Henry Boyce

Henry Boyce
Portrait of Boyce (circa 1860)
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
In office May 9, 1849 – February 19, 1861
Nominated by	Zachary Taylor
Appointed by	Zachary Taylor (recess) Millard Fillmore (commission)
Preceded by	Seat established by 9 Stat. 401
Succeeded by	Seat abolished
Personal details
Born	Henry Boyce 1797 (1797) Derry, Kingdom of Ireland
Died	March 1, 1873(1873-03-01) (aged 75–76) Boyce, Louisiana
Relatives	Powhatan Henry Clarke
Education	read law

Henry Boyce (1797 – March 1, 1873) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.

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]

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]

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]}

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]}

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]}

• Henry Boyce at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.