Francis Marion Wright

Francis Marion Wright (August 5, 1844 – July 15, 1917) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois and previously was a judge of the Court of Claims. Early life Born in Adams County, Ohio, Wright was the son of James and Elizabeth (Copple) Wright. He was educated in Bentonville, Ohio and at the Ohio Valley Academy in Decatur, Ohio, and his parents hoped he would study medicine and become a doctor. Military service In 1861, Wright enlisted in the Union Army for the American Civil War, becoming a private in Company I, 39th Ohio Infantry. He advanced through the ranks of corporal, sergeant, and sergeant major before receiving his commission as a second lieutenant, and served in several battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, including the Atlanta Campaign. Wright participated in more than 40 engagements, and was wounded at the Battle of Atlanta. He was discharged at the end of the war in 1865. After the war, Wright took part in the activities of several veterans' organizations, including the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and the Grand Army of the Republic. Post-Civil War Following his discharge from the army, Wright determined to pursue a legal career rather than a medical one, and began to study law in the office of Dewitt Clinton Loudon, a Georgetown, Ohio attorney and fellow Union Army veteran. He then attended the Cincinnati Law School (now the University of Cincinnati College of Law), from which he received his LL.B. degree in 1867. He was admitted to the bar in 1867, and practiced in Georgetown until 1868, when he moved to Urbana, Illinois. Wright continued to practice law in Urbana, and also became involved in several local businesses, including the First National Bank of Urbana. Wright was one of the bank's original incorporators, and served for many years as its vice president and president.