Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright (December 10, 1864 – June 3, 1945) was an American lawyer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He was the

United States Assistant Secretary of War The United States Assistant Secretary of War was the second–ranking official within the American Department of War from 1861 to 1867, from 1882 to 1883, and from 1890 to 1940. According to thMilitary Laws of the United States "The act of August ...

from 1921 to 1923.

Early life

Wainwright was born

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

to John Howard Wainwright and Margaret Livingston (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Stuyvesant) Wainwright. His older brother was Stuyvesant Wainwright (father of

Carroll Livingston Wainwright I Carroll Livingston Wainwright (December 2, 1899 – July 6, 1967) was an American artist and socialite. Early life Wainwright was born on December 2, 1899, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Stuyvesant Wainwright (1863–1930) and Caroline Sm ...

). His maternal grandfather was Nicholas Stuyvesant, a son of

Nicholas William Stuyvesant Nicholas William Stuyvesant (1769 – March 11, 1833) was a New York landowner and merchant who was a great-great-grandson of Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch Director-General of New Amsterdam. Early life Stuyvesant was born in New York City in ...

, grandson of the merchant

Peter Stuyvesant Peter Stuyvesant (; in Dutch also ''Pieter'' and ''Petrus'' Stuyvesant, ; 1610 – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial officer who served as the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Net ...

, all direct descendants of

, the last Dutch

Director-General of New Amsterdam This is a list of Directors, appointed by the Dutch West India Company, of the 17th century Dutch province of New Netherland (''Nieuw-Nederland'' in Dutch) in North America. Only the last, Peter Stuyvesant, held the title of Director General. As t ...

. U.S. Army General Jonathan M. Wainwright was his cousin. Wainwright graduated from Columbia College; from Columbia School of Political Science in 1884, and from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

in 1886. While at Columbia, he was a member of

St. Anthony Hall St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the Calendar of saints, feast day of Anthony the Great, Saint Anthony the Great. The frater ...

Career

In 1886, he was admitted to the bar the same year and practiced in New York City and in

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

. He served in the Twelfth Infantry of the

New York National Guard The New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs (NYS DMNA) is responsible for the state's New York Army National Guard, New York Air National Guard, New York Guard and the New York Naval Militia. It is headed by Adjutant General of New ...

(1889–1903), and in the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

as captain of the Twelfth Regiment of New York Volunteers. Wainwright was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's f ...

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having been ...

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

(all five Westchester Co., 2nd D.),

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco. ...

and

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

(both Westchester Co., 4th D.). He was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(24th D.) from 1909 to 1912, sitting in the 132nd, 133rd, 134th and

135th New York State Legislature The 135th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3 to March 29, 1912, during the second year of John Alden Dix's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provi ...

s. He was appointed as a member of the first New York State Workmen's Compensation Commission in 1914 and served until 1915. He served as lieutenant colonel, inspector general's department, New York National Guard, on the Mexican border in 1916. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Wainwright served as a lieutenant colonel in the Twenty-seventh Division from 1917 to 1919. He was appointed by President

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...

to serve as

Assistant Secretary of War The United States Assistant Secretary of War was the second–ranking official within the American Department of War from 1861 to 1867, from 1882 to 1883, and from 1890 to 1940. According to thMilitary Laws of the United States "The act of August ...

from March 14, 1921, to March 4, 1923, when he resigned. Wainwright was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the 68th, 69th, 70th and

71st United States Congress The 71st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislature of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1929, to Ma ...

es, holding office from March 4, 1923, to March 3, 1931. He resumed the practice of law and served as a member of the Westchester County Park Commission from 1930 to 1937.

Personal life

He married Laura Wallace Buchanan (1865–1946) on November 23, 1892 in New York. Together, they were the parents of: * Fonrose Wainwright (1893–1983), who married Phillip King Condict (1880–1949). He died on June 3, 1945, in

Rye, New York Rye is a coastal suburb of New York City in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the Town of Rye, which has more land area than the city. The City of Rye, formerly the Village of Rye, was part of the Town until it r ...

. He was buried at the Greenwood Union Cemetery there.

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wainwright, J Mayhew 1864 births 1945 deaths J Mayhew Columbia Law School alumni United States Army officers Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Republican Party New York (state) state senators Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) United States Assistant Secretaries of War Columbia College (New York) alumni