# William S. Ervin *American attorney and politician from Minnesota; Attorney General of Minnesota, 1936–1939* William Sterling Ervin (September 4, 1886 – April 2, 1951) was a Minnesota lawyer and [[Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party]] politician. He held the office of [[Attorney General of Minnesota]] from 1936 to 1939.[^1] He took that office by appointment in 1936, after [[Harry H. Peterson]] resigned it to join the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]]. He sought election to the post in 1938 and lost.[^2] Ervin's public posts outside his attorney-general tenure covered county prosecution, state legal service and county land administration. He was county attorney of Pine County from 1914 to 1918 and an assistant attorney general from 1933 to 1936.[^2] During the Second World War he served as a United States Commissioner attached to the federal district court in Minnesota. From 1943 to 1949 he worked in the Hennepin County land office, first as assistant commissioner and then as commissioner.[^3] ## Biography Ervin was born on September 4, 1886, in Birmingham, Iowa. His parents were Robert Milton Ervin and Malzena (Cole) Ervin. The family relocated to Minnesota when he was six months old.[^4] After completing high school in [[Mankato, Minnesota]], he studied at the [[University of Minnesota Law School]] and received an LL.B. in 1910.[^4] Admitted to the bar that same year, Ervin opened a practice in [[Sandstone, Minnesota]]. As a Farmer–Labor member, he held the post of [[county attorney]] for Pine County between 1914 and 1918. In 1919 he relocated to [[Minneapolis]].[^2] Ervin joined the state attorney general's office as an assistant attorney general in 1933 and remained in that position until 1936. In 1936 Peterson left the attorney generalship on his appointment to the state's highest court, and Ervin was appointed to succeed him. Ervin ran without success for a full term in 1938 and left the office in 1939.[^2] Once out of the attorney general's office, he went back to private law practice. In the war years he held a federal appointment as a United States Commissioner, a post that carried certain judicial functions of the federal district court in Minnesota. He was assistant commissioner of the Hennepin County land office from 1943 to 1947 and its commissioner from 1947 to 1949.[^3] Ervin then returned to law practice and kept his home in Minneapolis. On April 2, 1951, he had a heart attack while walking on a street close to his residence and died in the city. He was interred at [[Lakewood Cemetery]].[^5] ### Family Ervin and Elsie L. Orth married in 1914. His widow, his daughter Betty and his son Robert survived him.[^6] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - William Sterling Ervin, attorney and member of the Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party.[^1][^2] ### What - Assistant Attorney General of Minnesota, 1933–1936.[^2] - Attorney General of Minnesota by appointment, 1936–1939; unsuccessful candidate for the office, 1938.[^2] - United States Commissioner during World War II; Hennepin County land office, assistant commissioner 1943–1947 and commissioner 1947–1949.[^3] ### When - Born September 4, 1886; died April 2, 1951.[^4][^5] - Admitted to the bar, 1910; county attorney of Pine County, 1914–1918.[^2] ### Where - Born in Birmingham, Iowa; practiced in Sandstone, Minnesota; lived in Minneapolis from 1919.[^4][^2] - Buried at Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis.[^5] ### How - Appointed Attorney General in 1936 when Harry H. Peterson resigned to accept appointment to the Minnesota Supreme Court.[^2] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *William S. Ervin* (revision 1237460713, retrieved 2026-10-25), lead section — Ervin's dates, Farmer–Labor membership and service as Attorney General of Minnesota, 1936–1939. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Ervin [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *William S. Ervin* (revision 1237460713, retrieved 2026-10-25), "Biography" section — bar admission and Sandstone practice (1910), Pine County attorney (1914–1918), move to Minneapolis (1919), assistant attorney general (1933–1936), 1936 appointment on Harry H. Peterson's resignation, 1938 defeat, service to 1939. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Ervin [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *William S. Ervin* (revision 1237460713, retrieved 2026-10-25), "Biography" section — return to practice, wartime service as United States Commissioner, Hennepin County land office posts (1943–1949). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Ervin [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *William S. Ervin* (revision 1237460713, retrieved 2026-10-25), "Biography" section — birth in Birmingham, Iowa (September 4, 1886), parents, move to Minnesota, Mankato schooling, LL.B. from the University of Minnesota Law School (1910). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Ervin [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *William S. Ervin* (revision 1237460713, retrieved 2026-10-25), "Biography" section — later law practice in Minneapolis, death on April 2, 1951, burial at Lakewood Cemetery. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Ervin [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *William S. Ervin* (revision 1237460713, retrieved 2026-10-25), "Family" subsection — 1914 marriage to Elsie L. Orth; survivors. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Ervin