Milton Wright was a dedicated genealogist who could trace his roots back to his "great-grandfather's great-grandparents" in sixteenth-century England. In 1538, John Wrighte and his wife Olive purchased Kelvedon Hall in Essex. His great-great grandson was Samuel Wright. Samuel emigrated to America in the 1630s, coming ashore in Boston. He settled in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he owned 41 acres and a toll bridge. The local Congregational Church was without a pastor, so Samuel was appointed to dispense the Word. He became known as "Deacon" Wright.

Here are the "begats":

• John Wrighte (d. 1509) married Agnes Kelvedon, and begat
• John Wrighte (b. 1488, d. 1551), who married Olive Hubbard and begat
• John Wrighte (d. 1624), who married Benett Green (second wife) and begat
• Nathaniel Wright (b. 1581), who married Lydia James in 1612 and begat
• Samuel "Deacon" Wright, who emigrated to America.

Samuel's great-great grandson, Dan Wright, saw action in the American Revolutionary War and settled in Vermont with his wife Sarah in 1790. He raised his family there, but in 1814, Dan and Sarah, together with their four children, traveled to the new state of Ohio and took up residence in Centerville, Ohio, near the frontier town of Dayton. Dan's son, the younger Dan Wright, moved to establish a farm in Rush County, Indiana with his young wife, Catherine. Milton, their second child, was born there in 1828.

• Samuel "Deacon" Wright (b. 1613, d. 1665) married Margaret (d. 1681), and begat
• James Wright (b. 1639, d. 1725), who married Abigail James in 1665 and begat
• Samuel Wright (b. 1674, d. 1734) , who married Rebecca Sykes in 1704 and begat
• Benoni Wright (b. 1719, d. 1761), who married Eliza Smith in 1742 and begat
• Dan Wright (b. 1757, d. 1832), who married Sarah Freeman in 1785 and begat
• Dan Wright (b. 1790, d. 1861), who married Catherine Reeder (b. 1800, d. 1866) in 1818 and begat
• Milton Wright, the father of the Wright brothers.

Source: The Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company Museum

Other Sources (for more information): The Dayton and Montgomery County Library

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The Bishop's Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright by Tom D. Crouch. Synopsis: "Crouch (A Dream of Wings) interweaves family drama with the history of aviation in a riveting saga of ingenuity, competing claims, public adulation and technical innovation." -Publishers Weekly. Review: For anyone really interested in the story of human flight, Tom Crouch's "The Bishop's Boys" is the book for you. Crouch has done a masterful job of telling the Wright's story, and what a story it is! Most legendary figures of history crumble when their lives are examined--Wilbur and Orivlle Wright are more amazing the more you learn about them. Thanks to Crouch and "The Bishop's Boys", the entire story, warts and all, is finally put before the public in a well written, definitive, biography. I have studied and written about the Wright Brothers for years, and I always tell anyone who wants to learn more about these amazing brothers to read this book. -Douglas McIntyre, December 31, 1999.

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Go to the Wright brothers brief biography
Go to the Wright brothers bibliography
Go to the "Wright Library"

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