Henry Boyce (1797 – March 1, 1873) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (in case citations, W.D. La.) is a United States federal court with jurisdiction over approximately two thirds of the state of Louisiana, with courts in Alexandria, Lafayett ...

Education and career

Born in 1797 in Derry, Kingdom of Ireland, Boyce read law in 1820. He entered private practice in Bayou Leche, located in the eastern portion of modern day

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, until 1824. He continued private practice in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

, Louisiana from 1824 to 1828. He was a planter in

Rapides Parish Rapides Parish () (french: Paroisse des Rapides) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 131,613. The parish seat is Alexandria, which developed along the Red River of the South. ''Rapides ...

, Louisiana from 1828 to 1849. He was a Judge of the Louisiana District Court for the Sixth and Seventh Judicial Districts from 1834 to 1839. He was the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Western District of Louisiana in 1849.

Federal judicial service

Boyce received a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the a ...

from President

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

on May 9, 1849, to the

, to a new seat authorized by 9 Stat. 401. He was nominated to the same position by President Taylor on December 21, 1849. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on August 2, 1850, and received his commission from President

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

the same day. His service terminated on February 19, 1861, due to his resignation.

Later career and death

Following his resignation from the federal bench, Boyce resumed the occupation of planter in Rapides Parish from 1861 to 1873. He was a member of the

Louisiana State Legislature The Louisiana State Legislature (french: Législature d'État de Louisiane) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is a bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 repres ...

in 1865. He was elected to the

from Louisiana in 1865, however the Senate refused to seat him. He died on March 1, 1873, in Boyce, Louisiana, which was named in his honor.

Steamship explosion

Boyce was among the survivors of the steamboat ''

Lioness A lioness is a female lion. Lioness(es) may also refer to: Music * Lioness Records, a British record label * Lioness (band), a Canadian indie rock band ** ''Lioness'' (EP), their 2008 EP * ''Lioness'' (Sivert Høyem album), 2016 * ''Lioness ...

'' explosion that occurred on the Red River south of Natchitoches on May 19, 1833.

Family

Boyce married Irene Archinard with whom he had two children, Henry Archinard Boyce and Louise Frances Boyce. Irene died when she was 22 years old. Boyce subsequently married Octavia Mullanphy Delaney of St. Louis, with whom he had one child Mary Boyce.

Powhatan Henry Clarke Powhatan Henry Clarke (October 9, 1862 – July 21, 1893) was a United States Army first lieutenant who was a recipient of the Medal of Honor during the Geronimo Campaign in Sonora, Mexico. He received the medal for rescuing a wounded soldier o ...

, West Point graduate and

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

recipient, is his grandson.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyce, Henry 1797 births 1873 deaths 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians American planters Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana Louisiana lawyers Louisiana state court judges Shipwreck survivors United States Attorneys for the Western District of Louisiana United States federal judges appointed by Zachary Taylor United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law