PAGenWeb Archives - Tombstone Carvers

M. & T. S. Wright

(Biography and Tombstone Photographs contributed by Bill Plack)

Thomas S. Wright was born in England and, in 1848, came to Brownsville, PA where he learned the marble cutting trade from his brother, Moses. An 1859 directory for Brownsville lists Moses Wright, Brownsville Marble Works, and Thomas S. Wright, Marble Cutter. The brothers, working together, signed their marble tombstones “M. & T.S. Wright, Brownsville”.

After Moses retired from the trade in 1875, Thomas became sole proprietor of the business. In 1880 he installed steam power, which aided in the manufacture of granite monuments which were beginning to replace marble in popularity. In 1883 the company was known as T.S. Wright’s Steam Marble and Granite Works, as shown in the advertisement above, from a book called The Three Towns. Employing 13 men, they were located at the junction of Front and Market Streets, Brownsville. They claimed to have erected many of the finest memorials and monuments in Fayette, Washington, Greene, Westmoreland and Allegheny Counties, working mostly from original designs created by Thomas’s son, Harry S. Wright.

I have seen Wright tombstones and monuments in 27 cemeteries, in all the counties mentioned above. I have only seen one marble stone signed by Moses; over 100 signed by M. & T.S. Wright; and only a handful of later stones signed by T.S. Wright only. After the death of Thomas Wright, his descendants operated the firm for a time. I have seen a few granite memorials signed “T.S. Wright’s Sons”, and simply “Wright’s”, from the late 1890’s. Apparently they ceased operations sometime after 1912.

(printer friendly version of text)