David Archibald Harvey (March 20, 1845 - May 24, 1916) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma Territory and the first person to represent Oklahoma at the federal level.
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David Archibald Harvey was born in Stewiacke, Nova Scotia, Canada, on March 20, 1845.[1] He moved with his parents to Clermont County, Ohio, in 1852 where he would attend public schools in Isabel, Ohio.[2] When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, Harvey joined the Union army and enlisted in Company B of the Fourth Ohio Volunteer Cavarly Regiment in September 1861.[2] Harvey served throughout the Civil War.
Following the end of the Civil War, Harvey attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he studied law.[1] He was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1868 and commenced practice in Topeka, Kansas, in 1869. He served as Topeka's city attorney of from 1871 to 1881. Harvey would also serve as a probate judge from 1881 to 1889.
With the opening of Oklahoma Territory in 1889, Harvey moved to Wyandotte. Once in Oklahoma Territory, he ran, and was elected, as a Republican to represent Oklahoma Territory in the United States House of Representatives.[1] He would serve in the Fifty-first and Fifty-second Congresses. His term lasted from November 4, 1890, to March 3, 1893. Harvey was unsuccessful in his candidacy for reelection in 1892 to the Fifty-third Congress.
Harvey introduced the "Harvey Bill" in 1892 that called for Oklahoma statehood.[1] The House Committee on Territories blocked the bill.[1]
After leaving Congress, Harvey resumed practicing law. He would represent the Indian tribes of northeast Oklahoma and the Cayugas in New York. Harvey died in Hope, Eddy County, New Mexico, on May 24, 1916. He was laid to rest in Seneca Cemetery, Seneca, Newton County, Missouri.
| United States House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by none |
Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma Territory November 4, 1890 – March 3, 1893 |
Succeeded by Dennis Thomas Flynn |