Introduction
John Lendrum Mitchell (October 19, 1842 – June 29, 1904) was an American politician and a Democratic Congressman, Senator from Wisconsin, and a member of the Wisconsin State Senate.
Biography
He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During the American Civil War he served as a 1st lieutenant in the 24th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. After the war, he became a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. Another officer in the regiment was Medal of Honor recipient Arthur MacArthur, Jr.. By coincidence, MacArthur's son Douglas MacArthur would serve as a juror at the court martial in 1925 of Mitchell's son Billy Mitchell.
He was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses as the representative of Wisconsin's 4th congressional district, a position his father held as well. He served as a U.S. Representative in Congress for one term from March 4, 1891 until he resigned on March 3, 1893 because he was elected to the United States Senate. He never took office or served in the Fifty-third Congress as a U.S. Representative. He served as a senator from March 4, 1893, to March 3, 1899.
He is buried at the Mitchell family plot in Forest Home Cemetery.
His papers, along with those of his father, are in the archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society.
Family members
His father was the wealthy banking magnate and politician Alexander Mitchell and his oldest son was General Billy Mitchell, who is regarded as the father of the U.S. Air Force. His second son, John Mitchell, was also an early American aviator who died in his fighter plane in 1917 in France. His daughter, Ruth Mitchell, was an author and gained some fame as a volunteer fighting the Germans with Yugoslav Chetniks in World War II.