JUDGE SAMUEL H. WRIGHT

(1865-1870, 1875-1878)

Samuel Huntington Wright was born about May 15, 1828 in Windham, Ohio. He was the son of Sarah Huntington and Dr. Thomas Wright.

He crossed the plains in a wagon train from Kentucky in 1849. Samuel married Sarah Marie Derby in California on December 19, 1849. He settled in Marysville, California where he was in business. Later he moved to Santa Clara, California and was postmaster and justice there.

He was attracted to Carson City, Nevada by the mining boom. From 1861, he was a lawyer in Nevada. In that year, Governor Nye appointed him Probate Judge, an office he held until 1863. Samuel Wright was elected as judge of the Second Judicial District Court in 1864 and again in 1866. This was before Washoe County became a part of the Second Judicial District. He was elected as judge of the Second Judicial District Court, which now contained Washoe County, once again in 1874 and served through 1878. He was known throughout the Silver State.

Judge Wright moved to California about 1892. In 1904, he died in Berkeley. He was survived by his wife, Sarah, and seven sons. A descendant of his, Julia Wood Kramer, wrote his life story in a book, Sam's Story: frontier judge, published in 2003. The judge's house in Carson City is still standing and is a historic property in the city.