HON. SAMUEL W. WRIGHT, Jr., represents the Thirty-third Senatorial District in the General Assembly. From a local standpoint he is an enterprising citizen and a liberal supporter of all worthy enterprises. Personally he of whom we write is modest and retiring, but a thorough business man and a gentleman. He lives on a farm, which he oversees, but as the greater part of his time is given to outside business the term of "gentleman farmer" might with propriety be applied to Mr. Wright. He is the owner, however, of a good farm in Sullivan Township, which, owing to his splendid management, is a model of neatness, order and attractiveness. Like the majority of farmers who do business on a large scale in the State, he deals extensively in livestock and is a general trader.

The original of our sketch is the only son of James M. and Mildred (Dazey) Wright, and was born in this county June 30, 1850. The family removed, however, to Shelby County in the fall of 1850, and there the lad passed his boyhood days. He was seventeen years old when the family came to Sullivan, and the young man finished his education at Bastian College, then a noted institution of learning, but now defunct. Like the present leader of the Republican party, the Hon. James G. Blaine, he began his career as a teacher, and doubtless, in forming debating societies for his students, he early learned parliamentary rules and regulations that were of value to him later in his career in public life.

In 1870 Samuel Wright was married, his bride being Miss Angie Powell, who was born in Moultrie County, March 4, 1859. Their nuptials were celebrated in Sullivan, where for a time the young couple made their residence. Mrs. Wright is a daughter of John and Sarah (Harbough) Powell. In 1879 they settled in Moultrie County, where they at present reside. Here our subject is engaged while at home, inn stock-raising, being able to boast of some of the finest breeds in the animals that he owns. Politically, the originator of our sketch is an important factor in the local forces of the Democratic party. An intelligent, educated man, and a good speaker, he has done much for his party in the State. He has for three terms held the local office of Township Supervisor, and has also been Chairman of the Board, and has been instrumental in effecting many changes that have benefited the county.

In the fall of 1890 he of whom we write was elected to the State Senate, and was one of the one hundred and one who supported the Hon. John M. Palmer so ably for the United States Senate. His standing in the Legislature speaks for itself in the fact that he was a member of some of the most important committees, serving on ten in all, among which were those on appropriations, banks and banking, corporations, etc. He received the complimentary vote of three thousand four hundred majority over his Republican opponents and several hundred over all other candidates, which speaks in most glowing terms of his popularity in the county.

Mr. Wright's domestic and home life is exceedingly happy. His wife is a charming woman, who, while her chief interests are centered in her home and family, presides with great dignity and elegance over the domestic realm. She is a delightful hostess, making rich or poor, great or small, feel at home and easy in her gracious presence. She is the mother of eight children, whose names are a follows: Carrie E., Addie O., Walter P., James A., Minnie May, Edward E., Homer W. and Samuel Palmer.

Our subject is Past Grand Master of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and also a member of the Knights of Pythias. In their religious relations both Mr. and Mrs. Wright are connected in membership with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Our subject is a man whose biographical sketch it is a pleasure to consider. Cultivated, educated and manly, with no inclination to boast of natural advantages or acquirements, he is one who naturally takes his place at the head of affairs and is recognized universally as one of nature's noblemen.

Portrait and Biographical Record of Shelby and Moultrie Counties, 1891 - p. 252/253

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