Abraham Lincoln Brick

Abraham Lincoln Brick (May 27, 1860 – April 7, 1908) was an American attorney and Republican politician who represented Indiana in the United States House of Representatives from 1899 until his death in 1908. Over the course of five consecutive terms in Congress, he contributed to the legislative process during a significant period in American history, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents in northern Indiana.

Brick was born on his father’s farm near South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on May 27, 1860. Raised in a rural setting, he attended the common schools of the area and completed his secondary education at South Bend High School. His early life on the family farm and in the public schools of Indiana provided the foundation for a career that would combine legal practice with public service.

Pursuing higher education, Brick attended Cornell University and Yale University before undertaking formal legal studies. He enrolled in the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and was graduated in 1883. That same year he was admitted to the bar, marking the beginning of a professional life devoted to the law and public affairs. His legal education at one of the leading law schools of the Midwest prepared him for both courtroom advocacy and the statutory work that would later define his service in Congress.

After his admission to the bar in 1883, Brick commenced the practice of law in South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana. He quickly became an active figure in local legal and political circles. In 1886 he was elected prosecuting attorney for the counties of St. Joseph and La Porte, a position in which he was responsible for the prosecution of criminal cases on behalf of the state. His work as a prosecuting attorney enhanced his public profile and demonstrated his commitment to law enforcement and public order. By the mid-1890s he had become an influential Republican in Indiana and served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1896, participating in the national deliberations of his party at a time of major political and economic debate.

Brick’s national career began with his election as a Republican to the Fifty-sixth Congress. He was subsequently reelected to the four succeeding Congresses, serving continuously from March 4, 1899, until his death on April 7, 1908. As a member of the House of Representatives, he represented an Indiana district during an era marked by industrial expansion, debates over American imperial policy, and the early stirrings of the Progressive movement. Throughout his five terms in office, he took part in the legislative work of the House, contributing to the formulation of federal policy and advocating for the needs and interests of his Indiana constituents within the broader national context.

Abraham Lincoln Brick died while still in office in Indianapolis, Indiana, on April 7, 1908. His death brought to a close nearly a decade of continuous congressional service and a public career that had spanned local prosecution, party leadership, and national legislative responsibility. He was interred in Riverview Cemetery in South Bend, Indiana, returning to the community where he had begun his legal practice. Brick’s papers are preserved in the collection of the Indiana State Library, providing a record of his professional and legislative activities and documenting the career of an Indiana lawyer-legislator who served in Congress at the turn of the twentieth century.