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Wright, William Silas
The following data is extracted from Sketches of Addison County, Vermont.
Wright, William Silas, Waltham, was born in Weybridge, Vt., January 6, 1819. He was the fifth son of Daniel and Bathsheba (Frost) Wright, who settled in New Haven, Vt., in 1820, and at the age of sixteen years took a preparatory course at the Vergennes Classical Institute, and in 1838 entered Middlebury College, where he remained nearly two years, after which he returned to his father's homestead in New Haven, and except the interval of four years (when he lived in Weybridge) he resided with his parents until the death of his father, and in 1867 removed to Waltham, Vt., where he, has since resided. In June, 1836, he united with the Congregational Church in Vergennes, Vt., and his connection with the same has never been changed. His family are all members of the same church. He has taken an active part in public affairs and held many of the offices of the towns of New Haven and Waltham, and represented the latter in the General Assembly of Vermont in 1874 and '75, serving on the committee of education. He was married September 15, 1840, to Lucy Columbia, only daughter of Jacob and Lucy (Weller) Phillips, of Pittsford, Vt., by whom he had two children -- Emma C. (wife of Henry S. Jackman) and John Jacob (a merchant residing at Rochester, N. Y.). Mrs. Wright's maternal grandfather, Amos Weller, was a personal friend of the noted Ethan Allen, and was by his side when he surprised the garrison, and entered and took the fortress of Ticonderoga, on the 10th day of May, 1775. He was a soldier during the war, and for several years received a pension for his services. Subsequent to his military experiences he was several years a deacon of the Baptist Church in Rutland, Vt. The offices of town clerk and superintendent of schools have been held by Mr. Wright since 1872, and in November, 1885, he was appointed by Governor Pingree associate judge of Addison County Court, vice Hon. E. A. Doud, resigned. He has been a successful farmer, and enjoys the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens. His parents were Daniel and Bathsheba (Frost) Wright, who were natives of Massachusetts. Daniel Wright settled in New Haven, Vt., in 1820, on the farm now occupied by S. S. Wright, and resided there until the time of his death, which occurred on September 11, 1866. He left a family of seven children -- Alanson L., Daniel H., Abigail (died in 1843), Caleb, Emerson R., William S., and Samuel S. Mr. Wright was an honored and respected citizen, and by his own industry accumulated a handsome fortune. William S.'s paternal grandfather was Ebenezer Wright, who was a native of Northampton, Mass., and who settled in Weybridge, Vt., in 1783, and cleared and improved the farm now owned by E. S. Wright, where he died in 1832. His maternal grandfather was Phineas Frost, a native of Massachusetts, and an early settler in Cornwall, Vt.
Source: Sketches of Addison County, Vermont
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