35 Facts About Allen Wright

Allen Wright had been ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1852 after graduating from Union Theological Seminary in New York City.

Allen Wright was very active in the Choctaw government, holding several elected positions.

Allen Wright has been credited with the name Oklahoma for the land that would become the state.

Allen Wright was among the signatories of the Reconstruction Treaty of 1866 to re-establish peace with the United States.

Allen Wright served as superintendent of schools for the Choctaw Nation from 1880 to 1884.

Allen Wright was born Kiliahote in Attala County, Mississippi, in November 1826, at that time still a part of the Choctaw Nation.

Allen Wright's father was Ishtemahilvbi, and his mother a full-blood Choctaw who died in June 1832.

Allen Wright was given his English name, Allen Wright, by the Presbyterian missionaries.

The surname honored Reverend Alfred Allen Wright, a noted Presbyterian missionary to the Choctaw.

Allen Wright had begun to learn about Christianity from missionary teachers, especially Presbyterians.

Allen Wright began later to consider a career in the ministry and ultimately went to seminary.

Allen Wright was one of four students chosen by the Choctaw Council to attend college in an eastern state of the United States.

Allen Wright attended Delaware College in Newark, Delaware, from 1848 to 1850; that year the school closed.

Allen Wright enrolled at Union College in Schenectady, New York, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in July 1852 and joined a fraternity.

In September 1852 Allen Wright entered Union Theological Seminary in New York City.

Allen Wright earned a Master of Arts degree in Theology in May 1855.

Allen Wright was the first Native American student from Indian Territory to earn this degree.

On February 11,1857, Allen Wright married Harriet Newell Mitchell, a European-American woman from Ohio whom he met at the Choctaw Nation.

One of their sons, Eliphalet Nott Allen Wright, became a medical doctor and later served as president of the Choctaw Oil Company.

One of their granddaughters was Muriel Hazel Allen Wright, who became a noted Oklahoma author and historian.

Allen Wright became a member of the Choctaw Council in 1856.

Allen Wright was elected treasurer of the Choctaw Nation in 1859, and a member of the Choctaw Council in 1861.

Allen Wright was among the signatories to the 1861 treaty that allied the Choctaw Nation with the Confederate States of America.

Allen Wright joined Captain Wilkin's Company of Choctaw infantry on July 25,1862.

Allen Wright was transferred to Company F of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Mounted Rifles on June 13,1863.

Allen Wright was elected Principal Chief of the Choctaw Tribe in 1866, and served until 1870.

Allen Wright was a polyglot, speaking in addition to his native Choctaw, English, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew.

Allen Wright represented the Choctaw Nation at the Fort Smith Council and signed the Reconstruction Treaty of 1866.

In 1885, Allen Wright served as editor and translator of the Indian Champion.

Allen Wright was a charter member of the first Masonic lodge in Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma.

Allen Wright was a member of the Royal Arch Masons in Maryland, which he had joined in 1866.

Allen Wright served as superintendent of schools for the Choctaw Nation from 1880 to 1884.

Allen Wright died in Boggy Depot, Indian Territory on December 2,1885.

Allen Wright had been riding a circuit to evangelize the Gospel.

Allen Wright was buried next to him in Boggy Depot.