Background
Jonathan Wright was born on February 11, 1840, in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, presumably of free parents. His father seems to have been a farmer.
Jonathan Wright was born on February 11, 1840, in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, presumably of free parents. His father seems to have been a farmer.
After attending Lancasterian University at Ithaca, New York, Wright began the study of law in a private office at Montrose, Pennsylvania, at the same time teaching school.
In 1865, the American Missionary Society sent him to South Carolina to organize schools for colored people; after one year he returned to Pennsylvania, where he achieved the distinction of being the first negro admitted to the bar in that state. He soon returned to South Carolina as a legal advisor of refugees and freedmen, a position he resigned in 1868. He was a member of the state constitutional convention of 1868, and in the same year he was elected state senator from Beaufort, South Carolina. On February 1, 1870, while a senator, he was elected by the legislature to fill an unexpired term on the bench of the state supreme court, at that time probably the only man of his race ever to hold such a judicial position in the United States. He was subsequently elected (1870) for the full term of six years. The white public did not object strongly to Wright's election, for it was known that the Republican legislature was determined to elect a negro and Wright was preferred to any other. His career on the bench gave evidence of considerable ability; though he left the more important decisions to his two white colleagues, his opinions were clearly expressed and judicious in tone. During the contested election of 1876, Wright became the center of a heated controversy between Daniel H. Chamberlain and Wade Hampton, rival claimants for the governorship. When the contest was carried to the supreme court, the chief justice was mortally ill and could not attend. Thus it became imperative that Wright and his associate, A. J. Willard, known to be friendly toward Hampton, should be of the same opinion if a conclusion was to be reached. On February 27, 1877, Willard and Wright signed an order which said, in effect, that Hampton was the legal governor. Two days later, however, Wright reversed his opinion and asked that his signature to the original order be revoked. Nevertheless, the order was executed and Hampton was declared governor. The explanation of Wright's action probably lies in the fact that this was a time of tremendous excitement, when bloodshed seemed imminent and when a presidential as well as a state election might hinge upon the decision; undoubtedly great pressure was brought upon him by Republicans and Democrats alike. Following the overthrow of the Republican government, he resigned, effective December 1, 1877. Corruption charges brought against him through the Democratic investigating committee were unsubstantiated and never pressed.
Following his resignation, he sank into comparative poverty and obscurity; there is no record that he practised his profession. After a lingering illness of tuberculosis, he died on February 18, 1885, at his rooming place in Charleston, South Carolina.
Throughout his career Jonathan Wright was a moderate in politics, seeking to conciliate rather than to antagonize the races.
Jonathan Wright was definitely interested in the advancement and improvement of his race, but he was keenly aware of the negro's lack of education and experience in government, and he lamented the fact that able white men were seldom found in the Republican party of South Carolina.
Jonathan Jasper Wright was a member of the South Carolina Senate from Beaufort County.
There seems to be no doubt that Jonathan Wright was personally honest. He was a striking full-blooded negro, nearly six feet tall, described as having "a finely chiseled face and handsomely developed head. " He was a good speaker, confident and clear-headed, but inclined to lisp.
Jonathan Wright was never married.
