James Wright (168)

James Wright (1714–4 March 1775) was a public official and experimental farmer, and a member of the American Philosophical Society via his 1768 election to the American Society and by separate election. Born to Quaker parents in Chester, PA, James Wright followed his father John as Lancaster County’s representative in the Pennsylvania Assembly (e. 1746, 1747, 1749–67, 1770), where his anti-proprietary stand drew him into friendship with Benjamin Franklin, who sometimes visited Wright’s home. A trusted public servant in many roles, Wright notably aided the preparations for Braddock’s ill-fated march on Ft. Duquesne (1755), continuing in an informal quartermaster role the remainder of the Seven Years’ War (1754–63), despite the pacifist stand of the Friends. Wright was a particularly innovative farmer: his remarkably successful experiments with mulberry trees and silkworms ran thirty years, and he experimented with niche crops, including hops and “Colly Flower.” Widely read—a passion he shared with his bluestocking sister, Susanna, a correspondent of Franklin, James Logan, and Benjamin Rush—Wright not only developed an extensive library, but was an original founder of the Lancaster Library Company. He died in 1775. (PI)