Elijah Voorhees Brookshire (August 15, 1856 – April 14, 1936) was an American lawyer and politician who served three terms as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

from 1889 to 1895.

Early life

Born near

Ladoga, Indiana Ladoga is a town in Clark Township, Montgomery County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 1,081 at the 2020 census, up from 985 in 2010. History Ladoga was platted in 1836 by John Myers. Myers invited his friends to help him find ...

, Brookshire attended the common schools, and was graduated from Central Indiana Normal College at Ladoga in August 1878. He taught in the common schools of

Montgomery County, Indiana Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 37,936. Its county seat is Crawfordsville. The county is divided into eleven townships which provide local services. Mont ...

from 1879 to 1882 and he also engaged in agricultural pursuits. After studying law, he was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1883 and commenced practice in Crawfordsville the same year. He married Amanda Harshbarger in 1883.

Career

Congress

Brookshire was 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Fifty-first, Fifty-second, and Fifty-third Congresses (March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1895). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1894 to the Fifty-fourth Congress.

Later career

He resumed the practice of law in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and was admitted to practice before the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

in 1894. He moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, in 1925, and to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, in 1935, having retired from active law practice in 1925.

Death

He died in

, April 14, 1936 and was interred in Harshbarger Cemetery, near

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brookshire, Elijah Voorhees 1856 births 1936 deaths People from Montgomery County, Indiana Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives