{{Short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = James Henry Mays | image = James Henry Mays.jpg | birth_date = {{Birth date|1868|06|29}} | birth_place = [[Morristown, Tennessee|Morristown]], [[Tennessee]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1926|04|19|1868|06|29}} | death_place = [[Wendell, Idaho|Wendell]], [[Idaho]] | state = [[Utah]] | district = [[Utah's 2nd congressional district|2nd]] | term_start = March 4, 1915 | term_end = March 3, 1921 | preceded = [[Jacob Johnson (U.S. politician)|Jacob Johnson]] | succeeded = [[Elmer O. Leatherwood]] | party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] | alma_mater = [[University of Michigan Law School]] | profession = Lawyer }}
<!-- This article was automatically created by [[User:polbot]] from http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000290. The prose may be stilted, and there may be grammatical and Wikification errors. Please improve in any way you see fit. -->'''James Henry Mays''' (June 29, 1868 – April 19, 1926) was an American lawyer, businessman, and politician who served three terms as a [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. representative]] from [[Utah]] from 1915 to 1921.
== Early life and education == Born in [[Morristown, Tennessee]],<ref>{{Citation | last = Salmon | first = Doris F. | title = Utah History Encyclopedia | publisher = University of Utah Press | year = 1994 | chapter = Mays, James Henry | chapter-url = https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/m/MAYS_JAMES.shtml | url = https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240801155539/https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/m/MAYS_JAMES.shtml | archive-date = August 1, 2024 | isbn =9780874804256 | access-date = September 15, 2024}}</ref> Mays attended the district schools. He moved to Kansas in 1883 with his parents, who settled in [[Galena, Kansas]]. He worked in the mines and as a lumberman.
He attended the [[Kansas State Normal School]]. From 1893 to 1902 he was employed in the life insurance business in [[Chicago, Illinois]], [[Dubuque, Iowa]], and in Salt Lake City, Utah. He graduated from the law department of the [[University of Michigan at Ann Arbor]] in 1895.
== Career == He was [[Admission to the bar in the United States|admitted to the bar]] and commenced practice in [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]]. He moved to [[Indianapolis, Indiana]], in 1896 and to Utah in 1902. <!-- A grammar fix may be needed here. -->Organized several industrial organizations.
=== Congress === Mays was elected as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] to the [[64th United States Congress|Sixty-fourth]], [[65th United States Congress|Sixty-fifth]], and [[66th United States Congress|Sixty-sixth]] Congresses (March 4, 1915 – March 3, 1921).
He was not a candidate for reelection in 1920.
== Retirement and death == He retired to his stock ranch near [[Wendell, Idaho]], and died there on April 19, 1926. He was interred in Gooding Cemetery, [[Gooding, Idaho]].
== Legacy == His home near Wendell, built in 1920 and known as the [[James Henry and Ida Owen Mays House]], was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1993.
== Electoral history == {{Election box begin no change | title= [[1914 United States House of Representatives elections]]<ref>[http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=375827 1914 Election Results]</ref> }} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change | party = Democratic Party (US) | candidate = James Henry Mays | votes = 25,617 | percentage = 47.49 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Republican Party (US) | candidate = [[Elmer O. Leatherwood]] | votes = 25,459 | percentage = 47.20 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Socialist Party of America | candidate = A.H. Kempton | votes = 2,861 | percentage = 5.31 }} {{Election box total no change | votes = 53,937 | percentage = 100.0 }} {{Election box gain with party link without swing | winner = Democratic Party (US) | loser = Republican Party (US) }} {{End}}
{{Election box begin no change | title= [[1916 United States House of Representatives elections]]<ref>[http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=375829 1916 Election Results]</ref> }} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change | party = Democratic Party (US) | candidate = James Henry Mays (Incumbent) | votes = 39,847 | percentage = 56.87 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Republican Party (US) | candidate = [[Charles R. Mabey]] | votes = 27,778 | percentage = 39.65 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Socialist Party of America | candidate = Murray E. King | votes = 2,440 | percentage = 3.48 }} {{Election box total no change | votes = 70,065 | percentage = 100.0 }} {{Election box hold with party link without swing | winner = Democratic Party (US) }} {{End}} {{Election box begin no change | title= [[1918 United States House of Representatives elections]]<ref>[http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=375832 1918 Election Results]</ref> }} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change | party = Democratic Party (US) | candidate = James Henry Mays (Incumbent) | votes = 23,931 | percentage = 58.68 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Republican Party (US) | candidate = [[William Spry]] | votes = 16,134 | percentage = 39.56 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Socialist Party of America | candidate = A.H. Kempton | votes = 719 | percentage = 1.76 }} {{Election box total no change | votes = 40,784 | percentage = 100.0 }} {{Election box hold with party link without swing | winner = Democratic Party (US) }} {{End}}
==Sources== {{CongBio|M000290}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Bioguide}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Utah | district=2 | before= [[Jacob Johnson (U.S. politician)|Jacob Johnson]] | years=1915-1921 | after=[[Elmer O. Leatherwood]] }} {{s-end}}
{{UtahUSRepresenatives}} {{USCongRep-start | congresses=64th [[United States Congress]] | state=Utah}} {{USCongRep/UT/64}} {{USCongRep-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mays, James Henry}} [[Category:1868 births]] [[Category:1926 deaths]] [[Category:People from Wendell, Idaho]] [[Category:University of Michigan Law School alumni]] [[Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Utah]] [[Category:People from Morristown, Tennessee]] [[Category:People from Galena, Kansas]] [[Category:Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (Gooding, Idaho)]] [[Category:20th-century United States representatives]]