Henry Percy Moulton was an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts from March 20, 1901 until his death on December 4, 1905.

Early life

Moulton was born and raised in Beverly, Massachusetts

Beverly, Massachusetts

Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 39,343 on , which differs by no more than several hundred from the 39,862 obtained in the 2000 census. A resort, residential and manufacturing community on the North Shore, Beverly includes Beverly Farms and Prides...

. He was a member of Beverly High School

Beverly High School

Beverly High School is a four-year public high school in Beverly, Massachusetts. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,300 students and is accredited by the Massachusetts Department of Education and by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges....

's first graduating class. He graduated from Amherst College

Amherst College

Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...

 in 1865 and spent the next three years studying law.

Legal career

Moulton was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1868 and began a practice in Essex County, Massachusetts

Essex County, Massachusetts

-National protected areas:* Parker River National Wildlife Refuge* Salem Maritime National Historic Site* Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site* Thacher Island National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:...

. In 1870 he was elected to the Massachusetts General Court

Massachusetts General Court

The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...

. After one year Moulton chose to leave the state legislature and focus full-time on his law practice.

On December 31, 1882 he was appointed by Governor John Davis Long

John Davis Long

John Davis Long was a U.S. political figure. He served as the 32nd Governor of Massachusetts between 1880 and 1883. He later served as the Secretary of the Navy from 1897 to 1902....

 to serve as Essex County District Attorney. He finished the three years remaining on the unexpired term of Edgar J. Sherman

Edgar J. Sherman

Edgar Jay Sherman was an American attorney who served as District Attorney of the Eastern District of Massachusetts, as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Attorney General of Massachusetts and as an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court.-Early life:Sherman was...

, who had been elected Massachusetts Attorney General

Massachusetts Attorney General

The Massachusetts Attorney General is an elected executive officer of the Massachusetts Government. The office of Attorney-General was abolished in 1843 and re-established in 1849. The current Attorney General is Martha Coakley....

, but did not run for a full term.

Moulton was appointed United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts on March 20, 1901 by President William McKinley

William McKinley

William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...

. In 1903, at the direction of President Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...

, he appointed William H. Lewis

William H. Lewis

William Henry Lewis was an African-American pioneer in athletics, politics and law. He was the first African-American college football player, the first in the sport to be selected as an All-American, the first to be appointed as an Assistant United States Attorney, the first to become a member...

 to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney, making Lewis the first African-American to hold such a position.

Death

Moulton died unexpectedly on the morning of December 4, 1905 at his home in Salem, Massachusetts

Salem, Massachusetts

Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...

. The cause of death was suspected to be Heart failure.

Personal life

Moulton was married to Harriet E. Stocker of Beverly. They had four children: Edith Foster Moulton, Susy Pressey Moulton, Henry Philip Moulton, and John Richard Moulton.