George Robert Latham (1832-1917), Civil War and West Virginia Statehood Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
West Virginia and Regional History Center
West Virginia & Regional History Center
West Virginia University
P.O. Box 6069
1549 University Avenue
Morgantown, WV 26506
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Lori Hostuttler
Phone: (304) 293-3536
Restrictions:

No special access restriction applies.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], George Robert Latham (1832-1917), Civil War and West Virginia Statehood Papers, A&M 0066, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
0.2 Linear Feet Summary: 2 in. (3 folders)
Creator:
Latham, George Robert, 1832-1917.
Abstract:
Correspondence, speeches and essays, and other papers pertaining to the military and diplomatic service of Colonel George R. Latham (1832-1917), who was a delegate to the Wheeling Convention in 1861, colonel of the 2nd West Virginia Infantry during the Civil War, a member of Congress from 1865 to 1867, and the United States consul in Australia from 1867 to 1870. Materials from the late 1860s and early 1870s relate to the consulate in Melbourne. These include shares of the Fiji Adventure of the Polynesia Company (1869) and papers regarding the Civil War soldier pension of Arthur Sharpley (1872), who appointed Latham as his attorney. Materials from 1914 to 1917 relate to Latham's pursuit of historical information about West Virginia statehood, the Civil War, and various Constitutional matters. It appears that Latham was gathering this information in preparation for writing his reminiscences. Also included are speeches and essays, most of which were probably written by Latham, on U.S. public lands, the constitutionality of West Virginia statehood, and Memorial Day and the Civil War.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], George Robert Latham (1832-1917), Civil War and West Virginia Statehood Papers, A&M 0066, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Background

Biographical / historical:

George Robert Latham was born near Haymarket, Virginia, in 1832. He practiced law in Grafton, Virginia (now West Virginia), in the late 1850s. Latham served as a delegate to the Wheeling convention for the formation of West Virginia and was colonel of the 2nd West Virginia Infantry (which became the 5th West Virginia Cavalry) during the Civil War. Latham was a member of the 39th Congress from 1865 to 1867 and the United States consul in Melbourne, Australia, from 1867 to 1870. He then returned to West Virginia. George Robert Latham died on 16 December 1917.

Physical 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 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard