Major Samuel Wright
Major Samuel Wright (1738–1804) was a Revolutionary War officer, civic leader, and early resident of St. Simons Island whose service and legacy are remembered at Christ Church Frederica.
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Major Samuel Wright (1738–1804) was a Revolutionary War officer, civic leader, and early resident of St. Simons Island whose service and legacy are remembered at Christ Church Frederica.
Major Samuel Wright (1738-1804) came to Georgia before the Revolutionary War and served as an officer in the American forces. After the war, he operated a “vendue store” in Savannah on the Bay. Following his marriage to Rebecca Bruce Wright, the couple made their home on St. Simons Island at the plantation known as Orange Grove.
From the start of his residence on the island, Major Wright was prominent in local affairs. He served as a commissioner of Glynn Academy in 1791–1792, represented Glynn County in the state legislature for five terms, was elected commissioner for the town of Frederica in 1803, and served as a justice of the Inferior Court from 1791 until his death in 1804. On February 1, 1808, the Wrights’ daughter, Mary, married George Abbott of Frederica in what may have been the first marriage ceremony conducted by the Reverend William Best in the newly organized parish of Christ Church Frederica.
Major Wright’s raised flat grave is often honored by visitors who recognize his service in the Armed Forces, following a military tradition of leaving coins on his monument.