Samuel Wright

Samuel Wright was born on October 5, 1836, in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, to parents Stephen and Catherine Wright. He was the oldest of eighteen children. At the time of the 1850 Federal Census, he was living with six of them, named Stephen, David, Daniel, Phillis, Mary, and Benjamin.¹ He married his wife Louisa in 1862, and worked as a laborer until his time in the military. He enlisted on August 29, 1864, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, into Company E of the 121^st U.S.C.T. He was 27 years old, standing at five feet, four and a half inches tall, with a dark complexion, and black hair and eyes.² He served as a sergeant, and was honorably discharged and mustered out with the rest of his company from Brazos, Santiago, Texas, on September 4, 1865, due to the end of the Civil War.³ During his service he fell ill, and returned with something wrong with his lungs and heart, so that he could not work for long periods of time without pain in his head and chest. According to people who knew him, he always had a slight cough, and beginning a few years after his discharge, he was partially deaf in one year.⁴

By the 1870 Federal Census, he was working as a day laborer in Shippensburg, with his wife Louisa (listed in the census as Lawanda), and two children named Catharine and Samuel.⁵ While the census doesn’t list his specific occupation, his obituary records that he worked as a janitor for the Vigilant Hose Company, a fire company, for 52 years, which means he began employment there around 1868. In the 1880 Census, at approximately 44 years old, no children are recorded in his household.⁶ It is possible his daughter Catharine passed away at some point in those ten years. On January 12, 1894, his military pension was increased from its initial monthly payment to $12 a month.⁷ In 1900, he was around 64 years old, and lived with at 11 East Main Street, in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. His wife still lived with him, as well as children Jennie Wright, Margaret Wright, and Rosie Hawley. His son-in-law William Hawley was also a part of his household, as well as his grandchild Nellie M. Hawley. He was renting his home, and the census records that he was able to read and write.⁸

In March of 1905, he was charged by his wife Louisa for assault with an axe. She temporarily left the home. He claimed he had been drinking at the time, and promised to stop drinking for two years and to treat her well if she moved back in with him. She agreed, and the case was discharged.⁹ On October 13, 1911, Wright’s pension was increased to $20 a month due to the Act of February 6, 1907.¹⁰ By the 1910 Federal Census, he was living on 121 East King Street, in Shippensburg’s Middle Ward. His wife still lived with him, as well as his children Jennie Wright and Margaret Shaffer, his son-in-law Andrew Shaffer, and grandchildren Buelah L Shaffer, Margaret I Shaffer, Grace A Wright, and Nellie M Hawley.¹¹ On May 28, 1912, his pension increased to $25 a month, because of the Act of May 11, 1912.¹² Throughout his life he was a member of both the A.M.E. Zion Church, and the Masons.

In November of 1915, Wright’s wife Louisa died in their home after four hears of failing health. She was survived by their children Samuel, Mary, Jennie, Margaret, Stephen, Rose, and David, eighteen grandchildren, and eighteen great-grandchildren.¹³ In 1919, Samuel Wright was renting a home on 150 North West Street from a C. M. Liggett. By the 1920 Federal Census, he was living in that home with his daughter Margaret, son-in-law Andrew, and grandchildren Margaret and Andrew.¹⁴ He died on November 3, 1920, after 10 weeks of kidney disease. Both the Masons and the members of the Vigilant Hose Company attended his funeral. According to his obituary he was survived by his children Samuel Jr, Rose Rully, Jennie Wright, and Margaret Shaffer, and two siblings. It does not list surviving grandchildren.¹⁵ Samuel Wright is buried in Locust Grove Cemetery, in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, section A-1, grave number 3. He has a marble headstone.¹⁶

1. 1850 United States Federal Census for Samuel Wright, 204B.
2. Co. E, 127 Regiment, U.S.C.T. Company Descriptive Book, Aug 29, 1864.
3. Co. E, 127 Regiment, U.S.C.T. Detachment Muster-out Roll, Sept 4, 1865.
4. Deposition J, Case of Samuel Wright, No. 601597, Sept 21, 1895.
5. 1870 United States Federal Census for Samuel Wright, 376B.
6. 1880 United States Federal Census for Saml. A. Wright, 468D.
7. Samuel Wright, Act of June 27, 1890. Jan 12, 1894.
8. 1900 United States Federal Census for Samuel Wright, 12.
9. “Samuel Wright and Wife Reconciled”, The Sentinel, 2, Mar 22, 2015.
10. Samuel Wright, Certificate No. 601594, Act of February 6, 1907. Oct 13, 1911.
11. 1910 United States Federal Census for Samuel A Wright, 4A.
12. Samuel Wright, Certificate No. 601597, Act of May 11, 1912. May 28, 1912.
13. “Wright”, The Chronicle, 4, Nov 25, 1915.
14. “Properties Rented by C.M. Liggett”, Carlisle Evening Herald, 1, Sep 6, 1919; 1920 United States Federal Census for Samuel Wright, 12A.
15. “Wright”, The Chronicle, 1, Nov 11, 1920.
16. Pennsylvania, U.S., Veterans Burial Cards, 1777-2012.

Bibliography:

1900 United States Federal Census for Samuel Wright. Ancestry.com. 12. NARA: Washington, 2004. 1900 United States Federal Census - AncestryLibrary.com

1870 United States Federal Census for Samuel Wright. Ancestry.com. 376B. NARA: Washington, 2009.  1870 United States Federal Census - AncestryLibrary.com

1910 United States Federal Census for Samuel A Wright. Ancestry.com. 4A. NARA: Washington, 2006. 1910 United States Federal Census - AncestryLibrary.com

1920 United States Federal Census for Samuel Wright. Ancestry.com. 12A. NARA: Washington, 2010. 1920 United States Federal Census - AncestryLibrary.com

1880 United States Federal Census for Saml. A. Wright. Ancestry.com. 468D. NARA: Washington, 2010. 1880 United States Federal Census - AncestryLibrary.com

1850 United States Federal Census for Samuel Wright. Ancestry.com. 204B. NARA: Washington, 2009. 1850 United States Federal Census - AncestryLibrary.com

Samuel Wright. Pennsylvania, U.S., Veterans Burial Cards, 1777-2012. Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau of Archives and History. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 2010. Ancestry - Print 1890 Veterans Schedules of the U.S. Federal Census

“Wright”. The Chronicle. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Nov 11, 1920. Page 1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/89221853

“Wright”. The Chronicle. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Nov 25, 1915. Page 4. https://www.newspapers.com/image/310304445

“Samuel Wright and Wife Reconciled”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Mar 22, 2015. Page 2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/344664862

“Properties Rented by C.M. Liggett”. Carlisle Evening Herald. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Sep 6, 1919. Page 1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/270090067

“Vigilant Hose Co. Elects Officers”. The Shippensburg Chronicle. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Dec 24, 1908. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/95475192

“Vigilant Hose Co. Elect Officers.” The Shippensburg Chronicle. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Jan 11, 1906. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/95473416

“Election of Hose Co. Officers”. The Shippensburg Chronicle. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Jan 9, 1913. Page 8. https://www.newspapers.com/image/88236700

“Hose Company is Reorganized”. The Chronicle. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Jan 16, 1919. Page 1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/89200457

“Hose Company Officers Elected”. The Shippensburg News. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Jan 26, 1898. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/95192137

Samuel Wright, Co. E, 127 Regiment, U.S.C.T. Company Descriptive Book, Aug 29, 1864.

Samuel Wright, Co. E, 127 Regiment, U.S.C.T. Detachment Muster-out Roll, Sept 4, 1865.

Deposition J, Case of Samuel Wright, No. 601597, Sept 21, 1895. L. B. Stine, Special Examiner.

Samuel Wright, Certificate No. 601597, Act of May 11, 1912. May 28, 1912.

Samuel Wright, Certificate No. 601594, Act of February 6, 1907. Oct 13, 1911.

Samuel Wright, Act of June 27, 1890. Jan 12, 1894.