J. W. (James Wallace) Raynolds was born in Pueblo, Colorado, 1873, to Martha Cowan Raynolds and Jefferson Raynolds. The family relocated to Las Vegas, New Mexico where Jefferson Raynolds became an influencial banker.
J. W. Raynolds graduated from MIT in 1896 and returned to New Mexico. He was appointed assistant secretary of the territory under George H. Wallace. When Wallace died in 1901, Raynolds was appointed secretary by President McKinley, his father's childhood friend. Later he was reappointed by Theodore Roosevelt, serving in the position through 1907. Raynolds, a leader in the New Mexico Republican party, died of illness in March 1910.
From the guide to the New Mexico Secretary of the Territory Correspondence, 1901, (University of New Mexico. Center for Southwest Research.)
