Arthur I. Boreman Papers
Collection
Collection Number: A&M 0639
Personal and business papers of a lawyer, U.S. senator, circuit court judge, and first governor of West Virginia, Arthur I. Boreman. The bulk of the collection consists of papers relating to his judgeship and to the law firm of Boreman and Bullocks, Parkersburg, WV. Series include correspondence, notes on cases tried before Judge Boreman, envelope cases of material regarding legal cases in which Boreman was involved, financial material, and political and judicial printed material. Correspondence includes letters to Boreman from Francis H. Pierpont (1866-1867), which concern politics in West Virginia, the admission of Berkeley and Jefferson counties into the state, the Virginia debt, and Reconstruction in Virginia. There is little other material relating to the governorship or political activities. Additional correspondents include J.W. Davis, John J. Davis, D.D.T. Farnsworth, D.H. Strother, J.G. Jackson, Charles J. Faulkner, and E.W. Wilson. Also includes manuscripts of speeches; muster rolls; household accounts; civil and court case papers concerning oil well drilling and sales; railroad property inventories and operation; coal prices, shipping data, and strikes; liquid fuel transportation; and steam and tow boat cargoes, navigation data, and names of boats in service on the Ohio River. There is also genealogical information on P.G. Van Winkle and Ebenezer Zane, and a letter and deposition by J.H. Diss Debar.
Series 1. Correspondence; 1830-1905, undated; boxes 1-24. This series includes business papers from Boreman's years as a lawyer and judge, such as deeds, receipts, checks, letters, court papers, and other material. There is very little material relating to Boreman's governorship or political activities; such material includes manuscript drafts of political speeches (such as Boreman's annual message to the state Senate and House of Delegates, 1868 and 1869), bills, receipts, and letters to Boreman from Francis H. Pierpont (1866-1867). The Pierpont letters relate to politics in West Virginia, the admission of Berkeley and Jefferson counties into the state, the Virginia debt, and Reconstruction in Virginia. Also includes some printed material, clippings, and personal letters, including letters from Boreman's doctor (folder 20a). Additional correspondents include J.W. Davis, John J. Davis (1875), D.D.T. Farnsworth (1870), D.H. Strother (1879), J.G. Jackson, Charles J. Faulkner, and E.W. Wilson.
See also the Calendar of the Arthur I. Boreman Letters in the State Department of Archives and History (link in External Documents).
Series 2. Notes on Cases Tried Before Judge Boreman; 1883-1896, undated; boxes 25-28.
Series 3. Envelope Cases; 1852-1886; boxes 29-35. This series includes material regarding legal cases in which Boreman was involved. Includes muster rolls for the 190th Virginia Militia, US Army, July to December 1862 (1867); Company A, 191st regiment of Home Guards, 1861-1865 (1870); State Scouts, West Virginia Militia, December 1864 to February 1865 (undated); Company C or E of the 185th West Virginia Militia (undated); and State Troops, Braxton County, 1861-1862 (undated), all part of a case involving claims for military payment.
Series 4. Financial and Other Material; 1846-1892; box 36. This series includes check books, accounts, tax receipts, store ledgers, memo books, and notes on law.
Series 5. Printed Material -- Politics; 1859-1949; boxes 37-38. This series includes presidential addresses, "campaign textbooks," speeches, newspaper clippings regarding politics and voting, and state voting records.
Series 6. Printed Material -- Judicial and Miscellaneous; 1855-1897, undated; boxes 39-42. This series includes stationery; statements of public debt; advertisements; US postal guides; circuit court records for various US states; Northern Pacific Railroad maps of North Dakota, Idaho, and Washington; case and trial records of Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia; an incomplete copy of Reports of Decisions of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia (1890); and various other pamphlets.
English
No special access restriction applies.
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.
Arthur Ingraham Boreman (24 July 1823 - 19 April 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.
17.75 Linear Feet (Summary: 17 ft. 8 1/2 in. (42 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 document case, 2 1/2 in.))
Personal and business papers of Arthur I. Boreman (1823-1896), lawyer, U.S. senator, circuit court judge, and first governor of West Virginia. The bulk of the collection consists of papers relating to his judgeship and to the law firm of Boreman and Bullocks, Parkersburg, WV. Series include correspondence, notes on cases tried before Judge Boreman, envelope cases of material regarding legal cases in which Boreman was involved, financial material, and political and judicial printed material. Correspondence includes letters to Boreman from Francis H. Pierpont (1866-1867), which concern politics in West Virginia, the admission of Berkeley and Jefferson counties into the state, the Virginia debt, and Reconstruction in Virginia. There is little other material relating to the governorship or political activities. Additional correspondents include J.W. Davis, John J. Davis, D.D.T. Farnsworth, D.H. Strother, J.G. Jackson, Charles J. Faulkner, and E.W. Wilson. Also includes manuscripts of speeches; muster rolls; household accounts; civil and court case papers concerning oil well drilling and sales; railroad property inventories and operation; coal prices, shipping data, and strikes; liquid fuel transportation; and steam and tow boat cargoes, navigation data, and names of boats in service on the Ohio River. There is also genealogical information on P.G. Van Winkle and Ebenezer Zane, and a letter and deposition by J.H. Diss Debar. For more details and box-level contents list, see Scope and Content Note. For more information on Arthur I. Boreman, see Historical Note.
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/
Points Adjudicated by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, published 1875-1888 (21 issues) separated to the WVU Law Library Rare Book Collection.
See control folder for lists of separated material.
Part of the West Virginia and Regional History Center Repository