I came across Maggie’s story reading about the Connor Hotel. Upon reading Maggie’s story I was not expecting to get so emotionally invested in her story – which suddenly, and unexpectedly became her family’s story.
** Content warning. This post contains graphic and detailed topics that might be disturbing to some. Discretion is advised. **
Maggie Wright Morgan lived in Neosho, MO for the majority of her life. Her mother was an Irish immigrant and her father was born in Ohio. She had one sister, Minnie, who died very young; aged 30 yrs. I can find little to no information about her sister, her cause of death, or any other details, but due to her age I would assume it was from disease or sudden illness. At Maggie’s time of death her death certificate listed ‘housewife’ as her occupation. She and her husband, David had a home in Neosho on what is now Hickory street. She and David did not have any children together, at least not that I could find documented.
David Benjamin Morgan was born in 1864 in Wales. He immigrated with his father, Daniel, and family in 1871. He had two brothers and 4 sisters. The family settled in Osage City, KS. David would return to Wales to get his training in becoming a veterinarian when he was a young man. He travelled extensively – making strides all over America, Canada, multiple parts of Europe and even Mexico. David had crossed the Atlantic Ocean 17 times before he was 30 years old.
For a short period of time he lived in Fayetteville, Ark in the early 1900’s. During this time he would travel locally and present lectures on animal diseases and general care for horses. He found himself in Neosho, MO quiet frequently as he could draw a large crowd there on a street corner. He would show up to these events with his own posse of horses. He had large white horses elegantly hitched to his wagon everywhere he would visit to deliver his lectures.
He met Maggie and they were wed in 1914. I do wonder the circumstances in which they met. Had she seen him at one of his lectures? Did a mutual friend introduce them? David had a veterinarian clinic in Neosho for 25 years at the time of his death. He wrote and published a book on horses and horse disease and was appointed many a great achievements for his studies and veterinarian care. With the later popularization of automobiles, David would shift his studies and focus to more domestic animals, such as hogs, cattle, dogs and other smaller domestic animals. Many people said his occupation was natural for him as he had a certain type of patience and kindness towards all animals. His clinic was located on what is now Spring street in Neosho. Tragically at one point the clinic suffered a fire – and the loss of Davids equipment was insurmountable.
Maggie and David had spent many a time frequenting the Connor Hotel as a couple – enjoying time to get away and to have a vacation. Maggie seemed to be completely devoted to David, traveling with him to all his lectures to support and possibly to look after him. When the couple returned from one of David’s lectures David fell very ill suddenly as they approached closer and closer home. They called the doctor to their home but it was too late. David died on September 28th, 1930 due to angina pectoris. He probably suffered from coronary heart disease and died right as they arrived home. This was a tragedy for the entire community as David was somewhat of a local celebrity and deeply loved – but it was an even worse tragedy for his wife Maggie.
Maggie is harder for me to track. Both her parents died in the early to mid 1900’s – her father in 1916 and her mother in 1905. Maggies father, William, lived with mental illness for what I can gather for the majority of his adult life. In the late 1800’s he attempted to commit suicide after believing he was in the wrong after a land swindle. As a result of this in 1890 he would be sent to the Nevada asylum, which was constructed in 1887. He would be there for 15 years, later escaping in 1905. He spent 6 years after his escape wandering seemingly off the grid until he was sent to prison in Illinois and later was sent to an asylum in Illinois. Little was known of him after his escape in 1915. He sometimes lived with Maggie in Neosho but seemed to never stay in one place for too long. He died in 1916 of venous thrombosis in Florida – and his remains were sent to Neosho to be buried with his wife and other daughter.
Nevada State Hospital was built in 1887 in Nevada, MO and was the third mental institution in Missouri. The building remained operational until 1991. There is a small cemetery associated with the hospital where about 1,500 patients are buried, although the majority of the markers are missing or have been consumed by the earth. Recently there was a group trying to preserve the graves but I do not see where anything else has been done. While some people might get the impression that these people were (or are now) completely forgotten, at the time of their deaths this might not have necessarily been the case. Families were simply too poor to bury their own dead leaving them no choice but to have the state bury them for free.
After David’s death in 1930 Maggie was beside herself with grief. Even before her husbands death she had made attempts to take her own life. I think she was suffering before David’s death, but even more so after. On October 11th 1930 Maggie had rented a room at the Connor Hotel – probably remembering all the good times she once had there with her husband. Some say she ordered a chocolate malt, drank it, then leaped from her 8th floor hotel room. Others say she had slit her throat and wrists before she leaped. The coroner ruled her death a suicide and the cause of death was from a ‘fall from hotel window – suicide attempt.’ She left no suicide note but left a note behind indicating that she wanted David’s siblings to have their property. At the time of Maggie’s death all her family was already dead. There was no one left to look after things. This could be why Maggie chose to end her life at the Connor – because she knew her body would be found. The majority of David’s siblings did not live locally, at least by the standards back then. At the time her husbands funeral Maggie made sure everyone knew she ‘wanted a coffin just like her husbands,’ and wanted the same preacher. It would only be a few weeks later that people would know what she meant.
If you have read my story on Mabel Harrington then you also know that she ended her life at the Connor Hotel and, coincidentally, like Maggie, on the 8th floor.
While I was able to easily find graves for Maggies sister Minnie and her mother, the others were more difficult to find. I visited the cemetery thinking I would be able to solve the mystery – but it proved much more difficult. I found no indication of where David or Maggie were placed. I felt very uneasy about this, as I wanted to honor them by placing flowers at their grave. It always surprises me how someone can be so loved and cherished by their community, such as David, but somehow does not even had a headstone. It is unfortunate, and leaves unopened about questions about the events that happened after their deaths. I started the process of finding them. I reached out to the city of Neosho and asked if anyone would be able to help me locate them. As you can imagine, cemetery records over the years have been dislocated, misplaced or remain in many different formats. The IOOF cemetery has been managed under different people and associations that record keeping is still being updated or archived. Thankfully, I was able to find an answer. Maggie Wright was listed as owning a plot – which I was told indicated she owned 8 graves in total. I compared the cemetery map and her plot was located where her mother and sister were buried. If only two graves where marked on the plot then who were the other 6? Maggie, David and Maggies father – who all according to their death certificates were buried at the same cemetery. With Maggies fathers past I began to wonder where he was truly buried. I also read that Maggie was buried next to her husband in her obituary. That would be a total of 5 burials at the plot. I imagine the others were purchased for Davids siblings, or possibly if Maggie or David would have had children. It could have been an entire plot the family purchased for whoever might have needed it – long before anyone had passed away. Once I had my answer I returned to the cemetery again, and this time carefully placed flowers – 5 each – for each person buried at the site.
familiar apparitions 