Wilburn Cartwright
Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner
In office
1955-1973
GovernorRaymond D. Gary
J. Howard Edmondson
George Nigh
Henry Bellmon
Dewey F. Bartlett
David Hall
Oklahoma State Auditor
In office
1951-1955
GovernorJohnston Murray
Preceded byA. S. J. Shaw
Succeeded byA. S. J. Shaw
Oklahoma Secretary of State
In office
1947-1951
GovernorRoy J. Turner
Preceded byKathrine Manton
Succeeded byJohn D. Conner
Chairman of the Committee on Roads
In office
March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1943
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Oklahoma's 3rd district
In office
March 4, 1927 – January 3, 1943
Preceded byCharles D. Carter
Succeeded byPaul Stewart
Superintendent of Schools for Krebs, Oklahoma
In office
1922-1926
Member of the Oklahoma Senate
In office
1918-1922
Member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives
In office
1914-1918
Personal details
Born(1892-01-12)January 12, 1892
Georgetown, Tennessee, US
DiedMarch 14, 1979(1979-03-14) (aged 87)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, US
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseCarrie Staggs
ChildrenDoralyn Cartwright
Wilburta May Cartwright
Parent(s)Rev. Jackson Robert Cartwright
Emma Josephine Baker-Cartwright
RelativesPeter Cartwright (great-great uncle)
Keith Cartwright (brother)
Buck Cartwright (brother)
Jan Eric Cartwright (nephew)
Earl Cartwright (cousin)
Alma materState Teachers College
University of Oklahoma College of Law
University of Chicago
Occupationteacher, lawyer, politician
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1943–1945
Rank Major
Battles/warsWorld War II

Wilburn Cartwright (January 12, 1892 – March 14, 1979) was a lawyer, educator, politician, and United States Army officer in World War II. The town of Cartwright, Oklahoma is named after him. He self-styled himself "the most elected man in Oklahoma government"[1] and served in elected office in both the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the Oklahoma Senate, as a school superintendent, United States House of Representatives member for Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district, Oklahoma Secretary of State, Oklahoma State Auditor, and on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

Early life

Born on a farm near Georgetown, Tennessee, Cartwright moved with his parents to the Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, in 1903. He attended the public schools at Wapanucka and Ada, Oklahoma, and State Teachers College at Durant, Oklahoma.[1]

Early career

As an educator he taught in the schools of Coal, 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 in 1917. He was graduated from the law department of the University of Oklahoma at Norman in 1920. Afterwards he began a law practice in McAlester, Oklahoma. Additionally he took postgraduate work at the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. He served as member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives 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 from 1922 to 1926.[1]

Family

Wilburn's great-great uncle was Peter Cartwright, who had defeated Abraham Lincoln in an Illinois legislative race.[1]

His two daughters were Wilburta May Cartwright (May 13, 1928-January 26, 2012)[2] and Doralyn Emma Cartwright (Lynn Cartwright), who was an actress that was married to actor Leo Gordon.[1]

His nephew, Jan Eric Cartwright, was the Oklahoma Attorney General from 1979 to 1983.[1]

His siblings were Floyd, Gerty, McKinley, Shafter, Dewey, Cecil, Keith, and Clifford (Buck). The last two were also Oklahoma state legislators.[1]

His father, Jackson Robert Cartwright, was a Baptist preacher and served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1929 and 1931.[3]

United States Congress

Cartwright was elected as a Democrat 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 public works projects in his district.[1]

Military career

He served as a major in the United States Army, Allied Military Government, 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, in 1945. He was employed with the Veterans' Administration at Muskogee, Oklahoma, in 1945 and 1946.[1]

Later life

Cartwright was elected Secretary of State of Oklahoma 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 until his death there on March 14, 1979. He was interred in I.O.O.F. Cemetery, Norman, Oklahoma.[1]

References

  • United States Congress. "Wilburn Cartwright (id: C000207)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Kosmerick, Todd J. "Cartwright, Wilburn (1891–1979)". okhistory.org. The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  2. ↑ "Wilburta Cartwright Locke". obituaries.duncanbanner.com. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  3. ↑ "ALL MEMBERS OF THE OKLAHOMA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES" (PDF). okhouse.gov. Oklahoma House of Representatives. December 4, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 28, 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
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