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Wright Brothers were the sons of Milton and Susan Wright. Milton was the son of a pioneer,
a minister in the United Brethren Church, and a professor of theology. Susan was the
daughter of a carriage maker who had converted to the United Brethren faith when she was
14. Milton met Susan at Hartville College, Indiana in 1853, where he was working and she was a
student of literature. Both shared a love for learning for the sake of learning -- Milton
augmented his theology training with algebra and Greek, while Susan not only excelled in
literature, but also math and science. After a long courtship, Milton asked Susan to marry
him and accompany him to the Oregon Territory where the United Brethren church had
assigned him as a teacher and a missionary among the mining camps. She did not go with him
to Oregon, but agreed to marry on his return. They married in 1859, fairly late in life --
he was almost 31, she was 28. Nonetheless, they had seven children together.Because of Milton's position in his church, the Wrights were a family on the move -- the Wrights moved twelve times before coming to roost in Dayton, Ohio. The first son, Reuchlin, was born in a log cabin in 1861 near Fairmont, Indiana where Milton was traveling and preaching on the church "circuits." The second, Lorin, was born in 1862 in Orange Township, Fayette County, Indiana. Wilbur was the third son, born in 1867 near Millville, Indiana. The Wrights moved to Dayton, Ohio in 1870 when Milton was chosen to edit the church newspaper, the Religious Telescope -- a position which thrust him to prominence within the United Brethren and eventually got him elected as a bishop. Soon after they arrived, Susan gave birth to twins, Otis and Ida. Ida died at 13 days and Otis lived only 18 days. Orville, the sixth child, was born in Dayton in 1871. The youngest, Katharine -- and the only surviving daughter -- was born in 1874. None of the Wright children had middle names. Instead, their father tried hard to give them distinctive first names. Wilbur was named for Wilbur Fiske and Orville for for Orville Dewey, both clergyman that Milton Wright admired. They were "Will" and "Orv" to their friends, and "Ullam" and "Bubs" to each other. In Dayton, their neighbors knew them simply as the "Bishop's kids."
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Click on a
photo to enlarge it. Reuchlin Wright, 1878
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Just the Facts
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