American district judge
Henry Boyce (1797 – March 1, 1873) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
Education and career
Born in 1797 in Derry, Kingdom of Ireland,[1] Boyce read law in 1820.[1] He entered private practice in Bayou Leche,[2] located in the eastern portion of modern-day New Orleans, Louisiana, until 1824.[1] He continued private practice in Alexandria, Louisiana from 1824 to 1828.[1] He was a planter in Rapides Parish, Louisiana from 1828 to 1849.[1] He was a Judge of the Louisiana District Court for the Sixth and Seventh Judicial Districts from 1834 to 1839.[1] He was the United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana in 1849.[1]
Federal judicial service
Boyce received a recess appointment from President Zachary Taylor on May 9, 1849, to the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, to a new seat authorized by 9 Stat. 401.[1] He was nominated to the same position by President Taylor on December 21, 1849.[1] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 2, 1850, and received his commission from President Millard Fillmore the same day.[1] His service terminated on February 19, 1861, due to his resignation.[1]
Later career and death
Following his resignation from the federal bench, Boyce resumed the occupation of planter in Rapides Parish from 1861 to 1873.[1] He was a member of the Louisiana State Legislature in 1865.[1] He was elected to the United States Senate from Louisiana in 1865, however the Senate refused to seat him.[1] He died on March 1, 1873, in Boyce, Louisiana,[1] which was named in his honor.[citation needed]
Steamship explosion
Boyce was among the survivors of the steamboat Lioness explosion that occurred on the Red River south of Natchitoches on May 19, 1833.[citation needed]
Family
Boyce married Irene Archinard with whom he had two children, Henry Archinard Boyce and Louise Frances Boyce.[citation needed] Irene died when she was 22 years old.[citation needed] Boyce subsequently married Octavia Mullanphy Delaney of St. Louis, with whom he had one child Mary Boyce.[citation needed] Powhatan Henry Clarke, West Point graduate and Medal of Honor recipient, is his grandson.[citation needed]
References
Sources