WRIGHT, John (C.?) ^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12}

  General Notes:

Much information can be gleaned about this family from a book by Algie I. Newlin entitled CHARITY COOK, A LIBERATED WOMAN, (Friends United Press, 1981). It is a biography of their daughter, Charity Cook, written and researched by a history professor.

Around 1725, he and his family moved to the northern part of Maryland, Prince Georges Co., MD possibly living at Goose Creek MM, Cecil Co., MD first. Rachel's family lived in Prince George's County and they probably met there. John's only wife was Rachel Wells. Some sources list a second wife named Susannah but this has been disproven. The first half of John and Rachel's children were born in Prince George's County Maryland according to Newlin's book: [UL:Charity Cook, A Liberated Woman:UL]. John's family moved from 1733-35 to Frederick Co., VA and became members of the Friends Hopewell Monthly Meeting according to Lewis Wright. (C-588, 610) Possibly the confusion here comes from the changing names of territories. They lived near Monacacy River a few miles south of Frederick which could have been Prince George's Co., Maryland at the time, but is now known as Frederick Co., Maryland.

The marriage records of John and Rachel Wells Wright can not be located, and it is thought by some that they were burned with the Hopewell meeting records. Marriage is therefore approximated as 1737, a year before their first child's birth. Both John and Rachel were appointed overseers of their respective male and female Monthly Meetings in Monocacy in 1745. They were charter members of the Fairfax MM.

Rachel Wells Wright is a very interesting person of her own right. She was a Quaker minister. This involved travel and stamina on her part. She was a very sturdy woman attested by the trials she endured plus the fact that she had three of her children in just a two year period.

What is even more astounding is that during this same two year period, John and Rachel Wright with 7 young children, William through John Jr. moved to the Cane Creek frontier, soon to become Orange County, North Carolina, which was over a distance of 300 miles. They received their letter to go to what was then Carvers Creek MM on 29-5-1749. They were charter members of of Cane Creek Monthly Meeting in Alamance Co., North Carolina when it was established 10m-1751. (C-575) Six more children were born to them in the Cane Creek area. All thirteen are listed in the Cane Creek records.

John and Rachel often lived in new, rather unsecured settlement areas. It appears that they moved near Camden, Kershaw Co., South Carolina in 1761/1762 to the Wateree Meeting in Camden, South Carolina, later to become the Bush River Monthly Meeting area that they helped establish. (C-250) He sought a land patent for land on Beaverdam on Sep 17, 1769 with an addition joining it in 1786. Parts of both of this land he granted to his son in law Big John. Later, Big John and Rachel then sold it to their son, Wright Coate.

According to Lewis Wright, John was a Ship Captain by trade. (C-610, 615) However, in his will, he bequeathed his shoemaking tools. Medlin's "Quaker Families of South Carolina and Georgia also states that John was a shoemaker by trade. He never tended to live on the ocean either, so I'd say the Ship Captain must apply to some other John Wright. (C-265, 866)

John was also a member of the first and second Provincial Congress of S.C. (C-588)

At an ederly age, he lived with his daughter, Susannah. He used to walk to and from the Quaker meetings. The family reunion in 1908 recalled that his daughter prevailed on him to take her horse on one occasion. When the meeting was over, he walked home. When he got there she asked him where the horse was and he replied "Dad, me Sue, I forgot her."

According to this same family reunion provided by Julia Henry, it states that he and his wife had seven sons and ten daughters, 4 of whom apparently aren't in the Quaker records.

He attended his grand-daughter, Sarah Cook's wedding in 1785. He wrote his will on 9/17/1789. He named his wife, his deceased son, Joseph and Joseph's son, John; John and his son; Jesse; Nathan and his son William; his son-in-law, Isaac Hollingsworth which he left his shoe-maker tools, cow and calf; Joab Brooks, son of James Brooks; Joseph Cook, his grandson and son of Isaac Cook; William Hollingsworth, grandson and son of Isaac Hollingsworth; son-in-law Isaac Cook and Isaac's daughter Rachel. The witnesses were Isaac Hollingsworth, John Coate and Charity Cook. His Executor was his son Joseph Wright. His will was written in Newberry Co., South Carolina. (C-866, 2082)

His death was about 1790. He was living with his son-in-law, Isaac Hollingsworth's family, in the 1790 census. Before he died, he supposedly gathered all of his descendants which numbered 144 persons at the time. (C-945) ¹⁷

  Noted events in his life were:

• Will, Sep 17, 1789, , Newberry, SC, USA. ¹⁸

• Probate, Jun 8, 1790, , Newberry, SC, USA. ¹⁸

John married Rachel WELLS, daughter of Joseph WELLS and Rachel UNKNOWN, about 1737 in Hopewell M.M., Frederick, VA, USA. (Rachel WELLS was born on May 3, 1720 in All Hallows Parish, Anne Arundel, MD, USA, christened on Jul 12, 1721 in Davidsonville, Anne Arundel, MD, US ^{19 20} and died on Dec 23, 1771 in Bush River M.M., Newberry, SC, USA ¹.)

  Marriage Notes:

or Monacy, Prince George Co., MD. (C-1991)