Susan Catherine Koerner Wright (April 30, 1831 – July 4, 1889) was the mother of aviation pioneers Wilbur and Orville Wright, and wife of Milton Wright. She gave birth to seven children, and fostered in them an interest in carpentry and mechanics with her deep skills in those areas.
Early life
Susan Wright was born on April 30, 1831, to Catherine Freyer (or Fry) Koerner and John (Johann) Gottlieb Koerner, and lived in the family home, the Brown-Koerner House of Hillsboro, Virginia, for the first year of her life. Her mother, Catherine, was the tenth of twelve children born in Loudoun County, Virginia. Catherine married John in Loudoun on April 10, 1820. John was a wagon and carriage maker by trade, having apprenticed in Saxony, Germany. He emigrated to the United States in 1817 or 1818 where he continued as a carriage maker, first in Baltimore, Maryland, then in Hillsboro where he moved with his wife's family. After Susan's birth, the family moved to Union County, Indiana. Susan's father, John, had been a Presbyterian but converted to the Church of the United Brethren in Christ after arriving in Indiana. In 1845, Susan was baptized in the faith as well. She loved to read and excelled in mathematics and science, and spent time in her father's workshop developing skills working with tools and solving mechanical problems. In 1853, her father decided to send her to college.
Susan attended Hartville College in Indiana, a United Brethren School. While it was unusual at the time for women to attend college, United Brethren was rather progressive for the time. At Hartville, Wright studied literature and continued her studies in science and mathematics. In 1853, she met Milton Wright, who had been appointed as supervisor of the preparatory department. Milton asked her to marry and accompany him on assignment to a church in Oregon, but she declined and agreed to marry him when he returned. Susan and Milton married in 1859; she was 28 and he was 31. Milton had joined the church in 1847, and was ordained in 1856. Susan supported Milton's calling as a clergyman and devoted her life to maintaining their home and children.
Children
Susan gave birth to seven children, but only five survived past infancy. Due to Milton's occupation, the family moved 12 times, living in several places in Indiana. Their first son, Reuchlin Wright, was born on their Grant County farm near Fairmount, Indiana, in 1861. Lorin Wright, their second son, was born in 1862 on Dan Wright's (Milton's father) farm in Orange Township, Fayette County, Indiana, and Wilbur Wright was born on April 16, 1867, on their farm in Millville, Indiana. The family then moved to Dayton, Ohio, where they purchased a place under construction at 7 Hawthorn Street which would serve as their home base. On February 25, 1870, Susan gave birth to twins, Otis and Ida, but they died shortly thereafter. Orville and Katharine Wright were born at their 7 Hawthorne Street home, on August 19, 1871, and 1874, respectively. The family then moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Richmond, Indiana, finally settling back at their Dayton home in 1884. None of the Wright children were given middle names: instead, their father opted to give them distinctive first names; Wilbur and Orville were named after clergymen Milton admired. As a bishop, Milton was well known within the communities in which they lived, and in Dayton the neighbors knew the children as the "Bishop's kids". Milton and Susan kept tight familial bonds and instilled in their children that close family bonds could combat the pressures of the world; Milton admonished the children that only family was safe, reliable, and sustaining.