Francis Cabot Lowell (January 7, 1855 – March 6, 1911) was a United States circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (in case citations, 1st Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maine * District of Massachusetts ...

and of the United States Circuit Courts for the First Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (in case citations, D. Mass.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The first court session was he ...

Early life

Lowell was born on January 7, 1855, in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. He was the only son of George Gardner Lowell (1830–1885) and Mary Ellen ( Parker) Lowell (1832–1915), a daughter of James Parker. His sister, Anna Parker Lowell, married their distant cousin and Francis' law partner, A. Lawrence Lowell, the 22nd

President of Harvard University The president of Harvard University is the chief administrator of Harvard University and the '' ex officio'' president of the Harvard Corporation. Each is appointed by and is responsible to the other members of that body, who delegate to the pr ...

. His paternal grandfather was industrialist Francis Cabot Lowell, Jr. (son of

Francis Cabot Lowell Francis Cabot Lowell (April 7, 1775 – August 10, 1817) was an American businessman for whom the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, is named. He was instrumental in bringing the Industrial Revolution to the United States. Early life Francis Cabot ...

, namesake of

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as ...

), and his paternal uncle was historian

Edward Jackson Lowell Edward Jackson Lowell (October 18, 1845 in Boston – May 11, 1894 in Cotuit, Massachusetts) was a United States (Massachusetts) lawyer and historian. Biography Lowell graduated from Harvard College in 1867. After his graduation, he spent sever ...

. He received an

Artium Baccalaureus Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1876 from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

in 1879 from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each c ...

Career

Lowell entered private practice in Boston from 1880 to 1898 with his well-known cousin A. Lawrence Lowell. He was private secretary to Justice Horace Gray of the

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously funct ...

from 1880 to 1882. He was a city councilman for Boston from 1889 to 1891. He was a member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

in 1895.

Federal judicial service

Lowell was nominated by President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in t ...

on January 5, 1898, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Thomas Leverett Nelson. 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 po ...

on January 10, 1898, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on April 15, 1905, due to his elevation to the First Circuit. Lowell was nominated by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

on February 15, 1905, to the

and the United States Circuit Courts for the First Circuit, to a new joint seat authorized by 33 Stat. 611. He was confirmed by the Senate on February 23, 1905, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on March 6, 1911, due to his death in Boston.

Personal life

On November 27, 1882, Lowell was married to Cornelia Prime Baylies (1859–1922) in New York City. Cornelia, who was born in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

, was a daughter of New York merchant Edmund Lincoln Baylies and Nathalie Elizabeth ( Ray) Baylies. Her brother was the prominent New York lawyer Edmund L. Baylies. Among her first cousins were

Elizabeth Livingston Cavendish-Bentinck Elizabeth Cavendish-Bentinck ( Livingston; August 12, 1855 – November 4, 1943) was an American born member of the Livingston family who married a British Member of Parliament from the Cavendish-Bentinck family and was a prominent member of New ...

(the wife of

George Cavendish-Bentinck George Augustus Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck (9 July 1821 – 9 April 1891), known as George Bentinck and scored in cricket as GAFC Bentinck, was a British barrister, Conservative politician, and cricketer. A member of parliament from 1859 to ...

), Ruth Livingston Mills (the wife of Ogden Mills), and

Robert Ray Hamilton Robert Ray Hamilton (March 18, 1851 – August 23, 1890) was an American politician from New York. Early life He was the son of Gen. Schuyler Hamilton (1822–1903); grandson of John Church Hamilton (1792–1882); and great-grandson of Alexander ...

. He was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society i ...

in 1895. Judge Lowell died suddenly on March 6, 1911 at his home on

Beacon Street Beacon Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts and its western suburbs Brookline and Newton. It passes through many of Boston's central and western neighborhoods, including Beacon Hill, Back Bay, Fenway–Kenmore, the Boston Uni ...

in Boston. His widow died in 1922.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowell, Francis Cabot 1855 births 1911 deaths Harvard Law School alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States federal judges appointed by William McKinley United States court of appeals judges appointed by Theodore Roosevelt 20th-century American judges Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Boston City Council members 19th-century American politicians Members of the American Antiquarian Society Harvard College alumni Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery