The Middle Name of Robert R. Wright
by Larry Wright
July 9, 2001

Summary
In all of the bible and census records that I have seen, his name has always been written as either Robert Wright or Robert R. Wright. He, however, on Internet genealogy sites and elsewhere is often referred to as Robert Richard Wright without citation of any evidence justifying why his middle name is said to be Richard.

Based on recently discovered information it is believed that Robert R. Wright's true name is Robert Roper Wright. It is hypothesized that his parents are James Wright and Elizabeth Roper of Halifax County, NC. The evidence supporting this belief is presented in the balance of this document.

Land Patent Information
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has a web site at http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/ that provides live database access to Federal land conveyance records for the Eastern Public Land States. Images can be accessed for Federal land title records wherein land ownership was first transferred from the government to private individuals for the period from 1820 to 1908. The database can be examined via various search criteria.

In searching the Alabama database for Wrights in Marion and Lamar counties, Wrights of my ancestral line were found to be concentrated near the boundary between two townships that coincidentally contain the boundary between the present counties of Marion and Lamar. Northernmost and primarily in Marion county is Township 11-S, Range 16-W. Southernmost and primarily in Lamar county is Township 12-S, Range 16-W. Three land patents were shown to have been issued to Robert R. Wright for land in Lamar County. In Marion County two patents were shown issued to Robert Wright and one to Robert R. Wright. The parcels of land identified by these patents were geographically located near each other and also near parcels held by other people that are related to Robert R. Wright, e.g., Cody, Winstead, Allen, Burroughs, and Gilliland.

The actual image of each patent was reviewed. In all of the patent images except two, the name of the patentee was as identified in the preceding paragraph. For two patents, namely 13475 and 14381 in Lamar County, the patentee was clearly written to be Robert Roper Wright rather than Robert R. Wright as carried in the database index. The contents of the case entry files were acquired from the National Archives and other documents also bearing Robert Roper Wright as the name of the patentee were present but there was no other information of genealogical significance.

The North Carolina Connection
From family bibles it appears to be well established that Robert R. Wright was born in Halifax County, North Carolina in 1803 but his parents are not named. Without much supporting evidence it has been conjectured that his father was named James. The following provides some evidence to support that conjecture and bolsters it by identifying the probable name of his mother.

In the "Genealogical Abstracts of Wills 1758 through 1824 Halifax County, North Carolina" by Margaret M. Hofmann the following information is given on page 105.

Will #567 pg. 282 John Roaper 14 May 1794 Aug. Ct. 1797
give wife LUCY ROAPER negroes and lend her the rest of my estate and at her death it to be divided between my children: MARY JOHNSTON, MATHEW/MARTHA HAWS, HULDA NEWSON, ELIZABETH WRIGHT, BARBARA WILSON, ZILPHA ROAPER and BETHEA ROAPER Wit.: JOHN SULEVANT, HENRY HYDE, ISHAM HAWKINS x his mark Extrs.: wife LUCY, COL. WILLIS ALSTON, WILLIAM PRYOR and HENRY HYDE

It may be concluded from this will that as of May 14, 1794 John Roaper had a daughter named Elizabeth that had married a Wright.

In the "State Census of North Carolina 1784-1787", Second Edition Revised Transcribed and Indexed by Mrs. Alvaretta Kenan Register, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1978, there is census information summarized for Halifax County, NC as of 1786. It is seen on page 68 of the reference that the households of James Wright and John Roaper are both listed in the same district. Four other households separate Wright and Roaper in the listing but the relevance of this to the physical location of the land is unknown. The James Wright household is shown to have one white male of 21-60 years, 1 white female of any age, 1 black 12-50, and 1 black either under 12 or above 50. It is conjectured that the white female is the former Elizabeth Roaper and that she and James Wright have not yet had children.

In the 1790 US Federal Census for North Carolina, it is seen that James Wright and John Roper are living in adjacent households in Halifax County, North Carolina. The James Wright household is shown to have 1 white male of 16 or more, 2 white males under 16, 1 white female, and 3 slaves. It is conjectured that James Wright and the former Elizabeth Roper have had 2 male children since the taking of the census in 1786.

Conclusions
The evidence previously presented strongly supports the following conclusions:

1. James Wright was married to Elizabeth Roaper/Roper and for a time they lived adjacent to Elizabeth's father, John Roaper/Roper in Halifax County, North Carolina.
2. One of their children was named Robert Roper Wright with the middle name honoring his maternal grandfather.
3. My 3rd great-grandfather, the father of John Thomas Wright, and referred to in bibles and censuses as either Robert or Robert R. Wright was in fact named Robert Roper Wright as written in the land patents.
4. There is no credible evidence known to the author that supports the middle name of Robert R. Wright being Richard rather than Roper. It is possible that he might have been given both names and sometimes used one or the other but not both of them. The author is inclined, however, to believe the middle name to have been erroneously identified as Richard and that the error was propagated through the copying of genealogy data.

"Larry Wright" <lwwright@pacbell.net>