John Wright Time Line
1845 - 1893
©By: Don Wright
John Wright was a restless man, and was continuously moving. It appears that he
was always looking for something. What ever it was, it seems that he never found
it. He moved from Ottawa, Illinois to Wisconsin, back to Ottawa; to Marshall
County in Illinois and then to Allegan Co, Michigan. From there he went to
Kansas, then returned to Michigan again. In his final days he ended up in
Wellington, Kansas.
1845
- 13 Feb 1845 John Wright and Ruth Drake applied for a Marriage License in
Bureau Co, IL. (Next county west of LaSalle Co) She was listed as Ruthern Drake.
- 18 Feb 1845 John Wright married Ruth Drake. The date of marriage was
found in papers left by Leota (Meyer) Drake as written by Alwilda (Scidmore) Drake.
1847
- ___ ____ Birth of son John J. (Actual date is unknown)
1848 & 1849
- He ived in Ottawa, LaSalle Co, IL, employed as a shoemaker.
1850
- 20 Feb 1850 - Birth of Son Henry Myron Wright, in Ottawa, LaSalle Co, IL
- 19 Aug 1850 - Page 436?, Ottawa, LaSalle County, Ill,
Roll #115, line 15-19
John Wright 30 M (1820) Shoe Maker NY
Ruth (Drake) 28 F (1822) Penn
John J. 3 M (1847) Ill
Henry M. 4/12 M (1850) Ill
Ruth’s sister, husband and son was also living with the Wright family
Edmnd Worden 30 M (1820) Laborur NY
Eliza A 20 F (1830) Penn
Edmond [Jr] 3/12 M (1850) Ill
1851 or 1852
- _______ - Birth of Daughter Catherine. [The information on Catherine was
found on a 3x5 card in the Cemetery Records of Summit View Cemetery in South Ottawa.
It gave her age (8 yrs) and date of death (21 Jan 1859) and that she was buried in
the Drake Family plot]
1853
- 19 Jun 1853 - Birth of daughter Emma, in Ottawa, LaSalle Co, IL.
- 21 Jun 1853 - His wife Ruth died of complications in childbirth and was buried
in Summit View Cemetery, Ottawa, IL, in her father's family plot.
- 23 Aug 1853 - John married Christiana Doud. [A “Certificate of Record of Marriage”
received from Judy McMichael indicates the marriage of John Wright
and Christiana Doud as 23 Aug 1853 [60 days aftr the death of his
first wife Ruth]
1854 - 1858
John was no doubt havin trouble with the Drakes since his remarriage. The boys
could not get along with their step-mother and were spending most of their time at
their Grand Parents no doubt causing more tension in the family. During the
period of 1854 through 1858, John and family moved to Wisconsin, but was back in Ottawa
by Jan 1859. A check of the 1855 State census, we could not find the family in
Illinois. We now find that Rufus Doud, father of Christina
was living in Wisconsin (according to the 1855 Wisconsin State Census). It is
very possible that John and Christiana were either living in that area or had gone to
visit them when Isaac was born.
1857
- __ Aug 1857 - Birth of son Isaac in Wisconsin. This indicates that John an family
had gone to Wisconsin sometime after late 1853 but was back in Ottawa when his daughter
Catherine died in Jan 1859.
1859
- 21 Jan 1859 - Death of daughter Catherine [from his 1st marriage]
- ______ 1859 - Birth of Catherine (2nd), possibly in Ottawa, Illinois. She is listed
in the 1860 Ottawa, LaSalle Co, IL census. No other record of her can
be found. Her death probably occured between 1860 and 1870, as she was
not listed in the 1870 census.
1860
- 18 Jul 1860 - Page 448, line 36 and page 449, line 1, Roll #196 (or 197), Ottawa
LaSalle County, IL. Dwelling 4062, Family 4031, 18 Jul 1860
John Wright 40 M [1820] Shoemaker --- --- Ohio -- --- --
Christianna 25 F [1835] 50 N.Y. -- --- --
John 13 M [1847] Ill -- (X) --
Myron 11 M [1850] Ill -- (x) --
Emma 8 F [1852] Ill -- (x) --
Isaac 3 M [1857] Ill -- --- --
Catharine 1 F [1859] Ill -- --- --
Sometime after the July 1860 census, John and family moved to Henry, Marshall Co, IL.
Henry is located just 27 miles due west and across the river from Streator,
Illinois, and Streator is located only 16 miles south of Ottawa.
1861
- 17 Oct 1861 - Birth of Lillian Wright, Henry, Marshall Co, IL
1862 - was a bad year for John Wright
- 21 Jun 1862 - According to Hartley Wright (interviewed June 1987) when the
Civil War broke out in 1862, young John J was along with Henry his uncle, one of the
first to volunteer frm the Ottawa area. Due to his age, he was assigned as a Drummer
Boy, possibly with CO “C”, 53rd, IL Infantry, and possibly out of Ottawa. This
is only suggested and has yet to be proven. He was wounded at the battle of
Shiloh on 6 Apr 1862 and died shortly there after on 21 Apr 1862. He was buried
in Summit View Cemetery in South Ottawa, in the Drake Family plot where his mother and
sister were buried. The military records have been checked but his name was not found.
- 11 Aug 1862 - John Wright enlisted in Company B, 86th Regiment of the Illinois
Vollunteers. He was discharged in Nashville, TN on 19 Jan 1863 due to illness.
- 21 Dec 1862 - There is a good chance that Emma was not a happy person, as her
mother had died when Emma was only two days old, her brother John J. Wright had recently
died in the Civil War, her brother Henry Myron Wright had run away from home and there
was tension between her and her step-mother. Her father moved to Henry, Marshal
Co, IL and then enlisted in the Illinois Volunteer Infantry and was off to war.
Since Emma did not get along with her stepmother, she either remained in Ottawa or
returned to Ottawa to live with her grand parents Jesse and Jermima Drake.
Considering all of this, it is not surprising that she was in ill health. &ngsp It is
also believed that she was living with her grand parents, at the time of her death.
Emma passed away at the age of 10 years. She was buried in Summit-View Cemetery, Ottawa,
La Salle Co, IL, next to her brother John J. and sister Catherine. The headstone
had been broken off then cemented back together. The break was directly across the
date which made it hard to read. The cemetery records were made after the repair work
and were evidently made with a quick glance as they (the cemetery records) indicated
she was buried in 1858 which is when her sister Catherine was buried.
This we know is in error as she was still living and was listed with her father in
the 1860 Ottawa, Ill., census. An extra close inspection of the headstone reveals
the date as Dec 21, 1862. From stories handed down and from all indication on the
headstone it is believed Emma was born on 19 Jun 1853 and that her mother died due to
complications of child birth (two days later). Census records indicate that she
was 8 years old in 1860. Further checks in the death and birth records or possibly
news clippings must be made. The cause of death is not known.
She was buried in the Sumit View Cemetery, South Ottawa, beside her brother in the Drake
Family Plot. The cemetery records do not list her but her headstone was found in the
Sumit View Cemetery beside that of her brother and had been broken in half and then
cemented together. The writing was hard to read, but with a close inspection we found:
EMMA
Dau of
Mr Wright
DIED
Dec 21, 1862
Lived 9 years
6 Mo 2 da
Henry Myron was called "Myron" by his grandfather Jesse Drake and the family.
Mostly because his uncle, with whom he spent most of his time was also named Henry.
He continued to use his middle name often throughout his life. Myron
stayed away from home most of the time. He had run off several times, the first
being when he was about seven years old. He was twelve years old by now.
When his brother left for war, Henry ran away from home again. He returned after
several months. When his brother was killed at Shyloh, he run off and went to
Iowa where he stayed for about a year. It was odd, but his father was a shoemaker,
and yet we were told that he very seldom had shoes to wear even when he went to Iowa.
1863
- 19 Jan 1863 - John Wright was discharged at Nashville, TN due to extnded ill
health. His records indicate he was 5 feet 7 3/4 inches tall, light complection,
blue eyes and dark hair.
1864
- __ Dec 1864 - John's daughter Emily was born in Henry, Marshall Co, IL.
1865
- 2 Mar 1865, John again enlisted. This time with Company “I”, 47th Regiment,
Illinois Infantry. Again, due to bad health he was discharged the
following year.
1866
- 21 Jan 1863, John was discharged at Demopolis, Alabama due to bad health.
His records indicate that he was 5'7" tall, light complexion, brown hair,
blue eyes.
1867
- ___ Jun 1867 - John's son Lewis was born in Henry, Marshall Co, IL.
While in the military, his friend Chalkley Lewis had told him many good things about
Michigan and the area where he lived. Later when John heard of new areas being
opened up in Michigan, he remembered his friend Chalkley. So, Myron was on the
road again. He visited Allegan County area and evidently liked what he saw.
He returned to his fahter’s home and the family packed up and were soon on their way by
wagon. [NEW] While researching the Allegan Co, MI Census records, I find
that Christian's father and family were living in Allegan Co, MI and had been for about
seven years. So it is possible that it was her family that convinced them to move to
Michigan.
1868 - no records
1869
- 1 Sep 1869 - Christiana gave birth to Ella, in the Ganges area of Allegan Co,
MI.
1870
Less than a year after the birth of Ella, John was in Solomon, Cloud Co, Kansas.
Catherine was no longer listed with the family.
- 14 Jul 1870 - Solomon Tws, Cloud Co, Kansas, Page 2
63-13 Wright, John 49 M Farmer 600 400 New York
Christiana 34 F Keeping House. New York
Henry M. 21 M Farmer 400 425 Illinois
Isaac 13 M At Home Wisconsin
Lilly 8 F At Home Illinois
Emily 6 F At Home Illinois
Lewis 4 M At Home Illinois
Ella 10/12 F At Home Michigan
1871-1873 No record
1874
- 20 Sep 1874 - Henry Myron Wright married Louise Olive Fletcher in Ganges,
Allegan Co, Mi. witnesses were Isaac Morse of Crystol and R. Wenthroupt of Paw
Paw. Louise was the daughter of Aaron Fletcher and Marie Ann Morse. Myron
remained in that area the rest of his life. According to later census records,
They had two children, Perry and Cora.
1875-1878 No Records
1879 By this year he was back in the Ganges area of Allegan Co, Michigan
- _ __ 1879 - John's daughter Ida was born in Allegan Co, Michigan.
1880 It is not known what happened to Isaac at this time, but Isaac was found in
Allegan County census records in 1900. It is believed that Isaac now 23 years
old may still be in the Allegan County, MI area. In Michigan John was listed as
a farmer. He still made shoes, repaired harnesses and other odd jobs dealing with
leather. He even made wooden false teeth. He was listed in the 1880 as
follows:
- 10 Jun 1880 - Vol 1, E.D. 19, Sheet 15 Line 16, Allegan County, Ganges TWP,
MI, 10 Jun 1880, dwelling 141-142 (Roll 222-223-224)
Wright, John 59 M [1821] Farmer NY ENG CONN [1820]
Christiana 44 F [1836] NY NY NY
Emily 15 F [1865] IL NY NY
Lewis 13 M [1867] IL NY NY
Ella 11 F [1869] MI NY NY
Ida 9/12 F [1879] MI NY NY
- 14 Jun 1880 - Page 18, line 26, 27, 28, ED 19, Ganges, Allegan Co, MI,
Dwelling 174, Family 175.
Wright, Henry H. 30 M [1850] Farmer IL NY PA
Louise 23 F [1857] Kp House IL Eng OH [1856]
Perry 2 F [1878] At Home MI IL IL [1876]
1881 - 1883 No record
1884
- 6 Oct 1884 - in Douglas, Allegan Co, MI, Isaac Wright married Kittie Robinson,
who was born Feb 1863 in Michigan. In later census records we find that Isaac and
Kittie had three children: Earl, born May 1889; Harry, born Aug 1891 and Lee, born
Aug 1889.
By 1885 Christiana had become fed up with the long cold wet winters of Michigan and
wanted to move to a warmer climate. John’s health did not help matters either.
John, at age 63, packed up is belongings and headed South. All indications are
that he headed for Oklahoma. However there is a possibility that he may have been
in the Topeka Kansas area in the mid 1880's as we now feel that someone was already there
when Joseph Wright, John’s (English John's) nephew, arrived. There are no census
records for 1890. Each areas records will have to be checked for any mention of John and or his family. Some believed that he headed for Oklahoma, leaving part of his family behind. It has been said that the boys went with him, but if they did, they all returned to Michigan. Myron, who had already married did not go. We do know that he was in Wellington, Kansas by at least 1887
1886 - Received Affidavit of Comrade (medical) from Chalkley Lewis.
1887 - Declaration for Original Invalid Pension, dated 15 Mar 1887, Wellington,
Sumner co, KS. So we know he was in Wellington, by early 1887.
1888 - No Record
1889
- __ Mar 1899 - in Ganges, Allegan Co, MI. Lewis, John’s youngest son
married Minnie Dell Meldrum in Ganges. Later census records show that they had
one child, Ruth V Wright, born May 1900, in Ganges.
1890 - 1891 No Record
1892
- 22 Jan 1892 - In his “General Affidavit’, John Stettler of Wellington, KS
writes.....
“.... He has for a number of years suffered in a greater or less degree from Asthma,
Bronchial affliction and kindred diseases so that he has been totally disabled for
manual labor and during the last six months he has been so frustrated and helpless as
to continuously require that assistance of another person. He is physically
helpless, is poor an needy having a family to support and no source of income except
his pension of $17.00 per mo. Which is inadequate to meet his necessities and has
been compelled to call upon the charity of those not bound for his support for
assistance, and has received some aid from the county from time to time and also from
the Charities of the G.A.R, without which he would suffer want. He is growing
worse & seemingly cannot last much longer......”
1893
- 18 Nov 1893 - John’s health worsened as the weather grew colder, and he finally
gave up. "Mr. Wright was seventy-three years of age and leaves a widow and four
children to mourn his loss."
Headstone photographed in the Prairie Lawn Cemetery, Wellington,
Sumner Co, KS, by Judy McMichael in Feb 1995.
Corp’l
Jno Wright
Co I, 47th Ill Inf
[ Aposted emblem beside the headstone was a
five pointed star with printed initials and date]
(Grand Army of the Republic)
[Age 73, 1820 - 18 Nov 1893]
1900-1930 - A search continues for Johns widow, and his children. Some census records
have been found and will be added to this history later.
SPECIAL RESEARCH NOTES
JOHN WRIGHT'S BIRTH
1. 1850 Census indicates his birth as being in New York.
2. 1860 Census indicates his birth as being in Ohio.
3. 1870 Census indicates his birth as being in New York.
4. 1880 Census indicates his birth as New York; his father, England; his mother Connecticut
5. John Wrights birth was figured as follows:
- On 19 Aug 1850 his age was 30
- On 18 Jul 1860 his age was 40
- On 14 Aug 1870 his age was 49 [50]
- On 10 Jun 1880 his age was 59 [60]
- His birth is between 10 June 1820 and 19 Aug 1820
6. By his own admission he arrive in America as a deck hand from England at the
age of 20 and jumped ship. This would place his arrival at about 1840 which could be the
reason that he has not been found in the 1840 cenus records, that is unless he was
listed with his father or some other family.
7. In England, on 2 Jul 1820, an Elizabeth (Sayer) Wright, the wife of John Wright,
gave birth to a son, which she named him John. John was listed in the English records
at his birth and at his baptism, 20 May 1821, and again shortly after his father'd death
which occured about 1833. This John was not found after 1835 and seem to have dissapeared
after that date.
8. John Wright spent some time in Kansas, and Christina was supposedly from Kansas.
It is possible that he lingered in Kansas for a period of time before going to Oklahoma.
This is mentioned because of Joseph Wright, which would help establish a relationship
with the English Wrights, which inturn establishes a date of birth.
Joseph Wright, the son of William Wright, who was the
brother of John Wright, in the mid 1880's arrived in Topeka, Kansas. His trip
was from England, to the America, and directly to Kansas. What is unusual about
this is that very seldom did a new arrival with a new wife go directly to Kansas (or
any other area). They normally stayed on the East Coast for a period and then
moved on as they became aquainted with the new country. &ngbsp; It would not be unusual
if someone was there waiting for them. It is possible that John was there
to prepar for the arrival of his nephew if they are related.
MARRIAGE:
The records of Ruth's marriage has now been found. Ruth was listed as Ruthern
on her marriage license in Bureau Co
Groom: WRIGHT, JOHN - Bride: DRAKE, RUTHERN
Date: 02/13/1845 (This is no doubt the date of the application)
Family records indicate marriage as: 18 Feb 1845.
On a sheet of paper written by Alwida (Scidmore) Drake, was the date of birth of each
of the children of Jesse R. Drake. Additionaly, the marriages and their dates
were also written down, and on this record was Ruth Drake married John Wright on
18 Feb 1845. Ruth was also listed as a daughter of Jesse R Drake in "LaSalle
County History", published in 1876, although there was no mention of her marriage.
OTHER NOTES
We have no documentation to prove or disprove that the John Wright in England is this
same John Wright. All indications show that they are one and the same.
The John Wright from England was born 2 Jul 1820. The American John Wright was
born in July 1820, (day unknown). He told his son Myron that he was from England
and that he jumped ship when he was about 20 years old. That would place the
date as about 1840. The English John was last found in England in 1835 shortly
after his father's death. The American John was first found married to Ruth Drake
in Ottawa, Ill. Their marriage took place 18 Feb 1845 possibly in the LaSalle
County area. Although not documented, we believe that both John Wright born
2 July 1840 in England and John Wright born __ Jul 1840 in NY are one and the same and
that he was born in England.
In the eary 1970's my father Carl Wright wrote a letter to the Chamber of Commerce
in Woodward, OK asking for information. We have a copy of a letter in answer to
his letter from Woodward, OK. They indicate a check was made locally and no one
knew anything about the Wright Family.
Judy McMichael has since found that in 1910 Christiana was in the Woodward area
living with or next door to one of her children according to census records.
INTERVIEWS:
1. Susan Scidmore, Ottawa, LaSalle Co, IL - June 1987 and Jun 1988.
2. Hartly and Mary Wright, Finnville, Allegan Co, MI - June 1987 and Jun 1988.
3. Video Tape with Hartley on the above dates.
It should be noted here that Harley Wright remembered many stories his grandfather
Henry Myron Wright told him many years ago. Many of the same stories I had also heard
from my father but had forgotten. This interview is on video. I will view
the video interview again and hopefully I should be able to provide more information.
NOTE: Additional information on the English John Wright family provided by Claire
Wright, Solano Co, CA.
We are attempting to contact and convince Claire Wright's son to take a DNA test,
being that they are surviving sons of the Wright line of Joseph Wright. I have
taken my DNA test and if they match it will give us proof to some extent of the
relationship.
To submit your bit of HISTORY you may use the mailbox below.
Please place in the Subject Line:
WEBPAGE-HISTORY
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