Lewis Ernest Sawyer

Lewis Ernest Sawyer (June 24, 1867 – May 5, 1923) was a U.S. Representative from Arkansas and a lawyer who held public office in both Mississippi and Arkansas. He was born in Shelby County, Alabama, on June 24, 1867. During his childhood he moved with his parents to Lee County, Mississippi, where he was raised and received his early education.

Sawyer attended the public schools of Mississippi and subsequently enrolled at the University of Mississippi at Oxford. He was graduated from the University of Mississippi, after which he pursued the study of law. Upon completing his legal studies, he was admitted to the bar in 1895 and commenced the practice of law at Friars Point, Mississippi.

Sawyer quickly became active in local affairs. In 1896 he was elected mayor of Friars Point, a position he held until June 1898, when he enlisted for service in the Spanish–American War. During the conflict he served in the Philippine Islands, gaining experience that would mark a distinct period in his early career. After the war, in 1900, he resumed the practice of law in Iuka, Mississippi, continuing his legal work there for several years.

In 1908 Sawyer moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he continued the practice of his profession as an attorney. He soon entered Arkansas state politics and was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives. He served as a member of the Arkansas House in 1913 and again in 1915. During the 1915 session he was chosen Speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives, reflecting his prominence and influence within the state legislature and the Democratic Party.

Sawyer advanced to national office when he was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-eighth Congress. He took his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 4, 1923, representing Arkansas. His tenure in Congress was brief, as he served only from March 4, 1923, until his death later that year, but it capped a long career in law and public service that had spanned two Southern states and multiple levels of government.

Lewis Ernest Sawyer died in Hot Springs, Arkansas, on May 5, 1923, while still in office as a member of Congress. He was interred in Hollywood Cemetery, leaving a record of service that included municipal leadership, participation in the Spanish–American War, legislative leadership in Arkansas, and representation of his adopted state in the U.S. House of Representatives.