Simeon Wright (1942 - 2017)

Born 15 Oct 1942 in Doddsville, Sunflower, Mississippi, United States

Ancestors

Died 4 Sep 2017 at age 74 in Countryside, Cook, Illinois, United States

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Biography

Simeon Wright is a part of US Black heritage.

Simeon Wright was born in Mississippi.

Simeon Brown Wright^[1] was born October 15, 1942 in Doddsville, Mississippi to parents Moses Wright and Elizabeth W. Smith^[2][3]. His parents were ages 50 and 41 respectively. Simeon was the youngest 8 children his parents had together (his father had 4 additional children from a previous marriage). Simeon was a cousin of Emmett Louis Till; his father Moses was Emmett's great-uncle and it was from his house that Emmett was kidnapped in 1955.

After the trial where Simeon's father Moses openly testified in court to identify Roy Bryant and J.W. Milan as Emmett's kidnappers and murderers, the family moved to Chicago^[4].

In 2011, Simeon wrote the book, "Simeon's Story: An Eyewitness Account of the Kidnapping of Emmett Till." Simeon passed away September 4, 1917 due to complications from bone cancer and is buried in Parkholm Cemetery in LaGrange Park, Illinois^[5].

Sources

1. ↑ FamilySearch Family Tree profile
2. ↑ "United States 1950 Census", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6FM7-MX7R : Sun Jul 23 19:48:43 UTC 2023), Entry for Mose Wright and Elizabeth Wright, 19 April 1950.
3. ↑ Wright, S., Mosnier, J. & Civil Rights History Project, U. S. (2011) Simeon Wright oral history interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier in Chicago, Illinois. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2015669109/.
4. ↑ Roberts, Sam."Simeon Wright, Witness to Abduction of Emmett Till, Dies at 74." New York Times, 6 September 2017. Accessed 30 July 2023. Available: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/obituaries/simeon-wright-witness-to-abduction-of-emmett-till-dies-at-74.html
5. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGV1-RF47 : 12 May 2022), Simeon Brown Wright, ; Burial, La Grange Park, Cook, Illinois, United States of America, Parkholm Cemetery; citing record ID 183134614, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.