Edgar Weeks (August 3, 1839 – December 17, 1904) was a military officer, judge and politician from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

Biography

Weeks was born in

Mount Clemens, Michigan Mount Clemens is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 16,314 at the 2010 census. It is the seat of government of Macomb County. History Mount Clemens was first surveyed in 1795 after the American Revolutionary War by Christi ...

, where he attended the public schools and learned the printing trade. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in January 1861. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, he served in Company B, Fifth Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and was first sergeant of the company. He became first lieutenant and adjutant of the Twenty-second Michigan Infantry in 1862 and captain in 1863. He was appointed assistant inspector general of the Third Brigade, Second Division, Reserve Corps,

Army of the Cumberland The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio. History The origin of the Army of the Cumberland dates back to the creation ...

, in 1863 and was mustered out in December 1863. After the war, he was proprietor and editor of a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

newspaper in Mount Clemens and commenced the practice of law in Mount Clemens in 1866. He served as prosecuting attorney 1867-1870 and then as judge of probate of

Macomb County Macomb County ( ) is a county located in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Michigan, bordering Lake St. Clair, and is part of northern Metro Detroit. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 881,217, making it the third-most populous co ...

, 1870-1876. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1884 to the 49th United States Congress, but in 1898 was elected as a Republican from

Michigan's 7th congressional district Michigan's 7th congressional district is a United States congressional district in Southern Michigan and portions of Central Michigan. From 2004 to 2013 it consisted of all of Branch, Eaton, Hillsdale, Jackson, and Lenawee counties, and incl ...

to the 56th Congress. He was re-elected to the

57th Congress The 57th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1901, to ...

, serving from March 4, 1899 to March 3, 1903. He was chair of the Committee on Elections No. 3 in the 57th Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1902, losing in the Republican primary election to Henry McMorran, who went on to be elected to fill Weeks's seat in the House. Edgar Weeks resumed the practice of law and died at the age of sixty-five in Mount Clemens, where he is interred in the Clinton Grove Cemetery. Edgar Weeks' cousin, John W. Weeks, was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

and U.S. Senator from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, and

U.S. Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of th ...

under Presidents

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...

and Calvin Coolidge.

References

Retrieved on 2008-02-15
The Political Graveyard

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weeks, Edgar 1839 births 1904 deaths Union Army officers Michigan lawyers Burials in Michigan Editors of Michigan newspapers Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan 19th-century American lawyers People from Mount Clemens, Michigan 19th-century American newspaper editors 19th-century American judges 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American politicians