Henry Franklin Severens (May 11, 1835 – June 8, 1923) was a United States circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of ...

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

United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan The United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan (in case citations, W.D. Mich.) is the federal district court with jurisdiction over of the western portion of the state of Michigan, including the entire Upper Peninsula a ...

Education and career

Born in Rockingham,

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

, Severens 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 from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all 5 ...

in 1857 and

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under t ...

to enter the bar in 1859. He was in private practice in Three Rivers,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

from 1860 to 1861. A Democrat in politics, he was prosecuting attorney of St. Joseph County from 1861 to 1864, returning to private practice in

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropo ...

, Michigan from 1865 to 1886. During that time, he was also land developer in

Allegan County Allegan County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 120,502. The county seat is Allegan. The name was coined by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft to sound like a Native American word. ...

, Michigan.

Federal judicial service

President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

nominated Severens on May 14, 1886, to a seat on the

that Judge

Solomon Lewis Withey Solomon Lewis Withey (April 21, 1820 – April 25, 1886) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan. Education and career Born in St. Albans, Vermont, Withey read law to enter the ...

vacated. 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 ...

confirmed him on May 25, 1886, and he received his commission the same day. His service terminated on March 16, 1900, due to his elevation to the Sixth Circuit. 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 ...

nominated Severens on February 6, 1900, to a joint seat on the

and the United States Circuit Courts for the Sixth Circuit that Judge

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

vacated. The Senate confirmed him on February 20, 1900, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on October 3, 1911, due to his resignation.

Death

Severens died on June 8, 1923, in Kalamazoo.

References

Sources

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Severens, Henry Franklin 1835 births 1923 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit United States federal judges appointed by Grover Cleveland 19th-century American judges United States federal judges appointed by William McKinley People from Rockingham, Vermont United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law People from St. Joseph County, Michigan People from Kalamazoo, Michigan