Edward Bingham Wright, D.D. - Austin, Texas USA
N 30° 22.176 W 097° 45.473
14R E 619357 N 3360395
The Reverend Dr. Edward Bingham Wright was the the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Austin for 42 years, from 1872 until 1914. A bronze bust with his memorial text is on the outside wall near the entrance into the sanctuary.
Waymark Code: WM185PZ
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 06/04/2023
Views: 0
Edward Bingham Wright was born on May 11, 1838 in Hudson, Ohio to Philo and Electra Wright. Unfortunately, his father died four years later when Edward was only 4 years old. Edward went to live in Detroit with his aunt and uncle, who essentially reared him until he was old enough to begin working on his own. He worked as a surveyor under direction of George Meade, but prior to the Civil War.
As a young man, Edward Wright entered Western Reserve University and completed both a B.A. and an M.A. degree. By this time, the Civil War was underway and Mr. Wright joined the Union Army and rose to the rank of Captain in Battery B, of First Michigan Light Artillery. He was wounded in battle near Resaca, Georgia on May 16, 1864 and shortly thereafter the war ended. After the war, Edward Wright enrolled at Union Theological Seminary in New York and upon graduating in 1867, he was ordained a Presbyterian minister and began preaching at a church in Stillwater, Minnesota. Three years later, in 1970, then-President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Wright as a member of the Board of Visitors to the Red Lake and Pembina Indians.
In 1872, Reverend Wright accepted the call to pastor at the First Presbyterian Church of Austin. Over time, the congregation grew from 75 to over 400 members. In 1876, Wright received an Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Western Reserve University (Note: 91 years later, as of 1967, Western Reserve University merged with another college and became known as Case Western Reserve University). Over time, Dr. Wright also received other honorary accolades by being given an honorary membership into the John Bell Hood Camp of United Confederate Veterans (an interesting honor for a former Union artillery officer). He was also made an honorary member of the Salvation Army.
On March 15, 1878, Edward Wright married Evelyn Hunter Bell. They raised two daughters.
Not surprisingly, Dr. Edward Wright taught Bible Study classes at the University of Texas chapters of several academic Greek organizations. He was an instrumental founder of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa chapter on the University of Texas campus.
By 1908, Dr. Wright had been the senior pastor of the Fist Presbyterian Church of Austin for 36 years. In 1908 he stepped down as senior pastor and was elected as pastor emeritus. He remained as pastor emeritus until his death from pneumonia on January 4, 1914.
He and his wife are buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Austin, TX. His grave marker is found at the GPS coordinates of N30 16.540 W097 43.652 (30.27567 -97.72753).
See the website link below to the Texas State Historical Association page about Edward Bingham Wright.
Website with more information on either the memorial or the person(s) it is dedicated to: [Web Link]
Location: First Presbyterian Church of Austin, 8001 Mesa Drive, Austin, Texas 78731, USA
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