Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 4.djvu/564

 and was brevetted Brigadier-General. In 1865 he was again elected to the Legislature and chosen Speaker of the House. In 1866 he was elected Secretary of State and twice reëlected, serving six years. In 1873 he was chosen secretary of the Board of Capitol Commissioners and assistant superintendent of the construction of the State House. He held these positions until the work was completed in 1884 when he was appointed custodian of the new edifice. He held this office until 1890 when he was placed in charge of the Capitol grounds. At the World's Columbian Exposition General Wright conducted a directory for furnishing information to visitors from Iowa. In 1895 he was appointed a member of the board of public works for the city of Des Moines which position he held at the time of his death. Iowa never had a more useful and conscientious public officer than General Ed. Wright. When his death occurred on the 6th of December, 1895, his body lay in state at the Capitol where thousands of citizens paid their respects to the man who served the State so well for nearly half a century.  GEORGE F. WRIGHT was born in Warren, Vermont, December 5, 1833. He was reared on a farm, and when eighteen years of age attended West Randolph Academy. He came to Iowa in 1855, locating at Keosauqua where he began the study of law in the office of Judge George G. Wright, and was admitted to the bar in 1857. At the beginning of the Civil War he helped to raise a military company of which he was chosen first lieutenant. Later at the request of Governor Kirkwood Lieutenant Wright organized a company of State militia of which he was commissioned captain. In 1868 Mr. Wright removed to Council Bluffs where he became a law partner with Judge Caleb Baldwin; the firm ranked high and became attorneys for several railroads. In 1875 Mr. Wright was elected to the State Senate from the district consisting of the counties of Mills and Pottawattamie, serving in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth General Assemblies. In 1879 Mr. Wright was appointed by Judge Dillon United States Commissioner, and later held the same position under Judge Woolson for the Southern District of Iowa. In 1896 he was chosen vice-president for Iowa of the Trans-Mississippi Exposition at Omaha. Mr. Wright was one of the organizers of the company which built the bridge across the Missouri River between Council Bluffs and Omaha.  GEORGE G. WRIGHT was born in Bloomington, Indiana, March 24, 1820. He graduated at the State University and studied law with his older brother, Joseph A., who became a distinguished statesman. In 1840 George G. came to Iowa Territory, locating at Keosauqua where he began to practice his profession. In 1846 he was chosen Prosecuting Attorney and in 1848 was elected to the State Senate for a term of four years. He was nominated for Representative in Congress for the First District by the Whigs in 1850 but was defeated by a small majority. In 1855 he 