Harry Wurzbach
| Harry McLeary Wurzbach | |
 | |
| 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 Kleberg |
County Judge for Guadalupe County, Texas
| |
| In office 1904–1910 | |
| Born | May 19, 1874 San Antonio, Texas |
| Died | November 6, 1931 (aged 57) Seguin, Texas |
| Resting place | San Antonio National Cemetery |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Frances Darden Wagner Wurzbach |
| Relations | Robert C. "Bob" Eckhardt (nephew) |
| Residence | Seguin, Guadalupe County, Texas |
| Alma mater | Washington and Lee University School of Law (Lexington, Virginia) |
| Occupation | Attorney |
Military Service
| |
| Service/branch | 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 attorney and politician. He was the first Republican elected from Texas since the Reconstruction era to the state's San Antonio-based 14th congressional district from 1921 to 1929. He was re-elected in 1930 but died in office a year thereafter. The first Republican elected from Texas who was born in the state, Wurzbach he was the only Republican from Texas serving in Congress during this period.
Wurzbach was born in San Antonio to German immigrants Charles Louis Wurzbach (1835-1892) and the former Kate Fink (1849-1925). After public schools, he graduated in 1896 from the law department of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. That same year, he was admitted to the bar, established his practice in San Antonio, and married the former Frances Darden Wagner (1888-1974). In 1898, Wurzbach volunteered as a private in Company F, First Regiment of the Texas Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish-American War.
Career
After the war, he relocated to Seguin in Guadalupe County east of San Antonio and resumed his law practice. He was the Guadalupe County prosecuting attorney from 1900 to 1902 and the county judge from 1904-1910.[1]
First elected to Congress in the 1920 general election, Wurzbach unseated the freshman Democratic Representative Carlos Bee of San Antonio, 17,265 (55.6 percent) to 13,777 (44.4 percent). In 1922, 1924, and 1926, Wurzbach won by margins of 54.8, 62.4, and 57.2 percent, respectively. He won his seat even as the Republican presidential candidates in 1920 and 1924 were losing the electoral vote of Texas. Wurzbach was a delegate to the 1924 Republican Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, which nominated Calvin Coolidge and Charles Dawes.
In 1928, Wurzbach lost reelection even though Republican Herbert Hoover won Texas over Democratic candidate Al Smith. Wurzbach polled 27,206 (49.7 percent) to 29,0555 (50.3 percent) for the Democrat Augustus McCloskey (1878-1950) of San Antonio. Wurzbach claimed irregularities in the election and appealed his case to the Republican-controlled House. The House reversed McCloskey's election (after eleven months of congressional service) and seated Wurzbach on February 10, 1930. Wurbach then won another term in November 1930 and polled an impressive 27,206 (59.3 percent) to Democrat Henry B. Dielmann, Jr. (1892-1970), who received 18,707 votes (40.7 percent).
Wurzbach served until his death in San Antonio in 1931. He and his wife are interred at the San Antonio National Cemetery.[1]
Democratic former Congressman Robert Christian "Bob" Eckhardt (1913-2001) of Houston was a nephew of Wurzbach.
An interstate exit on the Connally Loop, a.k.a. Loop 410 Loop and the Harry Wurzbach Road, both in San Antonio, honor Wurzbach's memory.