Résumé

Principal, Robert S. Wright, Building contractor, Winnipeg, MB, Canada, 1916.

Principal, Robert S. Wright, building contractor, Los Angeles, CA, c. 1925. It is likely that he worked with a relative, R. Edgar Wright, in Los Angeles in the early 1920s.

Principal, Robert S. Wright, real estate developer, Los Angeles, CA, c. 1930.

Partner, Wright and Becker, Building Contractors, Los Angeles, CA, 1942. On 04/27/1942, the Wright and Becker office was located at 2719 Santa Barbara Avenue in Los Angeles. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives At St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War Ii Draft Cards (4th Registration) For the State of California; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147, accessed 09/06/2023.)

Grade School

The 1940 US Census indicated that both Preston Wright and his wife Maude had completed 8th grade.

Relocation

Preston Stanton Wright was born in the vicinity of Newboro, ON, Canada, about 65 km northeast of Kingston, ON, on 02/15/1887. It is likely he was born in the township of South Crosby, about three miles southeast of Newboro. This portion of ON had been carved by glaciers creating an intricate, interwoven network of lakes and streams. It is possible that he was named "Preston" after the attending physician at his birth, R.H. Preston, M.D. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Series: Registrations of Births and Stillbirths, 1869-1913; Reel: 82; Record Group: Rg 80-2, accessed 09/06/2023.)

In 1916, the Wright Family lived in a multifamily dwelling at 183 Harrow Street in Winnipeg, MB, Canada. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1916; Census Place: Manitoba, Winnipeg South, 11; Roll: T-21934; Page: 2; Family No: 19, accessed 09/06/2023.)

Preston and Maude Wright lived in Emerson, MB, Canada, just prior to coming to CA in 11/1918. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, Dc; (Roll 104) Petitions For Naturalization 146-148; 14501-14800; 5/6/25-6/29/25; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: 21, accessed 09/06/2023.)

The Wrights resided at 955 Kings Road in West Hollywood in 1924. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, Dc; (Roll 104) Petitions For Naturalization 146-148; 14501-14800; 5/6/25-6/29/25; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: 21, accessed 09/06/2023.) On 02/04/1925, the Wrights dwelled at 1143 South Manhattan Place in Los Angeles.

Bouyed by profits made on high-rise office and apartment buildings in the late 1920s, Preston Wright and his family had an expensive house at 711 North Walden Drive in Beverly Hills, CA, in 1930. The 1930 US census valued it at $40,000, in line with the $25,000-$60,000 residences nearby on North Walden, but likely ten or so times more than an average Los Angeles house of the period.

In 1940, Wright, his wife and two children resided at 3980 Hepburn Street in Los Angeles. Two years later, on 04/27/1942, Preston and Maude lived at 4161 6th Avenue in Los Angeles. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives At St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War Ii Draft Cards (4th Registration) For the State of California; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147, accessed 09/06/2023.)

Parents

His parents were William Wright and Sarah Ann Stanton (born 06/29/1861 in South Crosby, ON, Canada

Spouse

He wed Maude Alice Warren (born 03/23/1886 in Bristol, England- ) in Winnipeg, MB, Canada, on 09/23/1908. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Manitoba Consumer and Corporate Affairs; Manitoba, Canada; Vital Statistics, accessed 09/06/2023.) Maude arrived in Canada in 1907, as noted in the 1916 Census of Canada. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1916; Census Place: Manitoba, Winnipeg South, 11; Roll: T-21934; Page: 2; Family No: 19, accessed 09/06/2023.)

Maude's parents were Her parents were Sarah Annie Phelps (born 08/14/1848 in England-d 02/26/1927 in Winnipeg, MB, Canada) and William Warren(born c. 1846 in England-d. Wellington, Somerset, England-d. 09/13/1902 in Winnipeg, MB, Canada). According to the 1891 Census of Canada, the Warrens lived in Ward 5 of Winnipeg, MB, where William was a grocer. William and Sarah had had ten children by 1891, of whom Maude was the second youngest. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1891; Census Place: Ward 5, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Roll: T-6297; Family No: 151, accessed 09/06/2023.)

She entered the US from Canada on 11/21/1918 at Noyes, MN, aboard a Great Northern Railway passenger train. She had settled in CA by 11/25/1918.

Maude submitted her US naturalization paperwork on 06/09/1925 in US District Court in Los Angeles and was granted citizenship on 09/25/1925. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, Dc; (Roll 104) Petitions For Naturalization 146-148; 14501-14800; 5/6/25-6/29/25; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: 21, accessed 09/06/2023.)

Children

He and Maude had three children: William Wright (born 06/28/1909 in Winnipeg, MB, Canada), Betty Wright (born 06/01/1919 in Los Angeles, CA) and Robert J. Wright (

Biographical Notes

The 1916 Census of Canada recorded that Preston Wright was a Methodist. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1916; Census Place: Manitoba, Winnipeg South, 11; Roll: T-21934; Page: 2; Family No: 19, accessed 09/06/2023.)

Wright began the US naturalization process on 05/15/1924 in US District Court in Los Angeles and concluded it on 05/15/1925. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, Dc; (Roll 104) Petitions For Naturalization 146-148; 14501-14800; 5/6/25-6/29/25; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: 21, accessed 09/06/2023 and Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives and Records Administration (Nara); Washington, D.C.; Naturalization Records of the U.s. District Court For the Southern District of California, Central Division (Los Angeles), 1887-1940; Microfilm Roll: 102; Microfilm Serial: M1524, accessed 09/06/2023.)

According to his World War II draft registration card, Wright was Caucasian with a light complexion, blue eyes and gray hair. He stood 5-feet, 10-inches tall and weighed 190 pounds. The draft card indicated that he had a "scar right side of neck." (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives At St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War Ii Draft Cards (4th Registration) For the State of California; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147, accessed 09/06/2023.)