Henry Ervay

{{short description|American politician (1834–1911)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Henry Schley Ervay | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | order = 12th | office = Mayor of Dallas | term_start = 1870 | term_end = 1872 | deputy = | lieutenant = | succeeding =  | predecessor = Benjamin Long | successor = Benjamin Long | birth_date = {{circa}} {{birth date |1834|06|01|mf=y}} | birth_place = Elmira, New York | death_date = {{Death date and age |mf=y|1911|08|21 |1834|06|}} | death_place = San Diego, California | spouse = {{marriage |Maria Louise Hickman |1862}} | relations = | children = 4 | alma_mater = | occupation = Capitalist, politician | profession = | party = | signature = | awards = | appointer = Edmund J. Davis | resting_place = Oakland Cemetery, Dallas, Texas U.S. }}

'''Henry Schley Ervay''' ({{Circa|}} June 1, 1834 – August 21, 1911), merchant, capitalist, was mayor of Dallas (1870–1872), and continued to be involved in the affairs of the city by serving as alderman (1873–1882).

==Biography== Henry S. Ervay was born to Jacob Ervay and Sophia Schley in Elmira, New York in 1834. He arrived in Texas in 1857.<ref>Voter Registration of 1867-1869, Vol 6 (Chambers County) to Vol 8 (Dallas County). Reel 3 (microfilm) Dallas County, No. 147</ref> He married Maria Louise Hickman, daughter of James P. Hickman and Mary Bronaugh on 20 May 1862.<ref>Dallas County, Texas Marriage Index. Aug 1846 - Oct 1963 "E"(microfilm)</ref> The couple had four children: Jimmie Ervay, Harry Ervay, Henry S. Ervay Jr., and Maude E. Ervay. The first two children died in infancy. Henry Ervay was engaged in several enterprises as a young man including surveying and exploring in the American and Canadian west and working for the Butterfield Overland Mail Company.<ref>William S. Speer. ''Encyclopedia of the New West''. United States Biographical Pub. Co., Marshall, Tex. 1881. p 117-118.</ref> He and other Texans volunteered to serve with General [http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/imagegallery.php?EntryID=W006 William Walker] in the war for freedom in Nicaragua.<ref name="John M. McCoy">John M. McCoy. "Life of Henry Ervay, Pioneer of Dallas." ''The Dallas Morning News'', January 7, 1912, p. II-4.</ref> He was appointed mayor by Governor [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fda37 Edmund J. Davis] in 1870. Even though Ervay was elected by the citizens in 1871, General Joseph J. Reynolds, head of the federal military, ordered his removal and the appointment of Dr. J. W. Haynes. Ervay refused and was jailed but later released on order of the State Supreme Court.<ref name="John M. McCoy" /><ref>''WPA Dallas Guide and History''. Written and compiled from 1936 to 1942 by the workers of the Writers' Program of the Works Projects Administration in the City of Dallas. Maxine Holmes and Gerald D. Saxon (editors). Reprint of 1940 edition. Dallas Public Library, Texas Center for the Book University of North Texas Press, 1992, p.63</ref> He left Texas with his family for Cripple Creek Colorado around 1888 to engage in mining enterprises.<ref>1900 Census. Denver, Araphoe County, Colorado, NARA Publication T623, Roll 119, E.D. 72, Sheet 8</ref> He later moved to San Diego, California <ref>1910 Census. San Diego, San Diego, California. NARA Publication T624, Roll 94, E. D. 145, Sheet 145</ref> Ervay died in San Diego in 1911 and was interred at the Oakland Cemetery in Dallas, Texas. He was a member of the Tannehill Lodge No. 52, A. F. and A. M. which conducted the funeral services.<ref>"Former Dallas Mayor Buried." Dallas Times Herald, August 31, 1911, p. 6</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ervay, Henry S.}} Category:1834 births Category:1911 deaths Category:19th-century mayors of places in Texas Category:Mayors of Dallas Category:Burials at Oakland Cemetery (Dallas, Texas) Category:Politicians from Elmira, New York