Parents of RICHARD WRIGHT, SR.
I
am trying to find documentation on the parents of Richard Wright, Sr. (b 1730).
Any additional information would be appreciated.
1.
"JP
Dick" by V. Stewart-Novak says that he was the second son of Daniel Wright
(b 1674) of Glastonbury, CT and Eleanor Benton (b 1674) who, shortly after
marriage, moved to Virginia, then to North Carolina and then settled in Rowan
Co., North Carolina. Richard was
one of 9 brothers. On the other
hand, Curtis Wright states that Daniel Wright had only one daughter, Ruth and
stayed in Connecticut. This also
seems unlikely since Richard's parents would have been 56 years old at his
birth.
"Inscriptions
From Old Wethersfield" published in 1899
( LDS film 0908332),
page 319 "Here lies interr'd the Body of Mr. Daniel Wright who died June the 8th 1764
age 90 years." "Here Lyes the Body of Mrs. Ellen Wright, Wife of Mr. Daniel Wright, who
Died Sept'r 27th 1749, in ye 79th year of Her age."
2.
Grant
Wright of Salem, Indiana states that "Tradition has it that Richard Wright,
Sr. was born in England, emigrated to Wales, came back to England, an he, with
four brothers immigrated to America probably sometime about 1746.
They came to the Eastern shores of Maryland.
Here they separated. Two
went into New England, one to NY and Richard and one brother came into VA and
then to Randolph Co., NC where he spent the remainder of his life".
3.
"Major
Francis Wright and Ann Washington, with
4.
The
“Wright Family History Volume I, Genealogy of Benjamin Wright, Sr. who was the
son of Richard Wright, Sr.” by Knouf
1949 states: “Oliver P. Wright’s son, Ora Lee wright, told me that his
father had done some research on the Wright family and was probably responsible
for the account of Larkin Wright in this history, which was published while Oliver
P was still living. It is
interesting to note that it gives the father of Larkin as, Benjamin j. Wright,
born in Rowan Co., North Carolina in 1752, the son of Richard Wright who came to
America during the colonial epoch in the history of this country.”
5. "The Composite History Of Jackson County, Indiana 1816-1991 Dodrasquicentennial Edition" (Preston and Wylda Wright) The records for the history of the Preston and Wylda Wright family may be traced to Saxon the Vikings, settling in Normandy (Bayeaux, France) approx 400 AD. Later founders of Kingdoms in Essex, Sussex and Wessex (England). Two Wright's (originally Wryde or Wryta) were knighted. William (Capt. of the body guard of Wm. the Conqueror) and Richard. The U.S. Census of 1790 showed the name as Right, Write, Reyt and Wright. I. Sir William Wright (born early 1700's); First Wright in America; settled in Rowan Co. North Carolina. II. Richard (1730-1785). Children: Benjamin, Peter, Richard Jr., John, William, Evans, Amos and Philbert.
6. "Pioneer Preachers of Indiana" by Madison Evans 1862 says: ...His ancestors on his father's side came from England in very early times, and settled on the eastern shore of Maryland. From that place they were scattered abroad, some making their way to the Carolinas....
7. "History of Greene County, Iowa" 1887 says that Richard Wright's (Sr.) grandson was of scotch-Irish descent.
8. "Baltimore Co. Families", 1659-1759, by Robert W. Barnes:
WRIGHT, PHILBURD, had two sons, both of whom went to North Carolina where they served in the Rev. War; PHILBURD, Jr. moved to Orange Co., NC; RICHARD, d. c. 1786 in Rowan Co., NC. Ref: Waters, Margaret R. Revolutionary Soldiers Buried in Indiana. 2 vols. in 1 (1949, 1954) Repr. Baltimore: 1970.
Another entry in the same reference, which is interesting: WRIGHT, Richard, d. by 2 April 1664, leaving a widow Ann who m. as her 2nd husband, sometime before 16 July 1664 David Fox. Ref: Archives of Maryland, vol 1- Baltimore: 1883.
Provided by: Jo Anne Mackby
9. Some people believe that Daniel Wright and Eunice Loomis of Wethersfield, Hartford County, Connecticut are the parents.
The most authoritative document i have found of their children "Loomis Families in America" gives a whole different set of children than the pedigree charts that are used as sources.
10. DNA
Y-DNA results for our first proven male line descendant of Thomas Wright of Wethersfield, CT, the already proven immigrant ancestor of Daniel Wright (1674-1764) husband to Eleanor Benton of Wethersfield, CT. This Daniel Wright has oft-times been proposed as the father of Richard Wright Sr. of Rowan County, NC. These fresh Y-DNA results show without a shred of doubt that Richard Wright, Sr. of Rowan County, NC is not the son of Daniel Wright and Eleanor Benton. These DNA data can be viewed at the Wright-DNA.org web site.
The male descendant of Wethersfield tested out as belonging to an entirely different haploid group (related closely to Deacon Samuel Wright of Springfield/Northampton, MA) from the R1b1 haploid group results for the three Richard Wright Sr. descendants for whom we have Y-DNA data. This means it is likely that Richard Wright, Sr.'s English ancestors didn't even come from the same region of England as the Wrights of Wethersfield (West county Essex) and were not even of the same European stock. Richard Wright Sr.'s parents could have been Welsh, Scottish or Londoners, but almost certainly were not from East Anglia, England, though we still need Y-DNA results from proven male descendants of Peter, Anthony or Nicholas Wright of Long Island (descendants of the Kilverstone Wrights of Co. Norfolk) before we can say categorically that Richard Wright was not likely from East Anglia, England. Where he was from we still do not know.
However, these DNA data, lay to rest for all time any notion that Richard Wright Sr. of Rowan Co., NC was born in Connecticut to Daniel and Eleanor (nee Benton) Wright. Unfortunately, it does not help us take any steps toward a better understanding of who his parents were and where he came from than we had before.
But I am thinking this is a problem that might be solved best by Y-DNA testing of some willing Wright surname male candidates in Wales, the North counties, Scotland and Ireland as a way of getting a better map of the Wright genetic landscape of England. We would want men whose families have been pretty much in the same general part of England for 10 or more generations or who know their ancestry well enough to know where their families originated back to about the 1500's.
A recruiting and DNA testing program focused on English men of Wright surname would eventually bust through this brick wall for Richard Wright researchers by pin-pointing a region of England from whence the R1B1 haploid group is most likely to have come. Once that was known, a more thorough search of local/regional records would become a more doable task that might reveal what you have all yearned to know for years. Who was Richard Wright Sr.!!
(courtesy of Mike Wright <[email protected]>)