James and John Samuel

I received confirmation today, in the form of a birth certificate, that James Wainwright was indeed the brother of John Samuel Wainwright. The certificate states that James was born on January 27th, 1842. The father was James and his occupation was "Coachman." The mother was Elizabeth, formerly Lewis. The family was living on Hope Street, and this is in conjunction with the 1841 city directory, which also places the family on Hope Street. Through the linking of these two brothers we can now put together the various pieces of the puzzle. In the 1841 census, we also find living at Hope Street with James and Elizabeth are several other children: William (7), John (4-that would be John Samuel), and Ann (16 months).

John Samuel Wainwright

By doing a little detective work I have stumbled upon a new ancestor of ours, who I believe may turn out to be the brother of our James Wainwright, who married Ann Maria Hughes. Below is the 1861 Census from Manchester:
This is where we first find James Wainwright. He is listed as being 19 years old and employed as a Lath Maker. The address is 13 Prospect Street in Chorlton-Upon-Medlock, in Manchester. He is listed as a boarder. This is the same address that is on James and Ann Maria's marriage certificate a year later, so there is no doubt that this is him. The head of the household and his wife are also listed as witnesses on James and Ann Maria's marriage certificate.

I was looking at the names listed below James's closely and could see that the census taker had been having some difficulty with writing the names below James's and had crossed a part of it out. I could tell that their first names were John S. (22) and Jane (21) and that they were married and were also living as boarders. They were also listed as being born in Chorlton, the same district as James was born and I wondered if their surnames could actually be Wainwright and that the census taker had run out of room when inscribing their names and by sqeezing the surname in had made the "Wainwright" illegible. I noted that the occupation of John was a "Packing Case Maker". On a hunch I did a search in the 1871 Census for a John Wainwright, Packing Case Maker, and was surprised and delighted to find both John and Jane Wainwright listed! He was a Packing Case Maker still, and their ages were 33 and 32, which is close enough! They now have 3 children: Elizabeth, 9; Richard, 2; and Fred, 2 months. In 1881, John is still toiling as a Packing Case Maker and they also have 3 more children: Henry, Louisa, and Adelaide.

Further investigation led me to find that the "S" in John's name was Samuel, which I could now see was what the original census inscriber was trying to write in 1861 before he tried to cross it out. I also discovered that John Samuel Wainwright married Jane Smith on Aug. 5, 1860. For further confirmation as to John being the brother of our James, I sent away for his birth certificate and found that John Samuel Wainwright was born on September 1st, 1837. His father is James Wainwright and his mother is Elizabeth Wainwright, formerly Lewis. His father's occupation is listed as a "Coachman."

I have now sent away for James's birth certificate. Once I have this and if it identifies the same James and Elizabeth as the parents, then we will know for sure that the two, James and John Samuel, are brothers and who their parents are for certain.

Also, now that we know that the occupation of this senior James as a Coachman, it is possible to find the family on the 1841 census, which would be a year before our James (Ann Maria's husband) was born. But still, the 1841 census gives us even more potential siblings of our James: James (30), Coachman; and his wife, Elizabeth (27). Children: William (7), John (4), and Ann (16 months). Our James should be born the following year in 1842. I should know in 2 weeks.

Revisions

I've just returned from a short holiday and I want to say thanks to all who have sent emails and comments regarding THE WAINWRIGHT EXCHANGE. Thanks to your comments and suggestions we know a little more who we are and who we are not! I will be making a few corrections over the next few days regarding some of the photos posted, as well as posting some newly discovered Wainwrights of long ago.

Cheers,

Sam

Christmas Letter from Jim to Elijah 1940

In 1940 James Wainwright, the son of James and Ann Maria, wrote this letter from England to his brother, Elijah in Canada:

241 Kings Rd.
C c N
Tuesday 3rd Dec/40

Dear Elij & Annie,

Your letter to hand also the calendar, many thanks. Glad to hear you are enjoying better health since your hospital experience and that all is well at your end of the universe.

You will be relieved to hear that we are safe and sound up to now, despite the terrible times we are living under, what with Blackout, Syrens, Bombs, and Guns "we dunno where we are". I suppose you will read all about what is happening in Britain in your newspapers. Nearly every night Jerry planes are overhead, sometimes we get a short turn, some nights he comes over several times. Picture to yourself, the syren goes off, everyone jumps too, dash in their shelters, if they have one, then when he passes over, dropping a bomb or two, "all clear" signal is given. You go back to bed then he decides to return with the result you have to "Ditto Repeatto". When he passes near us, the gun barrage goes off and the house rocks again. You think the blooming house is coming on top of you. We had a nine hours "Blitz: last week, about three weeks ago a large bomb dropped about 200 to 300 yds away from our house and failed to go off, they left it for four days, then drew it's fangs and removed it, we were thankful when they removed it. It is common for delayed action bombs to explode days after it has been dropped. All this happen in the night time. We don't trouble about Jerry's planes in the daytime, it is all reconnaissance flying, rarely day bombing goes on in our way, but they have a rotten time in the South & London day & night.

You will be pleased to hear all our people are safe up to now. Edna was in Sale last week, with the exception of colds, Harriet and George are well. Joe Jackson is improving wonderfully but I don't think he has got back to business. Brother Joe is well or Harriet would have mentioned it to Edna. So all the "Best of Luck" to you and yours for the New Year. Excuse writing, paper is bad write on will write you again before long & let you know how things are.

Jim

(please note, no queueing up for food as we did in the last war)

Searching for William Wainwright

The previous post that reported that William Wainwright married Mary Ellen Gorst may be incorrect due to recent discoveries. In her recorded memories Elizabeth (Betty) Marshall (nee Stubbs) remembers visiting uncles Will and George Wainwright on a farming property at Kukerin, in the southwest of Western Australia, where she believed they were farming prior to 1910.

Also, the 1913 Western Australia Postal Directory lists Samuel and William Wainwright both living at 12 Plain Street in Perth. William is also listed with a second residence at 43 Melbourne Rd., also in Perth. His occupation is listed as tobacconist. Further research shows that a William has been at the Melbourne Rd. address since 1904. He is sometimes listed as a tobacconist and hairdresser. In 1906 he is joined by a Fanny Wainwright and in 1916 by a Lawrence Wainwright at the Melbourne address. Is this our William Wainwright?

Wainwrights in Australia (1956)

Front row (seated) left to right: Elizabeth Mary Wainwright (aka Polly), (nee Granshaw), wife of George Wainwright; Annie Wainwright (nee Singleton), wife of Elijah Wainwright; Lucy Eliza Wainwright, (nee Grocott), wife of Thomas Wainwright.

Back row (standing) left to right: Elsie Wilson, (nee Wainwright), (Thomas's daughter); Norm Wilson (husband of Elsie); Sam Wainwright; Elizabeth (Betty) Marshall (nee Stubbs), daughter of Elizabeth & Frank Stubbs; Tom Wainwright, (Thomas's son); Lyn Marshall (husband of Betty); Jean, (Tom's wife); Richard (Dick) Wainwright.

This Photo was taken in 1956 when my grandmother, Annie Wainwright, visited Australia.

Wainwright Stores

For many years Sam Wainwright and his son ran a store in East Victoria Park, Perth, called WAINWRIGHT STORES. Here are 2 photos from long ago.