William Bacon Wright was born in Columbus, Georgia, on July 4, 1830, to John Wright. He practiced law in Georgia before moving to Texas around 1854. He sided with the Confederacy during the Civil War and secured a seat in the Confederate Congress in 1861. He lost his bid for re-election two years later and spent the rest of the war as a major in the Confederate army. After the war, Wright resumed his legal practice in Texas. He married Pink Gates in 1868, and they had at least six children. He died on August 10, 1895.