Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright (December 10, 1864 – June 3, 1945) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. 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 5 ...

from 1921 to 1923.

Early life

Wainwright was born Manhattan, New York City to John Howard Wainwright and Margaret Livingston ( née Stuyvesant) Wainwright. His older brother was Stuyvesant Wainwright (father of Carroll Livingston Wainwright I). 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, all direct descendants of Peter Stuyvesant, 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.

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 ...

. He served in the Twelfth Infantry of the New York National Guard (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 = (cloc ...

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

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' ...

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 bee ...

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 syst ...

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 ...

, 129th New York State Legislature, 1906 (all five Westchester Co., 2nd D.), 130th New York State Legislature, 1907 and 131st New York State Legislature, 1908 (both Westchester Co., 4th D.). He was a member of the New York State Senate (24th D.) from 1909 to 1912, sitting in the 132nd New York State Legislature, 132nd, 133rd New York State Legislature, 133rd, 134th New York State Legislature, 134th and 135th New York State Legislatures. 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, Wainwright served as a lieutenant colonel in the 26th Infantry Division (United States), Twenty-seventh Division from 1917 to 1919. He was appointed by President Warren G. Harding to serve as United States Assistant Secretary of War, Assistant Secretary of War from March 14, 1921, to March 4, 1923, when he resigned. Wainwright was elected as a Republican Party (United States), Republican to the 68th United States Congress, 68th, 69th United States Congress, 69th, 70th United States Congress, 70th and 71st United States Congresses, 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 (city), New York, Rye, New York. He was buried at the Greenwood Union Cemetery, Rye, Greenwood Union Cemetery there.

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wainwright, J Mayhew 1864 births 1945 deaths Wainwright family, 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