Rash's Surname Index
Notes for Benjamin Harris BREWSTER
BREWSTER, Benjamin Harris, cabinet officer, was born in Salem county, N.J., Oct. 13, 1816; son of Francis E. and Maria Hampton Brewster. His first American ancestor was William Brewster, the pilgrim, and on his mother's side he descended from the Hamptons of South Carolina. He was graduated an A.M. from Princeton in 1834, was admitted to the bar in 1838, and in 1846 was appointed by President Polk commissioner to settle the Cherokee Indian claims. He gained a high position as a lawyer, and especially as an advocate at the bar. In 1867 he was appointed attorney-general for Pennsylvania, by Governor Geary, and was instrumental in exposing and defeating the Gettysburg lottery scheme. On Dec. 19, 1881, President Arthur appointed him to his cabinet as attorney-general of the United States. Upon him devolved the prosecution of the postoffice officials charged with conspiring to rob the government, known as the "Star Route" trials. Dickinson college gave him the degree of LL.D., as did Princeton in 1867. His life was written by Eugene C. Sav-idge, M.D., of Philadelphia. He died April 4, 1888.
“Benjamin Harris Brewster (October 13, 1816 – April 4, 1888) was an attorney and politician from New Jersey. Born in Salem County, New Jersey, he graduated from Princeton College in 1834 and studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1838. In 1846 Brewster was appointed commissioner by President 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. Chester A. Arthur appointed Brewster Attorney General of the United States in 1881, and he held that office for the duration of Arthur's term. Brewster, a son-in-law of fellow Presidential Cabinet Secretary Robert John Walker, died in Philadelphia in 1888 and is buried in Woodlands Cemetery in that city.” -wikipedia
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