The Wright Family

     

In my last post regarding the Wright Family I discussed the union of George & Madeleine and their family. Today we go up a notch or two. As previously posted in the post about Marie Antoinette Finck we learned that George's father was Frederick Harriman Wright (1863-1933). His middle name has been the link to family lore that we are related to former NY State Governor William Averell Harriman. I have not been able to make any connection through records of a relationship to the Harriman family. However, the 1866 city directory for NYC lists a business called "Wright & Harriman" at 25 Water Street and they were merchants. This was the business of Frederick's father, John Guttridge Wright (1825-1908). I have also discovered that there is a man named Joseph Wright Harriman, son of John Neilson Harriman. I believe this was the partner of John G Wright on Water St. Apparently, the two men were very close and gave their family name to their sons as middle names. Joseph Wright Harriman was the long time president of Harriman National Bank & Trust Co. and cousin of the Governor of NY. He was born a few years after Frederick was born. Unfortunately, Joseph was later convicted of bank fraud and spent time in federal prison.

As previously mentioned in the Finck post, Frederick was an artist and sculptor who went by the name F. Harriman Wright and had a studio on Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side. Here are a couple of his pieces that have been listed for auction in the last few years..

 Frederick's father, John Guttridge Wright, was born in England in 1825 according to the 1920 census. His NY Times obituary states that he was born in 1828. He married Sophia Kelley Hull (1838-1927) in 1857 and had their first child in 1860. John and Sophia owned some property in Manhattan that was destroyed by a large fire that occurred in 1860. According to the NY Times their property was at 36 St & 6 Ave. and a city directory states that they resided at 34 West 36 St. in 1866. He was a grain merchant.

Apparently separated by the 1880 census John & son Frederick were listed as borders at a house in Brooklyn at 426 Sixth Ave. and Sophia was living with her mother, son William and daughter Madeleine in an apartment at 401 Third St, Brooklyn. John died at the residence of his son, William, in 1908 at Chaptico, Maryland. Sophia moved back and forth between her daughter Madeleine's house and William's house until her death in 1927.

The next chapter will discuss the brother and sister of Frederick H. Wright... family none of my relatives ever knew.