Frank Ellsworth Doremus (August 31, 1865 – September 4, 1947) was a politician from the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Early life

Doremus was born in

Venango County, Pennsylvania Venango County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 50,454. Its county seat is Franklin. The county was created in 1800 and later organized in 1805. Venango County comprises the Oil City, ...

, on August 31, 1865, the son of Sylvester and Sarah Peake Doremus. The Doremus family moved to

Ovid, Michigan Ovid is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Nearly all of the city is located within Clinton County with only a very small portion extending east into Shiawassee County. The population was 1,603 at the 2010 census. The city is located along M ...

, in 1866, and then to

Portland, Michigan Portland is a city in Ionia County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,883 at the 2010 census. The city is situated in the south central portion of Portland Township and is known as the "City of Two Rivers" since it is the conflu ...

, in 1872. Frank Doremus attended the public schools of Portland and graduated from

Detroit College of Law The Michigan State University College of Law (Michigan State Law or MSU Law) is the law school of Michigan State University, a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan. Established in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law, it was the fi ...

. In 1882, Doremus began work at the ''

Portland Observer The ''Portland Observer'' is one of the oldest African-American newspapers in Oregon. Established in 1970, it is published weekly (on Wednesdays), in Portland, Oregon. Rev. Alfred L. Henderson founded the paper in the 1970s, in the tradition of th ...

'', then moved on to take charge of the '' Pewamo Plain Dealer'' and established the '' Portland Review'' in 1885, editing it until 1899. Doremus married Libby Hatley in 1890. The couple had one child, Robert.

Politics

Doremus was

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

of Portland from 1895 to 1899. He was elected township clerk in 1888 and re-elected in 1889. In 1890, Doremus was elected to the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...

from Ionia County's 1st District serving from 1890 to 1892. He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

in 1899. He was assistant corporation counsel of Detroit from 1903 to 1907 and city

comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executi ...

1907-1910. In 1910, Doremus defeated incumbent Republican

Edwin C. Denby Edwin Denby (February 18, 1870 – February 8, 1929) was an American lawyer and politician who served as Secretary of the Navy in the administrations of Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge from 1921 to 1924. He also played a notable role in th ...

to be elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

from Michigan's 1st congressional district to the Sixty-second and to the four succeeding

Congresses A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...

, serving from March 4, 1911, to March 3, 1921, and was elected chair of the

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises ...

in 1913. He was a delegate to

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

from Michigan in 1916 and 1920. He served as mayor of Detroit in 1923, defeating former Detroit Police Commissioner Dr. James W. Inches in the general election, until he resigned the following year due to ill-health. He resumed the practice of law in

Fowlerville, Michigan Fowlerville is a village in Livingston County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in the northeast portion of Handy Township, but is politically independent from the township. The population was 2,886 at the time of the 2010 census. ...

. Frank Ellsworth Doremus died in

Howell, Michigan Howell is the largest city and county seat of Livingston County, Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 9,489. The city is mostly surrounded by Howell Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Howell is part o ...

, and was interred in

Roseland Park Roseland Park is a now defunct amusement park previously located at 169 Lake Shore Drive in the city of Canandaigua, New York, along the north shore of Canandaigua Lake. Roseland started operation in 1925 under its founder and original owner, Wi ...

, Berkley, Michigan.

References

External links

The Political Graveyard
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doremus, Frank Ellsworth 1865 births 1947 deaths People from Venango County, Pennsylvania American people of Dutch descent Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Mayors of Detroit People from Ovid, Michigan People from Portland, Michigan People from Livingston County, Michigan Detroit College of Law alumni 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American politicians