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Captain Daniel Wright

Captain Daniel Wright

Male 1778 - 1873  (95 years)  Submit Photo / DocumentSubmit Photo / Document


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  • Name Daniel Wright 
    Title Captain 
    Born 6 Jun 1778  Rutland, Rutland, Vermont Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Biographical Information Daniel Wright was the first settler in Lake County, Illinois. He arrived alone in May of 1833. He chose a spot to settle near the Des Plaines river and mailed his family a letter from the nearest post office which, was in Chicago, with directions on how to find him.

    His family, driving two pairs of oxen and leading a cow, arrived in August.
    Pioneer life was hard on his family. In the fall of 1833, a prairie fire swept through the area burning his crop of hay and forcing his family to find shelter along the Des Plaines River bank. The cabin having been built with green wood was spared. Daniel B. Wright, his youngest son, died September 7, 1834 at the age of six. His wife passed away three days later. A year later his son George passed. These were the first non-native deaths in Lake County, Illinois. All three were buried near the family home. Latter they were disinterred and reburied in the Vernon Township Cemetery. 
    Attended Same Reunions.
    Attended Same Reunions.
    The Waukegan (Illinois) Daily Sun, Wednesday, October 20, 1909 page one.
    Chief Aptakisic.
    Chief Aptakisic.
    Painting by artist Les Schrader, Potawatomi Chief Aptakisic says goodbye to Naperville settlers after escorting them to Fort Dearborn in Chicago during the Black Hawk War of 1832.

    Half Day was named for Chief Aptakistic (pronounced: Op-ta-gu-shick). His name name roughly translated to “center of the sky” or “half day.”

    Lake County’s first permanent white settler, Daniel Wright, recalled that the chief and his tribe helped him build his home, tended his crops, and cared for his family after he moved to the area in 1833.
    Daniel Wright House.
    Daniel Wright House.
    The house was a log cabin. The roof covered with wooden shingles and, for the first few years the ground formed its only floor.

    Illustrated Atlas of Lake County, Illinois: Containing Maps of Every Township in the County, with Village and City Plats. H.R. Page & Co. 1885. Pages not numbered. About page 61.
    Lake County 1861
    Lake County 1861
    Map of Lake County, Illinois in 1861, Daniel Wright's property is highlighted within Vernon Township in a red box in the lower right.
    Daniel Wright Memorial
    Daniel Wright Memorial
    In 1909, the Lake County Historical Society placed a memorial rock near the intersection of Milwaukee Avenue (IL Route 21) and Aptakisic Road. It was located west of the Des Plaines River where Wright had settled.

    The rock was found in the woods on the grounds of the Sheldon School in Mundelein, Illinois. Today it is the location of St. Mary's of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein. It was taken by wagon on dirt roads to Half Day by the Bairstow Company of Waukegan.
    Daniel Wright Memorial
    Daniel Wright Memorial
    Here the rock sits at it's roadside location before it was engraved.
    William Whigam standing by Daniel Wright memorial rock.
    William Whigam standing by Daniel Wright memorial rock.
    William Whigam, grandson of Daniel Wright standing by Daniel Wright memorial rock. Note that the it was dated 1834. Wright wrote letter to the Waukegan Weekly Gazette in 1868. He stated that "the native tribe of Potawatomi... helped me raise my first rude log cabin in June 1833." If this is the case the 1834 date would be an error. Or perhaps his son and wife died from the hardships of their journey and the 1933 date is wrong.

    Wright never purchased the land he lived and worked but. his grandson did. The "X" marked on the photograph on the left side of the rock, was the location of Wright's cabin. In his later years, Wright lived with his grandson in a wood frame house on the southwest corner of Milwaukee Avenue and Aptakisic Road, which is now the site of commercial development.
    Daniel Wright Memorial
    Daniel Wright Memorial
    In 1996, the Illinois Department of Transportation decided that the rock needed to be removed from the road right-of-way. They contacted the Lake County Discovery Museum to assist with finding a new location. The decision was made to place the rock in Ryerson Woods which is Lake County Forest Preserve land. This kept the rock on display on public land and it was also felt it was appropriate because the land now known as Ryerson Woods was once owned by Wright's descendants.
    Capt Daniel Wright Woods.
    Capt Daniel Wright Woods.
    The Lake County, Illinois forest preserve "Capt Daniel Wright Woods" was named in honor of Daniel.
    Military Service U.S. Army, War of 1812 Find all individuals with events at this location 
    He served in the Vermont militia for several years, attaining the rank of Captain June 6, 1803. 
    Died 30 Dec 1873  Vernon, Lake, Illinois Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Buried Vernon Township Cemetery, Lincolnshire, Lake, Illinois, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Daniel Wright Headstone.
    Daniel Wright Headstone.
    Daniel Wright Headstone.
    Person ID I61119  Nagel
    Last Modified 1 Oct 2021 

    Father Simeon Wright,   b. 18 Oct 1751, Rutland County, Vermont Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 11 Aug 1847, Hartford (also called Croton), Licking, Ohio Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 95 years) 
    Relationship Birth 
    Mother Freelove Martha Foote,   b. 1749, Saybrook, Middlesex, Connecticut Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1812, Rutland County, Vermont Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 63 years) 
    Relationship Birth 
    Married 25 May 1769  Rutland, Rutland, Vermont Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F18475  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Ruth Todd,   b. 1784, Rutland, Rutland, Vermont Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1834, Lake County, Illinois Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 50 years) 
    Married 6 Jun 1803  Rutland, Rutland, Vermont Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
    +1. Mary Wright,   b. 18 Sep 1805, Rutland, Rutland, Vermont Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 21 Dec 1886, Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 81 years)  [Birth]
     2. Josiah Wright,   b. 6 Jul 1807, Rutland, Rutland, Vermont Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 9 Mar 1865, Lake County, Illinois Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 57 years)  [Birth]
     3. George H Wright,   b. 1 May 1813, Mount Vernon, Knox, Ohio Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 10 Sep 1835, Lake County, Illinois Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 22 years)  [Birth]
    +4. Caroline Wright,   b. 2 Feb 1816, Mount Vernon, Knox, Ohio Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 10 Aug 1864, Lake County, Illinois Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 48 years)  [Birth]
     5. Daniel B Wright,   b. 3 Aug 1828, Mount Vernon, Knox, Ohio Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 7 Sep 1834, Lake County, Illinois Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 6 years)  [Birth]
    Last Modified 29 Sep 2021 
    Family ID F18476  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart