Judge Paul F. Dowell

Paul Dowell was born in Edinburg, Indiana on June 4, 1891, the son of a Pennsylvania Railroad superintendent who also served on the Madison City Council.  Judge Dowell received his early schooling in Columbus and Madison before attending Hanover College.  After graduating from Hanover in 1913 with a Bachelor of Arts, he obtained an LL.B. from the University of Minnesota, specializing in international law. 

Following law school, he wrote editorials for the Pioneer Press newspaper in Minnesota before returning to Madison to practice law.  He was Prosecuting Attorney for Jefferson and Switzerland counties from 1929 to 1932 and Madison City Attorney from 1935 to 1939.   He also served on the Madison School Board.  He married Anne Harper on February 1, 1922.

In November 1942, he was elected as a Republican to the Indiana Appellate Court, taking his seat on January 1, 1943.  He was Chief Judge in the May 1944 term.  He served for two years and 10 months before dying suddenly in office.

He was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity, the Masonic Lodge, Order of the Eastern Star, the Shrine, Gattling Gun Club, the Elks and Moose lodges, the Knights of Pythias, the Columbia Club in Indianapolis, and the Indianapolis Press Club.  He was also a member of the Methodist Church.

After a brief illness, he died on October 18, 1945 at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.  He was 54 years old.