Mary Cleveland Wright

Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series

As we saw in the last post, Robert became engaged to a “Mary W.” around three weeks after his father’s death in late July, 1861. Robert and Mary would eventually be married in March of 1864, despite the concerns Robert’s mother Eveline expressed in a 3/10/1862 letter written to her sister Judith.

Mary Cleveland Wright was born 9/25/1843 in Selma, Alabama. Her mother was Jane Alexander Wright (born ~1810 Maryland, died 8/5/1889 Atlanta, GA) and her father was Reverend Lucien Bonaparte (or Buonaparte) Wright (born 1811, died January 1850 in Marietta, GA). Lucien’s birthplace was most likely Maryland, however Mary’s death certificate says Michigan was is most likely an error. The 1880, 1900, and 1910 census say New York (under the birthplace of father column), and the 1920 census says Maryland. I’ve also seen a reference to Ohio in this 1860 “Clergy in Maryland of the Protestant Episcopal Church since the independence of 1783“:

So we may not know definitively where Rev. Wright was born, but we do know that he graduated from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland in 1834. He was also ordained as a priest in the Protestant Episcopal Church in June 1834.

As the note above mentions, for reasons unknown Lucien moved to the area near Selma, Alabama, presumably in 1835. The following 1839 note is from the Cahawba Democrat newspaper.

It is unclear what prompted Lucien to be in Marietta, perhaps he was being considered to be assigned to St. James Episcopal Church. Whatever the reason, apparently sometime in January 1850 Lucien passed away and was the first interment in St. James Cemetery. The following gravestone there marks both Lucien and his wife Jane.

The 1850 U. S. census Schedule 1 “free inhabitants” lists the widowed Jane A. Wright living in Marietta, with a non-trivial $3,500 value of real estate owned. The children living with Jane are daughters Jane A., Mary C., Lucia R., and son Lucien B. The 1850 schedule 2 “slave schedule” unfortunately also lists 3 enslaved people living within the Wright household.

I wasn’t able to find much information about their lives from this time, but by 1860 Jane and her family have moved into Atlanta. The Federal census lists both Robert Windsor Smith and Mary living with their respective parents in Atlanta City Ward No. 2. The Wrights are enumerated on page 64 in dwelling #423 and the Smiths are on page 70 in dwelling #476. So my assumption is that they probably knew one another prior to their July 1861 engagement.

As we saw in the previous post, by November 1863 Union forces had control of Chattanooga and Cleveland, TN. Reverend Dr. Charles Todd Quintard was an Episcopal chaplain and surgeon embedded with the Confederate Army of Tennessee (despite being initially pro-Union) and he wrote the following in his diary:

General Bragg was defeated by General Grant at Chattanooga in November 1863, and early in the following month he was, at his own request, relieved of the command of the Confederate army. He was called to Richmond to act for a while as military adviser to President Davis. His life subsequent to the war was quiet. He was a God-fearing man in peace and in war. He died in 1876.

He was succeeded in the command by General Joseph E. Johnston, whose army was encamped in and around Atlanta. Soon afterward I secured the use of a Methodist Church building on the corner of Garnet and Forsyth Streets, assembled a congregation, held services and instituted a work which resulted in the establishment of St. Luke’s Parish.

Doctor Quintard, Chaplain C.S.A. And Second Bishop Of Tennessee

On March 28, 1864 Reverend Dr. Charles Todd Quintard establishes St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta after retreating to Atlanta with the Confederate Army of Tennessee. The parish is reformed in June 1870 after the war.

On March 30, 1864, a mere two days after establishing Saint Luke’s, and prior to construction of their first church building, Rev. Quintard marries Robert Windsor Smith and Mary Cleveland Wright in Atlanta. At the time Robert is 23 years old (almost 24), and Mary is 20 ½ years old.

A letter dated April 2, 1864 written by 11 year old Willie Fort Williams to his uncle includes the following:

Miss Mary Wright was married night before night before last to a Mr. Robt. Smith, son of Mr. L. W. Smith both of this city. They were married by the Reverend Dr. Quintard of Nashville.

As we will see in the next post, Robert and Mary were only together for less than a month before Robert is enlisted into the Confederate ranks.