Concerning William

In order to help unlock the mystery of William Wainwright, the fifth child born to James and Ann Maria, I ordered the marriage certificate from England for William Wainwright and Mary Ellen Gorst, who I believed he was married to. However, upon receiving the certificate I have discovered that this is not our William Wainwright. This William is the son of another William Wainwright, who was a dairyman. A different person, entirely. So neither this William, nor Mary Ellen Gorst are a part of this branch of the Wainwright family. I am now going to turn my attention to Australia, where it is believed, according to family story, that William died of pneumonia while farming with his brothers. There is a William Wainwright who died in Kukerin in 1916. As this is where they were farming, it is likely that this is him. I will send for his death certificate to ascertain if it is.

Frederick Jackson

Frederick Jackson was the youngest child born to Harriet Ann, the oldest of the 11 Wainwright children of James and Ann Maria. He was born about 1898 and was the youngest of 8 children. He is the soldier on the right pictured at the left.  The soldier on his left is his uncle Samuel Wainwright from Australia.  The photo was found among my grandmother's effects.

We know that Frederick was born in Sale, Cheshire, and enlisted at Ashton-On-Mersey, Lancashire. He was a private with the 9th Battalion of the Cheshire Regiment and he was killed in action at Flanders, France on November 16, 1916. He would only have been 18 or 19 year of age.

Sometime after his death Harriet and her husband, George, contributed to this stained glass war memorial at the Congregational Church, Ashton-On-Mersey commemorating those of the church who died in the Great War.


The script of the window reads:
THIS WINDOW IS ERECTED TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN HONOUR OF THOSE OF OUR CHURCH & SUNDAY SCHOOL WHO DIED FOR US AND OUR COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919.

Those listed are:
C. ACKERLEY
B. ANDERSON
J. ARTHUR
C. BRIDGEWOOD
J. BURGESS
W.T. CARRIER
A. CHADWICK
L.S. CRAVEN
P.L.GREAVES
R. HUGHES
F. JACKSON
A. JOHNSON
W. KELSALL
E. LAMB
C.L. LEES
E. MATTHEWS
W. MILLS
J.W. SOUTHERN
N. TRUEBLOOD
J.A. VIETCH
F. WILLIAMS
H. WOOD

Wainwrights At War

Of the 11 children of James and Ann Maria, I have identified 3, of the 9 brothers that took part in World War One. They all enlisted in Australia and their service records are viewable online at the National Archives of Australia website ( http://www.naa.gov.au/).

Or individually click on:
Richard Wainwright

Samuel Wainwright

Thomas Wainwright

This photograph is of Thomas Wainwright (right) and Richard Wainwright (left). The middle soldier may possibly be Sam. If anyone has any younger photos of Sam that would identify the middle soldier as him they can contact me at the contact email address and let me know. That would be appreciated.

Southern Cemetery

The gravestone in Southern Cemetery in Chorlton-cum-Hardy in Manchester for James Wainwright reads:

IN LOVING MEMORY OF
JAMES WAINWRIGHT
WHO DIED AUGUST 24th 1927
AGED 86 YEARS.
ALSO ANN BELOVED WIFE OF
ABOVE, WHO DIED OCT 2nd 1916
AGED 70 YEARS.
ALSO FRANK STUBBS THEIR SON
IN LAW WHO DIED JULY 24th 1910
AGED 37 YEARS.
ALSO ELIZABETH HIS BELOVED
WIFE, WHO DIED IN AUSTRALIA.
ALSO MARY JANE BELOVED WIFE
OF JOSEPH WAINWRIGHT
WHO DIED MARCH 7th 1936
IN HER 69th YEAR.
ALSO JOSEPH BELOVED HUSBAND
OF MARY JANE WHO DIED
FEB 15th 1941 AGED 75 YEARS

This information was given to my aunt by her cousin Joseph Wainwright (grandson of the above named Joseph Wainwright). He visited the cemetery and wrote down the inscription. Although James and his daughter Elizabeth are listed on this headstone they are not actually buried here. This grave site is listed as Section 1 Non Conformist grave #2296. James is buried in Section 1 Non Conformist grave #7327. Elizabeth died on Jan. 18, 1917 and is buried in Wooroloo Cemetery, Western Australia, Church of England, Grave #39

Robert Hughes and Harriet Williams

The parents of Ann Maria Hughes were Robert Hughes and Harriet Williams. Robert Hughes was born in Holywell, Flintshire, Wales about 1815 and Harriet Williams was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England around 1814. They were married at Manchester Cathedral on April 18, 1831. Their son Joseph was born in 1837, followed by Elijah in 1838. Our Ann Maria was born in 1847 and another daughter, Mary Jane was born in 1851. I have not been able to find any evidence of the whereabouts of Robert or Harriet after the 1851 census, nor of their eldest son, Joseph. Elijah, Mary Jane, and of course, Ann Maria all married and had several children.

James Wainwright (1807-1853)

I have received a copy of the death certificate for James Wainwright (born Nov. 1807). He died on July 17th 1853. His occupation is listed as "Coachman," and it states that he was 44 years old. This is at odds with his believed birth in 1807 and would mean that he was born in 1808 or 1809, but it is not uncommon to find similar discrepancies when dealing with past records. In the 1841 census James is listed as 30 years old, which would give him a birth date of 1810 or 1811. However, Parish records indicate that the 1807 date is the correct one.

James died of Bronchitis and his wife, Elizabeth, was present at his death, and being illiterate, signed the certificate with her mark X. James died at home at 27 Hope Street, in Chorlton Upon Medlock, Manchester, Lancashire, England. Elizabeth was probably not aware that she was about one month pregnant at the time of her husband's death. Her last child, Richard, was christened 8 months later, on March 19th, 1854.

James Wainwright and Elizabeth Lewis

More information on James Wainwright and Elizabeth Lewis has come to light. James was born on Nov. 4, 1807 and married Elizabeth Lewis on Oct. 6, 1831. They had 7 children: William (born 1834), John Samuel (1837), Ann (1840), James (1842), Elizabeth (1847), Joseph (1848), and Richard (1854).

I have located the family on the 1850 city directory living at 27 Hope Street, in Chorlton, Manchester. Many records in the 1851 census in Manchester were water damaged and unfortunately the records for residents living at 27 Hope Street were included in the damaged section. Only one occupant's name at 27 Hope Street was legible: Elizabeth. However, in the 1855 city directory Elizabeth is listed as a widow, living at 27 Hope Street, leading me to believe that her husband, James died between 1851 and 1855. I have discovered a James Wainwright, who passed away in 1853 in Chorlton and have sent for his death certificate. This would mean that the youngest child, Richard was born posthumously.

It was difficult to find the family in the 1861 census, but I did find them with the surname misspelled, as Wainright. Elizabeth was listed as Betsy. She was 49 years old and working as a Charwoman. William was now 27 and working as a Spindle Maker. Elizabeth, at 15, was working as a Cotton Corder. Joseph, 13, was a Bobbin Carrier ( a common occupation in a Spinning Mill). Young Richard, at 9 years old, was attending school.

Finding them in 1871 was again a challenge, but I did find them. It seems that in the interim Elizabeth had remarried. She was now Elizabeth Hines and married to Thomas Hines, who is listed as the head of the family. The eldest child, William, and the youngest, Richard, are still living with them and are listed as stepsons, with their surnames spelled correctly as Wainwright. Further research showed that Elizabeth had married Thomas in the Sept. quarter of 1866.

Further research, stretching back in time has revealed both the parents and the grandparents of this James, but more about that in another post.