Isaac Wright (1760–1832)[1] was an American Quaker investor who established the first scheduled trans-Atlantic shipping service between New York and England, and was a president of City National Bank from 1827 to 1832.

Wright was born in East Norwich, Long Island on March 2, 1760, to John Wright, a blacksmith, and Phoebe Seaman (7 March 1733/34 – April 18, 1828), the daughter of Thomas Seaman.[2] (An article in Harper's incorrectly identified him as English.)

In 1817 Isaac and his son William founded the Black Ball Line along with merchants Francis Thompson (who married Isaac's daughter Mary) and Benjamin Marshall. The line, which had ships sailing once a month between New York City and Liverpool, was the first regularly scheduled shipping route in the United States.

Up until that time ships sailed when they pleased. The advent of the regular schedule contributed heavily to New York becoming the dominant port in the United States.[3]

At the time, he lived at 8th Street and Third, and walked back and forth to the South Street Seaport.[4]

Wright speculated on cotton and ended up losing the company to Jeremiah Thompson.

In 1825 he was among the new owners of City National Bank. Other Quaker merchants at the bank were William W. Fox, who would later become president of New York Gas Light Company, and Black Ball founder Benjamin Marshall.[5][6]

He died of cholera on August 9, 1832, in the bank.

References

  1. ^ "Isaac Wright b. 2 Mar 1760 d. 9 Aug 1832: Long Island Surnames".
  2. ^ The Wright Family of Oyster Bay, Howland Perrine, 1923
  3. ^ 'Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York' by Clifton Hood, The Johns Hopkins University Press (July 13, 2004) ISBN 0-8018-8054-8
  4. ^ 'Important American periodicals dating back to 1850', Harper's Magazine, published by Harper's Magazine Co., 1892
  5. ^ http://www.tacomascene.com/kalakala/black_ball_line/black_ball_line.html Archived October 10, 2013, at the Wayback Machine http://www.tacomascene.com/kalakala/black_ball_line/black_ball_line.html Archived October 10, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ http://www.danbyrnes.com.au/merchants/merchants10.htm http://www.danbyrnes.com.au/merchants/merchants10.htm
Business positions Preceded byThomas L. Smith President of City National Bank 1827–1832 Succeeded byThomas Bloodgood
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