Alfred Conkling Coxe Sr.

For his son, see Alfred Conkling Coxe Jr.

Alfred Conkling Coxe Sr. (May 20, 1847 – April 15, 1923) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and of the United States Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York.

Alfred Conkling Coxe Sr.
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
In office June 3, 1902 – July 31, 1917
Appointed by	Theodore Roosevelt
Preceded by	Seat established by 32 Stat. 106
Succeeded by	Martin Thomas Manton
Judge of the United States Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit
In office June 3, 1902 – December 31, 1911
Appointed by	Theodore Roosevelt
Preceded by	Seat established by 32 Stat. 106
Succeeded by	Seat abolished
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York
In office May 4, 1882 – June 14, 1902
Appointed by	Chester A. Arthur
Preceded by	William James Wallace
Succeeded by	George W. Ray
Personal details
Born	Alfred Conkling Coxe (1847-05-20)May 20, 1847 Auburn, New York
Died	April 15, 1923(1923-04-15) (aged 75) Hartford, Connecticut
Relations	Samuel Hanson Cox (grandfather) Arthur Cleveland Coxe (uncle) Alfred Conkling (grandfather) Roscoe Conkling (uncle)
Children	5, including Alfred Jr.
Parent(s)	Samuel Hanson Coxe Eliza Conkling Coxe

Early life

Coxe was born on May 20, 1847, in Auburn, New York. He was a son of the Rev. Samuel Hanson Coxe (1819–1895) and Eliza (née Conkling) Coxe (1822–1868).^[1]

His paternal grandfather was the abolitionist minister Samuel Hanson Cox and his uncle was Arthur Cleveland Coxe, the Episcopal Bishop of Western New York. His maternal grandfather was Alfred Conkling, who served as a U.S. Representative from upstate New York and a judge in the Northern District. He was also a nephew of Roscoe Conkling, who was a U.S. Congressman and Senator from New York.^[2]

Coxe was educated at the Oxford Academy, the Utica Academy before attending Hamilton College. He later received an LL.D. from Columbia University.^[1]

Career

Coxe read law in 1868. He entered private practice in Utica, New York from 1868 to 1882. In 1870 he entered the firm of Conkling, Holmes & Coxe of Utica with his uncle, Roscoe Conkling who was then a U.S. Senator, together with former Judge and U.S. Representative Sidney T. Holmes. He continued in private practice to 1882. He was manager of the Utica State Hospital from 1880 to 1882.^[3]

Federal judicial service

On April 24, 1882 Coxe was nominated by President Chester A. Arthur to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York vacated by Judge William J. Wallace. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 4, 1882, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on June 14, 1902, due to his elevation to the Second Circuit.^[3]

Coxe was nominated by President Theodore Roosevelt on May 29, 1902, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the United States Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit, to a new joint seat authorized by 32 Stat. 106.^[4] He was confirmed by the Senate on June 3, 1902, and received his commission the same day. On December 31, 1911, the Circuit Courts were abolished and he thereafter served only on the Court of Appeals. His service terminated on July 31, 1917, due to his retirement.^[3]

Personal life

Coxe was married to Maryette Andrews Doolittle (1852–1947), a daughter of Charles Hutchins Doolittle and Julia Tyler (née Shearman) Doolittle.^[5] Together, they were the parents of five children:

• Gertrude Doolittle Coxe (b. 1878), who married John Trumbull Robinson, a son of Henry Robinson of Hartford, Connecticut, in 1905.^[6]
• Alfred Conkling Coxe Jr. (1884–1970), who also became a federal judge, serving on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York from 1929 to 1957; he married Helen Emery, a daughter of Woodward Emery of Boston, Massachusetts, in 1913.^[7]
• Isabel Elise Coxe (b. 1883), who married Louis Seabury Weeks, in 1913.^[8]
• Charles Shearman Coxe (1886–1955), who married Helen Osborn, daughter of the Rev. Louis Shreve Osborn of Salem, Massachusetts in 1913.
• Howard Cleveland Coxe (1897–1940), was a newspaperman and novelist.^[9]

Coxe died on April 15, 1923, in Hartford, Connecticut.^[3] His widow died in 1947.^[5]

Descendants

Through his son Charles, he was a grandfather of Louis Osborne Coxe (1918–1993), the poet and playwright best known for writing the Broadway version of Billy Budd.^[10]

See also

• List of United States federal judges by longevity of service

References

1. Hamersly, Lewis Randolph; Leonard, John W.; Mohr, William Frederick; Knox, Herman Warren; Holmes, Frank R.; Downs, Winfield Scott (1907). Who's who in New York City and State. L.R. Hamersly Company. pp. 344–345. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
2. "ROSCOE CONKLING'S WILL". The New York Times. 10 May 1888. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
3. Alfred Conkling Coxe Sr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
4. "Judge Alfred C. Coxe Chosen". The New York Times. 24 April 1902. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
5. "MRS. ALFRED C. COXE; Widow of Federal Judge Who Served Here 35 Years". The New York Times. 14 April 1947. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
6. "About the Office". www.justice.gov. 2015-03-18. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
7. Times, The New York (22 December 1957). "ALFRED C. COXE, 77, EX-JUDGE, IS DEAD; Member of Federal Court 21 Years Presided at Trials of Browder and Vause". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
8. "ISABEL ELSIE COXE WEDS LOUIS WEEKS; Daughter of Judge and Mrs. Alfred Conkling Coxe Married at Home. BRIDE HAS ONE ATTENDANT Bridegroom Has Several Ushers -- Mr. and Mrs. Weeks to Sail for Rotterdam on Tuesday". The New York Times. 18 April 1913. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
9. "HOWARD C. COXE; Author, an Ex-Newspaper Man, a Son and Brother of Jurists". The New York Times. 25 November 1940. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
10. Howe, Marvine (28 May 1993). "Louis O. Coxe, 75; His Poems Reflected New England Roots". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 April 2022.

Sources

• Alfred Conkling Coxe Sr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Legal offices
Preceded by William James Wallace	Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York 1882–1902	Succeeded by George W. Ray
Preceded by Seat established by 32 Stat. 106	Judge of the United States Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit 1902–1911	Seat abolished
	Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit 1902–1917	Succeeded by Martin Thomas Manton