Wilburn Cartwright (January 12, 1892 – March 14, 1979) was a lawyer, educator,

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, and United States Army officer in World War II. The town of

Cartwright, Oklahoma Cartwright is an unincorporated rural community and census-designated place in Bryan County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 609. The post office opened April 25, 1940, and it is one of the newest communiti ...

is named after him.

Early life

Born on a farm near

Georgetown, Tennessee Georgetown is an unincorporated community at the junction of Bradley, Hamilton, and Meigs counties, Tennessee. The community is located along State Route 60 near its intersection with State Route 58. The Bradley County portion of Georgetown i ...

, Cartwright moved with his parents to the

Chickasaw Nation The Chickasaw Nation (Chickasaw language, Chickasaw: Chikashsha I̠yaakni) is a federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe, with its headquarters located in Ada, Oklahoma in th ...

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

, in 1903. He attended the public schools at Wapanucka and

Ada, Oklahoma Ada is a city in and the county seat of Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,481 at the 2020 United States Census. The city was named for Ada Reed, the daughter of an early settler, and was incorporated in 1901. Ada is ...

, and State Teachers College at

Durant, Oklahoma Durant () is a city in Bryan County, Oklahoma, United States that serves as the headquarters of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The population was 18,589 in the 2020 census. Durant is the principal city of the Durant Micropolitan Statistical A ...

Early career

As an educator he taught in the schools of

Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

, Atoka, Bryan, and Pittsburg Counties in Oklahoma from 1914 to 1926. During World War I he served as a private in the Student Army Training Corps in 1917 and 1918. He studied law and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1917. He was graduated from the law department of the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

at Norman in 1920. Afterwards he began a law practice in

McAlester, Oklahoma McAlester is the county seat of Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma. The population was 18,363 at the time of the 2010 census, a 3.4 percent increase from 17,783 at the 2000 census,Shuller, Thurman"McAlester" profile ''Encyclop ...

. Additionally he took postgraduate work at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He served as member of the

Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's b ...

from 1914 to 1918, and then as a member of the State Senate from 1918 until 1922. Cartwright was a vocational adviser for disabled veterans at McAlester, Oklahoma, in 1921 and 1922. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for Congress in 1922 and 1924, and served as Superintendent of schools at

Krebs, Oklahoma Krebs is a city in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,053 at the 2010 census, a slight increase from 2,051 in 2000.

from 1922 to 1926.

Family

Wilburn's great-great uncle was Peter Cartwright, who had defeated Abraham Lincoln in an Illinois legislative race. His two daughters were Wilburta May Cartwright and Doralyn Emma Cartwright (Lynn Cartwright), who was an actress that was married to actor

Leo Gordon Leo Vincent Gordon (December 2, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American character actor and screenwriter. During more than 40 years in film and television he was most frequently cast as a supporting actor playing brutish bad guys but oc ...

. His nephew, Jan Eric Cartwright, was the Oklahoma Attorney General from 1979 to 1983. His siblings were Floyd, Gerty, McKinley, Shafter, Dewey, Cecil, Keith, and Clifford (Buck). The last two were also Oklahoma state legislators. His father, Jackson Robert (JR) Cartwright, was a Baptist preacher and served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1929 and 1931.

United States Congress

Cartwright was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Seventieth and to the seven succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1927 - January 3, 1943). He served as chairman of the Committee on Roads (Seventy-third through Seventy-seventh Congresses). He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1942. Cartwright was a supporter of the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

public works projects in his district.

Military career

He served as a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Allied Military Government The Allied Military Government of Occupied Territories (originally abbreviated AMGOT, later AMG) was the form of military rule administered by Allied forces during and after World War II within European territories they occupied. Notable AMGOT ...

, with service in Africa and Europe from 1943 until he was injured. He returned to the United States as an instructor at Fort Custer,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, in 1945. He was employed with the

Veterans' Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and ...

Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the thirteenth-largest city in Oklahoma and the county seat of Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of the 2020 census, a 6.0 percent decrease ...

, in 1945 and 1946.

Later life

Cartwright was elected

Secretary of State of Oklahoma The Secretary of State of the State of Oklahoma is the chief clerical officer of Oklahoma and a member of the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet. The Secretary of State is the only appointed constitutional member of the executive branch of the Oklahom ...

for four-year term in 1946. Cartwright was elected State auditor for four-year term in 1950. Cartwright was elected State corporation commissioner for six-year term in 1954 and reelected in 1960 and 1966. He was a resident of

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

until his death there on March 14, 1979. He was interred in I.O.O.F. Cemetery,

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma C ...

.Kosmerick
"Cartwright, William (1891-1979)
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture. 10-14-09

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.
"Cartwright, Wilburn" (1891-1979)
Oklahoma Historical Society.
Wilburn Cartwright Collection
an
Photograph Collection
at the

Carl Albert Center The Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center is a nonpartisan institution devoted to teaching and research related to the United States Congress and, more broadly, to strengthening representative democracy through engaged and infor ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cartwright, Wilburn 1892 births 1979 deaths People from Meigs County, Tennessee American people of English descent Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma Secretaries of State of Oklahoma 20th-century Members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Democratic Party Oklahoma state senators State Auditors of Oklahoma Oklahoma lawyers People from McAlester, Oklahoma Schoolteachers from Oklahoma School superintendents in Oklahoma Politicians from Oklahoma City People from Ada, Oklahoma 20th-century American politicians Lawyers from Oklahoma City 20th-century American educators Southeastern Oklahoma State University alumni University of Oklahoma alumni University of Chicago alumni United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army officers 20th-century American lawyers Democratic Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives