John Vines Wright (June 28, 1828 – June 12, 1908) was an American secessionist,

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, military officer and judge. He served a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

for the 7th congressional district of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

and in the First and Second

Congress of the Confederate States The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned with measures to establish a new nat ...

. He served in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

as a colonel. He later became a judge of the circuit court of Tennessee and a chancellor and judge of the

Tennessee Supreme Court The Tennessee Supreme Court is the ultimate judicial tribunal of the state of Tennessee. Roger A. Page is the Chief Justice. Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general is directly elected or appointed by the governor or state le ...

Biography

John Vines Wright was born in

Purdy, Tennessee Purdy, Tennessee is a rural unincorporated community 3.5 mi (5.6 km) northeast of Selmer in McNairy County, Tennessee. Until 1890, Purdy was the county seat of McNairy County. Failed development in the 1850s kept the community rural th ...

, in

McNairy County McNairy County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 26,075. Its county seat is Selmer. McNairy County is located along Tennessee's border with the state of Mississippi. Sheriff Buford ...

the son of Benjamin C. and Martha Ann Hicks Wright. He completed preparatory studies and attended the

University of Tennessee at Knoxville The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

, where he pursued courses in medicine and law. After graduating from the law department, he was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1852, and he commenced practice in Purdy. His brother was Marcus J. Wright. Wright owned slaves.

Political career

Elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Thirty-fourth, the Thirty-fifth, and the Thirty-sixth Congresses, Wright served from March 4, 1855 to March 3, 1861. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Wright served in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

of the 13th Tennessee Infantry Regiment in 1861. He was present at the

Battle of Belmont The Battle of Belmont was fought on November 7, 1861 in Mississippi County, Missouri. It was the first combat test in the American Civil War for Brigadier general (United States), Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, the future Union Army general in ch ...

where his horse was shot from under him. He was elected to both the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and the

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

Confederate Congresses. Wright served as a judge of the circuit court of Tennessee, and then as a chancellor and judge of the

. He practiced law in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

in 1885 and 1886. He was an unsuccessful candidate as an Anti-Repudiation Democrat for

governor of Tennessee The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee. The governor is the only official in Tennessee state government who is directly elected by the voters of the entire state. The current governor is Bill Lee, a ...

in 1880. He was chairman of the Northwest Indian Commission in 1886 and a member of the commission to treat with the

Great Sioux Nation The Great Sioux Nation is the traditional political structure of the Sioux in North America. The peoples who speak the Sioux language are considered to be members of the Oceti Sakowin (''Očhéthi Šakówiŋ'', pronounced ) or Seven Council Fire ...

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, ...

. He was appointed to the law division of the

General Land Office The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department o ...

in 1887 and served until his death.

Personal life

Wright married Georgia Hays and they had three children, Eugene, Georgia Hays, and Annie. His daughter Georgia Hays married

Frank Lyon Frank Lyon (December 30, 1867 – November 29, 1955) was an American lawyer, newspaper publisher and land developer in Arlington County, Virginia. He developed the land in modern-day Clarendon, Virginia, Lyon Park and Lyon Village. Early life ...

. Wright died in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, on June 12, 1908. He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

Rock Creek Cemetery Rock Creek Cemetery is an cemetery with a natural and rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE, in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. It is across the stree ...

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, John Vines 1828 births 1908 deaths Justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Tennessee People from McNairy County, Tennessee Tennessee lawyers University of Tennessee alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges People of Tennessee in the American Civil War