Referenced in the family

Samuel Wright

b. 1814

Life

1814Born

Records & Research

Samuel Wright (b. 1814 per the family report) appears as a son of George Wright (b. 25 May 1788) and Phoebe Whitley (b. 30 Nov 1790 in Elizabethtown Township, Leeds, Ontario, Canada, daughter of John Whitley). The only corroborating source is the published "Azrael" GenoPro family tree page for his brother Phineas Wright (b. 25 Oct 1811, Leeds, Ontario), which names the same parents as the report and lists "Samuel" among Phineas's brothers. IMPORTANT CAVEAT: that page lists TWO brothers named Samuel ("Samuel C." and "Samuel"), gives NO birth year for either, and provides no individual record for Samuel. The report's distinguishing fact — birth in 1814 — is therefore NOT independently corroborated, and our Samuel cannot be uniquely pinned to either listed Samuel. The family were early settlers of the Black River Falls / Wrightsville area (Jackson and Trempealeau Counties, Wisconsin) and were associated with James Jesse Strang's Strangite Latter Day Saint movement. Local histories mention a "Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Wright and their five sons," but the source does NOT establish that this Samuel is the son of George and Phoebe, let alone the 1814 Samuel. Samuel's own birth year, birthplace, death, marriage, and children remain unconfirmed from any independent citable source. Two same-name/same-year candidates (a female Wright of Grayson, Virginia, and a George Wright of Wilbraham, Massachusetts) were checked and correctly rejected as different people.

Differs from the report

identity (rejected candidate): report says “Samuel Wright, born 1814, son of George Wright (1788-1839) and Phoebe Whitley (1790)”, records indicate “FamilySearch person M964-YBP is a FEMALE Wright born about 1814 in Grayson, Virginia, father William Wright (1789-1861), mother Mary Pearse (1789-1827). This is a different person and does NOT match (wrong sex, wrong place, wrong parents).”. Rejected as a same-year-different-person false match. familysearch ↗

father (rejected candidate): report says “George Wright (1788-1839), father Phineas Wright, mother (paternal grandmother) Zilpha Downer”, records indicate “WikiTree profile Wright-5727 'George Wright (1788- )' is from Wilbraham, Hampden, Massachusetts with parents Solomon Wright and Eunice Dewey. This is a DIFFERENT George Wright and does not match our George Wright (whose parents per the GenoPro tree were Phineas Wright and Zilpha Downer).”. Rejected as a same-name-same-year-different-person false match. wikitree ↗

Not yet confirmed — probable matches and family lore, shown for research. Treat with caution.

A Samuel Wright appears as a son of George Wright (b. 25 May 1788) and Phoebe Whitley (b. 30 Nov 1790 in Elizabethtown Township, Leeds, Ontario, Canada, daughter of John Whitley) — the same parents named in the 2006 family report (George Wright 1788-1839; Phoebe Whitley 1790). The paternal grandparents are recorded as Phineas Wright and Zilpha Downer and the maternal grandfather as John Whitley. likely

1788/1790 · Elizabethtown Township, Leeds, Ontario, Canada · The parents match the report on father's birth year (1788), mother's full name (Phoebe Whitley) and mother's birth year (1790). HOWEVER, these anchors confirm the PARENTS/FAMILY, not the specific 1814 individual: the source lists 'Samuel' only as a name in a sibling list, with no birth year and no individual page. The report's only distinguishing fact about Samuel — the 1814 birth — is not corroborated here, and the tree records TWO brothers named Samuel, so this is a single-anchor (name-in-a-list) identity link. Confidence reduced from 'confirmed' to 'likely' accordingly. Source verified by direct fetch on 2026-06-16. family-tree ↗
Per the GenoPro 'Azrael' tree, Phineas Wright (b. 25 Oct 1811, Leeds, Ontario; d. 20 Mar 1874, Coral City, Trempealeau Co., Wisconsin; bur. Wrightsville, Jackson Co.) had four brothers recorded as 'Benjamin Guyal, Samuel C., Samuel and Benjamin.' One of the two listed Samuels is presumably the report's Samuel Wright, but neither carries a birth year on the source page. likely

· Leeds, Ontario, Canada · Verbatim from the verified source: 'He had four brothers named Benjamin Guyal, Samuel C., Samuel and Benjamin.' The two-Samuels ambiguity is genuine and means the 1814 Samuel cannot be uniquely identified. Faithful to the source but cannot pin the specific 1814 individual, so 'confirmed' overstates; set to 'likely.' family-tree ↗
The Wright family of George Wright and Phoebe Whitley emigrated from Leeds, Ontario, Canada to Wisconsin and were among the early settlers of the Black River Falls / Wrightsville area (Jackson and Trempealeau Counties), associated with James Jesse Strang's Strangite Latter Day Saint movement. Local histories quoted in the tree record 'Samuel and Benjamin Wright, well known citizens in their time, arrived on the river in 1842,' and 'Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Wright and their five sons, Mose, George, Benjamin, William, Theodore ... came to Wrightsville in the year of 1862.' unconfirmed

1842-1862 · Wrightsville / Black River Falls, Jackson County, Wisconsin, USA · The local-history quotes (Geo. Reed, 'Black River Falls Early History'; Georginia Bouley, 'Wrightsville, Then and Now') are accurately transcribed in the verified GenoPro notes, and the family's general Wisconsin/Strangite connection is supported. BUT the source does NOT establish that the 'Samuel Wright with five sons' (or the 1842 'Samuel') is the son of George and Phoebe — the notes describe several distinct Wright men (Uncle Ben, his nephews Morris and George, Phoebe's father Benjamin Wright the apostle, etc.), no birth year is given, and there are two Samuels in the immediate family. Identifying the Wrightsville Samuel as our 1814 Samuel is speculative; downgraded from 'likely' to 'unconfirmed.' family-tree ↗

Open questions (6)

Samuel Wright's 1814 birth year is NOT corroborated by any consulted source. The verified GenoPro 'Azrael' page lists Samuel only as a name in Phineas's sibling list with no birth date, and it names TWO brothers called Samuel ('Samuel C.' and 'Samuel'). The report's 1814 Samuel cannot be uniquely matched to either; an individual record with a birth year is needed.
Because the GenoPro page gives no individual record for either Samuel, the entire link between the report's 1814 person and the documented George/Phoebe family rests on a single shared name. This was previously presented as a 'confirmed multi-anchor' match (finding 1); on direct review the anchors confirm only the PARENTS/FAMILY, not the 1814 individual, so the finding was downgraded to 'likely.'
The 'Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Wright and their five sons (Mose, George, Benjamin, William, Theodore)' who settled at Wrightsville in 1862, and the 'Samuel Wright' who 'arrived on the river in 1842,' are NOT shown by the source to be sons of George and Phoebe; the Wrightsville notes mention several unrelated or differently-related Wright men. Any spouse/children attributed to our Samuel from these passages is unproven and was demoted to 'unconfirmed.'
No death date, death place, or burial place was found for Samuel Wright. Family burials concentrate at Wrightsville, Jackson County, Wisconsin (brother Phineas is buried there); a FindAGrave / cemetery search of Wrightsville/Jackson County for a Samuel Wright is a recommended next step.
The report gives no birthplace. By family pattern Samuel was plausibly born in Leeds/Elizabethtown, Ontario, Canada (where Phineas was born), but no source states a birthplace for Samuel, so this remains an inference only.
A logged-in FamilySearch Family Tree or Ancestry search keyed on the parents George Wright + Phoebe Whitley (Leeds, Ontario) is the most promising path to locate an individual record for the 1814 Samuel and resolve birth year, death, spouse, and children.

Sources consulted (6)

Ancestry

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Samuel Wright b. 1814

father George Wright 1788–1839

father Phineas Wright 1752–1822

mother Zilpha Downer

mother Phoebe Whitley b. 1790

father John Whitley 1761–1838

father John Whitley b. 1740

mother Mary Tucker

mother Margaret Hagerman 1771–1845

father John Sr. Hagerman 1725–1813

mother Phoebe Ferguson b. 1730