Representative Edgar Weeks

Edgar Weeks (August 3, 1839 – December 17, 1904) was a military officer, jurist, and Republican politician from Michigan who served two terms as a Representative in the United States Congress at the turn of the twentieth century. He was born in Mount Clemens, Macomb County, Michigan, where he attended the public schools and learned the printing trade in his youth. This early exposure to both education and the world of print and public discourse helped shape his later engagement in law, journalism, and politics.

Weeks pursued legal studies after his schooling and was admitted to the bar in January 1861, just as the United States was on the brink of civil war. His legal training provided the foundation for a long professional life in public service, both in the courtroom and in elective office. Although he qualified as a lawyer at the outset of the conflict, he soon directed his efforts to military service in defense of the Union.

During the American Civil War, Weeks served in the Union Army, initially in Company B of the Fifth Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He rose to the position of first sergeant of his company, demonstrating leadership and administrative ability. In 1862 he became first lieutenant and adjutant of the Twenty-second Michigan Infantry, and in 1863 he was promoted to captain. That same year he was appointed assistant inspector general of the Third Brigade, Second Division, Reserve Corps, Army of the Cumberland. He was mustered out of service in December 1863, having compiled a record of steady advancement and responsibility in the Union forces.

After the war, Weeks returned to Mount Clemens, where he combined his interests in law and public affairs. He became proprietor and editor of a Republican newspaper in Mount Clemens, using the press to advocate the principles of the Republican Party during the Reconstruction era and beyond. In 1866 he commenced the formal practice of law in Mount Clemens. His legal and political prominence in Macomb County led to his election as prosecuting attorney, a position he held from 1867 to 1870. He subsequently served as judge of probate of Macomb County from 1870 to 1876, presiding over matters of estates and guardianships and further establishing his reputation as a careful and experienced jurist.

Weeks’s ambition for national office first became evident in the 1880s. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1884 to the Forty-ninth United States Congress, an early indication of his desire to represent Michigan at the federal level. Persisting in Republican politics over the next decade, he remained a figure of influence in his party and community. His perseverance was rewarded in 1898, when he was elected as a Republican from Michigan’s 7th congressional district to the Fifty-sixth Congress.

Edgar Weeks served as a Representative from Michigan in the United States Congress from March 4, 1899, to March 3, 1903, completing two consecutive terms in office. A member of the Republican Party, he contributed to the legislative process during this significant period in American history, which included the aftermath of the Spanish–American War and the nation’s early imperial and industrial expansion. He was re-elected to the Fifty-seventh Congress and, during that term, served as chair of the Committee on Elections No. 3, where he played a role in adjudicating contested election cases and safeguarding the integrity of the democratic process. As a member of the House of Representatives, Weeks participated actively in the workings of Congress and represented the interests of his constituents in Michigan’s 7th district.

In 1902, Weeks sought renomination but was unsuccessful in the Republican primary, losing to Henry McMorran, who subsequently won election to succeed him in the House of Representatives. After leaving Congress in March 1903, Weeks resumed the practice of law in Mount Clemens, returning to the profession that had anchored much of his adult life. He continued to be identified with the Republican Party and with the civic life of his hometown. His family connections extended into national politics as well: his cousin, John W. Weeks, later served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and as U.S. Secretary of War under Presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge.

Edgar Weeks died in Mount Clemens, Michigan, on December 17, 1904, at the age of sixty-five. He was interred in Clinton Grove Cemetery in Mount Clemens. His career, spanning military service in the Civil War, local and county legal offices, and two terms in the United States House of Representatives, reflected a lifetime of engagement with law, public administration, and representative government during a transformative era in American history.