Arthur I. Boreman (1823-1896) Papers, 1861-1895, undated A&M 0104

Arthur I. Boreman (1823-1896) Papers, 1861-1895, undated A&M 0104


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West Virginia and Regional History Center

1549 University Ave.
P.O. Box 6069
Morgantown, WV 26506-6069
Business Number: 304-293-3536
wvrhcref@westvirginia.libanswers.com
URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu

Staff of the West Virginia & Regional History Center

Repository
West Virginia and Regional History Center
Identification
A&M 0104
Title
Arthur I. Boreman (1823-1896) Papers 1861-1895, undated
URL:
https://archives.lib.wvu.edu/ark:/99999/196500
Quantity
0.25 Linear Feet, Summary: 2 1/2 in. (1 document case)
Creator
Boreman, Arthur Inghram, 1823-1896
Location
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Language
English
Abstract
Personal and business papers of lawyer, U.S. Senator, circuit court judge, and first Governor of West Virginia, Arthur I. Boreman. See scope and content note for more details.

Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Conditions Governing Access

No special access restriction applies.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Arthur I. Boreman (1823-1896) Papers, A&M 0104, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.


Biographical / Historical

Arthur Ingraham Boreman (1823-1896) was born in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, then moved with his family to Virginia where he was educated and read law with his older brother William I. Boreman. He was admitted to the Bar in 1843, and soon after located in Parkersburg, (West) Virginia, where he lived for the rest of his life. He was elected to the Virginia Legislature from Wood County in 1855 and served until 1861. Boreman began his political career as a member of the Whig Party, but he became a Republican when that party organized and remained a Republican until his death.

In 1861, after Virginia voted to secede from the Union, Boreman presided over the Wheeling Convention that organized the Restored Government of Virginia. In October of that year, he was elected Judge of the Parkersburg district Circuit Court and remained in that office until 1863, when he was elected Governor of the new State of West Virginia. He was reelected to that office twice, serving as Governor from 1863 to 1869. On November 30, 1864, he married Laurane Tanner Bullock (1830-1908).

In 1869, Boreman resigned his office as Governor to run for the U.S. Senate. He was elected and served for one term, till 1875. In 1875, he retired from government duties and reestablished a successful law practice in Parkersburg. Without his solicitation, however, he was once again elected Judge of the Parkersburg district he had served from 1861 to 1863, serving again from 1889-1896. He remained in that position until his death.

Scope and Contents

Personal and business papers of lawyer, U.S. Senator, circuit court judge, and first Governor of West Virginia, Arthur I. Boreman. Includes correspondence and legal and financial documents. Correspondence includes letters to and from Arthur's brother Jacob Boreman, as well as Francis H. Pierpont and George W. Summers. There are also letters and other documents relating to the taking and exchanging of hostages by the West Virginia government during the Civil War.

Related Material

104, 639

Subjects and Indexing Terms

  • Barbour County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Boreman, Arthur Inghram, 1823-1896
  • Boreman, Jacob S. (Jacob Smith), 1831-1913
  • Braxton County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Cabell County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Debar, Joseph Hubert Diss.
  • Debts, Public -- Virginia
  • Debts, Public -- West Virginia
  • Doddridge County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Gilmer County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Greenbrier County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Hampshire County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Hardy County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Johnson, Henry J.
  • Judges -- West Virginia
  • Ku Klux Klan (1915- )
  • Lang, Theodore F.
  • Mason County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Missouri
  • Morgan County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Nicholas County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Pendleton County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Pierpont, Francis Harrison, 1814-1899
  • Politicians
  • Politicians -- United States
  • Politics and government.
  • Putnam County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Randolph County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- )
  • Rucker, William P.
  • Secession - Virginia.
  • Society of the Army of West Virginia
  • Strother, David Hunter, 1816-1888
  • Summers, George W. (George William), 1804-1868
  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Hostages
  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Prisoners and prisons
  • United States -- Politics and government
  • Virginia - Claims vs. West Virginia.
  • Virginia -- Politics and government -- 1861-1865
  • Voting - United States -- History -- 19th century
  • West Virginia - Governors.
  • West Virginia - Politics and government - 1861-1865.
  • West Virginia - Politics and government.
  • West Virginia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

Significant Persons Associated With the Collection

  • Boreman, Arthur Inghram, 1823-1896
  • Boreman, Jacob S. (Jacob Smith), 1831-1913
  • Debar, Joseph Hubert Diss.
  • Johnson, Henry J.
  • Lang, Theodore F.
  • Pierpont, Francis Harrison, 1814-1899
  • Rucker, William P.
  • Strother, David Hunter, 1816-1888
  • Summers, George W. (George William), 1804-1868

Significant Places Associated With the Collection

  • Barbour County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Braxton County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Cabell County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Doddridge County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Gilmer County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Greenbrier County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Hampshire County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Hardy County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Mason County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Missouri
  • Morgan County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Nicholas County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Pendleton County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Putnam County (W. Va.) -- History
  • Randolph County (W. Va.) -- History
  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Hostages
  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Prisoners and prisons
  • United States -- Politics and government
  • Virginia - Claims vs. West Virginia.
  • Virginia -- Politics and government -- 1861-1865
  • West Virginia - Politics and government - 1861-1865.
  • West Virginia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

Container List

Series 1. Correspondence, Box 1, Folders 1-4
1861-1895, undated
Scope and Contents

The correspondence series includes letters from Arthur Boreman to his brother Jacob in Kansas City, Missouri, which are generally personal but which also include numerous statements regarding political events in West Virginia; a letter from Boreman to George Summers, a prominent politician of western Virginia; and letters between Boreman and Francis H. Pierpont, governor of the Restored Government of Virginia during the Civil War. These letters are entirely political and discuss important events in West Virginia's history.

  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 1
    A.I. Boreman Papers - 1946 accession (4 items); Autograph letter signed. From F.H. Pierpont, Richmond, to Governor Boreman, Wheeling. Marked "Private Again" at top of sheet; Pierpont advises Boreman to have legislation passed establishing a sinking fund to pay West Virginia's share of the Virginia state debt; advises him further to pay off West Virginia's share by buying Virginia bonds at depreciated values; comments on the deteriorating situation in Virginia's state government. With envelope
    19 December 1866
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 1
    A.I. Boreman Papers - 1946 accession (cont.); Typescript letter signed. From Henry J. Johnson, Corresponding Secretary of the Society of the Army of West Virginia, Cumberland, MD, to Mrs. Pierpont
    23 September 1884
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 1
    A.I. Boreman Papers - 1946 accession (cont.); Envelope (War Department stationery) addressed to Boreman (This envelope is not meant to be in this folder--it probably belongs with one of the hostage letters in Series 3)
    27 July [no year]
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 1
    A.I. Boreman Papers - 1946 accession (cont.); Autograph letter signed. From A.I. Boreman, Parkersburg, West Virginia, to Colonel T.F. Lang, Baltimore. Acknowledges receipt of a copy of "Loyal West Virginia" and makes corrections on one part of the history of the formation of the state, that of the exact date of Boreman's inauguration and the circumstances and date of Governor Pierpont's removal of the Restored Government of Virginia to Alexandria
    3 October 1895
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 2
    A.I. Boreman - F.H. Pierpont Letters (2 items); Autograph letter signed. From F.H. Pierpont, Alexandria, Virginia, to Governor Boreman, [Wheeling]. Discusses return of a man named Thompson (possibly a hostage taken for return of Union men captured in raids) to Virginia - Pierpont wants him returned to spare himself further expense and anxiety in a suit brought against him by Thompson; discusses weakness in Lincoln's administration of the war and of General Grant's command; mentions his financial difficulties as a result of three years dedication to the Restored Government of Virginia
    18 May 1864
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 2
    A.I. Boreman - F.H. Pierpont Letters (cont.); Autograph letter signed. From F.H. Pierpont, Fairmont, West Virginia, to A.I. Boreman, [Washington]. Discusses the case of a claim for an unpaid voucher for horse care during the war; advises Boreman to vote against the treaty which includes the warship "Alabama" claims by the British; voices his opinions on General Grant's presidential administration - finds Grant's administration the weakest the U.S. government has ever seen and lists his reasons for believing that; fears Grant's enforcement act will ruin the party
    18 May 1872
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 3
    A.I. Boreman - Jacob Boreman Letters (13 items); Autograph letter signed. From A.I. Boreman, Wheeling, to Jacob Boreman, [Kansas City, Missouri]. Discusses the pros and cons of A.I.'s upcoming marriage
    11 November 1864
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 3
    A.I. Boreman - Jacob Boreman Letters (cont.); Autograph letter signed. From A.I. Boreman, Wheeling, to Jacob Boreman, Kansas City, Missouri. More on A.I.'s marriage; discusses prospects of outlawing slavery in Maryland, West Virginia, and Missouri; hopes that other states will follow suit and that slavery will soon be gone forever from the United States. With envelope
    15 December 1864
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 3
    A.I. Boreman - Jacob Boreman Letters (cont.); Autograph letter signed. From A.I. Boreman, Wheeling, to Jacob Boreman, [Kansas City, Missouri]. Congratulates Jacob on his appointment to judiciary; asks to be sent a copy of the new Missouri constitution; discusses the difficulties of a political life, especially with regard to its financial insecurity; asks about investment opportunities in Missouri; asks about the possibilities of selling land warrants in Kansas City for the endowment of a West Virginia Agricultural College; discusses the difficult situation of a returning rebel in West Virginia
    12 May 1865
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 3
    A.I. Boreman - Jacob Boreman Letters (cont.); Autograph letter signed. From A.I. Boreman, Wheeling, to Jacob Boreman, [Kansas City, Missouri]. Marked Private at head of letter; discusses the fight for the adoption of an amendment to the West Virginia constitution disfranchising rebels and making them ineligible for public office; declares his amazement at the extent of opposition to it and claims nearly all the wealth of the state, and a large part of the ability are against it; feels confident it will pass, however; advises Jacob on his upcoming marriage
    14 May 1866
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 3
    A.I. Boreman - Jacob Boreman Letters (cont.); Autograph letter signed. From A.I. Boreman, Wheeling, to Jacob Boreman, [Kansas City, Missouri]. Discusses A.I.'s expectations that he will be renominated for governor of West Virginia; mentions the burning of his storehouse in Parkersburg with the accompanying loss of three or four thousand dollars; hopes Missouri will be carried by the "Radicals"; has fears for Maryland in the election and is concerned with the influence of the Blairs of Maryland on the President; mentions his lobbying effort with Senator Van Winkle to have a Kansas railway bill passed; notes the passage of the amendment to disfranchise rebels by a substantial majority; warns Jacob of potential unpleasantness if he visits Parkersburg because of the rebel politics of some family friends
    26 June 1866
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 3
    A.I. Boreman - Jacob Boreman Letters (cont.); Autograph letter signed. From A.I. Boreman, Wheeling, to Jacob Boreman, [Kansas City, Missouri]
    15 September 1866
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 3
    A.I. Boreman - Jacob Boreman Letters (cont.); Autograph letter signed. From A.I. Boreman, Wheeling, to Jacob Boreman, [Kansas City, Missouri]. Discusses party politics in West Virginia and new federal financial policies, including A.I.'s disapproval of W. McCulloch's policy of contracting the currency
    25 November 1867
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 3
    A.I. Boreman - Jacob Boreman Letters (cont.); Autograph letter signed. From A.I. Boreman, Washington, to Jacob Boreman, [Kansas City, Missouri]. Advises brother on his interest in the newspaper business; discusses difficulties presented by the rebel suffrage question at the new state constitutional convention; presents his opinions of Senator Schurz of Missouri, especially of his positions on reconstruction, and his tendency to philosophize rather than be practical; comments on the healthy growth and prosperity of Kansas City; discusses the financial success of their brothers and wishes the one worst off would go to Kansas where he could make a good living for his family; describes the successes of his life with satisfaction; asks Jacob to destroy the letter
    29 May 1870
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 3
    A.I. Boreman - Jacob Boreman Letters (cont.); Autograph letter signed. From A.I. Boreman, Washington, to Jacob Boreman, [Kansas City, Missouri]. Describes progress in securing a political appointment for Jacob; advises Jacob to pursue other business and not count on political appointments; cannot understand how he can be having financial difficulties in such a prosperous country [the West]; laments his own ill health and financial insecurities
    8 May 1872
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 3
    A.I. Boreman - Jacob Boreman Letters (cont.); Autograph letter signed. From A.I. Boreman, Washington, to Jacob Boreman, [Kansas City, Missouri]. Asks Jacob to send no more recommendations - he has enough to show the President that Missouri Republicans endorse his application for a judicial appointment; he will receive the next vacancy but A.I. cannot guarantee when that will be
    20 May 1872
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 3
    A.I. Boreman - Jacob Boreman Letters (cont.); Autograph letter signed. From A.I. Boreman, Washington, to Jacob Boreman, [Kansas City, Missouri]. Advises Jacob not to count on an early appointment; expects he will receive the first available, but cannot tell when that will be; sends copies of Congressional Globes for Jacob's information
    31 May 1872
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 3
    A.I. Boreman - Jacob Boreman Letters (cont.); Autograph letter signed. From A.I. Boreman, Parkersburg, WV, to Jacob Boreman, [Kansas City, Missouri]. Discusses financial affairs of their brother Thomas; A. I. mentions he is checking on the Colorado judgeship for Jacob; notes Republican victory in West Virginia for Grant and Wilson; wonders whether Democratic Party is in as great a disarray as seems - if so the Republicans may hold the state, but fears the Democrats' "powers of cohesion and recuperation" may win out; regrets the Republicans did not carry Missouri; fears Frank Blair will be reelected to the Senate from Missouri; wonders whether they might do something to prevent that, but reconsiders that at least Blair will only damage his own party as a Senator and is really better in that respect than other Democrats might be
    20 November 1872
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 3
    A.I. Boreman - Jacob Boreman Letters (cont.); Autograph letter signed. From A.I. Boreman, Parkersburg, WV, to Jacob Boreman, [no location]. Mentions his hard work in court this term; discusses the work Jacob has been doing on their genealogy; mentions his hope that he may write some family history; asks Jacob about a conflict over the seating of delegates at Utah's constitutional convention; is concerned about which party, Republican or Democrat, or even Populist of Silver men, will represent Utah in the Senate; hopes it will fall to the Republicans, but guesses the Democrats expect to gain control or the Democratic U.S. Congress would not have admitted the state; gives his opinion of Stephen B. Elkins, rating him a "good and useful citizen" after describing the business activities of Elkins in West Virginia; expresses concern that the Republicans may lose control of West Virginia; notes the importance the silver question will have in the 1896 Presidential campaign
    April 1895
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 4
    A.I. Boreman - Other Correspondence (4 items); Autograph letter signed. From A.I. Boreman, Richmond, to George W. Summers, [no location]. Letter marked "private & confidential"; expresses Boreman's deep concern about the crisis looming in the country at the time; mentions the upcoming Virginia state convention at which the secession question will be considered; asks Summers to become a candidate for delegate to the convention; Boreman expresses his fear that if the U.S. Government fails, the best government in the world will have failed and the only chance for real freedom will be gone; the future will be "impenetrable gloom"
    15 January 1861
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 4
    A.I. Boreman - Other Correspondence (cont.); Autograph letter signed. From William P. Rucker, Marietta, Ohio, to Governor A.I. Boreman, [Wheeling]. Thanks Boreman for getting him out of rebel prison, where he had been taken after a raid; offers his services to lead a raid to disrupt rebel railroads and telegraph facilities in southwestern Virginia, release Union prisoners in Lynchburg and Danville, and destroy Confederate specie and supplies stored there; wants sufficient protection for himself and the men he would need and a commission with which to provide for his family; asks Governor Boreman's influence with military planners in Washington in getting his plan accepted
    27 November 1863
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 4
    A.I. Boreman - Other Correspondence (cont.); Autograph letter signed. From three Convention Committee members, Wheeling, WV, to Honorable A.I. Boreman, Wheeling, WV. Officially informs Boreman that he has been nominated by the convention for the office of Governor of West Virginia
    6 August 1864
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 4
    A.I. Boreman - Other Correspondence (cont.); Autograph letter signed. From R.G. Bass, Wheeling, to Colonel H.W. Crothers, Wellsburg, WV. Regarding an outstanding order involving Governor Boreman
    16 June 1869
Series 2. Papers, Box 1, Folders 5-7
1868-1888
Scope and Contents

This series includes miscellaneous papers, financial and business papers, and Ku Klux Klan letter and clippings. The financial and business papers relate to Boreman's property and business in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and are of a routine nature. The KKK items include a photostat letter from the Nicholas County, West Virginia, KKK, threatening Governor Boreman (1868), and photostat clippings regarding KKK threats to other local public figures (1868).

  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 5
    A.I. Boreman - Miscellaneous Papers (contains Boreman's commission as Judge of the 5th Judicial Circuit of West Virginia with original envelope [1888], and a manuscript copy of Boreman's address at a memorial for President U.S. Grant [1885]; 3 items)
    1885-1888
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 6
    A.I. Boreman - Personal Business and Financial Papers (includes a bank book, checks, invoices, a deed, a promissory note to Boreman from J.H. Diss Debar [5 March 1869], and other items; 25 items)
    1869-1888
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 7
    Ku Klux Klan Letter and Clippings (includes a photostat of a letter from the Nicholas County, West Virginia, Ku Klux Klan, threatening Governor Boreman's life if he refuses to remove the present Board of Voter Registration for that county, which was denying the franchise to former Rebels; and copies of several clippings regarding Ku Klux Klan threats to other local public figures; 2 items; missing)
    1868
Series 3. Hostage Letters, Box 1, Folders 8-21
1863-1865
Scope and Contents

This series includes documents and correspondence relating to the taking and exchanging of hostages by the West Virginia government during the Civil War. The hostages were taken in retaliation for captives taken by Confederate guerrillas during raids on Union-held territory in the state. These papers include testimony from private citizens regarding the Confederate sympathies of their neighbors; warrants for the arrest as hostages of citizens with Confederate sympathies; notes to be carried by hostages to Richmond, Virginia, requesting the release of Union captives; and letters from friends of hostages asking for their release. One of this last group is a letter to Boreman from David Hunter Strother.

  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 8
    Barbour County (10 items)
    1863
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 9
    Braxton County (includes originals and one typescript copy; 12 items)
    1863-1864
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 10
    Cabell and Wayne Counties (3 items)
    1864, undated
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 11
    Doddridge County (15 items)
    1863-1864, undated
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 12
    Gilmer County (8 items)
    1863-1864
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 13
    Greenbrier County (1 item)
    1864
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 14
    Hardy and Hampshire Counties (10 items)
    1863-1864, undated
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 15
    Mason and Putnam Counties (2 items)
    1864
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 16
    Morgan County (16 items)
    1864, undated
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 17
    Morgan County - D.H. Strother Letter (original and photostat copy; 2 items)
    1864
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 18
    Nicholas County (2 items)
    1863
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 19
    Pendleton County (3 items)
    1863
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 20
    Randolph County (8 items)
    1863-1864, undated
  • Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 21
    Miscellaneous (1 item)
    1865