Representative Frank Ellsworth Doremus

Frank Ellsworth Doremus (August 31, 1865 – September 4, 1947) was an American politician, lawyer, and newspaperman who served five terms as a Democratic Representative from Michigan in the United States Congress from 1911 to 1921 and later became the 49th Mayor of Detroit. Over the course of his public career, he held a series of local, state, and federal offices and played an active role in Democratic Party politics at both the state and national levels.

Doremus was born in Venango County, Pennsylvania, on August 31, 1865, the son of Sylvester and Sarah Peake Doremus. In 1866, when he was still an infant, the family moved to Ovid, Michigan, and in 1872 they settled in Portland, Michigan. He was educated in the public schools of Portland, reflecting the family’s permanent relocation to the state he would later represent in Congress. He subsequently pursued legal studies and graduated from the Detroit College of Law, preparing for a professional career that combined journalism, law, and public service.

Doremus entered the newspaper business at a young age. In 1882, he began work at the Portland Observer, gaining early experience in reporting and editorial work. He soon took charge of the Pewamo Plain Dealer and, in 1885, established his own newspaper, the Portland Review, which he edited until 1899. His work as an editor and publisher made him a prominent local figure and provided a platform for engagement with civic and political issues. In his personal life, he married Libby Hatley in 1890; the couple had one child, a son named Robert.

Alongside his journalistic endeavors, Doremus quickly became active in local government. He was elected township clerk in 1888 and re-elected in 1889, marking his entry into elective office. In 1890, he was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives from Ionia County’s 1st District, serving from 1890 to 1892. He continued his public service as postmaster of Portland from 1895 to 1899, a federal appointment that further broadened his administrative experience. After leaving the newspaper business at the end of the 1890s, he was admitted to the bar and, in 1899, commenced the practice of law in Detroit.

Doremus’s legal and municipal career in Detroit advanced steadily in the early twentieth century. He served as assistant corporation counsel of Detroit from 1903 to 1907, advising the city on legal matters, and then as city comptroller from 1907 to 1910, overseeing important aspects of the city’s finances. These positions enhanced his reputation as a capable administrator and attorney and positioned him for higher office within the Democratic Party at a time when Detroit and Michigan politics were undergoing significant change.

In 1910, Doremus successfully ran for Congress as a Democrat from Michigan’s 1st congressional district, defeating incumbent Republican Edwin C. Denby. He was elected to the Sixty-second Congress and to the four succeeding Congresses, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1911, to March 3, 1921. During these five terms in office, he participated actively in the legislative process and represented the interests of his Detroit-area constituents during a significant period in American history that included the Progressive Era and World War I. Within the Democratic Party’s congressional leadership, he gained additional prominence when he was elected chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 1913, a role that involved organizing and directing House campaign efforts. He also served as a delegate from Michigan to the Democratic National Conventions in 1916 and 1920, reflecting his influence in party affairs at the national level.

After leaving Congress in 1921, Doremus returned to municipal politics in Detroit. In 1923, he was elected the 49th Mayor of Detroit, defeating former Detroit Police Commissioner Dr. James W. Inches in the general election. His tenure as mayor, however, was relatively brief; he served into 1924 but resigned from office the following year due to ill health. His resignation effectively ended his career in major elective office, though he remained active in his profession.

Following his departure from the Detroit mayoralty, Doremus resumed the practice of law, this time in Fowlerville, Michigan. He continued to live in the region until his final illness. Frank Ellsworth Doremus died in Howell, Michigan, on September 4, 1947. He was interred in Roseland Park in Berkley, Michigan, closing a long life marked by service at the local, state, and national levels, including a decade in the U.S. House of Representatives and leadership of one of the nation’s largest cities.