Betty: /* Additional Media */

2013-04-02T00:33:45Z

Additional Media

Betty: /* Additional Media */

2013-01-28T22:41:14Z

Additional Media

Betty: moved Silas W. Wright to Wright, Silas W.

2012-11-25T21:51:59Z

moved Silas W. Wright to Wright, Silas W.

Betty: Created page with "NOTOC ==Birth== Silas W. Wright was born March 1, 18441900 US Census, Danville, Vermillion Co, Illinois in B..."

2012-11-25T21:30:59Z

Created page with "__NOTOC__ ==Birth== Silas W. Wright was born March 1, 1844<ref name="1900Census">1900 US Census, Danville, Vermillion Co, Illinois</ref> in B..."

New page

__NOTOC__
==Birth==
Silas W. Wright was born March 1, 1844<ref name="1900Census">1900 US Census, Danville, Vermillion Co, Illinois</ref> in Berne, Albany County, NY to [[Mephiboseth Wright]] (B. 1814, D. Feb 28, 1870) and Mercy Simmons (B. 1822, D. Dec 30, 1857).<ref name="Carnival">Keating, Robert, ''[[Carnival of Blood]]: The Civil War Ordeal of the Seventh New York Heavy Artillery,'' Published by Butternut and Blue, Baltimore, Md 1998</ref><ref name="Town and City Registers">''[[Town and City Registers]] of Men Who Served in the Civil War''</ref><ref name="1850Census">1850 US Census, Berne, Albany Co, NY</ref><ref name="1855Census">1855 NY State Census, Berne, Albany Co, NY</ref>
<ref name="1860Census">1860 US Census, Berne, Albany Co, NY</ref><ref name="Bernehistory">[http://www.Bernehistory.org Berne Historical Project]</ref><ref name="1865Census">1865 NY State Census, Berne, Albany Co, NY</ref><ref name="License">[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~majorville/majtombstones/wright_ida_m_smith.html Board of Health Document and Marriage License]</ref> His birthdate has been given as March 1, 1842, but like many Civil War soldiers he lied about his age when they enlisted. Silas was the oldest child of four boys.<ref name="USCensus">US Censuses</ref><ref name="Bernehistory"/> Note: Robert Keating, in the ''[[Carnival of Blood]],'' says that Silas W. Wright was the brother of [[Nathaniel Wright]], however this is incorrect.<ref name="Carnival"/><ref name="USCensus">US Censuses</ref>

==Education==
Have received schooling at the local Berne schools,<ref name="1860Census">1860 US Census, Berne, Albany Co, NY</ref> Silas was able to read and write.<ref name="VolHome">Registers of US National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers 1866-1938, www.ancestry.com</ref>

==Occupation==
Silas worked as a farmer like his father before he served in the Civil War.<ref name="Carnival"/> After the war he was described as a farmer and laborer.<ref name="VolHome">Registers of US National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers 1866-1938, www.ancestry.com</ref>

==Marriage & Children== 
Silas W. Wright married twice after he returned from the war.<ref name="License">[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~majorville/majtombstones/wright_ida_m_smith.html Board of Health Document and Marriage License]</ref> The details about the first marriage are unknown. On March 27, 1888 he was married for a second time to Ida M. Smith (B. June 20, 1868, D. May 15, 1888), daughter of Alva D. Smith and Dillie "Senet". They were married in Colchester, McDonough County, Illinois by John D. Tress, the Police Magistrate. Witnesses were C. W. Park Jr., J. E. Hall and C. C. Parker.<ref name="License"/>.<ref name="Gravestone">[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~majorville/majtombstones/wright_ida_m_smith.html Gravestone photo and inscription]</ref>

 Ida had been born in Erie Township, Neosho County Kansas where her father was a farmer. However by 1880, her parents and family had moved to Rock Creek Township, Hancock County, Illinois.<ref name="License"/>



==Military Service==
{| style="color:black;background-color:#ccffff;" cellspacing="1" border="2"
|Name:
|Silas Wright
|-
|Residence at Enlistemnt:
|Berne<ref name="Town and City Registers">Town and City Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War</ref>
|-
|Place of Birth:
|Berne, NY<ref name="Town and City Registers"/><ref name="Carnival"/>
|-
|Date of Birth:
|1 March 1842<ref name="Town and City Registers"/>
|-
|Names of Parents:
|Mephiboseth (Wright) and Mercy Simmons<ref name="Town and City Registers"/>
|-
|Marital Status:
|Single<ref name="Town and City Registers"/>
|-
|Occupation:
|Farmer<ref name="Town and City Registers"/><ref name="Carnival"/>
|-
|Term of Enlistment:
|3 years<ref name="Town and City Registers"/>
|-
|Bounty Received:
|None<ref name="Town and City Registers"/>
|-
|Enlistment Date:
|23 Nov 1863<ref name="Carnival"/><ref name="1890Census">1890 US Veterans Census, Berne, Albany Co, NY</ref> or Dec 1863<ref name="1865Census"/>
|-
|Enlistment Place:
|Albany, New York
|-
|Enlistment Rank:
|Private<ref name="Carnival"/>
|-
|State Served:
|New York
|-
|Regiment:
|'''[[7th Regiment]]''' NY Heavy Artillery<ref name="Carnival"/><ref name="1865Census"/><ref name="1890Census"/>
|-
|Company:
|Company D<ref name="Carnival"/><ref name="1890Census"/>
|-
|Wounded on:
|3 Jun 1864<ref name="Carnival"/>
|-
|Wounded at:
|[[Cold Harbor]], VA<ref name="Carnival"/>
|-
|Transferred on:
|1 Mar 1865<ref name="Carnival"/>
|-
|Transferred to:
|Co. I, 3rd Reg't, Veteran Reserve Corp<ref name="Carnival"/><ref name="1865Census"/>
|-
|Discharged for Disability on:
|19 Aug 1865<ref name="Carnival"/> or 22 Aug 1865<ref name="1890Census"/>
|-
|Muster Out Place:
|Ira Harris US Army General Hospital, Albany, NY<ref name="Carnival"/>
|-
|}
{| style="color:black;background-color:#ccffff;" cellspacing="1" border="2"
|Additional Remarks: Enlisted at age 19.<ref name="Carnival"/> "Had two fingers shot off at the battle of [[Cold Harbor]] June 3, 1864 Discharged Aug 19, 1865<ref name="Carnival"/><ref name="1865Census"/> P.O. Address Bern Albany Co N.Y."<ref name="Town and City Registers"/>
|-
|Sources Used: Ancestry.com, American Civil War Soldiers; 1865 census, Berne, Albany Co., NY; [[Annual Report of the Adjutant-General]] of the State of NY for the year 1898; Keating, Robert, Carnival of Blood: The Civil War Ordeal of the Seventh New York Heavy Artillery, Published by Butternut and Blue, Baltimore, Md 1998; Town and City Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War; 1890 US Veterans Census, Berne, Albany Co, NY; Registers of US National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers 1866-1938, www.ancestry.com;
|}

==Military Service==
Silas W. Wright enlisted in the 7th Heavy Artillery Regiment, which was very popular with men from Albany County. For the first few months of his service, the Regiment had relatively easy duty guarding the nation's capital, Washington, DC. But in the spring of 1864, the Regiment was sent into battle where they experienced some of the heaviest fighting and saw one of the highest casualty rates of any unit in the Civil War.

 On June 3, 1864, Silas was wounded at [[Cold Harbor]], Virginia and he lost two fingers on his right hand. Robert Keating, in his book ''[[Carnival of Blood]]'', tells of the high number of hand injuries among the 7th HA troops and that officials suspected that many of these injuries were self-inflicted in an attempt to avoid battle. The brutality of the Civil War battles makes such actions understandable.

 After his injury, probably unable to handle a rifle, Silas was transferred to the 3rd Regiment of the Veterans Reserve Corps. The Veteran Reserve Corps allowed soldiers with non-serious injuries to continue to serve their nation by providing guard or clerical services. In August of 1865, Silas mustered out of the Ira Harris US Army General Hospital in Albany, NY, which indicates that he had some injury or disability. This is confirmed by the comment that he was discharged from service by a surgeon's certificate.<ref name="VolHome">Registers of US National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers 1866-1938, www.ancestry.com</ref>

 It appears that the stress of Silas' military career would stay with him for the remainder of his life. He became an alcoholic, probably as a result of post traumatic stress syndrome, and lived a tragic life.

==Physical Appearance==
Silas W. Wright was 5'4" tall with gray eyes, and dark hair and complexion.<ref name="VolHome"/>

==Religion==
Silas was Protestant.<ref name="VolHome"/>

==Life==
Silas was born and raised in Berne where his father, [[Mephiboseth Wright]], was a farmer who owned land.<ref name="1850Census"/><ref name="1855Census"/> Early in Silas' life the family lived in a log cabin.<ref name="1855Census"/> Silas' mother Mercy Simmons died in 1857 when he was 15 years of age.<ref>''The Wright Families of Berne, New York,'' by Douglas Wright Cruger, 2003</ref> Having four boys to care for, Mephiboseth received the help of his older sister Hannah Wright (B. 1805, D. after June 1, 1865), a spinster, who came to live with them after Mercy's death.<ref name="1860Census"/><ref name="1865Census"/>

 Silas applied for a military pension in 1865.<ref>Pension File, Application #97356, Cer. #56465.</ref> In the 1880s Silas was living in Colchester, McDonough County, Illinois, where he worked as a "tile ditcher".<ref name="VolHome">Registers of US National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers 1866-1938, www.ancestry.com</ref><ref name="License"/> At some time before 1888 he married for the first time. Nothing more is known about that marriage at this time. In 1888 he married for the second time to Ida M. Smith. She was 24 years younger than he, having been born in 1868.<ref name="License"/> During their marriage, they lived in a house on the farm of George Eakle in McDonough County, Illinois. Their marriage was short and unhappy, as apparently Silas was an alcoholic. Their marriage ended tragically when Ida committed suicide on May 15, 1888 at their home less than two months after their marriage. She left a suicide note for her husband saying they would both be happier with her dead.<ref name="clipping">"[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~majorville/majtombstones/wright_ida_m_smith.html ''A Sad Suicide,'' Newspaper Clipping from page 8 of May 25, 1888 "The LaHarper."]</ref> Ida, who was not yet 20 years of age, was buried at Majorville Cemetery in Hancock County, Illinois, where beautiful carved gravestone marks her grave.<ref name="Gravestone"/>

 It appears that after Ida's death, Silas' life collapsed. He returned to Berne where his brother [[Frank Wright]] still lived, and there Silas was recorded in the 1890 US Veterans Census.<ref name="1890Census">1890 US Veterans Census, Westerlo, Albany Co, NY</ref> By October 31, 1899, he was receiving his Civil War pension and had a diseased rectum that he was said to have contracted in Illinois in 1865. His physical and mental problems were significant enough by this time to require his hospitalization at the US National Home for Disabled Soldiers at Danville, Vermillion Couny, Illinois. Silas was recorded as living there in the 1900 US Census.<ref name="1900Census"/> He was transferred to the US National Home for Disabled Soldiers at Johnson City, Tennessee on September 11, 1904 where he was discharged on August 19, 1905. However his time outside the Disabled Veterans home was short, as on November 21, 1905 he was admitted to the US National Home for Disabled Soldiers at Bath, Steuben County, NY, where he was recorded as "card hyper". Over the next four years, he would be discharged twice and readmitted both times several months later. Their records show the last admission was December 17, 1907; he there died a year and a half later. During all his admissions, his contact person was his brother [[Frank Wright]] of South Berne, NY.<ref name="VolHome"/><ref name="Slingerlands1909">The Slingerland Bulletin 1909, South Berne, Sunnyside.</ref>

 Note: Information on Silas' life after the Civil War is complicated by the large number of Silas W. Wrights born in NY about the same time.

==Death==
Silas W. Wright died on April 3, 1909, after at least a decade of serious medical problems. He died at the US National Home for Disabled Vounteer Soldiers in Bath, Steuben County, NY,<ref name="VolHome"/> and is in the [http://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/bath.asp Bath Veterans National Cemetery], Section I, Row 17, Site 5.<ref>[http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/j2ee/servlet/NGL_v1 Grave Locater]</ref>
==Obituary== 


==Additional Research Notes== 


==Additional Media==
=== '''[[Town and City Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War]]'''===
Had two fingers shot off at the battle of [[Cold Harbor]] June 3, 1864.

==='''The Slingerland Bulletin 1909, South Berne, Sunnyside'''===
"Frank Wright received news of the death of his brother, Silas Wright, who died at the Soldiers Home, Bath."<ref name="Slingerlands1909"/>



<gallery>
Image:{filename}|<center>{caption}</center>
Image:{filename}|<center>{caption}</center>
Image:{filename}|<center>{caption}</center>
Image:{filename}|<center>{caption}</center>
Image:{filename}|<center>{caption}</center>
Image:{filename}|<center>{caption}</center>
Image:{filename}|<center>{caption}</center>
Image:{filename}|<center>{caption}</center>
{...}
</gallery>

'''Sources''' 

<references /> 

[[Category:Biography]][[Category:Military]][[Category:Civil War]] 
[[Category:Berne Biographies]]

@@ Line 122: / Line 122: @@
 ==Additional Media==
 === '''[[h:Town and City Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War|Town and City Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War]]'''===
 Had two fingers shot off at the battle of [[Cold Harbor]] June 3, 1864.

← Older revision	Revision as of 21:51, 25 November 2012
(No difference)

Wright, Silas W. - Revision history

Betty: /* Additional Media */

Betty: /* Additional Media */

Betty: moved Silas W. Wright to Wright, Silas W.

Betty: Created page with "__NOTOC__ ==Birth== Silas W. Wright was born March 1, 18441900 US Census, Danville, Vermillion Co, Illinois in B..."

Betty: Created page with "NOTOC ==Birth== Silas W. Wright was born March 1, 18441900 US Census, Danville, Vermillion Co, Illinois in B..."