Today is the birthday of Ellis Wainwright (January 23, 1809-May 16, 1949). He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of brewer Joseph Wainwright and the brother of brewer Samuel Wainwright. He and his brother both learned the trade from their father, and later moved to St. Louis to open a brewery together, which was known by various names, usually with their surname Wainwright in the title beginning in 1831.

Much later joining the St. Louis Brewing Association (Eighteen St. Louis breweries merge into the English syndicate called the St. Louis Brewing Association.).

Here’s a short history of Ellis, from Tavern Trove:

Ellis Wainwright was born in Pennsylvania. He was the son of the Prominent Pittsburgh brewer Joseph Wainwright. From a young age he and his brother Ellis apprenticed in his father’s Brewery where they learned the brewing of ale and beer in the English method. In 1831, at age 22, Ellis ventured westward with the intention of establishing one of the first breweries in St. Louis Missouri.

On or about 1840 his brother Samuel (younger by 13 years) joined him in the Fulton Street Brewery. Together they guided the brewery to become one of the largest in a city of many large breweries. Ellis Wainwright died in the cholera epidemic of 1849 on May 16th. He was just 40 years of age. Upon his brother’s death Samuel purchased his brother’s share from the estate and ran the brewery, expanding it even more until another generation of Wainwrights took it over in the 1870s.

This short biography is from the St. Louis, Missouri’s government website:

Ellis Wainwright was one of the City’s first brewers, establishing the Fulton Brewery in 1831. The brewery was tremendously successful, and Wainwright became on the wealthiest men in St. Louis in the mid-1800s. By the 1890s, the family businesses were run by his son, Ellis Jr., who commissioned Louis Sullivan to build the landmark Wainwright Building downtown.

And while his Find-a-Grave page is nearly empty, his brother Samuel’s includes a biography and since they grew up in the same place with the same parents and started a business together, there’s undoubtedly several similarities to their life’s story:

Businessman, Brewmaster. Born in Pennsylvania, Samuel’s father was a well-known and wealthy brewer of ale and beer in England. Samuel served his apprenticeship to the brewer’s trade under his father’s directions, thoroughly mastering every detail of the art of manufacturing ale and beer in accordance with English methods. In 1846, Samuel purchased a small brewery in St. Louis which had previously been known as the Fulton Brewery. Along with his brother Ellis, he conducted the brewing business established under the firm name of Ellis & Samuel Wainwright until 1849 when Ellis died. For two years afterwards, the business was conducted under the old firm name, but after that Samuel purchased the interest of his brother’s estate and continued the business along until the formation of a new partnership with Charles A. Fritz. In 1857, he purchased George Busch’s interest in a malt-house and lager beer brewery and took the name of Fritz & Wainwright and engaged exclusively in the manufacture of lager beer. The business continued until 1870, when Fritz sold his interest and the business became known as Samuel Wainwright & Co.