Wright, William A.

WRIGHT

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 18:33:55

WILLIAM ADAM WRIGHT
born Nov 17, 1823, KY

History of Warren County, Iowa; Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns & Etc., by Union Historical Company, 1879, p.643
WRIGHT, WILLIAM A., farmer, Belmont Township, Sec. 12; P. O. Felix; born November 17, 1823, in Shelby county, Kentucky; parents moved to Park county, Indiana, in 1828; his mother died here, and his father moved back to Kentucky in 1837; came to this county in 1849, and to this township in 1878; owns 600 acres of Warren county's best land; has been town trustee; was married March 31, 1853, to Amy M., daughter of Abel Hicks, of Union township; have had sixteen children: O. L. D., Cynthia A., John C., Sarah E., Joseph A., Elizabeth E:, Jane, H. Francis, William A. Jr., Richard E., Lemuel W., Walter R., Daisy, Gracie, Fred. L. and Dove; of these John C. and Jane are deceased - John in infancy and Jane at fourteen years of age.

W. A. Wright, a highly esteemed citizen of Belmont township, Warren county, is a native of Shelby county, Kentucky, born November 17, 1823, and is a son of Richard and Susan (Long) Wright. In the family were three children, the eldest of whom is our subject. Cynthia Ann, the second, is the deceased wife of Leonard Pollard, a resident of Jefferson county, Kentucky; and John T., died in his thirty-fifth year. The mother of this family passed away when our subject was only thirteen years of age, and the father afterward married Eliza Johnson, a native of Shelby county, Kentucky. After her death he wedded Miss Bunderant, who is still living in Shelby county. The early life of W. A. Wright passed uneventfully in the usual manner of farmer lads. When a young man of twenty-six years, he determined to try his fortune upon the broad prairies of the West, and accordingly came to Warren county, Iowa, in 1849. He entered a tract of land in Union township, and afterward made a claim on section 12, Belmont township. With the exception of a short period spent in the county of his nativity he has resided here continuously since. He can remember when the wild prairie grass covered the site of the county seat and when the work of progress and civilization seemed scarcely begun. There were few settlers then and the cabin homes of these few were widely scattered. He has since seen them replaced by substantial and beautiful residences, indicating the thrifty, enterprising condition of the inmates; has seen the wild land transformed into beautiful homes and farms; has watched with interest the growth of towns and villages; and has seen the introduction of the railroad, the telegraph, and telephone. The wild flowers of the prairie have given place to the waving fields of grain, and the work of progress and development has been carried forward until the county of today bears little resemblance to that of forty-five years ago. No one has taken a more active interest or just pride in its progress and everything calculated to advance the general welfare has received his hearty commendation and support. He has laid out upon his farm a town-site and the place is now building up rapidly, his son being engaged in merchandising, serving as Motor's Postmaster.
On the 30th of March, 1853, Mr. Wright was united in marriage with Miss Amy M. Hicks, a daughter of Abel Hicks and a native of Owen county, Indiana. To them were born sixteen children, as follows: E. L. D.; Cynthia Ann, wife of C. R. Lamar, of Ottawa county, Missouri; Sarah E., wife of John D. Smith, of Belmont township, Warren county; Elizabeth E., wife of B. L. Hook, a farmer residing in Belmont township; T. F., the Postmaster of Motor, and one of the prominent citizens of the community; William A., proprietor of a mercantile establishment, and tonsorial parlors of Sandyville, Iowa; Richard E., who is living in Belmont township, Warren county; L.W., who is living in Union township, Warren county; Daisy M., wife of A. A. Sandy, a popular young school teacher of Warren county; Grace D., wife of Miles Sutton, of Palmyra township, Warren county; F. L., and Dove, at home; C. F., who died in infancy; Mary Jane, who died in her fourteenth year; J. A., who died at the age of twenty-one; and Walter R., who died in his seventeenth year. The family is one of prominence in the community, and the parents and children have the esteem of all who know them. Since the organization of the Republican party Mr. Wright has been a warm advocate of its principles. His first presidential vote was cast for Zachary Taylor. His seventy-two years rest lightly upon him, and though his hair is silvered over by the snows of many winters, he is young in interest, and is an entertaining companion and fluent conversationalist, having many warm friends, who delight to gather around his fireside. He still keeps well informed on the questions of the day, and is the same public-spirited and progressive citizen that he was in days gone by. His life has been well spent and he can look back over the past without regret. Source: A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa, Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1896, vol.1, p.490