Sir James Wright

On 28th November 1785 Sir James Wright was buried in the north transept of Westminster Abbey. The inscription on his gravestone is now rather faint but reads:

Sir James Wright, Bart. Died 20th Novbr. 1785, aged 71 years

His life

He was born on 8th May 1716, a son of Robert Wright. Robert's wife was Alice Pitt (nee Johnson). Following her death he married his mistress Isabella Bulman in 1724. She was the mother of his seven children. The family moved to Charlestown, South Carolina in 1725 and Robert was a chief justice of the colony. 

James later became Attorney General there and in 1760 he was appointed Lt. Governor of Georgia. In 1772 he was created a baronet. After the American War of Independence he resumed his post in 1779 but it was short-lived as Savannah was surrendered in 1782 and James returned to London. 

His wife Sarah (Maidman) had been drowned on a voyage to England in 1763. Their children were James (who became the 2nd baronet), Alexander, Mary, Charles, Ann, Isabella, Elizabeth and Charlotte. Sir James lived in Fludyer Street, Westminster, near to the Abbey, and died there on 20th November 1785.

Further Reading

From Empire to Revolution: Sir James Wright and the price of loyalty in Georgia by Greg Brooking, 2024

His will is at the National Archives at Kew.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography