The Wright family of North Texas was involved in government, law enforcement, early settlement of the Arkansas Territory, the Texas Revolution, and the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Clayborn (or Claiborne Wright) came to the Red River Valley from Tennessee with his family in 1816 and became the first sheriff of Miller County. His sons Travis G. Wright (1806-1875) and George W. Wright (1809-1877) fought in the Texas Revolution and were members of the legislatures of Arkansas and Texas, respectively, while living in the same house in Jonesboro, Texas. George W. was also the founder of Paris, Texas, and voted against leaving the Union at the Texas secession convention. Travis G. Wright’s son, Samuel J. Wright went to the University of Virginia and fought in the Civil War. George Travis Wright, the donor of the papers, was the son of Samuel J. and inherited the family’s Red River County plantation, Kiomitia.
From the guide to the Wright, George Travis, family papers 93-004., 1824-1917, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)
