Charles Wright

From the list of elephant persons Family: Wright

Charles Wright
Profession circus director
Personal details
Born 1792 in United States
Dead 1862 in United States
Country United States
Locations
Title owner 1832-1833
Location at Purdy, Welch, Finch and Wright menagerie in United States
Title owner 1830-1831
Location at Carley, Purdy and Wright’s Menagerie in United States
Biography details

Charles Wright , circus director in United States

Born 1792 in United States dead 1862 in United States , son of other Micajah Wright .


The brothers Daniel Wright, James Wright and Charles Wright were raised just up the road from the Elephant Hotel, where their father Micajah Wright operated a tavern and inn.



Records about Charles Wright from the Circus Historical Society
A native of Somers, New York, Wright was in the menagerie business for some time. He was a witness to Hachaliah Bailey’s will, which indicates that he was a member of the influential Putman County (N.Y.) Group of showmen. The Asiatic lion and lioness which were the objects of his attention were with the menagerie as early as 1827 and since they and Wright were continuously with it from then until 1831, it would seem that he was our first American “trainer.



Records about Charles Wright from A History of the Traveling Menagerie at https://classic.circushistory.org/Thayer/Thayer2b.htm
During the four seasons he operated alone, or with silent partners, Charles Wright (1792-1862) used the title “New Caravan of Living Animals.” He advertised in 1826 that his collection was lately imported from the Tower of London. No earlier menagerie made such a claim. He had with him two full-grown emus (“emuses” in the ads), a mammoth camel, two long tailed monkeys, a white faced monkey, a Dandy Jack and pony, and a zebra that was said to have gone from Africa to London to the United States.

From correspondence we know that Wright had two menageries on the road in 1827, but the second of these has not been identified. It traveled in Missouri and Illinois, where newspapers were not in abundance. The original show was managed by Rufus Welch, Wright’s future partner.

The camel had been joined by another, so they had a male and female dromedary, the zebra, the emus, a lion and lioness, two tigers, a leopard and a pair of panthers. These were all part of the caravan in 1828 as well as a llama and a red bird of paradise.

In 1829 Wright became the first man in America to assume the role of lion trainer, or “keeper” as the contemporary phrase had it. The Asian lion and lioness which had been with him since 1827 were the subjects of ads that read, “the keeper will enter the respective cages of the lion and lioness.” This was in Pensacola, Florida, late in the season and he had probably done this earlier, though no references have been found. The act itself had been accomplished in Europe as early as 1819. The reason for the delay of such a feature in this country must lie in the fact that the animal cages were small, being light enough to be lifted on and off wagons, whereas European menageries exhibited in halls where large areas could be devoted to each animal’s den. This fact, if it is one, indicates that Wright’s cats were carried in wheeled cages, or large cages mounted on flatbed wagons. If so, they were the earliest such in America.

In 1830, Wright formed a partnership called Carley, Purdy & Wright

Stuart Thayer, A History of the Traveling Menagerie

Charles Wright s ancestral Ahnentafel:
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Charles Wright
Born: 1792

Father:
Micajah Wright

Born: 1811-11-04

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Reference list

References

Koehl, Dan, (2024). director Charles Wright in United States. Elephant Encyclopedia, available online retrieved 23 April 2024 at https://www.elephant.se/person.php?id=1577. (archived at the Wayback machine)

Sources used for this article is among others:


Selected publications

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Categories director | circus | Purdy, Welch, Finch and Wright menagerie | Wright family | Born 1792 | Dead 1862 | People from United States

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