Mark Spencer Brewer (October 22, 1837 – March 18, 1901) was an American lawyer and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

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 sover ...

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 ...

who served four terms over two different stints in Congress between 1877 and 1891.

Early life and education

Brewer was born in

Addison Township, Michigan Addison Township is a civil township of northeast Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 6,256. The Township was named for pioneer settler Addison Chamberlain. Communities * The vill ...

, and attended the rural schools and Romeo and Oxford Academies. He studied law, was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1864 and commenced practice in

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

. He was city attorney of Pontiac in 1866 and 1867 and circuit court commissioner for

Oakland County Oakland County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Metro Detroit, metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, its population was 1, ...

1866-1869. He was a member of the

Michigan State Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

from the 20th District 1873-1874.

Political career

Brewer was elected as 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 ...

to the

United States House of Representatives 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from Michigan's 6th District for the 45th and 46th Congresses, serving from March 4, 1877, to March 3, 1881. He was appointed consul general to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

on June 30, 1881, by

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...

and served from August 29, 1881, until June 7, 1885. He was again elected to the U.S. House for the 50th and 51st Congresses, serving from March 4, 1887, to March 3, 1891. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1890 and resumed the practice of law in Pontiac.

Later career

He was a delegate to the

1896 Republican National Convention The 1896 Republican National Convention was held in a temporary structure south of the St. Louis City Hall in Saint Louis, Missouri, from June 16 to June 18, 1896. Former Governor William McKinley of Ohio was nominated for president on the firs ...

and was appointed a member of the

United States Civil Service Commission The United States Civil Service Commission was a government agency of the federal government of the United States and was created to select employees of federal government on merit rather than relationships. In 1979, it was dissolved as part of t ...

by President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

January 18, 1898, and served until his death in

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Death and burial

He is interred in Oak Hill Cemetery, in Pontiac, Michigan.

References

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brewer, Mark Spencer 1837 births 1901 deaths Burials in Michigan Republican Party Michigan state senators Politicians from Pontiac, Michigan Michigan lawyers American consuls Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American diplomats 19th-century American lawyers