Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Wright, Joel

Born: 1792-10-10 New Hampshire

Died: 1867-05-14

An early settler in Canton, Illinois, Wright became the first magistrate of the village, receiving his commission on January 9, 1830. In that same year he opened a store in the area. When Canton was incorporated as a town in 1837, Wright supported the incorporation act and was elected to the board of aldermen. He served two stints as postmaster, from 1835 to 1841, and from 1849 to 1855. In 1850, he was living in Canton with his wife Emily, whom he married in 1829 and with whom he had at least three children and serving as postmaster. He owned $10,000 in real property. In 1860, he was employed as a merchant with $20,000 in real property and $10,000 in personal property. He was a Presbyterian, serving as a trustee of the Presbyterian (Old School) Church.

Gravestone, Greenwood Cemetery, Canton, IL; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September 1835 (Washington, DC: Blair & Rives, 1835), 262*; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1841 (Washington, DC: Thomas Allen, 1841), 342*; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1849 (Washington, DC: Gideon, 1849), *469; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1851 (Washington, DC: Gideon, 1851), 526*; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1855 (Washington, DC: A. O. P. Nicholson, 1855), 330*; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Canton, Fulton County, IL, 151; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Canton, Fulton County, IL, 59; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Fulton County, 1 July 1829, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Alonzo M. Swan, Canton: Its Pioneers and History (Canton: Fulton County, Illinois, 1871), 27, 42, 51, 99.