Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Rev. Richard Wright

On 13 Feb 1829 the first Illinois meeting on Methodist reform (government, not doctrine, was the issue) was held in the home of James Ross in Morgan County, Illinois. Attendees included “I. Paschal.” Isaiah Paschal’s role in the reform is unknown; however, his son-in-law Richard Wright would become a major Illinois figure in the newly formed Methodist Protestant Church (MPC).

Born 24 Mar 1816 in Maryland, the center of the Methodist reformation movement. Richard may have been influenced by what he saw and heard as a boy, but being only 12 at the time of the 1828 schism, he played no active role.

Having moved to Illinois, Rev. Wright, called by most “Uncle Dickie,” became an Illinois circuit rider at least as early as 1839 and was the District Superintendent when the Auburn, Illinois, MPC was organized and made part of the Mill Creek Circuit in 1842. He was also Superintendent in 1845, 1852, 1853, and 1856. On 23 Jul 1844 in Virginia, Illinois, while still a circuit rider, Rev. Richard married Joanna Ruth Paschal, daughter of Isaiah and Agnes (Freeman) Paschal, though, as we will soon see, this was not Richard's first marriage.

In 1853, the South Illinois Conference of the MPC was formed and Rev. Wright, no longer an itinerate preacher, was selected as its first President. He attended General Conferences of the MPC in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1862; and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1880. On 5 Jun 1887 he dedicated the newly built Auburn Methodist Church.

Markers for Joanna and Richard
in Auburn Cemetery (2014).
Joanna passed away in Auburn Twp, Clark County, Illinois, on 9 Jan 1885; Richard, on 13 Jul 1889. The reverend left no will, but a petition for letters of administration by his son, James, gives as his estate “Land in Auburn Township and Town Lots in the Town of Auburn and personal property consisting of House Hold goods a buggy and one Note” amounting to “One Hundred and Sixty five” dollars. Even in those days, this was not a large estate. 

Impressive markers for Joanna (inscribed “Joan”) and Rev. Richard Wright stand in Auburn Cemetery. On the back of the latter marker, simulating a lectern with a Bible, is written: “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the lord the righteous judge will give me on that day and not to me also but to all those also who loved his appearing.”

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