Harry M. Wurzbach
Harry M. Wurzbach | |
|---|---|
 | |
| U.S. Representative from Texas's 14th congressional district | |
| In office March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1929 | |
| Preceded by | Carlos Bee |
| Succeeded by | Augustus McCloskey |
| In office February 10, 1930 – November 6, 1931 | |
| Preceded by | Augustus McCloskey |
| Succeeded by | Richard M. Kleberg |
| County Judge of Guadalupe County, Texas | |
| In office 1904–1910 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Harry McLeary Wurzbach May 19, 1874 Bob Eckhardt |
| Residences |
|
| Alma mater | Washington and Lee University School of Law |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1896–1898 |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit | Company F, First Regiment, Texas Volunteer Infantry |
| Battles/wars | Spanish–American War |
Harry McLeary Wurzbach (May 19, 1874 – November 6, 1931) was an American attorney and politician. He was the first
Early life and education
Wurzbach was born in San Antonio, Texas to Charles Louis Wurzbach and the former Kate Fink, who were ethnic Germans, descendants of immigrants. He attended public schools. He went to Virginia for college, graduating in 1896 from Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington. That same year, he was admitted to the Texas bar and established his practice in San Antonio.
Marriage and family
After starting his law practice, Wurzbach married Frances Darden Wagner of Columbus, Texas, in the Episcopal Church there.
Military service
During the Spanish–American War (1896–1898), Wurzbach volunteered as a private in Company F, First Regiment, Texas Volunteer Infantry. The unit served three months in the army of occupation in Cuba.[1]
Political career
After the war, in 1900 Wurzbach and his wife relocated to Seguin in Guadalupe County, where he continued his law practice.
After the Civil War, during the
In the late 19th century, the
The Democratic-dominated legislature worked to prevent losing power again through split tickets or coalitions, as well as to disfranchise blacks, which was the goal of all southern legislatures. It adopted a
Immediately becoming active in local politics after moving to Seguin, Wurzbach was elected as the
1916 return to politics
By 1916 Harry Wurzbach had returned to campaigning. He ran on the Republican ticket for United States Congressman from Texas's 15th congressional district, against the popular incumbent, John Nance Garner, who had held the seat since 1902 when the district was created. Wurzbach lost 3 to 1 across the district, failing to carry Guadalupe County. Garner was elected for a total of 14 consecutive terms from this district.
When the U.S. entered the war against the
Wurzbach took Alvin J. Wirtz as a law partner. His wife was the daughter of a popular and well-connected doctor in Seguin. Wirtz was from Columbus, Texas, as was Wurzbach's wife. They opened their offices in the First National Bank Building in 1917. They also worked in the Guadalupe County Abstract Company, Wurzbach as Manager and Wirtz as Secretary. Wurzbach became a lifelong mentor to his partner, who was 14 years younger.
Wurzbach had a place on the Republican ticket in 1918, as a state-wide candidate for judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals. He was crushed, losing by 7 to 1 to the Democratic candidate, but he carried his home county.
In 1920, redistricting moved Guadalupe County out of Garner's 15th district, and into the 14th congressional district. Wurzbach ran for Congress in the general election, and unseated the freshman Democratic Representative Carlos Bee of San Antonio, 17,265 (55.6 percent) to 13,777 (44.4 percent). Reflecting the high rate of immigration and migration to Texas for decades, Wurzbach was the first native Texan to win election as a Republican to Congress.[citation needed] In 1922, 1924, and 1926, Wurzbach won by margins of 54.8, 62.4, and 57.2 percent, respectively, the first Republican since Reconstruction to win more than two terms. He won his seat even as the Republican presidential candidates in 1920 and 1924, Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge, lost the electoral vote of Texas. The Democratic-majority state had supported Democrats for president since the end of Reconstruction and continued to do so into the 1940s.
Wurzbach was a delegate to the
In 1928, the powerful, patronage-based Democratic machine in San Antonio (along with
Wurzbach contested the election, claiming irregularities. He appealed his case to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. After an investigation into the corrupt voting practices in San Antonio, the House ultimately reversed McCloskey's election (after he had served for eleven months) and seated Wurzbach on February 10, 1930. Wurzbach won another term in November 1930, when he polled an impressive 27,206 (59.3 percent) to Democrat Henry B. Dielmann's 18,707 (40.7 percent).
1930 indictment
While contesting the 1928 election, Wurzbach was charged in 1930 with violating the
With the Great Depression gathering force, Republican incumbents lost many seats in 1930, but the party still had majority control of the House of Representatives. Wurzbach died in office in 1931. His seat was filled by a special election, won by the Democrats. They gained control of Congress with 217 seats to the Republicans' 215.[8] The Republican Party did not regain a majority in the House until after the 1946 elections.
Because of the disfranchisement of African Americans by the dominant Democratic Party in the state, after Wurzbach, no other Republican was elected to represent Texas in Congress until 1950, when Ben H. Guill won a special election, serving the remaining eight months of the term.
Death
Wurzbach died at 2 a.m. on November 6, 1931, at his home in Seguin, from complications following an appendectomy. His death was a surprise; his surgery was not considered an emergency and he had otherwise been in good health. Wurzbach is interred at the San Antonio National Cemetery, based on his military service.
Legacy and honors
- In 1922, Wurzbach was the only Representative from Texas to vote for the St. Louis, Missouri.
- Harry Wurzbach Road[10] in his hometown of San Antonio, TX, is named after him. Wurzbach Parkway is also named in his honor.
- His papers were collected by the University of Texas at Austin.
- The bell tower at St Andrew's Episcopal Church in Seguin, where he had served on the Vestry, was erected in his memory.[11]
- Bob Eckhardt of Houston, a nephew of Wurzbach, became a politician and was elected as a Democratic Congressman.
See also
References
- ^ "Spanish American War", Texas Military Forces Museum
- ^ ISBN 978-1-57168-688-6. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
- ^ "Nixon v. Condon. Disfranchisement of the Negro in Texas", The Yale Law Journal, Vol. 41, No. 8, June 1932, p. 1212, accessed 21 March 2008
- ^ Texas Politics: Historical Barriers to Voting, accessed 11 Apr 2008 Archived April 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Michael Perman.Struggle for Mastery: Disenfranchisement (sic) in the South, 1888–1908. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001, Introduction
- LCCN 76-54438. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
- ^ Peter J. Henning, Lee Radek, The Prosecution and Defense of Public Corruption: The Law and Legal Strategies, Oxford University Press, 2011, p. 307, footnote 33
- ^ "Texas Republican's Death Assures Democratic Control of Next Congress, The Evening Independent (St. Petersburg, Florida), 6 November 1931, accessed 4 November 2012
- ^ TO PASS H. R. 13.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
- ^ Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Veterans Administration
- ^ "St. Andrew's Episcopal is a Seguin 'jewel'". Seguin Gazette. November 24, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
External links
- United States Congress. "Harry M. Wurzbach (id: W000775)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2008-02-10
- Harry McLeary Wurzbach from the Handbook of Texas Online
This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
