, Ohio.

12. Ann Deines interview with Susan Wright, May 9, 1996. 

13.  Ann Deines interview with Milton Wright (grandson of Lorin Wright), September 26, 2000, Dayton Aviation Heritage NHP, Oral History Project. 

14. Williams Montgomery County Directories 1922, 1923. 

15. From woodlandcemetery.org walking tours.

16. I am still researching the date of construction of this building. The Montgomery County Auditor GIS website lists the building as constructed in 1920. I have found the dates listed for older buildings in Dayton to often be inaccurate. If the building had been constructed specifically for the Miami Wood Specialty Company, construction would have occurred in 1925/26. I don't know if Lorin leased the building, or if he had it constructed. Anyone with additional information, please leave a comment.

This Sanborn map of 1897-98 shows the lot of the future Miami Wood Specialty Company location was at that time a hydraulic side-cut of the Miami Canal. Courtesy of the Library of Congress Sanborn Maps archive.