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Arthur I. Boreman (1823-1896) 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

Email: lori.hostuttler@mail.wvu.edu

Phone: (304) 293-3536

Web: wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu

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], Arthur I. Boreman (1823-1896) Papers, A&M 0104, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Summary

Extent:: 0.25 Linear Feet Summary: 2 1/2 in. (1 document case)
Creator:: Boreman, Arthur Inghram, 1823-1896
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.
Language:: English
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.

Background

Scope and content:

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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