Brewer, Thomas

Born: 1819-11-15 Wayne County, Indiana

Died: 1886-11-11 Cumberland County, Illinois

Flourished: Greenup, Illinois

In 1838, Brewer moved with his parents and other family to settle in an area of Coles County, Illinois, that would later become Cumberland County. In 1844, he married Mary Hutton, with whom he had nine children. A Democrat, Brewer held a variety of positions in Cumberland County including justice of the peace, coroner, constable, and sheriff. He was admitted to the bar in 1855, and became a partner of Elisha H. Starkweather. In 1858, Brewer won election to the Illinois House of Representatives, serving one term. Religiously, Brewer was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

John M. Palmer, ed., The Bench and Bar of Illinois: Historical and Reminiscent (Chicago: Lewis, 1899), 1:422-23; Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois: Historical and Biographical (Chicago: F. A. Battey, 1884), 124, 146, 225-26; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 222; Gravestone, Toledo Memorial Park Cemetery, Toledo, IL.