benjamin h. brewster

Benjamin Harris Brewster (October 13, 1816–April 4, 1888) was an American attorney and Cabinet secretary. Born in Salem County, New Jersey, he graduated from Princeton College in 1834, then studied law and 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 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. Preceded by:
Wayne MacVeagh>

width="40%" align="center"| Attorney General of the United States
1881-1885

width="30%" align="center"| Succeeded by:
Augustus Hill Garland

Brewster, Benjamin H. Brewster, Benjamin H.

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