Lowell, John

Born June 17, 1743, in Newburyport, MA
Died May 6, 1802, in Roxbury, MA

Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Nominated by George Washington on September 24, 1789, to a new seat authorized by 1 Stat. 73. Confirmed by the Senate on September 26, 1789, and received commission on September 26, 1789. Service terminated on February 20, 1801, due to appointment to another judicial position.

Chief Judge, U.S. Circuit Court for the First Circuit
Nominated by John Adams on February 18, 1801, to a new seat authorized by 2 Stat. 89. Confirmed by the Senate on February 20, 1801, and received commission on February 20, 1801. Served as chief judge, 1801-1802. Service terminated on May 6, 1802, due to death.

Education:
Harvard College, 1760
Read law, 1763

Professional Career:

Private practice, Newburyport, Massachusetts, 1763-1771, 1773, 1775
Selectman, Newburyport, Massachusetts, 1771-1772, 1774, 1776
Massachusetts militia major, 1776
Private practice, Boston, Massachusetts, 1777-1778, 1779-1781
State representative, Massachusetts, 1778, 1780-1782
Delegate, Massachusetts constitutional convention, 1780
Delegate, Continental Congress, 1782-1783
Judge, Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture, 1783-
Member, commission on the boundary between Massachusetts and New York, 1784
State senator, Massachusetts, 1784-1785

Manuscript Collections

Harvard University
Houghton Library
Cambridge, Mass.
Lowell family papers, 1629-1894.
ca. 900 items; finding aid; collection includes John Lowell's correspondence and other papers.

Huntington Library
San Marino, Cal.
Spence and Lowell family papers, 1740-1958.
321 items; finding aid; correspondence.

Portraits

Judge John Lowell; by Charles Willson Peale; Miniature watercolor on ivory with hair (verso); ca. 1782; A. Shuman Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass., ref. #: 51.9. Reference image courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts. Further reproduction prohibited without permission of the repository.

Additional images:

Judge John Lowell (1743-1802), copy after John Johnston?; artist unknown; Oil on canvas; n.d.; Gift of the Estate of Abbott Lawrence Lowell, 1943, Harvard University Portrait Collection, Cambridge, Mass., item identifier: H513 / record identifier HUAM304918.

Judge John Lowell (1743-1802); attributed to John Johnston; Oil on canvas; n.d.; Gift of the Estate of Ralph Lowell, 1978, Harvard University Portrait Collection, Cambridge, Mass., item identifier: H647 / record identifier HUAM304992.

Judge John Lowell (1743-1802); by Edward Savage; Oil on canvas; ca. 1790-1800; Bequest of Herbert L. Pratt (Class of 1895), Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, Mass., ref. # AC1945.65.

Federal Judicial Center

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Lowell, John