The Wrights’ oldest child grew into a restless young man. He failed twice at college, then moved to Kansas City, Missouri, in 1889, distancing himself both physically and psychologically from the family. He worked there as a bookkeeper until 1901, when he moved onto a Kansas farm with his wife and children and raised cattle. Reuchlin built a good life for his family in Kansas, but he remained estranged from the Dayton clan.

Lorin Wright found it difficult to make a living in Dayton and left for Kansas City in 1886. He struggled, briefly returned to Dayton, and then headed west again, this time scraping out an existence on the Kansas frontier for two years. Lonely and homesick, he returned home in 1889, married his childhood sweetheart in 1892, and settled down to a quiet life as a Dayton bookkeeper.