Elijah C. Wright, deceased was born in Wayne County, Indiana
January 27, 1817, a son
of David and Hepzabeth (Coffin) Wright, who were
natives of Guilford County, North
Carolina and of Irish and Welsh
ancestry. His mother was a daughter of Libni and
Hepzabeth (Starbuck)
Coffin, natives Nantucket of English ancestry. His father being a
farmer
he was reared to the same avocation, remaining with his parents until he
grew to
manhood.
He was married September 29, 1836
to Miss Rachel Vore, a daughter of Thomas Vore,
a native of
Pennsylvania. Three children were born to this union, of whom only one
daughter, Rhoda Ann, born November 22, 1840, grew to womanhood. Hannah Ellen
and one unnamed died in infancy.
n 1843 Mr. Wright
came with his family to Jay County and settled on a tract of eighty
acres of unimproved land which had been entered for him from the government.
He
was bereaved by the death of his wife, February 2, 1849. He was again
married January
10, 1850, to Miss Elizabeth Coffin, a daughter of
Nathaniel and Lydia (Bunker) Coffin,
and three children were born to
them – Pauline S., born December 27, 1851 is the wife of
George F. Jones
of Richmond; Malvern Otis, born October 14, 1859, was married May
18,
1884 to Lydia Stanbury and Francis E., born October 16, 1866.
Mr. Wright cleared and improved the land on which he first settled on coming
to Jay
County, and there made his home until his death.
He was reared in the Society of Friends. He was a zealous worker in the
house of
temperance, was a Good Templar, and a member of the Sons of
temperance. He served
one term as township assessor.
His widow still survives and is one of the oldest living residents of Penn
Township.
Biographical & Historical Record of Jay County,
Lewis Publishing Company, 1887.
Transcribed by Jim Cox