Ervay Street
This street is named after Henry Ervay. Interestingly enough there is NO entry for Henry Ervay in the Texas State Historical Association handbook online even though he was mayor of Dallas twice, before the first mayor of Dallas under the first special charter and after the Civil War and as mayor of Dallas during Reconstruction was taken out of office and thrown in jail during.
From an article in the Dallas Morning News, April 13, 1950, "His Name Lives in Ervay Street," page 2, by Sam Acheson, Ervay was appointed by Texas Gov. Throckmorton in 1867, but in 1870 he was removed by Reconstruction governor Edmund J. Davis. Ervay refused and Davis had him thrown in jail. Sam Acheson writes from a white supremacist view point, but it is likely that Gov. Davis had him thrown out because he was supporting attacks on African Americans. More research is needed.
However, the Dallas Morning News has a much more informative article, "Life of Henry Ervay, Pioneer of Dallas," January 7, 1912, page 4. By the way, the use of the term "filibuster" has a different meaning in this context.
Ervay was part of the invasion of Nicaragua to make it a slave state. From the article.
"Experiences in Nicaragua
In the year 1853 there prevailed in the South great excitement in sympathy with Gen. William Walker, who represented the democracy of Nicaragua, in its struggle for freedom and the reinstatement as President of the Republic, from which he had been deposed through one of the revolutions of that period. Young Ervay, with other Texans, volunteered as a soldier in aid of that cause. His company of 209 Americans sailed from New Orleans to the coast of Honduras, affected a landing at Fort Trujillo and just before daybreak dividing into squads, one of which Ervay commanded, made a dash for the fort and routed 400 men and for over a month held the fort unmolested.
In August a large sail was discovered in the Gulf. It proved to be a British sloop, whose commander, Capt. Norman Salmon, sent a Lieutenant ashore to demand Walker's surrender claiming that England had placed an embargo on revenues of that port to satisfy a claim due her. Gen. Walker knowing his utter inability to resist an attack of the sloop, asked until 6 o'clock next morning to decided on his answer. As soon as darkness fell the men were ordered to pack their things and start for Mosquito coast. The journey was fraught with greater danger, being in a coutnry filled with natives animated by a savage and murderous hatred of the men belong to Walker's command. After marching all night and the next day they reached Black Rive, crossed it in canoes just as night came on and camped with sentinels stations. Early in the morning a large number of natives rushed out upon them from the bushes, but were repulsed by Walker's men and fell back. While making this charge Mr. Ervay was wounded nine times. One leg was broken and he was placed on a pack poney and carried on with his with his companion."
The Mosquito coast is named after the Moskito Native Americans there, not the buzzing insect, who weren't savage and got along very well with the British and had acquired African ancestry. They possibly knew that Walker was planning to bring slavery to Nicaragua. It was widely known that many slaveholders in the United States hoped to acquire new slave states out of Latin America.
The account then goes on to describe how Ervay and Walker's men went further and surrendered to the British who had caught up with them. The British handed them over to the Hondurans, and the Hondurans executed Walker, who richly deserved being executed. The rest of his Walker's group was sent to New Orleans by the British.
Reading Material
1. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/jackson-lincoln/essays/filibuster-king-strange-career-william-walker-most-dangerous-i This is an article at The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. The title is, "The Filibuster King: The Strange Career of William Walker, the Most Dangerous International Criminal of the Nineteenth Century.
2. "The Southern Dream of a Caribbean Empire," by Robert E. May, Univ. of Georgia Press is a good history of slave holders quest to conquer parts of Latin America if not all of it to make new slave states. This web page has a description of the book with reviews of the book. http://personal.tcu.edu/swoodworth/May.htm
3. This is a speech by Alexander H. Stephens on July 2, 1859 in Augusta, Georgia. He was later Vice-President of the Confederacy. In this speech he explains that he thinks it is necessary to care new slave states out of Mexico, Central America, and Cuba. This website is my own with primary historical research materials about what the Confederacy was really about. Had the Confederacy succeeded in becoming a nation Latin America would have had a dangerous predator north of it seeking to carve slave states out of it.
http://www.confederatepastpresent.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=118:farewell-speech-of-honah-stephens-delivered-in-augusta-georgia-on-saturday-july-2-1859-wishes-to-reopen-the-slave-trade-with-africa-and-carve-more-slave-states-out-of-latin-america&catid=41:the-gathering-storm&back=yes
4. This extract from the Congressional record of a speech by John Randolph of Roanoke in the U.S. Senate in 1826 shows the racist attitudes of American slave owners towards Latin Americans. Randolph of Roanoke is considered a hero to neo-Confederates a significant section of conservatives in the United States. When the Latin American nations achieved independence slave holders were hostile to them since they were multiracial and feared non-white diplomats. These racist attitudes were one reason that slave owners has no qualms about carving up Latin America into slave states.
http://www.confederatepastpresent.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=99:18290301-john-randolph-of-roanoke-speaks-on-latin-american-in-the-us-senate&catid=41:the-gathering-storm&back=yes
5. This is a speech by Jefferson Davis at the Portland Democratic Convention in Maine on August 24, 1858 where he congratulates the people of Maine for keeping themselves racially pure in contrast to Latin Americans who because they are racially mixed Davis asserts can not maintain republican forms of government.
http://www.confederatepastpresent.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=115:speech-of-jefferson-davis-at-the-portland-democratic-convention-praising-his-audience-for-maintaining-white-racial-purity-in-contrast-to-latin-americans-who-he-denigrates-for-being-racially-mixed&catid=41:the-gathering-storm&back=yes
From an article in the Dallas Morning News, April 13, 1950, "His Name Lives in Ervay Street," page 2, by Sam Acheson, Ervay was appointed by Texas Gov. Throckmorton in 1867, but in 1870 he was removed by Reconstruction governor Edmund J. Davis. Ervay refused and Davis had him thrown in jail. Sam Acheson writes from a white supremacist view point, but it is likely that Gov. Davis had him thrown out because he was supporting attacks on African Americans. More research is needed.
However, the Dallas Morning News has a much more informative article, "Life of Henry Ervay, Pioneer of Dallas," January 7, 1912, page 4. By the way, the use of the term "filibuster" has a different meaning in this context.
Ervay was part of the invasion of Nicaragua to make it a slave state. From the article.
"Experiences in Nicaragua
In the year 1853 there prevailed in the South great excitement in sympathy with Gen. William Walker, who represented the democracy of Nicaragua, in its struggle for freedom and the reinstatement as President of the Republic, from which he had been deposed through one of the revolutions of that period. Young Ervay, with other Texans, volunteered as a soldier in aid of that cause. His company of 209 Americans sailed from New Orleans to the coast of Honduras, affected a landing at Fort Trujillo and just before daybreak dividing into squads, one of which Ervay commanded, made a dash for the fort and routed 400 men and for over a month held the fort unmolested.
In August a large sail was discovered in the Gulf. It proved to be a British sloop, whose commander, Capt. Norman Salmon, sent a Lieutenant ashore to demand Walker's surrender claiming that England had placed an embargo on revenues of that port to satisfy a claim due her. Gen. Walker knowing his utter inability to resist an attack of the sloop, asked until 6 o'clock next morning to decided on his answer. As soon as darkness fell the men were ordered to pack their things and start for Mosquito coast. The journey was fraught with greater danger, being in a coutnry filled with natives animated by a savage and murderous hatred of the men belong to Walker's command. After marching all night and the next day they reached Black Rive, crossed it in canoes just as night came on and camped with sentinels stations. Early in the morning a large number of natives rushed out upon them from the bushes, but were repulsed by Walker's men and fell back. While making this charge Mr. Ervay was wounded nine times. One leg was broken and he was placed on a pack poney and carried on with his with his companion."
The Mosquito coast is named after the Moskito Native Americans there, not the buzzing insect, who weren't savage and got along very well with the British and had acquired African ancestry. They possibly knew that Walker was planning to bring slavery to Nicaragua. It was widely known that many slaveholders in the United States hoped to acquire new slave states out of Latin America.
The account then goes on to describe how Ervay and Walker's men went further and surrendered to the British who had caught up with them. The British handed them over to the Hondurans, and the Hondurans executed Walker, who richly deserved being executed. The rest of his Walker's group was sent to New Orleans by the British.
Reading Material
1. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/jackson-lincoln/essays/filibuster-king-strange-career-william-walker-most-dangerous-i This is an article at The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. The title is, "The Filibuster King: The Strange Career of William Walker, the Most Dangerous International Criminal of the Nineteenth Century.
2. "The Southern Dream of a Caribbean Empire," by Robert E. May, Univ. of Georgia Press is a good history of slave holders quest to conquer parts of Latin America if not all of it to make new slave states. This web page has a description of the book with reviews of the book. http://personal.tcu.edu/swoodworth/May.htm
3. This is a speech by Alexander H. Stephens on July 2, 1859 in Augusta, Georgia. He was later Vice-President of the Confederacy. In this speech he explains that he thinks it is necessary to care new slave states out of Mexico, Central America, and Cuba. This website is my own with primary historical research materials about what the Confederacy was really about. Had the Confederacy succeeded in becoming a nation Latin America would have had a dangerous predator north of it seeking to carve slave states out of it.
http://www.confederatepastpresent.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=118:farewell-speech-of-honah-stephens-delivered-in-augusta-georgia-on-saturday-july-2-1859-wishes-to-reopen-the-slave-trade-with-africa-and-carve-more-slave-states-out-of-latin-america&catid=41:the-gathering-storm&back=yes
4. This extract from the Congressional record of a speech by John Randolph of Roanoke in the U.S. Senate in 1826 shows the racist attitudes of American slave owners towards Latin Americans. Randolph of Roanoke is considered a hero to neo-Confederates a significant section of conservatives in the United States. When the Latin American nations achieved independence slave holders were hostile to them since they were multiracial and feared non-white diplomats. These racist attitudes were one reason that slave owners has no qualms about carving up Latin America into slave states.
http://www.confederatepastpresent.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=99:18290301-john-randolph-of-roanoke-speaks-on-latin-american-in-the-us-senate&catid=41:the-gathering-storm&back=yes
5. This is a speech by Jefferson Davis at the Portland Democratic Convention in Maine on August 24, 1858 where he congratulates the people of Maine for keeping themselves racially pure in contrast to Latin Americans who because they are racially mixed Davis asserts can not maintain republican forms of government.
http://www.confederatepastpresent.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=115:speech-of-jefferson-davis-at-the-portland-democratic-convention-praising-his-audience-for-maintaining-white-racial-purity-in-contrast-to-latin-americans-who-he-denigrates-for-being-racially-mixed&catid=41:the-gathering-storm&back=yes