My father's mother, Clarissa Collins Stoner, because her mother had died young, spent much of her childhood with her maternal grandparents Joseph "Squire" Wright and Elizabeth Stevens Wright. I heard stories about the Wrights from both my father and his oldest brother Victor Stoner. They knew a about the Wrights because the Stoner family lived on a farm owned by Clarissa's bachelor uncle, Isom Wright. The earliest ancestor we can be sure of with the Wright surname was Zadock Wright (1736 - abt. 1815), who lived in western Pennsylvania in the late 18th century. My Uncle Victor Stoner wrote the following paragraph about Zadock, probably based on family tradition:
"Zadock Wright, with other near relatives, came from England and settled in Culpepper Co. Pa. (sic -- there is no Culpepper Co. in Pa.). He lived there until his death. He was of a military turn of mind and boasted of his attainments as a cavalier. The story is told of an occasion when he, all booted and spurred, made an attempt to mount a very high spirited horse. Two colored servants were in attendance, one at the head of the horse, and the other to adjust the stirrup. Aidecamp Wright made a spring, and his spurred foot struck the horse before he had proper command of the bridle, the horse sprang forward, the servants were both knocked down, the horse ran away and the cavalier was left sitting in the dirt."
There are several records of Zadock Wright in Washington and Allegheny Counties of Pennsylvania between before 1780 to after 1810, which is about the time his oldest son William, and some of William's grown sons and daughters, left Pennsylvania for Ohio and Indiana, but no records of exactly when Zadock came to Pennsylvania. Since we know from his military pension application (see below) that William Wright was born in Culpepper County, Virginia, on March 25, 1762, Zadock must have had a young family in Culpepper County, Va., in 1762, and he must have been born about 1740. Since it was a common custom of the time to name first-born sons for their paternal grandfathers, Zadock's father may have been named William. There is a record of a will of a William Wright in Culpepper County in the late 18th century, and that may be Zadock's father, but this is not certain.
The following account of how Zadock came to settle in western Pennsylvania was sent to me by email by Harry Caulkett, another of Zadock's descendants who lives in that same area today: "... I had always thought that he was a Virginian. He came west with General Braddock as a teamster. When Braddock was defeated here in Pittsburgh, it seems that everyone had their own idea as of the best way backward, and Zadock came across this area around Jefferson Boro, liked it and made a patent for it when he got back. I was at the library the other day and read where he was a founding member of a Methodist Church in Washington County (one of my next stops). Washington County is a couple of minutes from where I live. For his other sons Jeremiah and Ezekial I believe that they moved west, Ephrium and Zadock jr stayed here." (Braddock's army of about 2500 men were ambushed and routed in 1755 during the French and Indian War. Daniel Boone was another one of Braddock's teamsters during that campaign. Braddock himself was killed and young George Washington led 600 of the survivors back to Virginia. The defeat took place in Braddock's Field, the same site as an incident in the Whiskey Rebellion described later.)
The following Wrights were discovered on CD-ROM listings for Culpepper and Faquier Counties of Virginia prior to 1790:
CD 136, December 1994 Edition VA PRE-1790, FAUQUIER CO., VA 1771 WRIGHT, Jno RENT ROLLS # RR WRIGHT, John Capt. RENT ROLLS # RR WRIGHT, William RENT ROLLS # RR WRIGHT, Wm RENT ROLLS # RR VA PRE-1790, FAUQUIER CO., VA 1773 WRIGHT, James LANDHOLDERS NAMES # RR VA PRE-1790, FAUQUIER CO., VA 1777 WRIGHT, John RENTAL ROLLS # RR WRIGHT, Reuben RENTAL ROLLS # RR WRIGHT, William RENTAL ROLLS # RR
Except for Reuben, these are all traditional family names given to sons or grandsons of Zadock, so at least some of them may be close relatives of Zadock, such as father, uncles or brothers. However, it must be remembered that these are all very common first names.
My second cousin, Rada Collins Greenlaw, discovered references to a Zadock Wright, who was born in New England in 1736. However, census records show this Zadock Wright was still living in New Hampshire in 1790, a time when our Zadock was living in Pennsylvania. The ancestory of that New England Zadock Wright was traced back to England, and his line of Wrights produced prominent men like Wilbur and Orville Wright (airplane inventors) and Indiana's Governor Joseph Wright. Zadock is an uncommon name from the Book of Samuel in the Bible. It was spelled in many semi-phonetic ways by census takers and other recorders. The ubiquity of the Wright surname seems to have cancelled the scarcity of the Zadock given name in this case, producing two unrelated, contemporary Zadock Wrights.
The following entry appears in a book of abstracts of Vols. A, B and C of Washington Co., PA, Deed Books: "C-79. George Croghan, assignee of Joseph Nichols, of John Montour jr. and Henry Montour sr. to Zadoc Wright -- tract on Montour's Run." Henry Montour was a 3/4 Indian, 1/4 French trader who received an original grant from William Penn of land along the Mongahela River, south of the modern city of Pittsburgh, PA, so Zadock was probably the first settler on that particular tract. According to Allan Eckert's book That Dark and Bloody River, George Croghan was an assistant Indian agent and trader in the Fort Pitt area, and a good friend of the Montours. There is no date attached to the abstract entry, but it may represent the first homestead of Zadock in Pennsylvania.
Montour's Run empties into the Ohio River from the west at a point about 6 miles downstream (i.e. NNW) from downtown Pittsburgh. It flows eastward at a point about 3 miles south of the present Pittsburgh International Airport, then turns to the northeast toward the Ohio River. During the first part of the Revolutionary War, the Montour Run area was subject to raids by hostile Indians. In That Dark and Bloody River, Eckert recounts kidnappings, murders and cabin burnings by Indians in the small Montour's Run community. This may be why Zadock Wright later appears in a safer area on the other side of Fort Pitt, some 20 miles upstream east of the Monongehela in later years.
Zadock also shows up in tax lists for Washington Co., PA, for 1784-85, as follows:
Zedack Wright (Nottingham 1785) Zedock Wright (Westlands 1784)
This places Zadock as a landowner in those two townships of Washington County in 1784 and 1785. But he also seems to have been in nearby southern portions of Allegheny County at around the same time, because we find on page 78 of the History of Allegheny County, the following: "The names are remembered of the following residents (of Jefferson Township) prior to 1830: ... John Wright (1800) ... Zadoc Wright (1784) ..."
Zadock was also a captain in the army of the American Revolution. Documents obtained from the Pennsylvania archives by Rada Collins Greenlaw show "Zadok" Wright served as Capt. from Peters Township, Washington Co. (1781-83) in the 2nd Battalion 7th Company. He was paid in pounds (17.15.0 for the period 16 May to 11 June 1782). A second pay record listed Zadock as serving in the same company from 8 January 1782 to 4 February 1782. It is likely that Zadock's command during this period involved general protection of the communities southwest of Fort Pitt (i.e Pittsburgh) from hostile Indians. There were virtually no British troops in the area at that time, but most Indian tribes were aligned with the British against the Americans.
The various above-mentioned townships in Allegheny and Washington Counties lie along a strip parallel to and west of the Monongehela River between 10 and 15 miles south of Pittsburgh, near the modern towns of Clairton and Monongahela. They correspond roughly to the Peters Creek and Mingo settlements of that time. Today (1995) Jefferson Township, once part of Mifflin Township, is about the southernmost residential community of greater Pittsburgh, and the townships further south remain rural. All of this land is very hilly, with steep-sided valleys separating the narrow, tillable hilltops. Judging from the number of negro servants in his household, Zadock appears to have been one of the more prosperous farmers in the community at the time, and may have owned more than one hilltop farm.
Both Pennsylvania and Virginia claimed the area around Pittsburgh before the American Revolution, and many Virginia farmers, including Zadock, kept slaves, which were converted to "servants" when Pennsylvania established firm claim to the territory in 1780. Fort Pitt, located at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela to form the Ohio River, was a strategic control point for westward migration. The British wrested control of the area from the French and Indians prior to the Revolution. The first settlers around the old Fort Pitt area came from Pennsylvania, Virginia and other states, but the early farmers from Virginia tended to settle west of the Monongahela and to the south, because that area was thought more likely to belong to Virginia prior to 1780.
The following entries appear in the indices to the US Censuses for 1790 and 1800, respectively, show all of the Wright households recorded as being in Allegheny County, PA:
PA 1790 CENSUS, ALLEGHENY CO., PA 1790 WRIGHT, Edward # 017 01 00 01 00 00 WRIGHT, Edward FROM WASHINGTON CO # 017 WRIGHT, James FROM WASHINGTON CO # 014 WRIGHT, Jeremiah # 015 01 00 03 00 00 WRIGHT, Jeremiah FROM WASHINGTON CO # 015 WRIGHT, John # 012 02 00 00 00 00 WRIGHT, John # 016 03 03 03 00 00 WRIGHT, John ELIZABETH TWP # 012 WRIGHT, John FROM WASHINGTON CO # 016 WRIGHT, John VERSAILLES # 014 WRIGHT, Mich # 016 01 01 03 00 00 WRIGHT, Michael FROM WASHINGTON CO # 016 WRIGHT, Robert # 017 01 00 03 00 00 WRIGHT, Robert FROM WASHINGTON CO # 017 WRIGHT, William # 018 01 01 03 00 00 WRIGHT, William FROM WASHINGTON CO # 018 WRIGHT, Zadock # 017 02 02 02 00 01 WRIGHT, Zadock FROM WASHINGTON CO # 017 ALLEGHENY CO., PA 1800 WRIGHT, Ezedick # 84 00221-10010-11 WRIGHT, James # 128 00001-01101-00 WRIGHT, Jeramia # 122 10010-32010-00 WRIGHT, Robert # 138 40001-02001-00 WRIGHT, Thomas # 40 10010-20010-00 WRIGHT, William # 83 00101-00001-00
The Ezedick spelling is one of the many variations that census takers and other record keepers invented for Zadock (the leading E is smudged in the original Census record, as if an attempt had been made to erase it). The first number in the five-number code in the 1790 Census is the number of free white males in the household 16 and older; the second is the number of free white males 15 and younger; the third is the total number of free white females; the fourth is the number of remaining free persons, and the fourth is the number of slaves. Though they are on different pages, William Wright and Zadock Wright's households are neighboring in the 1800 Census. This William cannot be Zadock's son, but he might be an older brother, or less likely, his father -- Zadock must have been about 60 at this time, and his father would have been quite old.
The 1800 census entry says that Zadock's household consisted of five free white males, 2 free white females, 1 free colored person, and one slave. There were two males between 16 and 25, two between 26 and 44, and one (Zadock) over 45. There was one female between 25 and 44, and one female under ten. My interpretation is that one married son (Ephriam or Zadock jr.) was living with him, and that his wife had died prior to 1800. The phrase "FROM WASHINGTON CO" in the 1790 listing refers to the fact that the census taker for Washington County (one Pesley Neville -- see below) also surveyed sourthern parts of Allegheny County, and reported both sets together. As mentioned below, General John Neville, who lived in Washington County just a mile or so south of the Allegheny County line, was also listed on page 17 of the 1790 census, with the same "FROM WASHINGTON CO" notation. The original Census record for 1800 indicates that Zadock's household was in Mifflin Township of Allegheny County.
The following entries appear in the index to the US Censuses for 1810, among other Wrights:
PA 1810-1810 CENSUS, ALLEGHENY CO., PA 1810 WRIGHT, Ephraim MIFFLIN TWP # 152 WRIGHT, Z. jr. MIFFLIN TWP # 152 WRIGHT, Zadock MIFFLIN TWP # 152
The appearance of Zadock and two of his sons on the same census page and in the same township shows he was still living in 1810. It was after 1810 that Jefferson Twp., mentioned above, was formed from Mifflin Township of Allegheny County. According to a later biography of Zadock's great grandson, Joseph Wright, Zadock's oldest son William and his grandson, John, left Pennsylvania with their families in 1809 and 1811, respectively. It's possible the farm on which Zadock Wright lived about that time could be pinpointed further. On page 647 of a History of Allegheny County, PA, Vol II., a biography of an early settler named Bedell says: "In 1809 Abner Bedell purchased a farm (of which John Wright was patentee) in Jefferson Township ... In the spring of 1828 the father (Bedell) bought and removed to a farm in Jefferson Township (of which Z. Wright was patentee)."
It was serendipity that led me to find Zadock Wright's small place in the history of the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794. In a two-hour layover in Pittsburgh, on the way from Washington, DC, to Toledo, I was browsing in an airport bookstore when I picked up the book Whiskey Rebels The Story of a Frontier Uprising, by Leland D. Baldwin (Univ. pf Pittsburgh Press 1987). I happened to glance at the index and saw Zadock's name. The reference to Zadock Wright turned out to be brief, but the book had lots of other information about the people around Pittsburgh in 1794. The Whiskey Rebellion was the first insurrection faced by the new US Federal Government. The rebellion was eventually put down by George Washington and the rebels prosecuted, but all were either found innocent or pardoned. Zadock may have been a rebel sympathizer, or a govenment sympathizer, or neutral a bystander -- all three possibilities are consistent with the account below.
A quick history of the Whiskey Rebellion helps in understanding Zadock's bit part in it. In the few years following the Revolution, there was little hard currency in western Pennsylvania, but then the farmers didn't need "cash money" since they could produce almost all of their necessities of life. There wasn't a local market for their surplus grain, so they converted it to whiskey, which could be more easily transported and traded for the "store bought" necessities like salt. There were many more distilleries in western Pennsylvania than flour mills -- a total of 23 stills in one township alone. Barter with whiskey meant cash was only necessary for large transactions, like purchases of land or luxuries. This all changed when the new federal government, in need of revenue, imposed an excise tax on each gallon of whiskey produced. The tax payment had to be in currency, not whiskey. The farmers rebelled because they realized the only way most of them could get the money to pay the excise tax was by mortgaging their farms. The situation was different for the farmers in politically powerful eastern Pennsylvania, where there were nearby cash markets for grain, so that whiskey production was not such a necessity there. Any cash in western Pennsylvania would quickly make it's way back east to pay for manufactured goods available from there.
The Whiskey Rebellion began with group resistance by the farmers -- a mass refusal to pay the tax, reinforced by occasional beatings, burnings of buildings, tarring and feathering, etc. of government agents or of any fellow farmers who paid it. The rebellion heated up when a popular local Rev. War General, John Neville, accepted a lucrative federal commission to collect the tax. This quickly made Neville, already one of the richest farmers south of Pittsburgh, very unpopular. Neville lived in a richly furnished mansion in the Peters Creek community, on an estate he called Bower Hill. (Zadock Wright must have lived close to Bower Hill in 1790 because he and John Neville are listed on the same census page for that year.)
A group of rebels, seeking to convince General Neville to resign his federal commission as tax collector, advanced on Bower Hill, and a gunfight broke out between them and various Bower Hill residents. For a time, cool heads started to prevail, and a truce was called. But, when a rebel leader, James McFarlane, stepped out from behind a tree to tell his men to stop firing, he was shot and killed by one of the Bower Hill defenders (another rebel, named Miller, later died of wounds suffered in the gunfight). This immediately led to burning of Bower Hill buildings, including a church and the cabins of negro servants who were helping in the defense of the mansion.
The defenders surrendered, hoping to save the Bower Hill mansion from the fire. The rebels proceeded to plunder it, and burned it anyhow. Its defenders were held prisoner, and John Neville was pressured to give up his commission as a tax collector. General Neville's son, Presley, rounded up some friends to come to his father's aid, one of whom was a hotheaded young man named Ormsby (or mabe Ornesby). Ormsby's outspoken and brash manner aroused the anger of many of the rebels in a subsequent encounter. A few days later, in a show of force, thousands of whiskey rebels and their supporters gathered near Pittsburgh on the east side of the Monongahela River, on an old battlefield called Braddock's Field.
Zadock was there at Braddock's Field, and prevented some harm to Ormsby, who, foolishly, was also there. The following paragraph from Whiskey Rebels --The Story of a Frontier Uprising, explains Zadock's role: "Young Ormsby, however, was in danger at that very moment. A group of fifteen men had blackened their faces and gone in search for him. He probably would have been caught had not a Zedick Wright of Peter's Creek reached him first and given him warning. Ormsby had only a few minutes start of his enemies when they were seen to pass in open pursuit. He succeeded in making his way to Pittsburgh by back roads and lay concealed in the fort until danger was over."
Zadock's oldest son,William Wright (1762-1841), was our ancestor. Trying to find records of his life is complicated by the fact that his name is such a common one. The following transcription of his sworn statement confirms that he was born in Culpepper Co., VA, in 1762, but was living in Washington County, PA, in 1781:
The State of Ohio Butler County Court of Common Pleas of the term of March eighteen hundred and thirty three.
On this twenty eighth day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand eighth hundred and thirty three personally appears before the Honorable the judges of the Court of Common Pleas in and for the County of Butler and the State of Ohio William Wright aged seventy one -- a resident of Butler County aforesaid who being duly sworn according to law doth upon his oath sign to the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed June 7 eighteen hundred and thirty two. That he enterred the service of the United States in the close of the winter of seventeen hundred and eighty one under Captain (Ezekial) Rose in Washington County State of Pennsylvania -- deponent was marched to Wheeling where he served in defence of the frontier from the Indians as a sentinel for five weeks -- from thence was marched to Jackson's fort under Captain William Crawford where he served duty as guard for five weeks and served in several tours under Captain Enochs amounting in all to one month or more.
Deponent cannot from lapse of memory specify the number of tours or length of each tour. Deponent was afterward stationed at the station on Ten Mile Creek in the County of Washington now Green County in the State of Pennsylvania under Captain Isaac Felty, where he continued on duty one month from the station on Ten Mile Creek. Deponent was marched under Captain Thomas Wolverton to the Big Bottom on the said Ten Mile Creek where he was retained in service for six weeks after which services deponent served in defence of the frontier under Captain Virgin, but he cannot say how long he served under Captain Virgin as he belonged to a volunteer company and often served short tours.
Deponent cannot by reason of old age and consequent loss of memory swear positively to the precise length of his services but, but according to the best of his recollection he served not less than six months as a private in the different tours above stated and for such services he claims a pension. Deponent received no written discharge papers of the tours which he served above stated. Deponent knows no persons living by whom he can prove his sevices. He is well known to Daniel Millikin and John Ayres residents of the County of Butler aforesaid by whom he can prove his character for truth and veracity and his general reputation as a soldier of the Revolution. Deponent has a record of his age by which it appears that deponent was born in Culpepper County in the state of Virginia on the twenty fifth day of March one thousand seven hundred and sixty two -- has resided in Butler County, where he still resides, for twenty three years. Deponent hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to pension or annuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the pension rolls of the agency of any state.
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid. William Wright (his mark) Daniel Millikin & John Ayres residents in the County of Butler, Ohio, hereby certify that we are well acquinted (etc.).
A letter dated 1/31/1931 from E. W. Morgan, Acting Commissioner Rev. & 1812 Wars Section AWF:MLB, to Minnetta Wright, Box 225, Greencastle IN, says the above document is from Revolutionary War pension claims, S. 4735. Accompanying papers say Wm. Wright was a private in a company commanded by Captain Rose of the regiment commanded by Col. Enochs in the Pennsylvania line for six months. A soldier's pension was subsequently awarded to William, inscribed in the State of Ohio, at the rate of $20 per annum to commence on the 4th day of March 1834.
The above sworn Revolutionary War service is confirmed by documents Rada Collins Greenlaw obtained from Pennsylvania Archives, showing payment to William Wright, Washington Co. Militia, for service from 19 March to 19 April 1782 under Captain Ezekial Rose in 1st battalion, with a monthly total pay in pounds of 5.12.0, and also from 19 April to 18 May under Capt. William Crawford. However, other records for a William Wright for Rev. War service from 1781 to 1783 from Morgan and Bethlehem Townships of Washington County under other commanders are probably for a different William Wright. In one history of Washington County, PA, there is a biography of a William Wright born in Ireland who was also a Rev. War soldier from that county. More confusing still, our ancestor William Wright apparently lived in Morgan Township around 1800, in Greene County, which had been formed from the southern part of Washington County. Morgan Township's eastern border is the Monongahela River, and its northern border is the Ten Mile Creek along which William spent much of his Rev. War service.
The Captain Ezekial Rose mentioned in William Wright's pension application fought under General William Crawford in an ill-fated invasion of Indian settlements on the Ohio Sandusky River in 1782, which is recounted in detail in Alan Eckert's book That Dark and Bloody River. The Indians and British defeated the Americans in this battle, General Crawford was captured, then cruely tortured and killed, and Captain Rose very badly wounded. Many other American were killed, so it is lucky for his descendants that William did not participate.
William's short sworn statement says more about him than just his Rev. War service. For example, it appears he could not sign his own name, and that he lived in Butler County, OH, from 1810 to 1834 or thereafter. A check of census records for Butler County, OH, in 1820 shows two William Wrights living in Liberty Township.
OH 1820 CENSUS, BUTLER CO. 1820 WRIGHT, William LIBERTY TWP # 056 00010-10100 WRIGHT, William LIBERTY TWP # 058 10010-00010Since our ancestor's first wife, Margaret Phillips Wright died prior to 1820, his household is probably the first entry, and the second is the household of their son William. William Wright's oldest daughter, Hannah Wright Huston, apparently a widow and head of her own household by 1820, lived in the same township. Liberty Township, Butler County, Ohio, is 18 miles north of Cincinnati; William Wright's home there was probably a short distance east of the modern I 75.
Records of land transfers and marriages show that William was married a second time: A marriage of William Wright to Rhoda Wharton is recorded in Butler County on December 23, 1821. Less than a year later William Wright "and his wife Rhoda" of Butler County, and John Wright and his wife Mary of Wayne County, IN, transfer part of Section 11, R2 T2 to Hezekiah Broadbury, jr., "except for the portion reserved for William Wright, jr., and Henry Wright." Apparently William and his oldest son John, in 1822, sold part of a large farm (1/4 section)and dividing the rest of it among the younger sons -- perhaps delivering an inheritance inheritance to William's children.
The following passage is found on page 89 of History of Union Township Butler County. Ohio (V. Shuwalter 1979): "Nine veterans of the American Revolutionary War settled in Union Township. Eight have already been mentioned. William Wright is the ninth. Section 11 was one of the sections that had been set aside by the Land Ordinance of 1785 for the government to issue land grants. Actually the other eight did not settle in one of the sections that had been set aside. They all bought their land. William Wright is the only one who received a land grant of 160 acres in 1816 from President James Madison. It was located half-way between Point Union and Tylersville Road about where Smith Road exits onto Princeton Road and on the west side of Princeton Road.
"William Wright had been an officer in the Revolutionary War. He drew a pension of $20 annually. He also fought in the Indian Wars in 1793. He came to Union Township from Pennsylvania with his son John. After his first wife died he married again. His second wife was Rhoda Wharton, daughter of Isaiah Wharton, and they lived near Tylersville. They had six children, one of whom was Perry Wright, who later became Justice of of the Peace and one of the first trustees of the newly formed West Chester Cemetery Association."
The "Indian Wars of 1793," in which William Wright fought, was an expedition by an army of about 2,500 men that General Anthony Wayne recruited and trained in Western Pennsylvania. They floated down the Ohio River in the Spring of 1793, landed in Cincinnati, OH, and marched north from there to Fort Hamilton (now Hamilton, OH ). By December of 1793 they had built Fort Greenville (now Greenville, OH), securing the southwestern part of Ohio from the Indians. (This Wayne expedition is described briefly by Allan Eckert in two books -- The Frontiersman and That Dark and Bloody River. Both Simon Kenton, hero of The Frontiersman, and to be President William Henry Harrison were part of the same expedition.)
Possibly, William saw and liked the land at the western edge of present day Union Township, about five miles ESE of Hamilton, OH, while he served in General Wayne's army, and it was probably that war service for which he received the land grant.
The land grant by James Madison was to both William and his son, John. A brief passage on page 574 of History and Biographical Cyclopedia of Butler County, OH (Western Biographical Publishing, Cincinnati 1882) states: "...the SE corner of Section 11 was deeded to William and John Wright by James Madison, in 1816. It is now owned by James Patchell, Sen.. His father, James Patchell, settled upon this tract in 1830."
In the 1850 US Census, William's son John Wright (b. 1786) says he was born in Virginia. In the same 1850 Census, and in other places, John's son Joseph Wright's birthplace is given as Pennsylvania (not Indiana, as Victor Stoner wrote). Henry Wright, a younger brother of John, was born in Greene County, PA. That, plus Victor Stoner's statement that William's wife, Margaret Phillips, was born in Faquier County, VA, indicates that William spent the years immediately following his war service in Virginia, then moved back to western Pennsylvania, sometime before 1797 (when his son Henry was born). William must have moved with Zadock to western PA around 1780 or before, but moved to Virginia (it may have been to one of the northern counties of today's West Virginia) a short time after 1782, where he was married and lived for some time. Since Faquier and Culpepper Counties are adjacent, it's conceivable William went back to marry an old sweetheart, or that he met his wife when he went back to visit relatives, but returned to Pennsylvania later. Travel back and forth between those parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania was not uncommon in those days. The route from Culpepper County, VA, to Fort Pitt was taken by young Simon Kenton in 1771, and described in Allan Eckert 's book The Frontiersmen. It generally follows the Greenbrier River upstream to its headwaters, then over a divide to the headwaters of the Cheat River, then downstream to the Monongahela.
A biography of William Wright's grandson, William Martin Wright (1840-1911), indicates the family lived in Greene County, PA up until 1809, when they moved to Liberty Twp., Butler Co., OH. Moving with him, besides wife Margaret, were their unmarried children, including William (14) , Henry(12), Thomas(9), Margaret(6), Elizabeth(3) and Jacob(1). William and Margaret Phillips Wright may have been accompanied, too, by married children and their families. A biography of his grandson, Joseph Wright (b. 12/27/1810) implies that his oldest son, John Wright (b. 3/27/1786 -- father of Joseph) moved to Ohio a few years after 1810, and thence to Indiana after a few more years. Oldest daughter Hannah Wright Huston appears later as head of her household in the Census of Liberty Township, Butler County. At least one other married daughter also followed the family to Ohio, or perhaps married there (see below).
William's son John Wright married Mary Fix in Greene County, PA, and did not follow his father to Ohio for a few years. The Fix surname was uncommon around 1800, with only one Fix household in that part of Pennsylvania, so it's pretty certain Mary's father was named Henry Fix. The 1800 census records for Greene County, PA, contains this entry:
PA 1791-1808, GREENE CO., PA 1800 FIX, Henry # 76 23201-11010-00 PA 1810-1810 CENSUS, GREENE CO., PA 1810 FIX, David MORRIS TWP # 007 FIX, Henry MORGAN TWP # 029 FIX, Samuel MORRIS TWP # 007 WRIGHT, Aaron MORGAN TWP # 033 WRIGHT, Benjamin WHITELY TWP # 046 WRIGHT, David WHITELY TWP # 046 WRIGHT, Frederic WHITELY TWP # 038 WRIGHT, Hugh FRANKLIN TWP # 026 WRIGHT, John MORGAN TWP # 033 WRIGHT, John WHITELY TWP # 038 WRIGHT, Lewis WHITELY TWP # 046 WRIGHT, Obediah RICHHILL TWP # 006 WRIGHT, Reuben MORRIS TWP # 009 WRIGHT, Samuel CUMBERLAND TWP # 058 WRIGHT, Thomas WHITELY TWP # 038 WRIGHT, Willaim MORGAN TWP # 033 WRIGHT, William WAYNE TWP # 017
Morgan Township is the northernmost township of Greene County on the western side of the Monongahela River.
The US Census of 1830 lists William Wright as head of a household in Liberty Twp., Butler Co., OH; this household consisted of: 1 male under 5, one male between 5 and 9, 1 male 50-59 (William), 1 female 30-39. It appears that William, at this time, lived with his second wife, Rhoda Wharton and that they had two young children (this would have been 7 or eight years after their marriage.) William's first wife, Margaret Phillips Wright(b. 10/7/1764) died in 1813. His daughter Mary Wright Simcox would have turned 38 in November of 1830, and his daughterLucy Wright Bradbury would have turned 40 in September of that year. William's older sons had, by this time, apparently moved on to Wayne County Indiana. William lived the rest of his days, in Butler County, and it was there where he applied for the military pension described earlier on.
William's son John Wright (b 3/27/1786, d 2/5/1879), and his wife Mary Fix Wright (b 8/2/1786, d 2/6/1878) are our ancestors. A biography of their son Joseph (b. 1810) says the family moved to Ohio from Pennsylvania when he was very young, then on to Wayne County, Indiana. John and Mary lived the rest of their lives there, on a farm a few miles west of Richmond, IN, near Centerville in Abington Township. They both lived to age 92, and are buried together in a cemetery that county. When they moved there, sometime before 1820, Wayne County was on the western frontier. Indiana became a state only in 1816, and "wild Indians" still lived in other parts of the state. Among other pioneer families who moved to the same area were Spencer Stevens (b VA 1769, d 1839) and his wife Elizabeth Rubey Stevens (3/1/1771, d 8/28/1852); it was their daughter, Elizabeth, who married Joseph Wright and eventually became the grandmother of my grandmother Clarissa Collins Stoner.
Spencer and Elizabeth Rubey Stevens are buried in a family plot on their old farm. According to the 1850 census, both their son Spencer (b 1801) and their daughter Elizabeth (b 1810) were born in North Carolina. The 1800 US Census for Rowan County, North Carolina (the same County in NC from where Michael Mock and Anna Barbara Beaver were living at that same time), has listings for Spencer Stevens family, and perhaps some relatives:
NC 1791-1809, ROWAN CO., NC 1800 STEVENS, John # 382 00100-00100-00 STEVENS, Samson # 434 12101-20101-00 STEVENS, Spencer # 433 10010-20010-00 STEVENS, William # 434 10010-10100-00
From the ages and page numbers, we can speculate that Samson Stevens may be Spencer's father, and that William may be his brother. I haven't been able to find records of Samson or Spencer Stevens prior to 1800, although it appears on Spencer's tombstone that he was born in Virginia.
Page 518 of the 1850 US Census for Abington Township of Wayne County, IN has the following listings for the John Wright household: John Wright (64), farmer b VA; Mary (60) b PA; Lucy (30) b IN, Elizabeth (20) b IN, Margarette (6) b IN. Long before this time, some of the older children had moved out, some of them further west to Buck Creek Township of Hancock County.
More than once I heard my father repeat the story of how Joseph and Elizabeth Stevens Wright came to move to Hancock County, IN, early in their marriage around 1830. Joseph was a bright fellow, who was so good at school that he became the local schoolmaster. He and his young wife lived with his Stevens in laws. In return for board and room, 20-year-old Joseph helped his 60-year-old father in law with farm chores, but the two apparently didn't hit it off very well. Early one morning, when Elizabeth heard her father stirring, she woke Joseph and said: "You'd better get up and help Dad." Repeating a phrase he had probably heard from Spencer Stephens, Joseph replied "Wear out the old sled first," and went back to sleep. But "old sled" Spencer Stevens overheard the conversation, and kicked them both out of his house. Joseph's family decided the young couple should be out on their own, and packed them off to Hancock County, some fifty miles to the west, on a swampy homestead farm in Buck Creek Township. It is, maybe, significant that none of their male children (John W., Henry, William and Isom) were named Spencer.