He was born on 1 January 1831 (7; 4 (26 in 1861)). He was born in or near Baltimore, Maryland (4 [in], 7 [near]).
He worked on a farm for nineteen years, and then was a section-hand, brakeman, and freight conductor for the Pennsylvania, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railway (7).
When he enlisted, he was 5 feet 7 inches tall, and had a dark complexion, brown eyes, and brown hair (4). The middle finger of his left hand was crooked [?] at the first joint (4).
He enlisted and was mustered into service on 23 September 1861 (1, 5, 6). He was enlisted for three years, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Captain Keyser (4, 5). He was a private in company C (1, 9).
Captain Parsons asked him and Conrad (perhaps Conrad Brown) to bury the body of William Brown after the Battle of Fredericksburg (8).
He was discharged on 5 February 1863 (1, 5, 6) or 12 February 1863 (3) on surgeon's certificate of disability, at Falmouth, Virginia (1, 2 [3 Feb], 3). He was a private, in company C (9).
He was active in the Masons (7).
He lived initially in Delaware (7).
By 1881, he had moved to Ada, Minnesota (7).
In 1890, he was living in Ada, Norman County, Minnesota (6).
In 1901, he moved to Baltimore, Maryland (7). He was alive in 1903 (7).
1 Bates, Samuel Penniman. History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5. Harrisburg: B. Singerly, state printer, 1869-71. 5 volumes. 'Ninety-first regiment', volume 3, pages 186-233. (In the roster)
2 consolidated morning report, 7 February 1863
3 company C, register of men discharged, number 17 (John Wright)
4 company C, descriptive roll, entry 78 (John Wright)
5 company C, untitled list, probably of status at muster out, entry 67 (John Wright)
6 1890 US census, veterans' schedule, Minnesota, Norman City, supervisor's district 4, enumeration district 251, page 1 (John Wright)
7 William D Kennedy. Pythian History part 1. Kessinger Publishing, 2003. Page 451. (John Wright)
8 widow's pension certificate file, Sarah Brown widow of William H Brown, NARA record group 15 (available at Footnote (viewed December 2008) (John Wright)
9 index to compiled service records of volunteer Union soldiers who served in organizations from the state of Pennsylvania (John Wright)
JOHN WRIGHT--Born near Baltimore, Maryland, January 1, 1831. Worked on a farm for nineteen years. Afterwards employed on the Pennsylvania, Wilmington and Baltimore Railway, as section-hand, brakeman and freight conductor. On the breaking out of the Civil War, in 1861, he enlisted in Company C, 91st Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, served two years, and was discharged for disability. Initiated in Washington Lodge No. 1 of Wilmington, Delaware, at its institution, January 13, 1868. Withdrew, and became a Charter member at the institution of Lafayette Lodge No. 2, February 15, 1868, was its first Worthy Chancellor, and its Representative at the organization of the Grand Lodge of Delaware, May 14, 1868, when he was elected the first Grand Guide. He was one of the delegates from Delaware (thus becoming a P.G.C.), and was present at the meeting held in Philadelphia, May 15, 1868, "to devise a plan to form the Supreme Lodge of the United States," and, as such, became a Past Grand Chancellor. He removed to Ada, Minnesota, where he was instrumental in organizing, and became a Charter member of, Ada Lodge No. 24, at its institution November 16, 1881. Later, this Lodge went down, and he deposited a Grand Lodge card in Halstad Lodge No. 114, of Halstad, Minn., September 3, 1894, where he is still (1903) a member. In 1901, he went to reside in Baltimore, Md.