Henry Clay McDowell, Jr. (August 24, 1861 - October 8, 1933) was a Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 lawyer and federal judge

United States federal judge

In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....

. He was the son of Henry Clay McDowell

Henry Clay McDowell

Henry Clay McDowell was an American businessman and noted Standardbred horse breeder.In 1857, he married Anne Smith Clay, daughter of Henry Clay, Jr. with whom he had seven children...

, proprietor of Ashland Farm and one of Kentucky's most notable citizens, and Anne Clay, daughter of Henry Clay, Jr.

Henry Clay, Jr.

Henry Clay, Jr. was an American politician and soldier from Kentucky, the third son of US Senator and Congressman Henry Clay and Lucretia Hart Clay. He was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1835 and served one term...

 One of seven children, he was a brother of social reformer, Madeline McDowell Breckinridge

Madeline McDowell Breckinridge

Madeline McDowell Breckinridge was a leader of the women’s suffrage movement and one of Kentucky's leading Progressive reformers. She was also known as Madge Breckinridge and Mrs...

 and of Thomas Clay McDowell

Thomas Clay McDowell

Thomas Clay McDowell was an American businessman, Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder, and trainer. He was a great-grandson of Henry Clay, Sr.-Early life and education:...

, renowned Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 racehorse owner/breeder and trainer who won the 1902 Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...

.

Born in Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

, McDowell graduated from Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

 in 1881, and from the University of Virginia School of Law

University of Virginia School of Law

The University of Virginia School of Law was founded in Charlottesville in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as one of the original subjects taught at his "academical village," the University of Virginia. The law school maintains an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students in its initial degree program...

 in 1887.