Biography

"WRIGHT, William, a Representative and a Senator from New Jersey; born in Clarksville, Rockland County, N.Y., November 13, 1794; attended the public schools and Poughkeepsie Academy; was a volunteer for the defense of Stonington, Conn., in the War of 1812; learned the saddler’s trade and engaged in business in Bridgeport, Conn.; moved to Newark, N.J., in 1821 and ran a saddlery and leather business; mayor of Newark 1840-1843; elected as a Whig to the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth Congresses (March 4, 1843-March 3, 1847); unsuccessful candidate for governor of New Jersey in 1847; affiliated with the Democratic Party in 1850; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1853, to March 3, 1859; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1858; chairman, Committee on Manufactures (Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth Congresses), Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses (Thirty-fifth Congress), Committee on Engrossed Bills (Thirty-fifth Congress); again elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1863, until his death in Newark, N.J., November 1, 1866; interment in Mount Pleasant Cemetery."