| James Sevier Conway | |
| Office: | 2nd and 8th Postmaster of Walnut Hill, Arkansas |
| Term Start: | July 3, 1845 |
| Term End: | August 9, 1846 |
| Nominator: | James K. Polk |
| Predecessor: | Fleetwood Herndon |
| Successor: | Francis E. Goodwin |
| Term Start1: | November 15, 1854 |
| Term End1: | December 19, 1854 |
| Nominator1: | Franklin Pierce |
| Predecessor1: | A. C. J. Phillips |
| Successor1: | Ann I. Sevier |
| Office2: | 6th Postmaster of Conway, Arkansas |
| Term Start2: | February 18, 1843 |
| Term End2: | July 2, 1845 |
| Nominator2: | John Tyler |
| Predecessor2: | Gideon Ruyle |
| Successor2: | Office abolished |
| Order3: | 1st |
| Office3: | Governor of Arkansas |
| Term Start3: | September 13, 1836 |
| Term End3: | November 4, 1840 |
| Predecessor3: | William S. Fulton (as Governor of Arkansas Territory) |
| Successor3: | Archibald Yell |
| Office4: | 1st Postmaster of Conway, Arkansas Territory |
| Term Start4: | May 24, 1828 |
| Term End4: | November 7, 1832 |
| Predecessor4: | Office established |
| Successor4: | Thomas Quigg |
| Birth Date: | 4 December 1796 |
| Birth Place: | Greene County, Tennessee |
| Death Place: | Lafayette County, Arkansas |
| Death Cause: | Pneumonia |
| Resting Place: | Conway Cemetery State Park |
| Resting Place Coordinates: | 33.1019°N -93.6831°W |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Children: | 10 |
| Parents: | Thomas & Ann Conway |
| Relatives: | Conway-Johnson family |
James Sevier Conway (December 9, 1796 – March 3, 1855) was an American politician who served as the first governor of Arkansas from 1836 to 1840.
James Sevier Conway was born on December 4, 1796, in Greene County, Tennessee, to Thomas and Ann (Rector) Conway. Conway's father was born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, in 1771.[1] His paternal ancestors originated in Conwy, Wales.[2] Thomas employed private tutors to teach his seven sons and three daughters. In 1818, the family moved to St. Louis, where Conway learned the art of land surveying from his uncle William Rector, surveyor-general in Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas. In 1820, Conway resigned a Cole County, Missouri, circuit clerk's position to serve as deputy-surveyor in the newly established Arkansas Territory,[3] where he purchased a tract of land in Hempstead (present-day Lafayette) County. While living there, Conway met Mary Jane Bradley, who had migrated with her family from Wilson County, Tennessee. They were married December 21, 1825, and had ten children, five of whom died in infancy or early childhood.
In 1832, Conway became the surveyor-general in Arkansas Territory and served in that position until 1836. He was the elected to the new office of governor when Arkansas became a state in 1836. His administration focused on developing schools and roads. He ordered the militia to patrol the western frontier and worked to have the federal arsenal built at Little Rock. He worked to get funding for a state penitentiary. He pressed the General Assembly for establishment of a state library and university but was unsuccessful. Conway left office in 1840 and returned to Lafayette County where he served three nonconsecutive terms as postmaster.[4]
Conway died from the complications of pneumonia on March 3, 1855. His remains were interred in the Conway Cemetery (present-day Conway Cemetery State Park), near Bradley, Arkansas. He helped establish Lafayette Academy in Greene County, Tennessee. Present-day Conway, Arkansas, is named after him.[5]