William B. Wright (April 16, 1806 – January 12, 1868) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was

Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals refers to the position of chief judge on the New York Court of Appeals. They are also known as the Chief Judge of New York. The chief judge supervises the seven-judge Court of Appeals. In addition, th ...

in 1868.

Life

He was born on April 16, 1806, in Newburgh,

Orange County, New York Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen. This county was first created in 1683 and reorganized with its present boundaries in 1798. Orange ...

, the son of Samuel Wright. He lived at Monticello, New York, and was Surrogate of Sullivan County from 1840 to 1844. He was a delegate to the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1846. He was a Whig member of the New York State Assembly (Sullivan Co.) in

1847 Events January–March * January 4 – Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the U.S. government. * January 13 – The Treaty of Cahuenga ends fighting in the Mexican–American War in California. * January 16 – John C. Frémont ...

. He was a justice of the New York Supreme Court from 1847 to 1861, and removed to

Kingston, New York Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with the New York metropolitan area around Manhattan by the United ...

, the seat of the bench of the Third Judicial District. He was an ex officio judge of the Court of Appeals in 1847–48, 1856 and 1860. In 1861, he was elected to the New York Court of Appeals on the Union ticket nominated by

War Democrats War Democrats in American politics of the 1860s were members of the Democratic Party who supported the Union and rejected the policies of the Copperheads (or Peace Democrats). The War Democrats demanded a more aggressive policy toward the C ...

and Republicans, and took office on January 1, 1862. He became Chief Judge on January 1, 1868, but died less than two weeks later. He died on January 12, 1868, at Congress Hall in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

, of

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blo ...

disease; and was buried at Wiltwyck Cemetery in

Sources

Short bio at Court History

Death notice in NYT on January 13, 1868

Listing of judges, with portrait

New York Union state ticket, in ''Harper's Weekly'', September 28, 1861, pg. 611
''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 59, 318, 351 and 410; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, William B 1806 births 1868 deaths People from Monticello, New York Chief Judges of the New York Court of Appeals Members of the New York State Assembly Politicians from Newburgh, New York New York Supreme Court Justices Politicians from Kingston, New York Deaths from kidney disease New York (state) Whigs 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges