The Finck Family (Wright Side)

To stay along the same vein as the previous Wright family post, I will share what I have learned of the Finck family. The Fincks are from my maternal grandfather's (George Godfrey Wright) branch of the tree. His mother was Marie Antionette Finck (1874-?). She was last recorded in the 1930 census living with her husband, Frederick Harriman Wright (1863-1933), and family at 344 West 72 St near Riverside Drive. She was born in NYC of parents Frederick Finck (1830-1899) and Marie Antionette Meujer or Meagher (1834-1915).

Frederick Finck was a businessman who immigrated around 1835 from Darmstadt, Germany according to a census report, however, his obituary says it was 1849. There are a few conflicting records from this era but one record states that they were married in 1850. They had seven children:

• Frederick Finck (1858-1889)
• George Finck (1860-1917)
• Henry Ulrich Finck (1862-1898)
• Emily Finck Elliott (1864-1924)
• Adam Finck (1867-1922)
• John Finck (1869-1951)
• Marie Antionette Finck Wright (1878-?)

The 1870 census reports that Frederick was a speculator, probably in livestock. I have found a few tax records with meat provisions listed as property. The family lived at 170 Eldridge St near Delancey St in the lower east side of Manhattan for many years. Around 1879 Frederick was elected as an alderman-at-large, modern day city councilman, affiliated with the Republican party. He then became the regular alderman for the 8th Election District of the 11th Ward, which had one of the the largest populations in NYC at that time.

Politics in NYC were wrought with corruption back then - think Tammany Hall - and the elder Finck was caught up in a bribery scandal involving the development of the Broadway Railroad. He, along with 17 other aldermen, were indicted and arrested in 1886. Luckily, Frederick had a son who was a fairly prominent attorney in NYC. George Finck (1860-1917), the eldest living son of Frederick, was able to get the indictment dismissed in 1890. Frederick passed away on March 2nd, 1899 and is buried at the Finck family plot in Woodlawn cemetery.

I will give the run down on the children in the next Wright post. Most seemed to have married into some prominent circles & have been interesting research.