John W. Reynolds Sr.

John W. Reynolds Sr.
John W. Reynolds Sr.
26th Attorney General of Wisconsin
	In office; January 3, 1927 – January 2, 1933
Governor	Fred R. Zimmerman; Walter J. Kohler, Sr.; Philip La Follette;
Preceded by	Herman L. Ekern
Succeeded by	James E. Finnegan
District Attorney of Brown County
	In office; January 1, 1907 – January 1, 1911
Preceded by	J. A. Kittell
Succeeded by	M. E. Davis
Personal details
Born	John Whitcome Reynolds; October 1, 1876; Jacksonport, Wisconsin
Died	February 4, 1958 (aged 81)
Resting place	Allouez Catholic Cemetery And Chapel Mausoleum ; Green Bay, Wisconsin
Political party	Republican
Spouses	Madge Flately; (m. 1906; died 1937);
Children	John W. Reynolds Jr.; (b. 1921; died 2002);
Parents	Thomas Reynolds (father); Jennie (Foley) Reynolds (mother);
Relatives	Charles Reynolds (uncle)

John Whitcome Reynolds Sr., (October 1, 1876 – February 4, 1958) was an American lawyer and politician. He was the 26th Attorney General of Wisconsin from 1927 to 1933.^[1]^[2] He was elected as a Republican.^[1]

Biography[edit]

Reynolds was born in Jacksonport, in Door County, Wisconsin, the son of Jennie (Foley) and Thomas Reynolds.^[3] He graduated from the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin Law School. Reynolds was admitted to the bar in 1902. After becoming a lawyer, he worked in Ashland, Wisconsin, for a short time before setting up a practice in Green Bay, Wisconsin, which remained his home for the rest of his life. Reynolds served as district attorney for Brown County from 1906 to 1910. He was a delegate to the 1924 Republican National Convention, supporting Senator Robert M. La Follette. When La Follette ran for President of the United States as a Progressive in the general election that year, Reynolds was one of thirteen electors who voted for him.^[4]^[5]

Reynolds was elected attorney general in November 1926, and won re-election in 1928 and 1930.^[6]

His son John W. Reynolds Jr. also served as Attorney General and was elected Governor of Wisconsin.^[7]

Electoral history[edit]

Wisconsin attorney general (1926, 1928, 1930)[edit]

Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1926^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
Primary Election, September 7, 1926
	Republican	John W. Reynolds	201,342	49.86%
	Republican	George M. Sheldon	96,697	23.94%
	Republican	Albert T. Twesme	77,814	19.27%
	Democratic	David Gardner Jr.	15,702	3.89%
	Socialist	Ben W. Reynolds	11,042	2.73%
	Prohibition	Burton S. Hawley	1,235	0.31%
Total votes			'*403,832'*	'*100.0%'*
General Election, November 2, 1926
	Republican	John W. Reynolds	389,519	85.53%
	Socialist	Ben W. Reynolds	35,066	7.70%
	Independent Democrat	David Gardner Jr.	18,888	4.15%
	Prohibition	Burton S. Hawley	11,931	2.62%
Total votes			'*455,404'*	'*100.0%'*
	Republican hold

Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1928^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Primary Election, September 4, 1928
	Republican	John W. Reynolds (incumbent)	221,540	46.31%
	Republican	Kelley	118,746	24.82%
	Republican	George M. Sheldon	85,254	17.82%
	Democratic	John J. Boyle	20,486	4.28%
	Democratic	Finnegan	19,869	4.15%
	Socialist	George Mensing	11,668	2.44%
	Prohibition	Burton S. Hawley	831	0.17%
Total votes			'*478,394'*	'*100.0%'*
General Election, November 6, 1928
	Republican	John W. Reynolds (incumbent)	589,730	68.29%	-17.25%
	Democratic	John J. Boyle	234,779	26.78%	+22.63%
	Socialist	George Mensing	36,028	4.11%	-3.59%
	Prohibition	Burton S. Hawley	7,244	0.83%	-1.79%
Total votes			'*876,781'*	'*100.0%'*	+92.53%
	Republican hold

Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1930^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, April 1930
	Republican	John W. Reynolds (incumbent)	258,469	43.35%
	Republican	Michael Eberlein	175,147	29.37%
	Republican	Alvin C. Reis	133,739	22.43%
	Democratic	John J. Boyle	16,138	2.71%
	Socialist	Glenn P. Turner	11,549	1.94%
	Prohibition	Burton S. Hawley	1,218	0.20%
General Election, November 4, 1930
	Republican	John W. Reynolds (incumbent)	375,616	68.10%	-0.19%
	Democratic	John J. Boyle	125,315	22.72%	-4.06%
	Socialist	Glenn P. Turner	35,169	6.38%	+2.27%
	Prohibition	Burton S. Hawley	12,636	2.29%	+1.46%
	Communist	William Martilla	2,827	0.51%
Total votes			'*551,563'*	'*100.0%'*	-37.09%
	Republican hold

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1930, 1931)[edit]

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 1930^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
General Election, April 1, 1930
	Independent	Chester A. Fowler (incumbent)	198,572	41.39%
	Independent	John W. Reynolds Sr.	184,317	38.42%
	Independent	Ray J. Cannon	96,908	20.20%
		Scattering	433	0.09%
Total votes			'*480,230'*	'*100.0%'*

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 1931^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, April 7, 1931
	Independent	Chester A. Fowler (incumbent)	254,534	46.87%	+5.52%
	Independent	John W. Reynolds Sr.	230,902	42.52%	+4.14%
	Independent	George L. Mensing	57,590	10.61%
Total votes			'*543,026'*	'*100.0%'*	+13.08%

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b "Former Wisconsin Officer Succumbs". The Rhinelander Daily News. February 5, 1958. p. 1. Retrieved April 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "WI Department of Justice". Archived from the original on 2012-03-03. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
^ "The Political Graveyard: Moose, politicians, Wisconsin".
^ "wi.wibluebk1929.i0013.pdf" (PDF). UW-Madison Libraries. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
^ "The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Reynolds".
^ "The State: The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1927: Election statistics: State candidates in the primary, judicial election tables, primary election tables, platforms and state central committees, general election tables, summary vote for president, constitutional amendments, county officers".
^ Wolfgang Saxon, "John W. Reynolds, 80, Judge In Milwaukee School Integration, New York Times, January 12, 2008 at C18.
^ Holmes, Fred L., ed. (1927). "Election statistics". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1927 (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 498, 577. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
^ Anderson, William J.; Anderson, William A., eds. (1929). "1928 election statistics". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1929 (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 740, 821. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
^ ^a ^b Kelly, Alice, ed. (1931). "Parties and elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1931 (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 465, 471, 580. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
^ Witte, Edwin E.; Kelly, Alice, eds. (1933). "Parties and elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1933 (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. p. 505. Retrieved December 27, 2019.

Party political offices
Preceded by Herman Ekern	Republican nominee for Attorney General of Wisconsin 1926, 1928, 1930	Succeeded by Levi H. Bancroft
Legal offices
Preceded by J. A. Kittell	District Attorney of Brown County, Wisconsin 1907 – 1911	Succeeded by M. E. Davis
Preceded by Herman L. Ekern	Attorney General of Wisconsin 1927 – 1933	Succeeded by James E. Finnegan

[Officer-1] "Former Wisconsin Officer Succumbs". The Rhinelander Daily News. February 5, 1958. p. 1. Retrieved April 25, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.

[2] "WI Department of Justice". Archived from the original on 2012-03-03. Retrieved 2010-01-31.

[3] "The Political Graveyard: Moose, politicians, Wisconsin".

[4] "wi.wibluebk1929.i0013.pdf" (PDF). UW-Madison Libraries. Retrieved February 14, 2023.

[5] "The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Reynolds".

[6] "The State: The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1927: Election statistics: State candidates in the primary, judicial election tables, primary election tables, platforms and state central committees, general election tables, summary vote for president, constitutional amendments, county officers".

[7] Wolfgang Saxon, "John W. Reynolds, 80, Judge In Milwaukee School Integration, New York Times, January 12, 2008 at C18.

[bb1927-8] Holmes, Fred L., ed. (1927). "Election statistics". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1927 (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 498, 577. Retrieved December 27, 2019.

[bb1929-9] Anderson, William J.; Anderson, William A., eds. (1929). "1928 election statistics". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1929 (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 740, 821. Retrieved December 27, 2019.

[bb1931-10] Kelly, Alice, ed. (1931). "Parties and elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1931 (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 465, 471, 580. Retrieved December 27, 2019.

[bb1933-11] Witte, Edwin E.; Kelly, Alice, eds. (1933). "Parties and elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1933 (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. p. 505. Retrieved December 27, 2019.

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v t e Attorneys General of Wisconsin
Territory	Baird Wells Jackson Lynde H. Smith
State	Brown Coon E. Estabrook G. Smith W. R. Smith Bouck Howe W. Smith Gill Barlow Sloan Wilson Frisby C. Estabrook O'Connor Mylrea Hicks Sturdevant Gilbert Bancroft Owen Haven Blaine Morgan Ekern Reynolds Sr. Finnegan Loomis Martin Broadfoot Fairchild Thomson Honeck Reynolds Jr. Thompson La Follette Warren Miller La Follette Hanaway Doyle Lautenschlager Van Hollen Schimel Kaul