Hendrick Bradley Wright

Hendrick Bradley Wright

Hendrick Bradley Wright (April 24, 1808 – September 2, 1881) was a Democratic and Greenback member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.

Early life

Hendrick B. Wright was born in Plymouth, Pennsylvania. He attended the Wilkes-Barre Grammar School and was graduated from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1829. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Political activities

He was appointed district attorney for Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in 1834. He was a member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from 1841 to 1843 and served the last year as speaker. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1844, 1848, 1852, 1856, 1860, 1868, and 1876.

United States House of Representatives

Wright was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1850. He was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-third Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1854. He was again elected to the Thirty-seventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of George W. Scranton. He was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-fifth Congress and reelected as a Greenbacker to the Forty-sixth Congress. He was chairman of the United States House Committee on Manufactures during the Forty-fifth Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1880 and was unsuccessful in getting the Greenback nomination for President the same year, losing to James Weaver. He died in Wilkes-Barre in 1881. Interment in Hollenback Cemetery.

Bibliography

Curran, Daniel J. “Hendrick B. Wright: A Study in Leadership.” Ph.D. diss., Fordham University, 1962.

Sources

• Hendrick Bradley Wright at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• The Political Graveyard

Speakers of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (since 1791) Bingham Wynkoop Latimer Evans Weaver Snyder Porter Snyder Boileau Engle Weber Tod R. Smith St. Clair Holgate Hill Davidson Hill J. Lawrence Gilmore J. Lawrence Sutherland Ritner Middleswarth F. Smith Laporte Findley Anderson W. Patterson J. Thompson Middleswarth Dewart Hopkins Crabb Snowden H. Wright Snowden F. Patterson Cooper Packer McCalmont Cessna Rhey Schell Chase Strong R. Wright Getz Longaker W. Lawrence Davis Rowe Cessna Johnson Olmstead Kelley Glass Davis Clark Strang Webb Elliott McCormick S. Patterson Myer Long Hewitt Faunce Graham Boyer C. Thompson Walton Boyer Farr Marshall Walton McClain Cox Shreve Alter Ambler Baldwin Spangler Whitaker Goodnough Bluett McClure Hess Goodnough Talbot Sarig Furman Turner Kilroy Fiss Lichtenwalter Sorg C. Smith Andrews Helm Andrews Helm Hamilton Lee Fineman Lee Fineman Irvis Seltzer Ryan Irvis Manderino O'Donnell DeWeese Ryan Perzel O'Brien McCall S. Smith Turzai