General Notes

Notes from Reed, George, "Black River Falls, Early History, 1818-1860," The Badger Banner, January-may 1869 ( transcribed by Helen E. Brieske):

The earliest settlers, in about 1838, "were over one hundred miles from any white settlement...a the vast country around them...a wilderness...surrounded by treacherous natives on every side, who would look upon them with jealous eyes, as intruders upon their choicest hunting grounds...beyond the verge of civilization...the life before them one of toil, hardship, danger and privation."

During the year of 1842, the lumbermen of Black River Falls were joined by delegations of Mormons from Nauvoo, Illinois who had come to get material for the Temple. According to Reed's account, the Mormons proceeded to harvest logs from off of Spaulding's claim. saying that "the wilderness was the Lord's, and that no Gentile claim would be respected by the Saints."  A confrontation between the Mormons and Spaulding and his armed men resulted in a retreat by the Mormons, a return with armed men and, finally, a legal judgement against the Mormons. Not deterred, the Elder claimed he "would cut timber wherever he could find it." Spaulding then made a surprise visit on the Saints and, backed by an armed band, vowed, "Now, I'll give you ten minutes to get out of this, and if not within that time, there may be more Saints in Heaven, but I know there will be fewer in Earth." The Mormons went upstream, "groaning in bitterness...and doubting if the Lord reigned that high up Black River." Further, they made no more threats of force, "but were in all respects peaceable and well disposed citizens." Payment was made to Spaulding for interest in the lumbering business.

"The new occupants of the Falls property, were, in their way, very devout in all the outward observances of their peculiar religion, had preaching regularly as the Sabbath came, at which every Saint was present, as a matter of course, that lived anywhere near it, and among their congregations were frequently to be seen outsiders, whose curiosity prompted their presence at the Mormon tabernacle."

Following the June 7, 1844 assassination of Joseph Smith by a mob in Carthage, Illinois, the shocked Mormons sold out their business in the Falls area and departed to avenge the death of their leader.

"Samuel and Benjamin Wright, well known citizens in their time, arrived on the river in 1842."

"During the year the Mormons were in possession of the Falls property, they had improved it by finishing up the larger saw mill and leaving it in complete running order. They had erected a commodious warehouse on the present site of the house occupied by P. Roddy, and also erected some half dozen dwelling houses on the property."

This same series of articles includes stories of C.R. Johnson, former school teacher, Justice of the Peace and Clerk and some of the marriage ceremonies which he performed. The marriage record in 1860 of daughter Elizabeth Wright and Samuel Wing is signed by B. F. Johnson.

Notes from "Wrightsville, Then and Now, 1871-1965," by Georginia Bouley in 1965:

"James Jessie Strang declared himself the successor of Mormon leader Joseph Smith in 1844, thus beginning the Strangite Mormon group of which the Wright family were prominent members.

The Strang followers established their church at Voree, Wisconsin, near Burlington where Strang had been a lawyer. In 1847 Prophet Strang moved his Kingdom to Beaver Island, on the northwestern end of Lake Michigan.

In the early 1850's. Phineas Wright, James Strang and numerous others of the Strangites on Beaver Island were arrested and transported to Detroit aboard the first steel hulled steamship, Michigan.

There was much descension in the church when Strang declared his polygamy intention, and eventually resulted in many of the Saints breaking away from the church. (Strang had one legal wife and four plural wives.) Among the plural wives were Sarah and Pheobe Wright, who were cousins, and whom Strang married in 1855, Sarah on July 15, and Phoebe on October 27. Sarah's father, Phineas, was one of the twelve apostles of the church but he did not approve of polygamy, and stated that he would rather see her buried than to be married in polygamy.

Phoebe's father was Benjamin Wright, also as apostle of the church, and was in charge of the Law of the Lord when the Saints fled from Beaver Island in 1856.

Prophet Strang was shot by a mob of angry Gentiles in June, 1856 at Beaver Island and the Saints of the church were driven from the island. They fled back to Voree where they remained until Stran died of his would in July. At the death of King James the Saints or followers of Strang, dispersed with the Wright family settling in the area of Hall's Creek and Wrightsville was named after these first settlers. The Wirght Brothers established a saw mill on Hall's Creek and the other Saints engaged in farming.

The Wright family broke away from the Strangite believers and a Church of Latter Day Saints was organized in Wrightsville by member of the sect. This group was law abiding and didn't practice polygamy after coming to Jackson County. They were respectable, influential members of the community and were always on friendly terms with their neighbors.

Just a few years later the group scattered. Uncle Ben Wright settled on a tract of wild land several miles upstream from Hall's settlement, a mile east of Highway 12 near the James Reichenbach garage.

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Wright and their fives sons, Mose, George, Benjamin, William, Theodore and Mrs. and Mrs. Joseph Reichenbach were next to come to Wrightsville in the year of 1862."

"Morris and George Wright, nephews of Uncle Ben Wright, built and operated the first two sawmills on Hall's Creek. These sawmills operated in 1867-68. when the nearest railroad was at Sparta. The railroad reached Black River Falls in December 1868 and the following year, 1869, to Merrillan." A depot was built in Wrightsville but the track from Green Bay by-passed Wrightsville in favor Merillan and Wrightsville soon died and, by 1890 was little more than a memory."

[Note: Search of Madison Historical Society Library and Archives has a record of the death of a person who appears to be Phineas's brother Benjamin. It records the following:
Name: Benjamin Gil Wright
Color: White
Sex: Male
Occupation: None
Age: 91 years, 5 months, 19 days
Father: Don't Know
Mother: Don't Know
Birth Place: Toronto, Canada
Wife: Margaret
Date of Birth: 1798
Widowed
Date of Death: July 25, 1900
Place of Death: George Wright's
Burial: Wrightsville
Undertaker: Ed Pierce][PhineasWright.FTW]

BANNER-JOURNAL NEWSPAPER 03/28/1874 Obituary:

Phinehas Wright, one of the old settlers of this region died at Coral City, Trempeleau County, March 20, at the age of 62 years,leaving 7 or 8 children. His body was brought to Wrightsville for burial with the Masons and the silver cornet band being present.

[By deduction from the newspaper article, his birth date in 1811 must have been after March 11.]

Marriage to Rebecca Wagener - Certified Copy from Register of Deeds, Walworth County, Elkhorn Wisconsin, in possession of Norma Jean Herzman Dresbin.

From "The King Strang Story" by Doyle C. Fitspatrick, it appears that Phineas and his brothers were early followers of James Jesse Strang, having probably met him in or around Voree or Black River Falls. Since Phineas was opposed to polygamy, he probably became a follower of Strang's and a believer in Strang's right of prophetic succession after the assassination of Joseph Smith in 1844 because he too opposed polygamy. In the strife within the Mormon community in Voree, James Strang was the loser and Brigham Young was the winner. Strang and his followers, including, purportedly, Phineas as his right-hand man, left for Beaver Island in 1847. Though they were poor, the Mormon community there prospered. One of the other differences between the Beaver Island sect and their mainland counterparts was that it was not communistic but relied on tithing to support the congregation. While tithing remained, however, Strang, for whatever reason, be it revelation or sexual appetite, James Jesse Strang converted to polygamy, marrying first (legally) Mary Perce, then Elvira Eliza Field, Sarah Adelia Wright and Phoebe Wright.

Between April 11, 1851 and June 23, 1851, Phineas and 98 other Mormon men on Beaver Island arrested and taken from the island to Detroit to face federal charges. They were brought there aboard the Steamship Michigan. [Web site: Rearview Mirror: The King of Beaver Island]: "By 1850 Strang and his followers controlled all the political offices of Mackinac Island, to which Beaver Island and its neighboring islands were attached for judicial and elective purposes. Governor Bingham and state legislators were careful to cultivate the 700 votes of Strang's followers.

"The unrest in the area and the unhappiness of those opposed to Strang's followers did not go unnoticed, however. Stephen A. Douglas advised President Millard Fillmore to instruct the attorney general to issue orders to the U.S. district attorney of Michigan to begin prosecution of Strang for offenses punishable in the federal court, such as delaying the mail, cutting timber from public lands, tax irregularities, counterfeiting and so on.

"The United States Steamer Michigan was ordered to proceed dully armed to Beaver Island. The ship carried a U.S. marshal and deputies and the district attorney who were to bring Strang and the other indicted followers to Detroit for trial.

"Strang's followers were lured to the ship by a ruse to prevent bloodshed and eventually arrived at Detroit in May of 1851. Nearly a hundred strong, they were marched up Woodward to Gratiot and over to the old jail which stood at the corner of Gratiot and Farmer.

A day in June was set for the start of the trial. The defendants were let out of bail on Strang's word and a pledge that they would all appear when needed. It was agreed that the deputy clerk of the United States District Court should go with the district attorney and officers back to Beaver Island and take depositions of all witnesses"

While the men were exonerated, few people were left on the island to tend the crops, many other having been taken away to testify. The women did all of the work in the absence of the majority of the men and some of the women.

The records of the trial are in the National Archives in Chicago. Copies of some of the pages are in the photos section here.