Granville Henderson Oury (March 12, 1825 – January 11, 1891) was a nineteenth-century American politician, lawyer, judge, soldier, and miner.

Early life

Born in

Abingdon, Virginia Abingdon is a town in Washington County, Virginia, United States, southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,376 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Washington County. The town encompasses several historically significant sites and f ...

; Granville Henderson Oury and his family moved to

Bowling Green, Missouri Bowling Green is a city in Pike County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,334 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Pike County. History Bowling Green was settled in 1819, and designated county seat in 1824. Settled chiefly b ...

, in 1836 where he pursued his academic studies, studied law, and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1848. That year, he moved to

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, and in 1849 to

Marysville, California Marysville is a city and the county seat of Yuba County, California, located in the Gold Country region of Northern California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 12,072, reflecting a decrease of 196 from the 12,268 counted ...

, where he engaged in mining. He then moved to

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

in 1856 and began a law practice and was appointed a district judge for

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of ''Santa Fe de Nuevo México ...

in Mesilla. Oury was involved in the infamous Crabb Massacre of April 1857, during which no more than 100 Americans were killed after an eight-day battle with Mexican forces at

Caborca Caborca is the municipal seat of the Caborca Municipality in the Mexican state of Sonora. The city has a population of 67,604, while the municipal population was 89,122 as of 2020. Municipal boundaries are with Pima County, Arizona, in the Unite ...

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

. The Americans were under the command of

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Henry A. Crabb, a former

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, who was allegedly trying to take over Sonora like the

filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...

William Walker. Oury was one of the men General Crabb had recruited in Tucson, and he was given the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and ordered to follow the general into Mexico after recruiting more men. However, when news reached Tucson that a superior force of Mexicans was besieging Crabb's expedition,

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

R. N. Wood and Captain Oury were sent across the

international border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

to help their compatriots. Just after crossing the border, the rescue party encountered about 200 Mexicans. A skirmish ensued which forced the Americans back across the border into Arizona. There were no casualties on the Americans' side. Of the Crabb party, all were killed except a fourteen-year-old boy and possibly one other man depending on varying sources.

American Civil War

At the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

in 1861, Oury was elected to the

Provisional Congress of the Confederate States The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, also known as the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America, was a congress of deputies and delegates called together from the Southern States which became the governing body ...

representing the

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...

. Around this time, hostile

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

s attacked the town of

Tubac Tubac is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,191 at the 2010 census. The place name "Tubac" is an English borrowing from a Hispanicized form of the O'odham name ''Cuwak'', which tr ...

, located south of Tucson. Over the course of a few days the Apaches

besieged Besieged may refer to: * the state of being under siege * ''Besieged'' (film), a 1998 film by Bernardo Bertolucci {{disambiguation ...

to old

Presidio A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th century, 16th and 18th century, 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Captaincy Genera ...

until the settlers were rescued by Oury and a small band of

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

from Tucson. Tubac was destroyed and abandoned but the settlers were saved due to Oury and his men. Oury later resigned his seat in the Confederate Congress to serve as a captain in Herbert's Battalion of Arizona cavalry of the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

. He also served as a colonel on the staff of General

Henry Hopkins Sibley Henry Hopkins Sibley (May 25, 1816 – August 23, 1886) was a career officer in the United States Army, who commanded a Confederate cavalry brigade in the Civil War. In 1862, he attempted to forge a supply route from California, in defiance ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

from 1862 to 1864. He took the

oath of allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...

at Fort Mason in Arizona on October 8, 1865.

Later life and death

Adamsville-Adamsville Ghost Town-Adamsville A

After the end of the war, Oury returned to his law practice in Tucson. He was elected to the

3rd Arizona Territorial Legislature The 3rd Arizona Territorial Legislative Assembly was a session of the Arizona Territorial Legislature which ran from October 3 through November 6, 1866, in Prescott, Arizona. Background At the time of the session's meeting, Arizona Territory was ...

in 1866, serving as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

that year, and was appointed Arizona Territory Attorney General in 1869. He moved to

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

in 1871 and was appointed

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

for

Maricopa County Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about 6 ...

serving from 1871 to 1873. That year his brother, William S. Oury, was involved in the Camp Grant Massacre in which over 140 Apache men, women, and children were killed. Granville was elected in 1873 and 1875 to the

7th 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...

and

8th Arizona Territorial Legislature The 8th Arizona Territorial Legislative Assembly was a session of the Arizona Territorial Legislature which convened from January 4, 1875, till February 12, 1875, in Tucson, Arizona Territory. Background The Indian Wars continued throughout the ...

, serving as Speaker during the 1873 session. Oury unsuccessfully ran as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in 1878 and was appointed

for

Pinal County Pinal County is in the central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. According to the 2020 census, the population of the county was 425,264, making it Arizona's third-most populous county. The county seat is Florence. The county was founded in 187 ...

in 1879. He was elected a

to the

in 1880, reelected in 1882, serving from 1881 to 1885, not running for reelection in 1884. He served as a delegate to the

1884 Democratic National Convention The 1884 Democratic National Convention was held July 8–11, 1884 and chose Governor Grover Cleveland of New York their presidential nominee with the former Governor Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana as the vice presidential nominee.World Book Bac ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, returned to Adamsville in 1885, and resumed practicing law. He once again served as district attorney for Pinal County in 1889 and 1890. He died of

throat cancer Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...

in Tucson on January 11, 1891 and was interred in the Adamsville Cemetery at

Adamsville, Arizona Adamsville was a populated place in Pinal County, Arizona. Once a thriving farm town, it became a ghost town by the 1920s. Adamsville is located at an elevation is 1,450 feet, on the south bank of the Gila River, west of Florence, Arizona. His ...

References

External links

*

at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Oury, Granville Henderson 1825 births 1891 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law American miners Apache Wars Arizona Attorneys General Arizona pioneers Burials in Arizona Deaths from cancer in Arizona Cavalry commanders Confederate States Army officers Deaths from esophageal cancer Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from Arizona Territory Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona Deputies and delegates to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States District attorneys in Arizona Lawyers from Tucson, Arizona Lawyers from Phoenix, Arizona Members of the Arizona Territorial Legislature Missouri lawyers New Mexico lawyers New Mexico Territory judges People from Bowling Green, Missouri People from Marysville, California Military personnel from San Antonio People of Arizona in the American Civil War Politicians from Abingdon, Virginia Politicians from Phoenix, Arizona Politicians from Tucson, Arizona 19th-century American judges Military personnel from California

Early life

American Civil War

Later life and death

See also

References

Further reading

External links