John Sergeant Wise was an American author, lawyer, and politician in Virginia. He was the son of Henry A. Wise and Sarah Sergeant.

Henry Alexander Wise was an American attorney, diplomat, politician and slave owner from Virginia. As the 33rd Governor of Virginia, Wise served as a significant figure on the path to the American Civil War, becoming heavily involved in the 1859 trial of abolitionist John Brown. After leaving office in 1860, Wise also led the move toward Virginia's secession from the Union in reaction to the election of Abraham Lincoln and the Battle of Fort Sumter.