Mr William Wright was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England on 28 December 1864 and later baptised on 29 January 1865 in St Thomas' Church, Toxteth. His address at the time was 68, Court 9, Upper Mann Street, Toxteth.
He was the son of Thomas Wright (b. 1837), an iron foundry labourer, and Mary Ann Haynes (b. 1841), both natives of Cheshire. His father had a previous short-lived marriage to Hannah Dodd (d. 1859) and had a son from that relationship, John Ephraim Wright (b. 1857).
William had three siblings: James (b. 1871), Sarah Anne (b. 1873) and Thomas Edward (b. 1881).
He first appears on the 1871 census as a resident of 24 Tamworth Street, Toxteth, his father then described as a labourer; by the time of the 1881 census the home address was 42 Ponsonby Square and a 16-year-old William was described as a clerk.
He was married on 29 January 1888 to Mary Clarke (b. 1861), a native of Liverpool and daughter of labourer William Clarke. William and Mary had four children, three surviving infancy: William James (1888-1957), Albert (b. 1890) and Sarah Ann (1894-1923). Another daughter, Frances Mary (b. 16 April 1892) died in late 1893 before even reaching her second birthday.
The 1891 census shows William and his family at 33 Keats Street, Bootle; he was then described as a ship's steward. By the time of the 1901 census they had moved to 2 Hilshaw Street, Everton; they were still present there at the time of the 1911 census but William was absent and presumably at sea.
Exactly when William went to sea is not certain but he appears on crew manifests as early as 1887 when working aboard Sobralense as assistant steward on one voyage and boots steward on another. He served on Lake Ontario sometime around the turn of the century and by September 1902 and into March 1903 he was shown working aboard Haverford. He was aboard Olympic at the time of the Hawke collision. A discharge book describes him as standing at 5' 6" with brown hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion; he had two dots (tattoos) at the base of his left thumb.
When he signed-on to the Titanic on 4 April 1912 Wright gave his local address as 9 Emsworth Road, Southampton. His previous ship had been the Olympic and as a glory hole steward he received monthly wages of £3, 15s.
On the night of the sinking Wright had been off duty and was in bed asleep when the collision occurred. The impact was enough to wake him but at first did not think anything serious could be amiss. Nonetheless, he went on deck where he was eventually ordered into lifeboat 13 to help man the oars, he estimated there to be 70 persons in the craft. He recalled the bitter cold and the desperate cries of those struggling in the water once the ship had plunged.
...it was a black night, and so cold that it felt like being in an iceberg. It was about break of day when on the horizon, we sighted the headlights of the Carpathia. Never was there so welcome a sight. Of course, we did not know what vessel she was, but we did know that she meant salvation for us. Even at this hour, when we realised that rescue was at hand and that the frail craft in which we had pulled from the wreck was to be exchanged for the security of a liner's deck, we had no idea that so many lives had gone. We lost everything, and I looked a regular wreck when we reached New York."
Wright survived the sinking and eventually returned to England; he was not called to give evidence at either the British or American Inquiries into the sinking.
Back in England Wright attended the funeral of fellow steward and colleague Arthur Lawrence who was buried in West Derby Cemetery on 13 May 1912; he stated that although he was not intimate with Lawrence they had worked with each other for about five years.
Wright continued his career at sea; he was made a widower in 1917 and the following year was working aboard Adriatic and by 1923 as a bedroom steward aboard Samaria. Later that same year he saw a brief spell aboard Baltic as a glory-hole steward. By 1924 he had already commenced a long service as a glory-hole steward aboard Cedric and was still shown working aboard her as late as 1930 at the age of 66, although he had shaved a few years off of his true age, and it appears that he retired that same year. Immigration records describe him as standing at 5' 6" and weighing 140 lbs.
His last address was 51 York Terrace, Liverpool; he died there aged 75 on 23 February 1940 as a result of heart failure and pneumonia. He was buried in West Derby Cemetery with his wife and daughter (section C/E 1, plot 892).
(Courtesy of Trevor Baxter)
In loving memory of our dear mother & father
Mary Wright
Died 3rd Dec 1917 aged 50 years
and William Wright
Died 23rd Feb 1940 aged 75 years
Survivor of RMS Titanic
"Re-United"
also Sarah Ann Dewhurst
Daughter of the above
Died 14th Sep 1923 aged 28 years
A death notice appeared in the Liverpool Echo on 26 February 1940:
WRIGHT--February 23, at his residence, 57 [sic] York Terrace, aged 75 years, WILLIAM WRIGHT, R.M.S. Titanic survivor, Internment at West Derby
Cemetery, tomorrow (Tuesday), at 3 p.m.
A Bigamous Marriage
Did William Wright have a secret second family?
There is speculation that William Wright may have been married to two women at the same time. On 11 October 1902 a Ship's steward named William Robert Wright married widow Frances Maria "Minnie" Statham (née Pain, Paine, Payne), in Southampton, they had a daughter Gladys. The family story was that William survived the Titanic but was never seen again. Further research is needed to establish if this William Robert Wright and the Titanic survivor were one and the same person.
Comment and discuss
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I have been in touch in the past and it is disappointing no reference has been made to the fact William Wright is likely to have been a bigamist. The family story has always been he survived the Titanic sinking, returned to Southampton and was never seen again by his wife Frances Maria Wright. They had married 11th Oct 1902, William using the name William Robert Wright, aged 31 and a ships steward. Frances was born 1866 and gave her age untruthfully as 32. She was previously married to a James Henry Statham allegedly a ships steward and former friend of Mr Wright. Frances and William had a daughter Gladys, whose birth was never registered and was born between 1900 and 1902. It was only when Gladys applied for a pension did she become aware her birth had not been registered which caused her much distress. Only one family photo exists of William and it is as the second photo in the Titanic Encyclopaedia
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Frances was from a family with a culture of bigamy on both her maternal and paternal side. She has proven to be very elusive to research and as more records come available further searches are made to find further proof of her life. Her sister and brother were in bigamous relationships it seems as well and another close family member who was jailed for bigamy Contact was made with another descendant of Williams’ family when a letter was sent to the Liverpool Echo on the 100th anniversary of the sinking asking if anyone knew of William. The family knew William was from Liverpool and a crew member in the merchant navy hence the letter. Dr Wright replied. The one remaining photo which the family have of William Wright has been seen by Dr Paul Wright to whom the original entry to the encyclopaedia was made, after I put him in touch with an enquirer from the publication. We have both concurred it is more than likely of William. The family ‘story’ is so clear it is more than...
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Photo
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Yes the man who married Frances Statham and is originally from Liverpool
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