I'm Still Here

I'm STILL working on the Wright family. I've decided to work on the descendants of John and Catharine, in hopes of finding some other relatives who can help me find the missing pieces.

Here are the children of John and Catharine:

George (26 Dec 1842 - 29 Nov 1912)
Samuel (1845 - ?)
Arthur (1848 - ?)
Lydia (1850 - ?)
Barbara (1852 - ?)
Nancy M. (22 Sept 1853 - 27 Dec 1929)
Jacob (1858 - ?)

I've started to work on finding information on George.

He was born 26 Dec 1842 in Illinois.

In 1850, he is listed as living with his parents and siblings in Centre, Bureau, Illinois. He was 8 years old and had attended school within the year.

In 1860, he is still listed as living with his parents and siblings. They are living in Princeton, Bureau, Illinois and as an 18 year old, he is listed as a farmer.

In 1862, he enlisted with Company B, Illinois 64th Infantry Regiment for the Civil War and served until mustering out on 31 May 1865.

In 1870, he is back home on the farm with his parents in Princeton. Age 28.

By 1880, he was married to Elizabeth Gilham of England and they were living in Wyanet, Bureau, Illinois.

The next available census is the 1900 United States Census, which lists him as living in Englewood Precinct, Marion County, Oregon. He is listed as having been married for 20 years, which would mean they were married in the year 1880.

I can't find a 1910 Census and I have his death date as being 29 November 1912 in either Port Orchard or Kirkland, Washington.

I found the following picture of him on a website devoted to information on the Illinois 64th Regiment, Company B.

Here is a picture of his military marker, which is located at the Washington Veterans Home Cemetery in Retsil, Kitsap, Washington.

Looking for Clues

Today I found two new census records for John Wright.
- The 1855 Illinois State Census
- The 1865 Illinois State Census
Unfortunately these census records don't give much detail, but they confirm his residence as Princeton, Bureau, Illinois.
I found from the 1870 census that his parents are both born in the United States, although it doesn't say where.
My next quest is to look for the 1840 Census and the 1845 Illinois State Census.

Road Block

I'm still working on leads for John Wright. I've tried using the "find an expert" link through Ancestry.com, but haven't found anyone yet. Something will come up. It always does. Will keep trying!

John Wright {1810-1872}

I looked up an old email with a little bit of information on John Wright. This is the extent of what I know about him:
He was born May 19, 1810 in Ohio. He moved to Illinois in about 1830. He married Catharine Galer on March 18, 1841.
They were the parents of 10 children:
George
Wilson
Samuel
Arthur
W. W.
Lydia
Barbara
Nancy
Jacob
He died from the effects of cancer of the face on May 31, 1872.

Census Breakdown:
November 16, 1850.
Family was living in the Town of Centre, Bureau, Illinois.
Occupation listed as a Farmer, with value of real estate listed as $1500.
John Wright {Age 40}
Catharine " {Age 37}
George " {Age 8}
Samuel " {Age 5}
Arthur " {Age 2}
Lydia " {1 month}

June 18, 1860
Family was living in Princeton Township, Bureau, Illinois.
Occupation was listed as a Farmer, with value of real estate listed as $3,000 and personal property valued at $683.
John Wright {Age 50}
Catharine " {Age 47}
George " {Age 18} Occupation listed as farmer
Samuel " {Age 15}
Arthur " {Age 12}
Lydia " {Age 10}
Barbara " {Age 8}
Nancy " {Age 6}
Jacob " {Age 2}

August 17, 1870
Family was living in Princeton, Bureau, Illinois.
Occupation was listed as Farmer, with real estate being valued at $3,000 and personal property valued at $1,800.
John Wright {Age 60}
Catharine " {Age 57} Occupation: Housekeeper
George " {Age 28} Occupation: On Farm
Barbara " {Age 18} Listed as At Home
Nancy " {Age 16}
Jacob " {Age 13}
Ezra Gailor (Galer) {Age 5} Probably a nephew from Catharine's side of the family.

Their neighbors in this census are Adam and Matilda Gailor, quite possibly Catharine's brother and family.

Nancy M. Wright

I spent my family history time today attaching census records to her file in my family history software. My next quest is to start finding as much information as possible on her parents. I'm pretty sure her mother's name is Catharine Galer and I'm positive her father's name is John Wright.

Census Record and other misc info:
22 September 1853 - Birth
1860 - Princeton, Bureau, Illinois (age 6)
1870 - Princeton, Bureau, Illinois (age 16)
1873 - Marriage to Benjamin New (age 19)
1875 - Union Center, Elk, Kansas (age 21)
1880 - Union Center, Elk, Kansas (age 26)
1885 - Howard, Elk, Kansas (age 31)
No record of the 1890 census (most of this census was destroyed by fire.)
1895 - Union Center, Elk, Kansas (age 41)
1900 - Cross, Kay, Oklahoma (age 46)
1910 - Dexter, Cowley, Kansas (age 56)
1920 - Dexter, Cowley, Kansas (age 66)
1925 - Dexter, Cowley, Kansas (age 71)
27 December 1929 - Death

Back To Work

It's time to get back into the swing of things! I want to keep better track of what I work on each day. I feel like genealogy is one of those projects where you can become easily sidetracked. There are so many different lines to research, the farther you go back.
These are the people I've researched in detail so far:
Samuel Franklin New
Zoe Zuelika Prather
Benjamin Franklin New
Francis Asbury Prather
Thomas Helms Prather
Daniel Batdorf

The following is a list of people I want to research further:
Nancy Maranda Wright (wife of Benjamin New and possible link to famous Wright Bros.)
Friedrich New (Father of Benjamin New)
Rosina ? (Wife of Friedrich)
Elizabeth Lindsey (1st wife of Thomas Helms Prather, father of Francis Asbury Prather)
Nancy Redman (Mother of Thomas Helms Prather)
Frederick Elisha Ross (Father of Lester Roy Ross)

That should be a good start. I've done considerable research on Nancy Wright, but I'm going to try to research her parents a little more deeply to see if I can find the link to the Wright Bros.