Los Angeles County
Biographies
EDWARD THOMAS WRIGHT
WRIGHT, EDWARD
THOMAS, Civil Engineer, Los Angeles, California,
was born at Elgin, Illinois June
30, 1851, the son of Paul Raymond Wright and Emily (Harvey)
Wright. Mr. Wright has been twice
married, his first wife having been Lucy Nicholson, whom he married at Cobden,
Illinois, December 11, 1873. Of this union there were born three children,
George, Charles and Grace, the latter now deceased. On March 5, 1912, twelve years after the
death of his first wife, Mr. Wright married Capitola B. Wenzil,
at San Diego, California.
Mr. Wright
received his primary education in the common schools of his native city and
later attended Elgin Academy,
but did not complete the course there, leaving at the age of nineteen years to
enter business.
At that time
(1870) he went to New Orleans, Louisiana,
and was appointed Journal Clerk of the State Senate of
Louisiana. He remained there during one
session of the Legislature, resigning at the end of six months’ service to
return to his home in Illinois. He spent the balance of the year on his
father’s farm. In 1871 he made plans to
go to Colorado and learn the
stock-raising business. After one year
of hardship and cold he changed his mind and went to Indianapolis,
Indiana, where he took up the study of
landscape architecture in the office of Cleveland & French. After studying the profession Mr. Wright
represented Cleveland & French for about two years in various parts of the United
States, the principal office being in St.
Paul, Minnesota.
In 1874, Mr.
Wright went to Chicago, and opened
offices with his brother, George F. Wright, as Civil Engineers and
Surveyors. They had hardly established
themselves, however, when Mr. Wright’s health became impaired and he sought the
more congenial climate of Southern California. Locating in Los Angeles
in the early part of 1875, Mr. Wright established offices as Civil Engineer and
Surveyor and has since continued in that branch of the profession. He has been honored with public office on
frequent occasions.
Mr. Wright,
during his long career in Los Angeles,
has taken an active part in the development of the city and vicinity and is
regarded as one of the real upbuilders of the
Southwest. He has figured as engineer or
surveyor in numerous large land operations, his first large contract having been
the surveying of the Morris Vineyard Tract in Los Angeles
for the Hon. H. K. S. O’Melveny, one of the pioneers of the city. This tract, located at Pico and Main
streets, in now in the center of the modern business district of Los
Angeles. Another
important work done by Mr. Wright during the first years, his associates being
Frank A. Gibson, George S. Patten, J. M. Elliott and W. G. Cochran, all
important factors in the history of Los Angeles.
In 1884, Mr.
Wright was elected County Surveyor
a second time and served until 1886, at which time he retired from public life
temporarily to attend to his private affairs.
In 1895, however, he was again called out of retirement by his party and was elected
County Surveyor
for the third time. Upon the expiration
of his term in 1898 he refused to run again and he has been engaged in private
work since that time.
Mr. Wright’s
various administrations as County Surveyor
were marked by numerous improvements which contributed to the progress and
growth of the city and county.
In addition to
his professional activities, Mr. Wright has been a factor in the social life of
Los Angeles for many years and was
among the founders of what are today the leading clubs of the city. He was a charter member of the Jonathan Club,
the California Club and the Union League Club, but has resigned from the latter
two. He has been a member of the
American Society of Civil Engineers, for twenty-seven years and is also a
member of the Engineers and Architects’ Association of Los Angeles.
Transcribed 7-4-08
Marilyn R. Pankey.
Source: Press
Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 107,
International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Boston, Atlanta. 1913.
© 2008 Marilyn R. Pankey.
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