Samuel Wainwright

Samuel Wainwright was born in 1886 in Manchester, England. He was the eleventh and last child born to James and Ann Maria Wainwright.

In 1901, for reasons we do not know, James and his wife, Ann Maria were living in separate residences. While James and his son, George were living with daughter Elizabeth and her family, Sam and his brother, Elijah, were living with their mother in Blackpool. Sam was working as a Plumber's Apprentice. He was 14.

In 1906 Sam married Harriett Henrietta Granshaw, and they had a son, Samuel Jr., born the same year. Sam's brother, George, had married Harriett's sister, Elizabeth Mary Granshaw in 1904.

The family immigrated to Australia in 1912 and shortly after Sam opened "Wainwright Stores."

In 1916 Sam enlisted in the army and served in France during World War One, until his discharge in 1918. After the war he visited England before returning home and sent the postcard below to his brother, Elijah.
The back of the postcard reads: "These are a few mates of mine. We were on leave together and I stayed at Harriet's and had a good time. Bye bye, Sam" The postcard is dated "France 10/12/18."

In 1955 Sam's wife passed away and the following year he planned a grand journey to Canada and then on England. In Canada he was reunited with his brother, Elijah, after a separation of more than 44 years. It was a grand reunion for both brothers. Unfortunately, after the brothers were reunited for only 16 days, Elijah suffered a heart attack and passed away. After staying on for a while it was decided that Elijah's wife, Annie, would accompany Sam to England and then travel on to Australia and meet her husband's brothers that she hadn't seen for almost half a century, and their families.

Samuel Wainwright passed away on Aug. 28, 1969. He was 82 years old.