William D Wright (1847 - 1930)

Born 25 May 1847 in Ireland

Husband of Katherine Julia (Shaw) Wright — married 24 Apr 1873 in St. Clair, Michigan, United States

Descendants

Died 16 Jul 1930 at age 83 in Colorado, United States

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Biography

Masonic Biography

William D. Wright was born May 25, 1847 in Ireland. He was four years old when his family relocated to the United States during the Potato Famine. His family settled in Port Huron, Michigan where he received his education. In 1879 Wright moved to Colorado, first to Fairplay and later Buena Vista. In Fairplay he served as the City Attorney for one year until he relocated to Buena Vista where he became a County Judge of Chaffee County. Wright moved to Denver in 1890 where he acted as the District Judge of the City and County of Denver. While living in Michigan he married Katherine Julia Shaw. They had three children together.

On May 1, 1882 Wright became a Master Mason at Mount Princeton Lodge No. 49 in Buena Vista, while the Lodge was in the process of being chartered. In 1885 Wright was elected Master of Mount Princeton Lodge. After relocating to Denver, he took an active part in the formation of Temple Lodge No. 84. Wright was named as the first Master of Temple Lodge; and was reelected to the position in 1904. He remained active in the affairs of Temple Lodge for over forty years. He was appointed Senior Grand Steward in 1886, and progressed through the ranks until he was elected Grand Master in 1892. As Grand Master he proposed the idea to invite the Grand Lodges of the United States to join in the observance of the one hundredth anniversary of the death of George Washington at Mount Vernon. He participated in the memorial exercises December 14, 1899. Wright underwent surgery a few months before his death on July 16, 1930. The surgery was the cause of the decline in his health.

-- From: Library and Museum Association, comp. "150 Years of Masonry in Colorado, A Historical Overview and Biographies of Past Grand Masters", 2011. PDF.

Freemasonry

He was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Colorado in 1892.

Sources

• "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MKWB-BP4 : accessed 2 August 2021), William D Wright, Denver Ward 9, Denver, Colorado, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 113, sheet 14B, family 292, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 116; FHL microfilm 1,374,129.

• Find A Grave: Memorial #40870865

• Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Colorado of the Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons, Volumes 44-46, 1904

• Library and Museum Association, comp. "150 Years of Masonry in Colorado, A Historical Overview and Biographies of Past Grand Masters", 2011. PDF.

See Also:

• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/M3WY-DMY

• "United States Census, 1900", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQM9-6G3 : 11 March 2022) Denver, Arapahoe, Colorado. William D Wright, 53 b Ireland, immigration 1851, lawyer. Catherine J Wright, wife, 47 b Michigan, father b Ireland, mother New York, married 27 years, 5 children, 3 living. Ethel M Wright, daughter, b Sep 1876, Michigan. Mabel A Wright, daughter, b Sep 1878, Michigan. William D Wright, son, b Nov 1882, Colorado.