James N. Wright (1818 - 1897)

Born 20 Feb 1818 in St. Albans Township, Licking, Ohio, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Effie (Willison) Wright — married 26 Oct 1842 in Johnstown, Licking, Ohio, United States

Died 5 Jan 1897 at age 78 in Licking, Ohio, United States

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Biography

James was born in 1818. He is the son of Simeon Wright and Susannah Abbott.

According to Everts (1875, p. 131): The subject of our sketch (James N. Wright) was born February 20, 1818, being a native of this County. This was then a wild country. The schools of that day were common indeed, but James improved his advantages as best he could. Upon arriving at young manhood, he attended one year the college at Granville [Dennison University]. Reading and experience have since added largely to early qualifications. Having been reared to farming, that seems to be his pride, although he has devoted a share of his time, during the past twenty years, to the preaching of the gospel in the Methodist Episcopal Church. ¶He was married October 26, 1842, to Miss Effy Willison, daughter of Jeremiah Willison. She was born May 3, 1821. ¶Both are yet living, and surrounded by seven children (single and married), as follows, viz.: Flora L., born October 26, 1844; Columbia Ann, born September 5, 1846; Esther L., born May 3, 1840; Miles L., born April 3, 1852; Seth S., born May 21, 1854; James N., born August 6, 1858; Frank P., born May 19, 1861. ¶Six years after marriage he abandoned the mercantile business at Johnstown, to renew that more congenial employment, farming. Begun with forty acres, partially under cultivation. Diligence, economy, and good management on both sides of the family, assisted by willing, healthful children, have increased this small beginning to nearly one thousand acres in the Townships of Monroe and Hartford. He grows largely of hay and grain, deals in hogs, horses, and cattle, but much more largely in sheep. He now has nearly one thousand; some of which are "thoroughbred," costing per head, in some instances, as high as six hundred dollars. He may well be classed among the foremost farmers and substantial sheep-breeders of Licking County. A page among the illustrations of this work is occupied by portraits of himself, wife, and mother, and a view of his home.

Hill (1881) adds the following: The subject of this sketch endured the usual hardships of a pioneer life, and had the same difficulties to surmount in order to secure an education, but being persevering and strict, he made the most of his advantages in the common schools of this period. After reaching his majority, he attended Denison university at Granville, Ohio, for one year. Since his college life Mr. Wright has been none the less a student, and it is rare, indeed, to find a man who has devoted his life to farming better informed in regard to current events. In 1848 he was ordained by the Reverend G. G. West, a local minister in the Methodist church, and from that time until the present, has always held himself in readiness to perform whatever duties, as a preacher, he was called upon to perform. Mr. Wright was married to Miss Effie Willison, of Monroe township, October 26, 1842, by whom he had seven children: Flora L., born October 26, 1844; Columbia Ann, September 5, 1846; Esther L., May 3, 1849; Miles L., April 3, 1852; Seth I., May ??, 1854; James N., August 6, 1858; Frank P., May 19, 1861. When married, he was engaged in the mercantile business in Johnstown, in which he continued for six years, but preferring a farmer's life, he sold out and moved on the farm where he now resides. Here he commenced with a farm of forty acres, which he has by good management and industry, increased to nearly one thousand acres in the townships of Hartford and Monroe. His great specialty is sheep raising, keeping nearly one thousand head, which are among the best in the State. He attends the State and county fairs through, and never fails to secure the first premiums for his exhibits. He is a living example of the success that may be achieved in our county, from what might seem at times the most adverse circumstances.

Sources

• *Everts, L. H. 1875. Combination Atlas Map of Licking County Ohio. Philadelphia: Thos. Hunter.
• Hill, N. N., Jr. 1881. History of Licking County, O., Its Past and Present. Newark, OH: A. A. Graham & Co.
• https://peoplelegacy.com/james_n__wright-7q6Y7k