By Jared L. Olar
June 2008
Updated May 2019
The English family name Wright is an occupational surname that derives from the Anglo-Saxon word wyrhta or wryhta, meaning a "worker" of wood. In time, though, "wright" came to refer to several different kinds of workers, such as wheelwrights, wainwrights, and shipwrights, and even the authors of plays came to be called playwrights. As for the specific Wright family under discussion on this page -- the Wrights of Flushing, New York -- they first appear in New England in the 1600s, and we do not know where in England they came from nor what their ancestral occupation was from which they came to be called by the family name of Wright. Thanks to DNA testing in 2014, however, it is at least known that the Wrights of Flushing are NOT from the same family as their near neighbors, the Wrights of Oyster Bay, Long Island. Following is an account of our Wright of Flushing lineage:
1. GEORGE WRIGHT, ancestry unknown, born circa 1610 in England, died after 2 Feb. 1684 probably in Flushing, Long Island, New York. George is thought to be the George Wright who appeared at Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, 1636, being mentioned several times in Essex County Quarterly Records and Salem town records from 1636 and 1643. An ELIZABETH WRIGHT (possible maiden name of LAW) was admitted to the Salem church in 1640, with an annotation "Removed" indicating that she had left Salem for another settlement. Elizabeth was probably the wife of George Wright of Salem. George is likely the George Wright mentioned in Braintree town records and Massachusetts Bay Court records as receiving a grant of land and being admitted as a Freeman in 1639. (See Richard Charles Anderson's The Great Migration Directory: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1640 (2015), page 386).
Though there is some doubt that George Wright of Braintree is our George Wright, our George certainly later owned land in (and presumably lived in) Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and also appears in the records of Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, before moving to Gravesend in Westchester County, New York, by 1 March 1655. He was living in Flushing on Long Island by 22 Dec. 1657. He last appears on 2 Feb. 1684, when he deeded his landed in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, to his son JONATHAN WRIGHT of Flushing, New York.
Douglas Wright Cruger's 1987 A Genealogical Dictionary of Wright Families in the Lower Hudson Valley to 1800, page 45, provides this resume of George's life:
"GEORGE 1 planter of Salem & Braintree, Rehoboth MA, Providence & Newport RI, Gravesend WestCo NY & Flushing LI. Of Gravesend by 1 Mar 1654/5. Of Flushing 27 Dec 1657. Land in Newtown Jan 1663. Deeds land in Rehoboth to son Jonathan of Flushing 2 Feb 1683/4. Issue: Jonathan. ["Captain George Wright", in Early Rehoboth by Richard LeBaron Bowen (1948) 3:131-150]"
George Wright's only known child is:
2. JONATHAN WRIGHT , born circa 1635.
2. JONATHAN WRIGHT, son of George Wright, born circa 1635, died late 1698 probably in Flushing, Long Island, New York. Jonathan's only known wife was SARAH SAITLEY, born perhaps circa 1650 in Newtown in New Netherlands (New York), died between 19 Jan. 1725 and 7 Aug. 1729 in Flushing, New York, daughter of Henry Saitley of Newtown (who is named in Jonathan's will in late 1698). Given the fact that Jonathan had 15 children, it is possible that Jonathan was married twice and some of his children were born of an unknown first wife. However, it is quite possible that Sarah gave birth to all 15 of his children, if her first child was born when she was 18 and her last when she was 48, with a new birth about every two years.
Douglas Wright Cruger's 1987 A Genealogial Dictionary of Wright Families in the Lower Hudson Valley to 1800, page 78, includes this entry on Jonathan and Sarah Wright:
"JONATHAN 1 [George 1] of Flushing LI, b ca 1635 (aged 46 in 1681) prob d Flushing LI 1698 m perh 2) by 12 Dec 1694 Sarah Saitley dau Henry Saitley of Newtown NY. His will 5 Nov 1698 said proved same year. Her unrecorded will 19 Jan 1724/5 'proved' 7 Aug 1729 also names dau Mary Fish, gd Elizabeth Fish, Elizabeth Furman, hs Josiah Furman. Of Flushing by 1664. Deeded land in Rehoboth MA by father 2 Feb 1683/4, sold by him 27 Jun 1684 to John Doged. Issue (from his will): John, Charles, Job, Jonathan Jr 1674, David, Samuel, Richard, Henry, George, Maritiye, Elizabeth m George Wood Jr, Sarah m Jacob Griffin, Hannah, Mary, Niantjie/Nancy 1698. [(Jonathan's will) NYCoNY PR 5-6:275 in NYHS 25:300, (Sarah's will) 35:138; Early Rehoboth by Richard LeBaron Bowen (1948), 3:146-150; Notes of Mary K Witherbee (1979)]"
Other records of Jonathan and Sarah Wright include a land deed in the Queens County Clerk's Office whereby Jonathan and Sarah sold land in the Great Valley of Newtown (northwestern Queens County) to Thomas Betts on 5 Sept. 1696. In addition, the records of the Collegiate Church in Manhattan show that Jonathan and Sarah had their sons David and Richard baptised on 12 Dec 1694, though it is unknown whether David and Richard were infants at the time, as at times Christian colonists chose or found it necessary to delay having their children baptised.
Jonathan Wright's 15 children were:
-- JONATHAN WRIGHT JR., born 1674.
-- CHARLES WRIGHT
-- JOB WRIGHT
3. JOHN WRIGHT, born circa 1680 probably in Flushing, Long Island, New York.
-- DAVID WRIGHT, baptised 5 Sept. 1696 in Manhattan, New York.
-- SAMUEL WRIGHT
-- RICHARD WRIGHT, baptised 5 Sept. 1696 in Manhattan, New York.
-- HENRY WRIGHT
-- GEORGE WRIGHT
-- MARGARET WRIGHT ("Maritiye")
-- ELIZABETH WRIGHT, married George Wood Jr.
-- SARAH WRIGHT, married Jacob Griffin.
-- HANNAH WRIGHT
-- MARY WRIGHT, married (NN) Fish.
-- NANCY WRIGHT ("Niantjie"), born 1698 in Flushing, Long Island, New York.
3. JOHN WRIGHT, son of Jonathan and Sarah Wright, born circa 1680 probably in Flushing, Long Island, New York, died probably in the late 1740s or 1750s, probably in Yorktown, Westchester County, New York. John married circa 1706 in Long Island, New York, to SARAH (NN), whose dates and places of birth and death, as well as her maiden name and parentage, are unknown -- she was NOT a Pemberton. Earlier researchers confused our ancestor John Wright of Yorktown with his possible kinsman John Wright of Flushing who died in 1768, but Douglas Wright Cruger correctly distinguishes the two John Wrights in his 1987 A Genealogial Dictionary of Wright Families in the Lower Hudson Valley to 1800, which includes this entry on our ancestor John Wright on page 70:
"JOHN 2 [Jonathan 1] b prob Flushing LI ca 1680 m after 1698 Sarah ---. Known as John Wright of Yorktown, WestCoNY. Said to have d 1768 leaving estate to kin Eleanor Winstanly & chn. See JOHN 3. Issue: Abraham 1708, Sarah m --- Lee, Hannah m Joseph Haight, Isaac, Jonathan, Jacob 1721, John 1710/20, Daniel 1708/18 [WRIGHT/FL by Perrine]"
Cruger then presents John Wright of Flushing on the same page as "JOHN 3," including details from John Wright of Flushing's 1768 will that previous Wright genealogists have wrongly attributed to our John. Cruger cites an unpublished manuscript regarding the Wrights in Flushing, "Jonathan Wright of Flushing, L. I., 1509-1920," by Howland Delano Perrine, which apparently is the source for the misidentification of these two separate John Wrights, both of whom lived in Flushing during their lives. The following comment by "brucep98," dated 4 Aug. 2004, lays out evidence and arguments establishing that our John Wright is not the one who died in 1768 (emphasis added):
. . . Doug Cruger, both in his book about the Wrights and in a posting some 4 years ago seems to imply that [Perrine] gets the 1768 death date from the will of
John Wright of Flushing (probated April 15, 1768). However it seems to me from reading the will that John Wright of Flushing and John Wright of Yorktown are two separate
individuals. A couple of points:
1. The will refers to John Wright of Flushing even though he [i.e. our John] is living in Yorktown.
2. The will doesn't mention any of the known children of John Wright of Yorktown.
3. The will mentions his dwelling house and land in Cronton, Lancashire as well as a legacy for a school in Cronton. The house and lands are on Penny Land which
is very near Cronton Hall, owned by a Wright family until 1821.
4. Cronton also had quite a reputation for watch making. The will of John Wright of Flushing indicates that he is a watchmaker. In addition the will of Edith
Feaver (proved May 19, 1749) refers to John as a watchmaker.
5. Other than a reference to the sales of his house and land in the Province of New York the will is heavily English in detail, both in terms of people and legacies.
I conclude that John Wright of Flushing is from the Wright family centered in Cronton, Lancashire, and is not the son of Jonathan Wright of Flushing. As a result the presumed
death date for John Wright of Yorktown is not 1768 and is currently unknown. In addition the identification of Sarah, the wife of John Wright of Yorktown as a Pemberton is
incorrect. This identification stems from the reference to Peter Pemberton as a brother-in-law in the will of John Wright of Flushing. This wife is presumably deceased and
without issue at the time of the will since she is not named nor is there any provision made for her support. This misidentification shows up in a number of family trees on
the Internet. However John Wright of Flushing obviously moved in the same circles as the rest of the Jonathan Wright family. The Jonathan Wright that is named as one of the
executors is probably the son of John Wright of Yorktown.
The commenter "brucep98" concludes with an estimate that our John Wright died "probably in the late 1740's or 1750's given an estimated date of birth of 1680."
John and Sarah Wright had six sons and two daughters. :
-- ABRAHAM WRIGHT, born 1708.
-- SARAH WRIGHT, married (NN) Lee.
4. HANNAH WRIGHT, born circa 1712 probably in Flushing, Long Island, New York.
-- ISAAC WRIGHT
-- JONATHAN WRIGHT
-- JACOB WRIGHT, born 1721
-- JOHN WRIGHT JR., born 1710/20.
-- DANIEL WRIGHT, born 1708/18.
4. HANNAH WRIGHT, born circa 1712 probably in Flushing, Long Island, New York, died of smallpox on 30 July 1776 in Dutchess County, New York, daughter of John and Sarah Wright. Hannah married in Aug. 1732 to JOSEPH HAIGHT, born 1712 in Yorktown, Westchester County, New York, died of smallpox on 30 July 1776 in Highland, Dutchess County, New York. Douglas Wright Cruger's 1987 A Genealogial Dictionary of Wright Families in the Lower Hudson Valley to 1800, page 51, includes this entry on Hannah Wright and her husband Joseph Haight:
"HANNAH 3 [John 2] prob b Flushing LI m Aug 1732 Joseph Haight of Rye NY b 1712. Res Brinckerhoffville NY. Taxed Highland of DutCoNY 1772. Issue: Daniel 1732/33, William, Esther, Phebe m Col Zebulon Butler, Mary 1739/40 m Justus Nelson, John 1741, Joseph of NYC, Martha m 1) John McKeel m 2) --- Baxter, Sylvanus, Stephen, Beverly, Hannah [WRIGHT/FL by Perrine: SCJ]"
The Faella/McKiel Family Tree database provides the following biographical details about Joseph and Hannah:
"In 1751, Joseph and his wife Hannah Wright moved from Rye to Phillipstown (Putnam County, New York) and erected a log house by the old Indian path on the west side of Clove Creek. In 1765, he built the first frame house on the east side of the creek, all of the material being made on the farm. The farm contained a saw mill and a carpenter shop. Joseph and two of his sons were carpenters. Joseph and his wife Hannah died of smallpox on the same day, an hour and forty-eight minutes apart."
In addition, the Historical and Genealogical Record, Dutchess and Putnam Counties, New York, 1912 - Part 2, pages 403, 453-454, provides these biographical notes regarding Joseph Haight:
"Joseph, in 1751, came to Philipstown, Putnam county, and erected a log house by the old Indian path on the west side of Clove creek. In 1765 he built from materials made on the farm, in the saw mill, blacksmith and carpenter shop, the first frame house erected on the east side of Clove creek. Joseph was the progenitor of the Haight families of Putnam and Dutchess counties. He was born in 1719 (sic) and married Hannah Wright, and had twelve children of whom the eighth, Beverly, born 1763, married Charity Hustis, and had eight children the third of whom, Joshua, was Albert Haight's grandfather."
"Joseph Haight, the eldest son, who continues this line, was born at Yorktown, Westchester County in 1719, and died at Philipstown (sic), in what is now Putnam County, N.Y., July 30, 1776. He removed from Rye, N.Y., to Philipstown in 1751, where he occupied a strip of land given to him by his father in 1750. He was a carpenter by trade and built the first frame house on the east side of Clove Creek, obtaining all the lumber from his farm. He married Hannah, daughter of John Wright of Yorktown, N. Y. . . . ."
Joseph and Hannah had the following children:
-- DANIEL HAIGHT, born 1732 in the Highlands area of Dutchess Co.
-- MARY HAIGHT, born circa 1739/40, married Justus Nelson.
-- CAPT. JOHN HAIGHT, born 18 Aug. 1743 in Rye, N.Y.
-- JOSEPH HAIGHT
-- SYLVANUS HAIGHT
-- STEPHEN HAIGHT
-- WILLIAM HAIGHT, born circa 1751 in Philipstown, N.Y.
-- BEVERLY HAIGHT, born circa 1763 in Brinkerhoffville, N.Y.
-- HANNAH HAIGHT
-- PHEBE HAIGHT, born in Philipstown, married Col. Zebulon Butler.
-- ESTHER HAIGHT, born in Philipstown, N.Y.
-- MARTHA HAIGHT, twin sister of Esther, married first John McKeel, married second (NN) Baxter.
Wright Genealogy Resources:
A Genealogical Dictionary of Wright Families in the Lower Hudson Valley to 1800 (1987), by Douglas Wright Cruger. Faella-McKiel Family Tree (Wright ancestry) Wright Y-DNA Test Results