Dr. Chester Dunlap Wainwright, the only colored physician in the
prosperous old town of Charles Town, W. Va., is a native of that
place, having been born there on July 15, 1884. His father, the
late Rev. Chester C. Wainwright, was a minister in the Free Baptist
Church. The mother of our subject, before her marriage, was Miss
Lizzie Dunlap, who is still living, 1921. She was the daughter of
Malinda Dunlap. Young Wainwright had the advantage of being brought
up in a christian home, and the father was ambitious for the boy.
When he came of school age he entered the local public schools;
later he went to Storer College at Harpers Ferry for his Normal
Course and spent four years at that institution. When ready for his
medical course, he matriculated at Howard University, Washington,
D. C., where he won his M.D. degree in 1909. During his college
years, he spent the vacation months in hotel work, and thus helped
to make the expenses of the course. He took some part in college
athletics while in school playing both baseball and football.
In 1911 he began the practice in his home town and has built up
a large general practice. Being a man of good business judgment, he
has found it to his advantage to keep a hand in business which he
has been able to do without interfering with his practice. He and
his associates are engaged in the cattle business, which is an
important item in that part of the State.
On January 3, 1916, Dr. Wainwright married Miss Rosa Colston of
Charles Town. They have a beautiful home. In politics Dr.
Wainwright is a Republican, in religion a Free Baptist, like his
father. His secret order affiliations are with the Masons and the
Pythians. He is local Medical Examiner for the Standard Life
Insurance Co., and for the National Benefit. He belongs to the West
Virginia Medical Society. He has the nucleus of an excellent
library. After his medical books and the current news, his favorite
reading is history. He believes that progress is simply a matter of
faith and courage.
