J. W. (Jonathan Wingate) Winkley

Born in 1833, Jonathan Wingate Winkley wrote as J. W. Winkley and moved through several callings over a long life. Contemporary records connected with his books describe him as a Boston physician, and later sources also identify him as a minister.

He is best known for John Brown, the Hero: Personal Reminiscences, a short memoir drawn from his own experiences as a Free State colonist in Kansas Territory during the violent conflicts over slavery in the 1850s. The book was introduced by reformer Franklin Benjamin Sanborn and presents Winkley as someone who had direct contact with the events he described.

Winkley also wrote works tied to idealist and New Thought religious circles, including Practical Ideals and First Lessons in the New Thought. Taken together, his writing suggests a life shaped by moral reform, spiritual inquiry, and a strong interest in putting ideals into action.