Wainwright family

The Wainwright family is an American family of English descent that was prominent in the military and politics and, today, is prominent in the arts.

History

On 5 June 1790, Peter Wainwright married Elizabeth Mayhew (daughter of Rev. Jonathan Mayhew and Elizabeth Clarke, daughter of John and wife Elizabeth (Breane) Clark). Elizabeth was born in 1759 and died 5 July 1829 in England. Peter was a tobacconist. He is said to have been a prosperous English merchant and came to Boston before the American Revolution. Peter and Elizabeth returned to England for the birth of their first son in 1791. They didn't return to Massachusetts until 11 years later.

Their children were:

• Peter Wainwright.
• Eliza Wainwright was born on 5 August 1794 in Liverpool, England and married on 6 September 1831 to Dr. Walter Channing.
• Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright I was born about 1791 and died 21 September 1854. He graduated from Harvard in 1812. He was inducted as minister of Episcopal Trinity Church (settlement No. 256 – 24 Nov. 1833 and left Feb. 1838). He married and fathered 14 children. One of them was Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright II.^[1]

• Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright II married Maria Page on 5 February 1844 in Clark Co., Virginia. He entered the U.S. Navy in 1837 as a midshipman. By the Civil War, he was a lieutenant and in 1862 was given his first command, the Harrett Lane, flagship of a mortar flotilla. He saw a lot of action in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coasts of Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. He was wounded six times and finally died of a musket ball through his head. They had four children, including: Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright III, Robert Powell Page Wainwright.

• Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright III (1849–1870), United States Navy officer killed while fighting piracy, son of the civil war officer.
• Robert Powell Page Wainwright was a West Point graduate and cavalry officer in the Indian wars and was also stationed in Walla Walla, Washington. He also died fighting for his country. He was married to Josephine Serrell. Their children were: Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV and Helen Serrell Wainwright.

• Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV was born 1883 and died 1953. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. He married Adelle Holley. He was an army general in WWII and was nicknamed "Skinny". General Wainwright and Adelle had a son Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright V.^[2]

• Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright (1864–1945), United States Congressman, Army officer in the Spanish–American War and World War I, and United States Assistant Secretary of War from 1921 to 1923. Son of John Howard Wainwright (younger brother of the civil war officer) and Margaret Livingston Stuyvesant.

Prominent members

• Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright I (c. 1791–1854), Episcopal minister
• Richard Wainwright (1817–1862), U.S. Naval Officer
• Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright II (1821–1863), U.S. Naval Officer
• Richard Wainwright (1849–1926), U.S. Naval Officer
• Evelyn Wotherspoon Wainwright (1853–1929), Suffragist and Washington hostess
• Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright (1864–1945), U.S. Congressman
• Richard Wainwright (1881–1944), U.S. Naval Officer
• Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV (1883–1953), U.S. Army Commander
• Carroll Livingston Wainwright (1899–1967), artist and socialite^[3]
• Stuyvesant Wainwright (1921–2010), U.S. Congressman
• Loudon Wainwright Jr. (1924–1988), writer^[4][5]
• Loudon Wainwright III (born 1946), songwriter and folk musician^[6]
• Sloan Wainwright (born 1957), artist, singer-songwriter^[7]
• Rufus Wainwright (born 1973), singer, songwriter, and composer^[8]
• Martha Wainwright (born 1976), singer-songwriter, musician, and actress^[9]
• Lucy Wainwright Roche (born 1981), singer-songwriter

Family tree

Peter Wainwright

Elizabeth Mayhew

Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright I

Eliza Wainwright

Peter Wainwright

Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright II

Maria Page

John Howard Wainwright

Margaret Livingston Stuyvesant

Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright III

Robert Powell Page Wainwright

Josephine Serrell

Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright

Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV

Adelle Holley

Helen Serrell Wainwright

Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright V

See also

• Saltonstall family
• Stuyvesant family

References

1. "Death of Bishop Wainwright". The New York Times. 22 September 1854.
2. "Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV: General, United States Army". Arlington National Cemetery. 21 October 2005. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
3. "Carroll Wainwright, Artist and Member Of L.I. Family, Dies". The New York Times. 7 July 1967. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
4. "Loudon S. Wainwright, Columnist, Dead at 63". The New York Times. 13 December 1988. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
5. Kozinn, Allan (21 May 2014). "Loudon Wainwright to Join Father in 'Posthumous Collaboration' for Stage Show". ArtsBeat. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
6. Garner, Dwight (12 September 2017). "In 'Liner Notes,' Loudon Wainwright Looks Squarely at His Flaws and His Musical Family Tree". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
7. Gerstenzang, Peter (9 August 2008). "Carrying On the Wainwright Tradition". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
8. Ryzik, Melena (4 June 2007). "The Superfabulous World of Rufus Wainwright". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
9. "The Giving Spree | Rufus and Martha Wainwright: The Giving Spree". T Magazine. 15 December 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2022.