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Source: The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Fulton County
Munsell Publishing Co., Chicago, 1908

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The Biography of Nathaniel Stephen WRIGHT 

[Surnames: DAY, FREEMAN, KELLEY, PAGE, PHELPS, SPRAGUE, WRIGHT] 

WRIGHT, NATHANIEL STEPHEN 

    
For many years one of the most prominent, successful and highly esteemed merchants of Canton, of which he is one of the oldest citizens, was born in that city, Dec. 13, 1835, and received his early education in its private schools. He is a son of Joel and Emily (PHELPS) Wright, of whom the former was born in Hanover, NH, Oct. 10, 1792, and the latter in Palmyra, NY, Oct. 5, 1798. The paternal grandparents were Nathaniel and Mary (PAGE) Wright, the former having been born in Hanover, NH, in March 1747, and the great-grandparents were Nathaniel and Irena (SPRAGUE) Wright, the former born in Coventry, CT, Jan 27, 1711. On the maternal side, the grandparents were Stephen and Lois (DAY) Phelps, the former a native of Westfield, MA, where he was born in 1768, and the latter born in Palmyra, NY, in 1777. Luke and Ann (FREEMAN) Phelps, the maternal great-grandparents, were natives of Westfield, MA, where the former was born in 1730. 
    
John Wright, of Knight's Bridge, London, England, the first of the Wright family of whom there is any record, lived in the seventeenth century. Samuel Wright was the first of the family to come to America, settling in Massachusetts in 1630. The Phelps family is traceable to the year 1520. George and William Phelps came to America from England in 1630, landing at Hull, MA, on May 30th of that period. 
    
In 1830, Joel Wright opened a general store in Canton. His first stock of goods was shipped on the steamboat "Fairy" which struck a snag near the mouth of the Missouri River and sank, carrying her cargo to the bottom. The goods were recovered, but in a much damaged condition. during the Black Hawk War, his house and store was blockaded in 1832, for protection against the Indians. In 1837, he was appointed one of three Commissioners of Internal Improvement. 
    
N. S. Wright conducted a general store from 1855 to 1868 with success. He also dealt in real estate until 1880, when he resumed merchandising. He is especially prominent as the originator and promoter of the water works. 
    
On May 27, 1874, he married Laura KELLEY, who was born in Lewistown. Five children resulted from this union:
Alice, William Kelley, Charles Henry, Arthur Stephenson, John Stephen. 
    
Mr. Wright is a Republican, and a member of the Congregational Church.