Charles Wright was born on January 8, 1822, in Wysox, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, the son of Rufus Wright. His father, a currier by trade, had moved from the Connecticut Valley in 1814 and erected in his new home on the upper Susquehanna the first tannery in that region.
In 1830, he settled in Athens, Pennsylvania, where Charles attended the Athens Academy until he was fifteen.
Taking a job as clerk in a general store at Lewisville, he was in four years a partner in the enterprise. In 1843 he was commissioned to investigate the land holdings of a group of eastern capitalists in the neighborhood of Chicago, and his three-year sojourn in that section, during which he acquired the interests of his principals and engaged extensively in transactions in land, laid the foundation of a considerable fortune. Returning to Erie, Pa. , he entered a banking co-partnership which founded a branch house in Philadelphia in 1855. He became interested in the financing and construction of railroads, and took an active part in the building of the Philadelphia and Erie railroad. Upon the discovery of petroleum in western Pennsylvania, he formed a syndicate to construct a railroad to Oil City, Pennsylvania, which with its later additions proved very profitable. Meanwhile he had removed to Philadelphia and had come into close business relations with Jay Cooke. In 1870 he entered the directorate of the Northern Pacific Railroad to represent Cooke's $5, 000, 000 syndicate, the first money raised for the construction of the road, and from this time for nearly a decade he devoted his attention almost exclusively to this enterprise. More than once, in the financial crisis that followed, Wright used his individual credit to rescue the road from its difficulties. In 1872 he visited the west coast as a member of a committee to choose a terminal point on Puget Sound. On his return he was made chairman of the finance committee and early in 1873 was prevailed upon to accept a vice-presidency with headquarters in New York. At this time the road was in a desperate condition. Five hundred miles had been constructed, and the Missouri River had been reached at Bismarck, North Dakota, but the railroad's bonded debt was over thirty million, and there was a floating debt of five and a half million. In 1874 Wright was made president, and in April 1875 the entire property was placed in the receiver's hands. A reorganization was effected in six months by the conversion of the bonds into preferred stock. In the accomplishment of this remarkably speedy and adequate reconstruction Wright played a dominating part. But the road had no funds with which to continue building, and its floating debt was pressing. Wright had to quiet creditors and secure a breathing spell, use the assets that the company possessed for its best interests, and operate the five hundred miles of road through a country just being opened to settlement. At the close of 1876 the road had paid expenses and showed a small surplus. Further aid from Congress was sought. When that failed, construction had to depend upon the road's own credit. A short line to Puget Sound was built, and in 1877 the problem of direct connection with St. Paul was solved by securing an expiring charter and raising the money for construction. Early in 1879 work was renewed through the road's own resources on the main line west of Bismarck. In May 1879 Wright resigned the presidency on account of his health. Although the financial difficulties of the road were not over, much had been done to put it on a sound basis, and further building seemed assured. After a short stay in Europe Wright again accepted the chairmanship of the finance committee and became responsible for securing the necessary funds to complete the gap between the eastern and western sections. He severed his connection with the railroad in 1893, and for the rest of his life confined himself to his banking interests in Philadelphia.
Charles Barstow Wright died on March 24, 1898, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Charles Barstow Wright was twice married. His first wife was Cordelia L. Williams. His second wife, by whom he had two sons and two daughters, was Susan Townsend of Sandusky, Ohio.
