Laura Maria Sheldon Wright

Photograph of Wright, published 1918.
Photograph of Wright, published 1918.

Laura Maria Sheldon Wright (July 10, 1809 – January 21, 1886) was an American missionary.

Laura Maria Sheldon was born on July 10, 1809, in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.[1] She grew up in St. Johnsbury and in Barnet, Vermont,[2] and was educated at the Young Ladies' School.[3]

She married Asher Wright on January 21, 1833, and the two moved to Buffalo Creek Reservation on February 5, 1833, to begin their mission.[1] As a missionary, Laura wrote a school primer in Seneca and English and worked as a teacher.[1][2] She also founded an organization called the Iroquois Temperance League.[3]

She died of pneumonia on January 21, 1886, in Iroquois, New York, at the home of Nicholson Henry Parker (1819–1892), a Seneca interpreter.[1][4][2]

  1. ^ a b c d Fenton, William N. (1971). "Wright, Laura Maria Sheldon". In James, Edward T.; James, Janet Wilson; Boyer, Paul S. (eds.). Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary. Harvard University Press. pp. 680–681. ISBN 978-1-84972-271-1. OCLC 221275644.
  2. ^ a b c Webster's Dictionary of American Women. Smithmark. 1996. ISBN 0-7651-9793-6. OCLC 36280109.
  3. ^ a b Hirschfelder, Arlene B.; Molin, Paulette Fairbanks (2000). Encyclopedia of Native American Religions: An Introduction. Facts on File. p. 339. ISBN 0-8160-3949-6. OCLC 40848662.
  4. ^ Porter, Joy (2001). To Be Indian: The Life of Iroquois-Seneca Arthur Caswell Parker. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-8061-3317-1.