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 Augus ...

from 1921 to 1923.

Early life

Wainwright was born in

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

, to John Howard Wainwright and Margaret Livingston (

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

Stuyvesant) Wainwright. His older brother was Stuyvesant Wainwright (father of Carroll Livingston Wainwright), and their paternal grandfather was the Rt. Rev. Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright, Bishop of New York. His maternal grandfather was Nicholas Stuyvesant, a son of Nicholas William Stuyvesant, grandson of the merchant Peter Stuyvesant, all direct descendants of Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch Director-General of New Amsterdam. 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 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. He served in the Twelfth Infantry of the New York National Guard (1889–1903), and in the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

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 Ass ...

in 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906 (all five Westchester Co., 2nd D.),

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Moment magnitude scale, Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 9 – The "Mud March (suffragists), Mud March", the ...

and 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, 133rd, 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 World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Wainwright served as a lieutenant colonel in the Twenty-seventh Division from 1917 to 1919. He was appointed by President Warren G. Harding to serve as Assistant Secretary of War from March 14, 1921, to March 4, 1923, when he resigned. Wainwright was elected as a Republican to the 68th, 69th, 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, New York. His funeral was held at Christ's Church, Rye, and he was buried at the Greenwood Union Cemetery.

References

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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 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives