A large, wealthy, and powerful family on the Western frontier, the various branches of the Wainwright clan can be found somewhere in most states from as far north as Montana down to Texas and everywhere in between. The Wainwrights talked much about ranching, but a lot of their wealth and power came from mining.

Owen Wainwright was once a high level enforcer for a mining company in Texas. When he couldn't use his family connections and money to help force people off a claim he wanted, he pointed his gun in the right direction and pushed miners, and in return took a portion of the proceeds.