USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Wilkes-Barre > A history of Lodge no. 61, F. and A. M., Wilkesbarr?, Pa. with a collection of masonic addresses > Part 44
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III. Ellen Wright, born July 10th, 1812; died October 3Ist, 1891.
IV. Harrison Wright,* born January 24th, 1815; died August 25th, 1856.
(1873) ; "On the Lackawanna" (1886) ; "A Legend of Bucks County" (1887); "Rachel Craig" (1888).
Caleb E. Wright was made a Free Mason by dispensation in Am- well Lodge No. 12, F. and A. M., Lambertville, N. J., and became one of the charter members of Doylestown Lodge No. 245, F. and A. M., constituted August 27th, 1850. He served as Senior Warden of the Lodge, and then as Worshipful Master from December, 1851, to December, 1852. He withdrew from the Lodge November 11th, 1853, and on the 12th of December following affiliated with LODGE 61. At the same meeting of the Lodge he was elected Senior Warden, and on St. John's Day following was duly installed into office. He received the degrees of Capitular Masonry in Keystone R. A. Chapter No. 175. Brother Wright was also, for many years, an active and earnest mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and from May, 1855, to May, 1856, was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.
Caleb E. Wright died at his home in Doylestown December 2d, 1889, in the eightieth year of his age, and was survived by his wife and two sons.
* HARRISON WRIGHT was born in Plymouth. He received his pre- liminary education in the schools of Plymouth and Wilkesbarré, and then entered upon the study of law. November 6th, 1838, upon mo- tion of his eldest brother, Hendrick B. Wright, he was admitted to the Bar of Luzerne county ; and on the first of January following the two brothers entered into partnership in the practice of law. Their office was on West Market street, Wilkesbarré, and the partnership continued for several years, or until about the time Harrison Wright was appointed Deputy Attorney General, or Prosecuting Attorney, for Luzerne county. This office he held until March, 1843, when, for political reasons, he was removed by the Attorney General and E. E. Le Clerc was appointed in his place. In July, 1853, Caleb E. and Harrison Wright became law partners, and continued in practice to- gether until the death of the latter. In the Autumn of 1855 Harrison Wright was elected as a Democrat, with Henderson Gaylord, of Ply- mouth, to represent Luzerne county in the Pennsylvania Assembly.
Harrison Wright was "an eminent lawyer, a generous and confid- ing friend, and an upright and honest man." "In the very best and most enlarged sense of the phrase, he was a man of public spirit. To
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V. Samuel Gardiner Wright, born August 2d, 1817 ; died March 26th, 1818.
VI. Aristeen Wright, born June 29th, 1820; died Sep- tember 7th, 1822.
the erection of our churches-to the schemes for the development of our mineral resources-to the organization of our gas company-to the measures requisite to secure the completion of the North Branch Canal -to the efforts to extend to this county the general mining law-to the establishment of our Law Library-his influence and liberality were ungrudgingly and effectively extended." He died at Wilkes- barré August 25th, 1856, in the forty-second year of his age-" in the meridian of life, and with the most brilliant prospects of an eminent professional career before him." He was survived by his wife Emily, daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Hollenback) Cist of Wilkesbarré, to whom he had been married November 14th, 1841, and by two sons and four daughters. Mrs. Emily (Cist) Wright died at Wilkesbarré September 26th, 1894, aged seventy-nine years.
Harrison Wright, A. M., Ph. D., was the elder son of Harrison and Emily (Cist) Wright, and was born at Wilkesbarré July 15th, 1850. From 1867 to 1871 he was a student at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and in the last named year was graduated as a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy. Returning to Wilkesbarré he studied law, and was admitted to the Bar of Luzerne county September 14th, 1874, but never practiced his profession. He devoted his time to his- torical and scientific studies and general literary work, and accom- plished much of value. His early death, which occurred at Wilkes- barré February 20th, 1885, was greatly regretted by all who were acquainted with him or knew anything about his work.
Maj. J. Ridgway Wright, the younger son of Harrison and Emily (Cist) Wright, was born in Wilkesbarré July 7th, 1856. He was grad- uated from Princeton College in 1879. In November, 1886, he was elected to represent the city of Wilkesbarré in the State Legislature. He has been Adjutant of the 9th Regiment, and Inspector of the 3d Brigade, National Guards of Penn'a. He has been Secretary, and is now Librarian, of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society ; and since 1894 has been a member of the Wilkesbarré City Council. He was initiated into LODGE 61 August 5th, 1889; is a member of Shekinah R. A. Chapter, and Dieu le Veut Commandery of Knights Templar, and is Illustrious Potentate of Irem Temple of the A. A. Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a prominent mem- ber of the Order of Elks.
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HENDRICK BRADLEY WRIGHT was born in Plymouth. He remained at home during his youth, assisting his father on the farm, and in winter seasons attending school in Ply- mouth. In the Autumn of 1826, at the age of eighteen, he entered the Freshman class at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Penn'a. He pursued the regular classical curriculum in that institution until the close of his Junior year (in the Summer of 1829), when he quit and entered the office of the Hon. John N. Conyngham, Wilkesbarré, as a law- student. Having completed there the prescribed course of study, and passed an examination conducted by James Mc- Clintock, Oristus Collins, and George Denison, he was ad- mitted to the Bar of Luzerne county November 8th, 1831.
At that period this Bar numbered among its members some very learned counselors and brilliant advocates. Mr. Wright said in 1870, in speaking of the Bar as it was when he was admitted : "When I rose tremblingly, and oppressed with fear, at the big round table that stood in the centre of the Hall of the Old Court House in this town, to make my maiden speech about forty years ago, David Scott was upon the Bench, and Garrick Mallery, George Denison, Oristus Collins, John N. Conyngham, Chester Butler, and James McClintock were at the Bar. Such was my audience. You who have passed a like ordeal may readily appreciate and understand the severe trial I had to encounter. These men were 'learned in the law' in the broadest acceptation of the term-men of professional renown, whose names and fame were not circumscribed by local boundaries."
About a year after his admission to the Bar Mr. Wright was appointed Deputy Attorney General for Luzerne county, and in November, 1833, he was reappointed to the office by Attorney General George M. Dallas. In August, 1835, he resigned the office, on the ground that he was "politically opposed to the State administration." The anti-Masonic political party was at the zenith of its power in Pennsylvania
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at this period-a period "rife with anti-Masonic stratagems and discoveries."* George Wolf, elected as a Democrat, was Governor of the State and was a candidate for re-elec- tion, but in October, 1835, was defeated by Joseph Ritner, the candidate of the anti-Masons. Hendrick B. Wright, then twenty-seven years of age, took a very active part in the councils and conventions of that party in Luzerne county, and did effective work in the field and on the stump during the campaign of 1835.
In June, 1835, he was elected and commissioned Colonel® of the "Wyoming Volunteer Regiment," of the 2d Brigade, 8th Division, Pennsylvania Militia, and this commission he held until 1842, when he was succeeded by Col. Charles Dorrance, of Kingston.
With the exception of the time given to politics, Colonel Wright devoted himself diligently and unremittingly to the practice of his profession during the ten years that followed his admission to the Bar. He soon took a high position as a lawyer, and as an advocate achieved a marked pre-emi- nence. His fine person, commanding voice, and ability to interest and secure the attention of jurors, gave him remark- able success in cases submitted to a jury. Some years ago a learned Judge, who had been a cotemporary of Colonel Wright at the Luzerne Bar, said of the latter: "In the practice of the law he has maintained uniformly such rela- tions of mutual affection with that sacred institution, the JURY, as might well be an example to man and wife. He has always believed in the jury, and he has seldom had rea- son to do otherwise, for they have believed in him. He early became their friend, and they his. They implicitly put their trust in him, knowing he would protect them from any undue influence of the Court, and from any troublesome complicating impressions of the opposite counsel." Once,
* See pages 91 and 98, ante.
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upon the trial of an important cause in the Court of Com- mon Pleas of Luzerne county, Colonel Wright, who was counsel for the defendant, was asked by the presiding Judge if he had any "points" to offer to the Court, before proceed- ing to close the case-a number of points having been raised by the plaintiff's counsel. "Points ! points !" ex- claimed the Colonel in a loud tone, and waving his arms towards the jury, "Humph! those twelve men are my points."
In 1837 and in 1840 Colonel Wright was a member of the Town Council of Wilkesbarre, and from May, 1838, to May, 1839, Burgess of the Borough. In 1840 he was elected Representative from Luzerne county to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. He at once became prominent as a worker in the committees of which he was a member, and as a debater on the floor of the House of Representatives, and was soon acknowledged as one of the leaders of the body. In 1841 he was again elected Representative, and was appointed Chairman of the Committee on Canals and Internal Improvements-matters that had always interested him. He also took a position on the Judiciary Committee, under his friend Judge Elwell of Columbia county, for the purpose of procuring a repeal of the law providing for the imprisonment of debtors. He endeavored to procure the abolition of the system of solitary confinement from the prison discipline of the State, but in this matter he was un- successful.
In 1842 the nomination of State Senator was offered him, but preferring the popular branch of the Assembly he de- clined the honor, and was for the third time elected to the House. Upon the opening of the session he was chosen Speaker, a position which he ably filled to the end of the session in April, 1843, and where he acquired a knowledge of parliamentary rules and practice of great advantage to him in after years. As a member, and Speaker, of the
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House of Representatives he was a thorn in the side of Gov- ernor Porter's administration.
A reunion of the officers and members who served in the Pennsylvania Legislature prior to 1850 was held at Harris- burg in February, 1874. Colonel Wright was chosen Chair- man of the meeting, and in making the opening address he said, among other things :
"When I was Speaker of the House I appointed Judge Sharswood Chairman of the Committee of Estates and Escheats; Judge Elwell of Columbia county Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means ; Judge Gamble of Williamsport Chairman of the Judiciary Committee ; and Asa Packer Chairman of the Committee on Accounts. This was the character of persons then selected for the principal positions on impor- tant committees. Members of the Legislature received $300 for a ses- sion of one hundred days, and $1.50 per day when the time of legis- lation was extended beyond that period. The first two years I was in the Legislature I went home in debt, but the last year, having been elected Speaker and allowed an additional dollar a day, I saved some money."
May 27th, 1844, the Democratic National Convention met at Baltimore to nominate a candidate for the Presidency. "It was a time of great excitement growing out of the Texas annexation question. The convention was almost equally divided in sentiment upon the subject, and great fears of serious dissensions were entertained. The friends of annex- ation met in council, and after a long discussion determined that every other consideration must yield to the necessity of appointing to the chairmanship of the convention some man skilled in parliamentary rules, and of sufficient tact and courage to secure their enforcement in every possible emer- gency. Mr. Wright, a delegate-at-large from Pennsylvania, was at once recognized as the man for the occasion, and, having been first unanimously elected temporary Chairman, discharged his difficult and responsible task with such effi- ciency during the organization of the convention that he was unanimously chosen its permanent presiding officer.
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At this convention, whose sessions lasted nearly a week, and over whose stormy discussions its able Chairman held an unrelaxing and impartial rein, James K. Polk, a Texas annexation candidate, was finally nominated." [Kulp's "Families of the Wyoming Valley," I .: 4.]
The Hon. John W. Forney, who was present at this con- vention as the representative of the Lancaster Intelligencer, said in 1871 that it was one of the most exciting political conventions he had ever attended ; and that the nomination would have been conferred on James Buchanan, of Pennsyl- vania, had he not timidly withdrawn his name from the list of candidates, in the belief that the party was united upon Martin Van Buren.
Notwithstanding the fact that Colonel Wright had been the presiding officer of the boisterous and stormy Baltimore convention, and participated in all the movements which terminated in Polk's nomination and subsequent success, President Polk turned a deaf ear to every suggestion made to him by the Colonel on the subject of local patronage ; and the latter was unable to control the appointment to a ten-dollar postmastership in his district during Polk's ad- ministration. Of course the Colonel smarted under the dis- appointment consequent on his not being recognized by President Polk in the distribution of patronage; but what annoyed him more was the fact that his enemies and rivals in the Democratic party were recognized by the President. He determined to remedy the wrong, and in the Fall of 1845 rallied his friends in a struggle for the control of the party in Luzerne county, and in the Congressional District of which it formed a part. He soon found that he had ad- versaries of large experience, fully organized throughout the whole field of operations, well intrenched in all their posi- tions, and backed by the State and National Administra- tions. The struggle was a long and bitter one, but in the
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end Colonel Wright overthrew his adversaries and gained a partial victory.
In October, 1850, he was the Democratic candidate for Congress in the district which included Luzerne county. Henry M. Fuller,* Esq., of Wilkesbarré, was the Whig
* HENRY MILLS FULLER was born at Bethany, Wayne county, Penn'a, June 3d, 1820, the son of Amzi and Maria (Mills) Fuller. He was graduated from Princeton College in 1838, and then read law for a time under the direction of his father who was a member of the Wayne county Bar. Later he moved to Wilkesbarré, completed the prescribed course of studies in the office of the Hon. George W. Woodward, and was admitted to the Bar of Luzerne county January 3d, 1842. In October, 1848, he was, as a Whig, elected one of the Representatives from Luzerne county to the State Legislature. In 1849 he was nominated by the Whig State Convention for the office of Canal Commissioner.
The XXXIVth Congress to which Mr. Fuller had been elected in October, 1854, convened at Washington December 3d, 1855; but the House of Representatives was not completely organized until the fol- lowing February, owing to the long and angry struggle for the Speaker- ship. The balloting began the first day of the session, when the fol- owing votes were registered : William A. Richardson, Democrat, of Illinois, 74; Lewis D. Campbell, Free Soil, of Ohio, 53 ; Humphrey Marshall, Democrat and Know Nothing, of Kentucky, 30; Nathaniel P. Banks, Republican and Know Nothing, of Massachusetts, 21 ; Henry M. Fuller, Whig and National Know Nothing, of Pennsyl- vania, 17. The balloting continued with nearly the same result until December 7th, when Mr. Campbell withdrew, urging, in explanation, that if he remained a candidate "it would be impossible for his friends to succeed unless he repudiated his principles on slavery, or gave pledges concerning the organization of committees, neither of which courses he could honorably pursue." Upon the retirement of Mr. Campbell the vote for Mr. Banks was immediately increased, run- ning up at one time as high as 107, with 113 necessary for a choice. Down to December 29th the balloting did not materially change-the three most prominent candidates being Representatives Banks, Rich- ardson, and Fuller. At last, on February 2d, 1856, after two months of balloting and wrangling, when Congress and the country were fairly worn out by the weary conflict, the plurality rule was adopted, and under it Representative Banks was elected upon the 133d ballot-
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candidate, and was elected by a majority of only fifty-nine votes. The election was contested by Colonel Wright be- fore the House of Representatives, and when the case came up from the proper committee on a report which was un- favorable to Mr. Fuller, each contestant was heard in his own behalf at the bar of the House. Mr. Fuller was seated by a majority of thirteen votes. Two years later the same men were again candidates, and Colonel Wright was elected by a majority of 173 votes in the district, which comprised the counties of Luzerne, Montour, Columbia and Wyoming. In 1854 Colonel Wright and Mr. Fuller were again oppos- ing candidates, in the same district, and the latter was elected Representative to the XXXIVth Congress by a majority of 2028 votes. It was asserted at the time that the Colonel's defeat was largely due to the fact that he had, in the last Congress, voted for the Nebraska Bill without instructions from his constituents, and knowing that the Missouri Com- promise had been endorsed as correct and constitutional by Democratic conventions, and was approved by all parties of
receiving 103 votes. (N. P. Banks was re-elected to the XXXVth Congress, was afterwards Governor of Massachusetts, and during the War of the Rebellion was Major General of Volunteers in the Union army.)
Upon retiring from Congress in March, 1857, Mr. Fuller removed with his family to Philadelphia, where he continued to reside until his death. He was initiated into LODGE 61 February 27th, 1855, and in the Summer of the same year received the degrees of Capitular Masonry in Catawissa R. A. Chapter No. 178, Catawissa, Penn'a. January 16th, 1856, he resigned from that Chapter and became a charter member of Shekinah R. A. Chapter No. 182, instituted at Wilkesbarré February 13th, 1856.
Henry M. Fuller was a man of mark, far above the common level, and at his death, which occurred December 26th, 1860, he left a host of devoted friends. He was survived by his wife, five daughters, and two sons. Henry A. Fuller, of Wilkesbarré, who was admitted to the Luzerne Bar January 9th, 1877, is the elder of these two sons, and the only one now living.
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the North. The Colonel justified his course by the plea of "popular sovereignty."
In March, 1856, Colonel Wright was a delegate from Luzerne county to the Democratic State Convention, and was elected Chairman of the body. He made a strong speech in favor of the nomination of James Buchanan for President of the United States, and urged the claims of Pennsylvania to that high office. In March, 1858, Colonel Wright attended the Democratic State Convention at Harris- burg as a substitute for Judge William Hancock, Senatorial Delegate from Luzerne county, and was appointed Chairman of the Committee on Resolutions. He reported to the con- vention, and advocated in a strong speech the adoption of, resolutions sustaining the Administration of James Buchanan in its attempt to enforce the Lecompton Constitution upon the people of Kansas. Hon. John W. Forney, a Democrat, and editor of the Philadelphia Press, who had been the close political friend of Buchanan, but was at this time unfriendly to him, said in his paper a day or two after the convention : "The darkest chapter in the history of the Democracy of Pennsylvania has just been written."
Colonel Wright was a delegate to the Democratic Na- tional Convention at Charleston, S. C., in April, 1860, and again at Baltimore, Md., in June, 1860, and at both conven- tions advocated the nomination of Stephen A. Douglass for President.
In October, 1860, the Hon. George W. Scranton, of Scran- ton, was elected to represent the XIIth Congressional Dis- trict (Montour, Columbia, Luzerne and Wyoming counties) in the XXXVIIth Congress. He died in the Spring of 1861, and Governor Curtin ordered a special election to be held June 22d, 1861, to fill the vacancy. Two months be- fore this the War of the Rebellion had been begun, and the Democratic party of the North was split in twain. The larger and weightier portion was known as the Union, or
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War Democratic party. Colonel Wright received the nomi- nation of this party and of the Republican party in the XIIth District. His opponent was David R. Randall,* Esq. Owing to Colonel Wright's popularity (few men had warmer friends among all the political factions), and to his nomina- tion by the two principal parties, his election was certain. His majority was 5248, he having received nearly twice as many votes as Mr. Randall.
The XXXVIIth Congress convened at Washington De- cember 2d, 1861. Among the Representatives from Penn- sylvania in attendance were H. B. Wright, Galusha A. Grow, John Covode, William D. Kelly and Thaddeus Stevens. De- cember 16th a bill was brought before the House to author- ize the raising of a volunteer force for the better protection of Kentucky. The objections advanced against the bill were that the measure was uncalled for-that there were
* DAVID RICHARDSON RANDALL was born at Richmond, Cheshire county, N. H., August 21st, 1818. At an early age he removed with his parents to Chenango county, N. Y. In 1846 he located in Hyde Park (now a part of the city of Scranton), Luzerne (now Lackawanna) county, Penn'a, as a school teacher. He had been a student of law for some time in New York, and continuing his studies after his removal to Pennsylvania he was admitted to the Bar of Luzerne county Novem- ber 4th, 1847. He located in the borough of Providence. In Octo- ber, 1860, he was the Democratic candidate for Congress in the XIIth District, and was defeated by Colonel Scranton, whose majority was 695. In February, 1864, he was appointed District Attorney of Lu- zerne county to fill the vacancy caused by the death of E. B. Chase, the incumbent ; and in the Fall he was elected to the office for the regular term of three years by a majority of 2235. From 1871 to '75 he was an assessor of the city of Wilkesbarré.
David R. Randall was initiated into LODGE 61 August 7th, 1865. He was High Priest of Shekinah R. A. Chapter No. 182 in 1872, and was a charter member of Dieu le Veut Commandery No. 45, Knights Templar, constituted at Wilkesbarré in September, 1872. He died at Wilkesbarré August 31st, 1875, and was buried with Masonic cere- monies. He was survived by his wife and six children.
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more soldiers in the field than were necessary. Colonel Wright urged at some length the passage of the bill, and among other things said :
"Sir, if this war is conducted upon legitimate principles, I have no fears in regard to its result. If you will confine yourself to the proc- lamation of Abraham Lincoln, issued on the 19th of April last, when he made his appeal to the country, saying that he wanted an army to put down insurrection and rebellion, and to protect the rights of property and the rights guaranteed by the Constitution to the States- if gentlemen will but adhere to the principles contained in that proc- lamation, there is no danger with regard to the result of the war, with the number of troops we now have in the field. But if it be the de- ' sire and the plan to change the object of the war, and make it a war for emancipation, I can tell those gentlemen who hug the negro so closely to their bosoms that they do it at the hazard of the very life and existence of the Government itself. * * * I repeat, if you change the object and principle of the war, you paralyze the bravery of the army ; you present another question ; you present a divided North and a South united. * * It is a war for the supremacy of the Constitution and laws, and the honor of the flag, and not for the emancipation of slaves! I believe that it is the sworn duty of this Government to accept all the men who offer to come to our standard for that purpose." *
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