Charles Bowen Howry

Howry was born on May 14, 1844 in Oxford, Mississippi,[1] the son of James M. Howry and Narcissa (Bowen) Howry.[2] He received his early education in Oxford and began studies at the University of Mississippi, but left college to serve in the American Civil War.[3] Howry joined the Confederate States Army's 29th Mississippi Infantry Regiment as a private.[4] He later received a commission, and attained the rank of captain.[4] Howry's combat experience included the Battles of Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Resaca, New Hope Church, Peachtree Creek, Atlanta, Jonesborough, and Franklin.[1] Howry was wounded at the Battle of Franklin, and remained in the military until the end of the war.[2] After the war, Howry was a longtime member of the United Confederate Veterans.[5] He served in several leadership roles, including commander of the Army of Northern Virginia department with the rank of lieutenant general.[5]

After the war, Howry studied law with Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II, and then returned to the University of Mississippi School of Law, from which he received a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1867.[4] Howry was admitted to the bar later that year, and entered private practice in Oxford.[4] He was a trustee of the university from 1882 to 1894,[2][4] and in 1896 the university awarded him the honorary degree of LL.D.[2] In addition to practicing in Oxford, Howry was active in politics as a Democrat, and was elected to a term as prosecuting attorney of Lafayette County, Mississippi in 1869.[4] He was a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1880 to 1884.[4] From 1885 to 1889, Howry was the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi.[2][4] Howry was a longtime member of the Mississippi Democratic Party's executive committee,[4] and he was a member of the Democratic National Committee from 1891 to 1896.[1] From 1891 to 1892, Howry was a vice president of the American Bar Association.[4] He was a United States Assistant Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. from 1893 to 1897.[4]

Howry's former residence in Washington, D.C.

Howry received a recess appointment from President Grover Cleveland on November 23, 1896, to a Judge seat on the Court of Claims (later the United States Court of Claims) vacated by Judge Charles C. Nott.[6][7] He was nominated to the same position by President Cleveland on December 8, 1896.[7] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 28, 1897, and received his commission the same day.[7] His service terminated on March 6, 1915, due to his resignation.[7] He was succeeded by Judge George Eddy Downey.[8][7]

Following his resignation from the federal bench, Howry resumed private practice in Washington, D.C. Additionally, he was Chairman of the federal railroad Board of Arbitration in 1916,[10] and special counsel to the United States Department of Labor from 1918 to 1919.[11]

Howry died in Washington, D.C. of heart failure on July 20, 1928.[12][7] He was buried at Oxford Memorial Cemetery.[12]

In 1869, Howry married Edmonia Beverley Carter of Virginia.[8] She died in 1879, and they were the parents of two sons, Lucien Beverley Howry and Willard Carter Lowry, and a daughter, Maude.[13] Howry remarried in 1880, becoming the husband of Harriet (Hallie) Holt of Columbus, Mississippi.[8] They had four children -- Charles Jr., Hallie, Elizabeth, and Mary.[13] The second Mrs. Howry died in 1898.[13] In 1900, Howry married Sallie Bird Smith (d. 1942), the widow of Buckingham Smith.[8]

• Charles Bowen Howry at the Federal Judicial Center

• Bennett, Marion Tinsley (1976). The United States Court of Claims: A History; Part I: The Judges, 1855–1976. Washington, D.C.: Committee on the Bicentennial of Independence and the Constitution of the Judicial Conference of the United States.