Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/656

620 bureau. Prof. Wright was chosen in 1879 a fellow of the Royal astronomical society, and in 1881 a member of the National academy of science. He was one of the collaborators in the revisions of Webster's " Dictionary " in 1862-'4 and in 1885-8. He is the author of many scientific papers.

WRIGHT, Asher, missionary, b. in Hanover, N. H., 7 Sept., 1803 ; d. in Cattaraugus, N. Y., 13 April, 1875. He was graduated at Dartmouth in 1828 and at Andover theological seminary in 1831, and from that year until his death was a mission- ary to the Seneca Indians upon the Buffalo creek and Cattaraugus reservations. He acquired the Seneca dialect, into which he translated parts of the New Testament, which were printed by the mission press. He also prepared several element- ary school-books and a hymnal in that language, and for a time issued a small periodical. He was an accomplished scholar, possessed a good knowl- edge of medicine, and did much for the improve- ment of the Senecas. He published " The Inter- esting Narrative of Mary Jenison, who lived nearly Seventy-eight Years among the Indians" (Buffalo, 1834). — His wife, Laura Sheldon, b. in Massachusetts about 1808, wrote and translated several hymns in the Seneca dialect.

WRIGHT, Benjamin, engineer, b. in Wethers- field, Conn., 10 Oct., 1770 ; d. in New York city, 24 Aug.. 1842. He studied mathematics by himself, and in 1786 went to Plymouth, Conn., where he studied surveying with his uncle. In 1788 he settled in Fort Stanwix (now Rome), N. Y., where he was actively employed in laying out the property of the new settlers. Having acquired in this man- ner an accurate knowledge of civil engineering, he was called on to make a map and profile of Wood creek for the Western inland lock navigation com- pany. Subsequently he made a survey of Mohawk river from Fort Stanwix to Schenectady, and pro- posed a plan for its improvement. During 1811— '12 he made a survey for the canal commissioners, making a complete report of his work. He was repeatedly elected to the legislature, and during the war with Great Britain was appointed county judge. In 1816 he was appointed engineer of the middle section of the Erie canal, and to him, with James Geddes, is chiefly due the credit of the suc- cessful completion of the enterprise. Mr. Wright was chief engineer of the Delaware canal, the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, the Harlem railroad, and the St. Lawrence ship canal. In 1834 he was street commissioner of New York city, and in 1834-'6 he conducted a survey for the route of the New York and Erie railroad. Subsequently he was engaged in Virginia.

WRIGHT, Benjamin, soldier, b. in Savannah, Ga., 2 April, 1784; d. in Purdy, Tenn., 30 Jan., 1860. His father, John, a cousin of Sir James Wright, noticed below, was a captain in the Georgia line in the Revolutionary war. Benjamin was appointed a lieutenant in the army by Presi- dent Madison, 29 July, 1813, and assigned to the 39th regiment of infantry, which was commanded by Col. John Williams. At the battle of the Horse Shoe, 27 March, 1814, as the regiment was moving on the Indian breastworks, Mai. Lemuel Mont- gomery was killed. Lieut. Wright at once rushed in front of his company, and, sword in hand, mounted the works and called to his men to follow. They passed over the works, and the result of the battle, which ended the Creek war, was the death, disabling, or capture of the entire Indian force. Wright was complimented in general orders and promoted captain in September, 1814. He re- signed from the army in June, 1815, and settled in the Choctaw country of western Tennessee, where he built on the present site of Purdy the first log- cabin. He was popular with the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians, and was instrumental in mak- ing the treaty by which they ceded their lands in northern Mississippi and western Tennessee. He volunteered at the age of sixty-five in the Mexican war, where he contracted disease that led to his death. — His son, John Vines, lawyer, b. in Purdy, McNairy co., Tenn., 28 June, 1828, received a classical education, studied law, practised in his native town, and was elected to congress as a Democrat, serving in 1855-'61. He was then chosen colonel of the 13th Tennessee infantry in the Confederate army, and participated in the bat- tle of Belmont. Col. Wright was elected to the first Confederate congress, and re-elected. He has been judge of the circuit court, special chancellor and judge of the state supreme court, and in 1880 was the nominee of the Democratic party for gov- ernor of Tennessee, advocating the payment of the state debt, but was defeated on account of disaf- fected Democrats who were opposed to the payment. He was in 1887 chairman of the northwestern In- dian commission, which concluded treaties with 13 tribes, and he is now (1889) a member of the Sioux commission. — Another son, Marcus Joseph, sol- dier, b. in Purdy, McNairy co., Tenn., 5 June, 1831. received a classical education, in 1857 was appointed assistant purser of the navy-yard at Memphis, after- ward studied law, and practised in that city. He entered the Confederate army as lieutenant-colo- nel of the 154th Tennessee militia regiment, 4 April, 1861, and, with four companies of his regi- ment and a battery of artillery', occupied and forti- fied Randolph, Tipton co., on Mississippi river. He was military governor of Columbus, Ky., from February till March, 1862, and lieutenant-colonel and assistant adjutant-general on Gen. Benjamin F. Cheatham's staff during the Kentucky cam- paign from June till September, 1862. He was appointed brigadier-general, 13 Dec, 1862, and in 1863-'4 was in charge of the district of Atlanta, Ga., until its evacuation. He subsequently com- manded the districts of Macon, northern Missis- sippi, and western Tennessee. He led his regiment in the battles of Belmont and Shiloh, and as briga- dier-general he was at Chickamauga. In 1867 he was elected sheriff of Shelby county, Tenn., and on 1 July, 1878, he was appointed agent of the war department to collect Confederate records for publication in the " Official Records of the War of the Rebellion," which place he now holds. He has published "Reminiscences of the Early Settlement and Early Settlers of McNairy County, Tenn." (Washington, 1882), and a " Life of Gov- ernor William Blount " (1884).

WRIGHT, Benjamin Hall, engineer, b. in Rome, N. Y., 19 Oct., 1801 ; d. there, 13 May, 1881. He was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1822, and served as 2d lieutenant in the 2d infantry on garrison duty in Sackett's Harbor until his resignation on 1 June, 1823. The profession of civil engineering then engaged his attention, and he prompted the first establishment of railroads on the island of Cuba. In 1834 he conducted the preliminary survey and subsequent construction of the line from Havana to Guines, the first railroad in Cuba. He was in 1836 engineer of the Cardenas and Bemba railroad, and in 1837-'42 engineer of the Nuevitas and Puerto Principe railroad. For a time he was associate principal engineer of Cuba, in the service of the Spanish government. He then returned to this country, and was one of the first to conceive the idea of intro-