Benjamin H. Brewster
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Harris Brewster (October 13, 1816 – April 4, 1888) was an attorney and politician from New Jersey
, who served as United States Attorney General
from 1881 to 1885.
, and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. He was the son of Maria Hampton, a daughter of Dr. John Thomas Hampton, a soldier of the American Revolutionary War and a close friend of Thomas Jefferson
. His grandmother, Mercy Harris-Hampton, was the daughter of Benjamin Harris, the "fighting Quaker" of the American Revolutionary War
. Benjamin Harris Brewster was named after him.
His father was Francis Enoch Brewster, a successful and well-known attorney in Philadelphia. He was a descendant of Elder William Brewster
, (c. 1567–April 10, 1644), the Pilgrim colonist leader and spiritual elder of the Plymouth Colony
and a passenger on the Mayflower
.
His sister, Anne Hampton Brewster (1818–1892), was one of America's first female foreign correspondents, publishing primarily in Philadelphia, New York and Boston newspapers. She was a "social outlaw" (as a friend described her) by refusing to marry, by converting to Catholicism, by moving out of her older brother Benjamin's house in order to live alone, by suing him for complete control over her share of their father's estate, by moving to Rome, and, foremost, by continuing to write through it all, first as a dilettante and then as a self-supporting professional.
, a noted Philadelphia lawyer and legal reformer and who was head of the Philadelphia Bar, and he was admitted to practice on January 5, 1838.
, France
. Elizabeth died in 1868; however, Benjamin continued to spend many vacations with his wife's parents in Germany
near Cologne
.
He was remarried on July 12, 1870. His second wife, Mary Walker, was born in Mississippi
on December 13, 1839 and died on March 9, 1886, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Robert John Walker, Secretary of the Treasury under President James Knox Polk. and Mary Blechenden Bache,. The latter Mary was the daughter of Sophia Durrell Dallas and Richard Bache, Jr., who served in the Republic of Texas
Navy and was elected as a Representative to the Second Texas Legislature in 1847. Sophia, the daughter of Arabella Maria Smith and Alexander J. Dallas
an American statesman who served as the U.S. Treasury Secretary under President James Madison
. She was also great-granddaughter of Sarah Franklin Bache
and Richard Bache
, and more notably she was the great-great-granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin
, as well as niece of George Mifflin Dallas, the 11th Vice President of the United States
, serving under James K. Polk.
Mary Walker had married as her first husband, on May 25, 1858, Adrian Deslonde, the son of André Deslonde, a sugar planter from St. James Parish, Louisiana. His sister, Caroline Deslonde, married P.G.T. Beauregard, the Louisiana-born author, civil servant, politician, inventor, and the first prominent general for the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Through his sister, Mathilde, he was a brother-in-law of John Slidell
, a U.S. senator from Louisiana and later a Confederate diplomat. John's sister, Jane Slidell, was married to Matthew C. Perry, who was the Commodore of the U.S. Navy who compelled the opening of Japan
to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa
in 1854.
His great-grandson is Daniel Baugh Brewster (November 23, 1923–August 19, 2007), a Democratic member of the United States Senate
, representing the State of Maryland from 1963 until 1969. He was also a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1950–1958, and a representative from the 2nd congressional district of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives from 1959-1963.
There were no children from his first marriage.
James K. Polk
to adjudicate the claims of the Cherokee
against the U.S. federal government. He was appointed Attorney General
of Pennsylvania
in 1867 by Governor John W. Geary
.
He was chief prosecutor in the case of the U.S. Postal Service's Star Route Frauds
.
In 1881, Chester A. Arthur
appointed Brewster Attorney General of the United States, an office he held for the duration of Arthur's term.
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, who served as United States Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
from 1881 to 1885.
Early life
He was born on October 13, 1816 in Salem, New JerseySalem, New Jersey
Salem is a city in Salem County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the city population was 5,146. It is the county seat of Salem County, the most rural county in the state of New Jersey. The name Salem is related to the Hebrew word shalom, meaning "peace".The town and...
, and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. He was the son of Maria Hampton, a daughter of Dr. John Thomas Hampton, a soldier of the American Revolutionary War and a close friend of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
. His grandmother, Mercy Harris-Hampton, was the daughter of Benjamin Harris, the "fighting Quaker" of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. Benjamin Harris Brewster was named after him.
His father was Francis Enoch Brewster, a successful and well-known attorney in Philadelphia. He was a descendant of Elder William Brewster
William Brewster (Pilgrim)
Elder William Brewster was a Mayflower passenger and a Pilgrim colonist leader and preacher.-Origins:Brewster was probably born at Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, circa 1566/1567, although no birth records have been found, and died at Plymouth, Massachusetts on April 10, 1644 around 9- or 10pm...
, (c. 1567–April 10, 1644), the Pilgrim colonist leader and spiritual elder of the Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
and a passenger on the Mayflower
Mayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
.
His sister, Anne Hampton Brewster (1818–1892), was one of America's first female foreign correspondents, publishing primarily in Philadelphia, New York and Boston newspapers. She was a "social outlaw" (as a friend described her) by refusing to marry, by converting to Catholicism, by moving out of her older brother Benjamin's house in order to live alone, by suing him for complete control over her share of their father's estate, by moving to Rome, and, foremost, by continuing to write through it all, first as a dilettante and then as a self-supporting professional.
Education
He graduated from Princeton College in 1834 and was conferred upon the degrees of A.B., A.M., and LL.D. He studied law in the office of Eli Kirk PriceEli Kirk Price
Eli Kirk Price was a Philadelphia lawyer, a commissioner of Fairmount Park from the time of its founding, and a member of the American Philosophical Society....
, a noted Philadelphia lawyer and legal reformer and who was head of the Philadelphia Bar, and he was admitted to practice on January 5, 1838.
Marriages
In 1857, he married as his first wife, Elizabeth von Myerbach de Reinfeldts, the widow of Dr. Shulte of ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Elizabeth died in 1868; however, Benjamin continued to spend many vacations with his wife's parents in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
near Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
.
He was remarried on July 12, 1870. His second wife, Mary Walker, was born in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
on December 13, 1839 and died on March 9, 1886, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Robert John Walker, Secretary of the Treasury under President James Knox Polk. and Mary Blechenden Bache,. The latter Mary was the daughter of Sophia Durrell Dallas and Richard Bache, Jr., who served in the Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
Navy and was elected as a Representative to the Second Texas Legislature in 1847. Sophia, the daughter of Arabella Maria Smith and Alexander J. Dallas
Alexander J. Dallas (statesman)
Alexander James Dallas was an American statesman who served as the U.S. Treasury Secretary under President James Madison....
an American statesman who served as the U.S. Treasury Secretary under President James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
. She was also great-granddaughter of Sarah Franklin Bache
Sarah Franklin Bache
Sarah Franklin “Sally” Bache was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read.Known as "Sally" throughout her life, she was an ardent American patriot during the Revolutionary War through relief work and as her father's political hostess...
and Richard Bache
Richard Bache
Richard Bache , born in Yorkshire, England, was the son-in-law of Benjamin Franklin. After arriving in Philadelphia from Yorkshire, England, in 1761, Bache prospered as a marine insurance underwriter and importer. In 1767, misfortune struck; debts contracted by him were repudiated by his London...
, and more notably she was the great-great-granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, as well as niece of George Mifflin Dallas, the 11th Vice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
, serving under James K. Polk.
Mary Walker had married as her first husband, on May 25, 1858, Adrian Deslonde, the son of André Deslonde, a sugar planter from St. James Parish, Louisiana. His sister, Caroline Deslonde, married P.G.T. Beauregard, the Louisiana-born author, civil servant, politician, inventor, and the first prominent general for the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Through his sister, Mathilde, he was a brother-in-law of John Slidell
John Slidell
John Slidell was an American politician, lawyer and businessman. A native of New York, Slidell moved to Louisiana as a young man and became a staunch defender of southern rights as a U.S. Representative and Senator...
, a U.S. senator from Louisiana and later a Confederate diplomat. John's sister, Jane Slidell, was married to Matthew C. Perry, who was the Commodore of the U.S. Navy who compelled the opening of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa
Convention of Kanagawa
On March 31, 1854, the or was concluded between Commodore Matthew C. Perry of the U.S. Navy and the Tokugawa shogunate.-Treaty of Peace and Amity :...
in 1854.
Family
Benjamin and Mary had one child, Benjamin Harris Brewster, Jr., born on October 22, 1872 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.His great-grandson is Daniel Baugh Brewster (November 23, 1923–August 19, 2007), a Democratic member of the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, representing the State of Maryland from 1963 until 1969. He was also a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1950–1958, and a representative from the 2nd congressional district of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives from 1959-1963.
There were no children from his first marriage.
Career
In 1846 Brewster was appointed commissioner by PresidentPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
James K. Polk
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...
to adjudicate the claims of the Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
against the U.S. federal government. He was appointed Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in 1867 by Governor John W. Geary
John W. Geary
John White Geary was an American lawyer, politician, Freemason, and a Union general in the American Civil War...
.
He was chief prosecutor in the case of the U.S. Postal Service's Star Route Frauds
Star routes
Star routes is a term used in connection with the United States postal service and the contracting of mail delivery services. The term is defunct as of 1970, but still is occasionally used to refer to Highway Contract Routes or which replaced the Star routes.-Background:Prior to 1845,...
.
In 1881, Chester A. Arthur
Chester A. Arthur
Chester Alan Arthur was the 21st President of the United States . Becoming President after the assassination of President James A. Garfield, Arthur struggled to overcome suspicions of his beginnings as a politician from the New York City Republican machine, succeeding at that task by embracing...
appointed Brewster Attorney General of the United States, an office he held for the duration of Arthur's term.