James Hood Wright

James Hood Wright (known professionally as J. Hood Wright; November 4, 1836 – November 12, 1894) was an American banker, financier, corporate director, business magnate, and railroad man. He was a finance bookkeeper and had management talents, becoming associated with J. P. Morgan's banking firms. He sat on the board of directors for several railroads. He worked with Thomas Edison in electrical technology and helped finance his enterprises. Wright became wealthy in his business operations and was involved with philanthropy.

James Hood Wright
James Hood Wright, c. 1890.
Born(1836-11-04)November 4, 1836
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedNovember 12, 1894(1894-11-12) (aged 58)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Resting placeWoodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York
EmployerDrexel, Morgan & Company
Spouse(s)
Mary Robinson
​
​
(m. 1881; his death 1894)​
Parent(s)William Wright
Sarah Hood Wright

Early life

Wright was born in Philadelphia on November 2, 1836, to William and Sarah (Hood) Wright.[1] He was educated in the Philadelphia public schools[1] and, still a teen-ager, began his life in business as a dry-goods clerk, a position he held for several years.[2][3]

Career

Investment banker and director
Company sign

In his early twenties, Wright became a clerk at the Philadelphia banking firm, Drexel & Company, where a talent for bookkeeping led to rapid promotions. He was named a partner around 1864.[4] With an intuitive ability to detect counterfeit money, he was given the responsibility to review and identify ersatz currency.[5] When the firm became Drexel, Morgan & Company on July 1, 1871, [3][6]he was one of only six investment partners and moved permanently to New York City.[7][1][2] He became involved in the management of as well as invested in many of the corporations for whom Drexel Morgan provided banking services.[2][4] He was a director for the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad; the Southern Railway; the Long Island Rail Road; and the New York Guaranty and Indemnity Company.[1][4][5] The Long Island Rail Road and its leased lines proved exceptionally prosperous and a source of profit under his management and direction.[8] He was banking director from 1880 to his death of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company and other Thomas Edison companies in financing development of electricity apparatus devices and power distribution technology.[9][10][11]

Associations and social clubs

Wright was president of the Manhattan Hospital and associated with New York museums.[5] He joined the New York Riding Club and the New York Yacht Club.[7] Wright was a donor to institutions including the Knickerbocker Hospital[12] and the Washington Heights Library, which became part of the New York Public Library.[1] He was associated with the Republican Party. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church.[1]

1881 fixture

First home with electric lighting

An electric lighting system with its own generator, manufactured by Mitchell, Vance and Co. under the direction of Thomas Edison, was installed at Wright's residence in New York City,. This was reported as the first private residence to be lighted by the Edison incandescent system,[13][14][15][16] and also the first to be powered by a generator on the premises.[17][18] A conflicting claim states that the first private residence in the US lighted by incandescent electricity (generated by hydro-electric power) was the Hearthstone home in Appleton WI.[19] .J. P. Morgan, Wright's partner, had visited Edison in January 1881 to determine whether electric lighting could illuminate a house. Edison assured him it could. The banker responded when he moved to his new house he would buy Edison's electric lighting systems, including a generator. Wright installed Edison incandescent lamps and an electric power generating system before Morgan had his new home finished in autumn 1882.[17][20]

Personal life
Wright mausoleum

Wright married Mary P. Robinson, widow of John M. Robinson, his partner of Drexel, Morgan & Co., at Philadelphia's Arch Street Methodist Episcopal Church on March 1, 1881.[21] The furniture was moved out of the alter area and filled with flowering plants. It looked like a blooming garden with its array of azaleas, acacias, callas, tulips and hyacinths. At the pulpit there was the rarest orchids. A four feet high shield hung from the open-timbered roof. It was of green material with the monograms of the bride and groom in scarlet and white carnations. There were large baskets of flowers on stands in the aisles from which the ladies that attended the ceremony could help themselves as they left.[22] The newly wedded couple honeymooned in Washington D.C. in a specially-provided private railroad car.[23]

In January 1894, he was diagnosed with cardiac disease and partially retired from his work at Drexel Morgan.[24] That summer he spent time cruising on the yacht Yampa with his wife and stepdaughter.[25] Feeling recovered, he returned to the bank in October, but died at an elevated train station in New York City on November 12, 1894 at age 58. [5][4] His funeral, at his former residence on 174th St. in Washington Hts. was attended by many financial giants of the day, including J. Pierpont Morgan, who acted as pallbearer, George Foster Peabody and William Rockefeller Jr.[26] He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in New York City.[27]

Estate

Wright's estate was guessed to have a value of roughly $20,000,000 (equivalent to $591,000,000 in 2019) by New York City newspapers days after his death, but there was no actual determination made with his will.[28][29][30] The Kansas City Star nine days after Wright's death computed his estate at a value of 2 million dollars (equivalent to $59,100,000 in 2019) on November 21, 1894.[31] The Quad-City Times ten days after Wright's death made an assessment of his estate at $20,000,000 dollars on November 22, 1894.[32] Two weeks later a hurried judgement of valuation was given by the Southwest Sentinel newspaper of Silver City, New Mexico, at $20,000,000 for Wright's estate when a cousin reported his death on December 4, 1894.[33] At the end of January of 1895 two months later when a couple of his nephews filled a law suit in the Surrogate Court contesting distribution of his estate it was determined by court documents that Wright actually had personal assets closer to $5,000,000[34] (equivalent to $147,750,000 in 2019) with real estate estimated at $300,000 (equivalent to $8,865,000 in 2019); most went to his wife, his sister and step children.[35][36][37] The San Francisco Examiner at this time estimated Wright's estate to be worth $5,000,000.[38] The New York City newspaper Evening World that had said others thought his estate was worth $20,000,000[28] days after his death revised their value per court documents closer to that of $3,500,000 (equivalent to $103,425,000 in 2019) on March 4, 1895.[39]

Television stage representation of the old New York city Knickerbocker Hospital front

One prominent New York City newspaper (The Sun) that originally guessed his estate to be worth $20,000,000 a day after his death[40] says his personal worth was actually determined by documents filed in court as $3,000,000 (equivalent to $88,650,000 in 2019) with real estate estimated at $300,000 on January 29, 1895.[41][42] The New York Times in the first week of April of 1895 reported that the objections to Wright's will were withdrawn because it was determined by reliable witnesses that he was of sound mind when he had drawn up his will to leave an estate worth $3,000,000 and real estate at $300,000.[43][44][45] His will showing an estate of $3,000,000 estate was drawn up on May 25, 1892.[46][47][48] The court Surrogate finally settled Wright's $3,000,000 estate in April of 1895.[49][50][51] The Los Angeles Times reported that contestants interested in Wright's $3,000,000 estate were scattered all around the world.[52] The Morning News reports from The New York Times that Wright had close to $3,000,000 in personal assets and $300,000 in real estate for value set for his estate by the probate court on March 4, 1895.[53]

Wright was instrumental in founding the Knickerbocker Hospital (J. Hood Wright Memorial Hospital) in New York's Manhattanville district. [54] He also served as the hospital's president. He left $500,000 (equivalent to $14,775,000 in 2019) to the hospital in his will.[1][55] Wright had a $1,000,000 (equivalent to $29,550,000 in 2019) endowment trust fund set up for the hospital; interest from that trust was to be used for operating capital. In 1943, a judge allowed amounts to be taken from the fund principal to save the hospital from closing due to economic problems caused by World War II.[56][57]

Legacy
J. Hood Wright Park 2007

The J. Hood Wright Park in New York City, located between 173rd street and 176th street from Fort Washington Avenue to Haven Avenue, is named after Wright, who donated the property. He lived in a spacious house at the corner of 175th Street and Haven Avenue. The park consists of 6.7 acres (2.7 ha) that includes a playground – which features a model of the nearby George Washington Bridge, which is visible from the park basketball courts, ball fields, and recreation center.[54]

Wright made large contributions to the Washington Heights Branch of New York's library system. A plaque at the entrance honors his financial assistance in changing the library from fee-based to a free library.[54][58] After his death, the Knickerbocker Hospital contested a grant to the library in Wright's will, saying the branch, absorbed by the New York Public Library, was not entitled to a bequest. The New York State Court of Appeals decided in 1916 that $100,000 (equivalent to $2,955,000 in 2019) was to be given to the Washington Heights branch library as it fulfilled the terms of Wright's disposition of his will as a legacy.[59]

References
  1. White 1947, p. 443.
  2. "Death of J. Hood Wright". Delaware Gazette and State Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. November 15, 1894. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
  3. Rhodes Journal 1894, p. 1302.
  4. Hall 1895, p. 746.
  5. Railway World 1894, p. 909.
  6. Rottenberg 2006, p. 101.
  7. "J. Hood Wright Dead". The Sun, page 1. New York City. 13 Nov 1894 – via Newspapers.com .
  8. "On the Long Island Railroad". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. 2 December 1880. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com .
  9. "Necrology - 1894". American Electrician. 6–7: 10. 1895. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  10. "Annual Stockholders Meeting". Bulletin. 1–22: 41. 1882. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  11. Josephson 2019, p. 99.
  12. "An Interesting Decision". The Evening Times, page 4. Sayre, Pennsylvania. 24 Apr 1943 – via Newspapers.com .
  13. "Messrs, Mitchell, Vance & Co". The Sun, page 12. New York, New York. September 27, 1885 – via Newspapers.com .
  14. Jones 1908, p. 121.
  15. New York Great Industries 1884, p. 96.
  16. Slesin 1992, p. 256.
  17. Kane 1997, p. 221.
  18. Klein 1976, p. 170.
  19. Holmes, Fred W. (21 November 1921). "Badger city home of first electric plant in America". The Milwaukee Sentinal. Milwaukee WI.
  20. Ellis 2011, p. 276.
  21. "Notable Nuptials". The Times. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. March 2, 1881. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com .
  22. "Flowers at a Wedding". The Osage County Chroncle. Burlingame, Kansas. March 17, 1881. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com .
  23. "Flowers at a Wedding". The Kansas Sentinel, page 3. Emporia, Kansas. March 16, 1881 – via Newspapers.com .
  24. "J. Hood Wright Dead". The Sun (New York). New York NY: Frank Munsey. 13 November 1894.
  25. "Niece of H.C. Robinson Engaged". The Evening Journal, page 3. Wilmington, Delaware. July 9, 1894 – via Newspapers.com .
  26. "Hundreds of friends of the banker pay him last honor". New York Times. New York NY: New York Times Co. 16 November 1894.
  27. "J.H. Wright's Will". The World, p. 1. New York City. November 20, 1894.
  28. "J. H. Wright's Will". The Evening World. New York, New York. 20 November 1894. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
  29. "Will of James Hood Wright". New York Times. New York, New York. 21 November 1894. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com .
  30. "J. Hood Wright Dead". The Sun. New York, New York. 13 November 1894. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
  31. "Millionaire Wright's Last Will". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missori. 21 November 1894. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com .
  32. "Will of James Hood Wright". Quad-City Times. Davenport, Iowa. 22 November 1894. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com .
  33. "Southwest Sentinel / Tuesday, December 4, 1894". Southwest Sentinel. Silver City, New Mexico. 4 December 1894. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com .
  34. "A Reproduction of Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce in the New York Courts". The Leavenworth Standard. Leavenworth, Kansas. 29 January 1895. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
  35. "Contested Will". Nashville Banner. Nashville, Tennessee. 29 January 1895. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
  36. "Contesting Their Uncle's Will". The San Francisco Call. San Francisco, California. 30 January 1895. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com .
  37. "Their Uncle's Will / Nephews of the Late James Hood Wright Want a Share of the Title". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. 29 January 1895. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com .
  38. "J. Hood Wright estate". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. 30 January 1895. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com .
  39. "Wright's Will Contested". The Evening World. New York, New York. 4 March 1895. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com .
  40. "News Boiled Down". The Sun. New York, New York. 23 November 1894. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com .
  41. "Object to J. Hood Wright's Will". The Sun. New York, New York. 29 January 1895. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com .
  42. "J. Hood Wright's Will probated / The sons of his dead half-brother withdraw their Obections". The Sun. New York, New York. 2 April 1895. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com .
  43. "Object to J. H. Wright's Will admitted". The New York Times. New York, New York. 2 April 1895. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com .
  44. "Contest in Wright Will". The New York Times. New York, New York. 5 March 1895. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com .
  45. "The Wright Will Contest Settled". Buffalo Evening News. Buffalo, New York. 2 April 1895. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com .
  46. "Contesting . Hood Wright Will". The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. 29 January 1895. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
  47. "Special to the Inquirer - James Hood Wright". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 29 January 1895. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com .
  48. "The Wright Will Contest Settled". The Post-Star. Glen Falls, New York. 2 April 1895. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
  49. "The Wright Will Contest Settled". The Wilkes-Barre News. Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. 2 April 1895. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
  50. "J. Hood Wright's Will / The contest Over the Document Brought to an unexpected close". The Times. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 2 April 1895. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com .
  51. "Will Contestants are weary / Alleged Heirs of J. Hood Wright Withdraw Their Suit". Red Lodge Picket. Red Lodge, Montana. 6 April 1895. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
  52. "The Wright Will / Efforts to Break it in New York Court Collapses". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. 2 April 1895. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com .
  53. "Hood Wright Will Contest". The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. 5 March 1895. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
  54. "J. Hood Wright Park". Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  55. "Public Library Gets Legacy of $100,000". The New York Times. New York City. August 9, 1915.
  56. "Trust Cash freed to save hospital". Daily News. New York City. April 21, 1943. p. 50.
  57. "An Interesting Decision". The Evening Times. Sayre, PA. April 24, 1943. p. 4.
  58. "Millionaire Wright's Last Will". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. November 21, 1894. p. 6.
  59. "Library wins Wright appeal". The Sun. New York City. May 20, 1916.

Sources
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