Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841 - 1935)

Born 8 Mar 1841 in Boston, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Fanny Bowditch (Dixwell) Holmes — married 17 Jun 1872 in Massachusetts

Died 6 Mar 1935 at age 93 in Washington, District of Columbia, United States

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Biography

Oliver Holmes Jr. is Notable.

Justice Oliver Holmes Jr. served in the United States Civil War.
Enlisted: 1861
Mustered out: July 18, 1864
Side: USA
Regiment(s): 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry""

Holmes was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of the prominent writer and physician Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. and abolitionist Amelia Lee Jackson. Dr. Holmes was a leading figure in Boston intellectual and literary circles, Mrs. Holmes was connected to the leading families; Henry James Sr., Ralph Waldo Emerson and other Transcendentalists were family friends. Known as "Wendell" in his youth, Holmes, Henry James Jr. and William James became lifelong friends. Holmes accordingly grew up in an atmosphere of intellectual achievement, and early formed the ambition to be a man of letters like Emerson.

Holmes's early life was described in detail by Mark DeWolfe Howe, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes--The Shaping Years, 1841-1870 (1957).^[1]

Marriage

On June 17th 1872, he married a childhood friend, Fanny Bowditch Dixwell. ^[2] Their marriage lasted until her death on April 30, 1929. They never had children together. They did adopt and raise an orphaned cousin, Dorothy Upham. Fanny Holmes disliked Beacon Hill society, and devoted herself to embroidery. She was described as devoted, witty, wise, tactful, and perceptive.

Military

Holmes was just twenty years old, and a student at Harvard when the war broke out. He signed up for duty in the Boston unit of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, the New England Guards or Fourth Battalion. Assigned to garrison duty, the Fourth Battalion was mainly involved in drilling at Fort Independence in Boston Harbor.

Holmes also joined the 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, known as the Harvard Regiment since so many of its officers had come from the college. Recruitment to these new regiments was an important part of the early Union war effort, and especially so after the Union’s defeat at First Bull Run (Manassas) in July. So Holmes and Bartlett spent the summer of 1861 in Pittsfield, seeking suitable recruits. By the early Fall, having signed up some eleven men, they headed back to Boston, to Camp Massasoit, and then moved south, first to Camp Kalorama in Washington, then Camp Burnside close to the Capitol, and finally to Camp Benton in Maryland, located between Poolesville and Edwards Ferry on the banks of the Potomac.ESSENTIAL CIVIL WAR CURRICULUM

Toward the end of October, the 20th Massachusetts was mustered into action for the first time under the overall command of Colonel Edward Baker, senator for Oregon, who had some limited military experience gained during the Mexican War (1846-48). Holmes’ regiment was detailed, together with the 15th Massachusetts, the 42nd New York (Tammany) and the 71st Pennsylvania infantry regiments, to cross to the western bank of the Potomac, navigate the narrow strip of land—Harrisons Island—mid-river, scale the bluff—Ball’s Bluff—and engage the enemy in what was expected to be only a minor skirmish. ECWC

Injured in battle, Holmes had believed that he would die. He thought about taking the laudanum that his father, Dr. Holmes, had given him before he left for the front, but held off, “determined to wait until pain or sinking strength warned me of the end being near.” He was moved from Camp Benton to Pen Hallowell’s home in Philadelphia, where he spent a week recuperating before being brought back to Boston by his father. At home his “honorable wounds” proved to be a source of pride to his parents, even as they appreciated that their son had had “a most narrow escape from instant death!” He had been wounded badly and only returned to his regiment in late March the following year. ECWC

Oliver Wendell Holmes was noted for his Memorial Day Speech titled, "In Our Youth Our Hearts Were Touched With Fire".

Career

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (March 8, 1841 – March 6, 1935) was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932, and as Acting Chief Justice of the United States January–February 1930. Noted for his long service, his concise and pithy opinions and his deference to the decisions of elected legislatures, he is one of the most widely cited United States Supreme Court Justices in history, particularly for his "clear and present danger" opinion for a unanimous Court in the 1919 case of Schenck v. United States, and is one of the most influential American common law judges, honored during his lifetime in Great Britain as well as the United States. Holmes retired from the Court at the age of 90 years, 309 days, making him the oldest Justice in the Supreme Court's history. He also served as an Associate Justice and as Chief Justice on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and was Weld Professor of Law at the Harvard Law School, of which he was an alumnus.

Death

Holmes died of pneumonia in Washington, D.C. in 1935, two days short of his 94th birthday. In his will, Holmes left his residuary estate to the United States government (he had earlier said that "Taxes are what we pay for civilized society" in Compañia General de Tabacos de Filipinas vs. Collector of Internal Revenue, 275 U.S. 87, 100 (1927)

Sources

• [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Wendell_Holmes,_Jr.

• "Massachusetts Marriages, 1841-1915," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N437-LM6 : 17 February 2016), Oliver Wendell Holmes and Fanny Bowditch Dixwell, 17 Jun 1872; citing , Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, State Archives, Boston; FHL microfilm 1,433,030.

• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVM-MQ7N : 13 December 2015), Oliver Wendell Holmes, 1935; Burial, Arlington, Arlington, Virginia, United States of America, Arlington National Cemetery; citing record ID 494, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

• Find A Grave: Memorial #494

1. ↑ http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2813&context=ilj
2. ↑ https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N437-LM6