Namesake

My grandfather's full name was David Lewis Brigham. He was named after David John Lewis (1869-1952). The photo of Mr. Lewis to the left is from the Library of Congress. He was born in Nuttals Bank, Pennsylvania, the son of Richard Lloyd Lewis and Catherine Watkins. David J. Lewis began his career as a coal miner, studying to become an attorney in his spare time. He passed the Maryland Bar in 1892 and began practicing in Cumberland. In 1893 he married Florida Bohn. Mr. Lewis served in the Maryland state senate from 1902 to 1904 and then as the U.S. Representative from Maryland's 6th District from 1911 to 1917 and again from 1931 to 1939. He was a Democrat. Although I found no mention in any of the articles I found about him, Mr. Lewis played a major role in establishing domestic parcel post service within the United States on January 1, 1913, during the Taft administration, according to Brigham family lore. Gran tells the story of "the little Welsh coal miner from Cumberland" here.

--Barb