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- Birth/Marriage/Death: "Life and Times of Henry Burt of Springfield," Henry M. Burt and Silas W. Burt, 1893, pgs 241-242. Captain, the famous Indian fighter, Northfield, Massachusetts hero.
He married, first, on Mar 22,1680/1 at Northampton,MA, Thankful Taylor.
He married, second, on Jul 19,1701, Mary Barker or Mary Baker of Springfield,MA.
Children(by first marriage): Benjamin Wright Jr, Thankful Wright, Remembrance Wright, Thankful Wright Woodruff, Jacob Wright, Mindwell Wright Belding(wife of Stephen Belding Jr), and Daniel Wright.
Children(by second marriage): William Wright, Mary Wright, and Experience Wright.
Capt.Benjamin Wright was a grantee of Northfield,MA, in 1682 and settled there in 1685. He returned to that place at the permanent or 3rd settlement, being one of the eight grantees out of twenty who went upon their land the first year, and he was one of the thirteen signers of the "Articles of Agreement" for Northfield, drawn up Apr 14,1714. On Mar 3,1718, he was one of a committee appointed to furnish necessities for minister. He was also one of a committee to see about building a meeting house. On Mar 4,1717, Capt. Benj. Wright was appointed surveyor of highway and later that year, he and Ensign Zacharih Field were authorized to take the list of polls, lands, etc., for levying the first town tax.
As an Indian fighter, he led several scouting parties toward Canada, scalp-hunting. On Jul 15,1697, a party was fired upon at Hatfield and three killed, whereupon a party of 14 men under command of Benjamin Wright went in pursuit. They found the perpetrators at Vernon, VT, where they killed two and rescued the prisoners. Joseph Hawley and Joseph Parson were sent to Albany to give an account of the affair, and Capt. Wright with 4 others were sent with them as a guard.
During Queen Anne's War, the Connecticut Valley was the scene of several Indian massacres, beginning in Deerfield,MA on Feb 29,1703/4. On May 13th of the same year, the Indians fell upon Pascommuch, a hamlet of five families, comprising 33 persons, then within the limit of Northampton,MA, but a part of the present site of Mount Tom village. A spring freshet was on, and the attacking party did not anticipate any interference from Northampton. The invaders, numbering 75, made the attack at daybreak before the settlers had risen. While the main attack was in progress a detachment of ten Indians invaded the only house at Lower Farms (Smith's Ferry) occupied by Capt. Wright, who refused to surrender and broke the arm of one of the Indians with a shot. His house was fired on by the Indians' arrows spiked & dripped in brimstone, but the fire was extinguished by his nephew who wrapped himself in a feather bed & brought water from the well.
In February, 1708, Capt. Wright led a party of English and Indians up the Connecticut River to Coos (territory including the present township of Newbury, Orange County, VT), and was gone nine weeks without seeing the face of an enemy.
findgrave
He was a Captain in 1709. He crossed the wilderness to Lake Champlain with 10 men. On the 20th of May, they killed one Indian and wounded others near the lake. On their return they had a skirmish with a party of Indians on Onion River, and Lt. John Wells of Deerfield was slain, John Burt of Northampton was slain or perished in the woods and John Strong of Northampton was wounded. The General Court gave to Capt. Wright £12 and to nine men £6 each. They had a pocket compass to guide them.
http://www.themorrisclan.com/GENEALOGY/WRIGHT%20Samuel%20F1124.html
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1660 - 1743 (82 years)
