Person:Henry Sevin (1)

From the History of Erie County, Pennsylvania: "Henry J Sevin was a prominent art dealer for more than fifty years in the City of Erie. He was born in this city, Jan. 14, 1856, was educated in the city schools, and at the age of 13 years entered the business firm of his father....

...In 1873 the firm of J.T. Sevin and Sons was formed, the house was moved to the rear, and the present building at 15 West Seventh Street was erected. Here the sons, Theodore and Henry, developed the art business while their father conducted a repair department at No. 17. By 1884 the art business had grown considerably. In this year the sons erected a two-story building at 912 State Street, moved the art business there, and formed the firm of J. T. Seven's Sons. Their father continued the repair department at 17 West Seventh Street until his death in 1888. In 1897 another change took place when the firm of J. T. Sevin's Sons was dissolved and C. Theodore Sevin moved to Buffalo, N.Y., to open an art store on Main Street. In 1903 Henry J. Sevin remodeled and enlarged the building at 15 West Seventh Street and moved back to the old stand. In August, 1924, he retired from active business and died April 18, 1925. The business is now being conducted by his daughter Gertrude K.

On Oct. 19, 1881, Henry J. Sevin married Fredericka Mehl. She was an Erie girl, having been born and reared in this city. Her parents came from Alsasce which belonged to France during the time they lived there..."^S4

Sevin Family Origins

"The Sevin Family were originally French Hugenots and came from Orleans, France. To escape the Catholic persecutions of the early 17th century they fled to Germany. There is a legend that up until this time the name had been Nives, and that it was now written backward and spelled Sevin to escape detection. This is substantiated by the old Sevin crest which bears in the lower portion of an ornamental shield, a cluster of snow flakes. The Latin plural of snow is nives, denoting the origin of the name and its original spelling." --From The History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, by John Elmer Reed, Vol II p. 836 (see sources). This story has no citations, but it does make a great story.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census. (Name: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2004;)
   Database online. Erie, Erie, Pennsylvania, post office Erie, roll M653_1107, page 289, image 299.

   Record for Henry Sevein

2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census. (Name: - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2003. - 1870. United States. Ninth Census of the United States, 1870. Washington, D.C. National Archives and Records Administration. M593, RG29, 1,761 rolls. Minnesota. Minnesota Census Schedules for 1870.;)
   Database online. Sewickley, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, post office Rural Ridge, roll 1299, page 375, image 269.

   Record for Henry Sevin

3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census. (Name: - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. For details on the contents of the film numbers, visit the following NARA web page: NARA. - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910. Washington, D.;)
   Database online. Erie Ward 4, Erie, Pennsylvania, ED , roll T624_1342, part , page .

   Record for Henry J Sevin

4. ↑ ^4.0 4.1 Sevin, Henry J, in Reed, John Elmer. History of Erie County, Pennsylvania. (Topeka: Historical Pub. Co., 1925)
   Vol 2 p. 836-838.

   See personal history for profile from this source. Source include a photo of Henry J. Sevin