Archives West Finding Aid
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Reuben P. Boise family papers, 1805-1937
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Boise, Reuben Patrick, 1819-1907; Boise family; Boise, Patrick, 1787-1859
- Title
- Reuben P. Boise family papers
- Dates
- 1805-1937 (inclusive)18051937
- Quantity
- 1.5 linear feet, (2 boxes)
- Collection Number
- WUA012
- Summary
- Papers of the Reuben P. Boise family include letters, Boise family legal documents, speeches, essays and other documents related to the Boise family. A collection of travel postcards and photographs of family and friends are also in the collection.
- Repository
-
Willamette University Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Mark O. Hatfield Library
900 State Street
Salem, OR
97301
Telephone: 5033706866
Fax: 5033706141
archives@willamette.edu - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to researchers.
- Languages
- English, Materials are in English.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
Reuben Patrick Boise (pronounced 'Bois') was born in Blandford, Massachusetts on June 9, 1818 or 1819 (there is some confusion as to the correct year). He was raised on his father's farm, attended public schools, and took a classical course at Williams College, from which he graduated with honors in 1843. Following graduation, he taught school for two years in Missouri and then returned to Massachusetts where he read law with his uncle, Patrick Boise, who was a distinguished lawyer in Westfield. After three years' study of the law, he was admitted to the bar in 1848, and began to practice in Chicopee Falls, where he remained two years. He immigrated to Oregon in the fall of 1850, via the Isthmus of Panama.
He began his law practice in Portland, but moved to Polk County in 1852. During the next fifty-two years Boise served as the prosecuting attorney for Districts 1 and 2, covering most of the Willamette Valley; represented Polk and Tillamook counties in the Territorial Legislature; helped codify Oregon's laws; was the democratic delegate to the Oregon Constitutional Convention; and served on the Territorial and Oregon State Supreme Court for seventeen years. He was elected a state circuit court judge in 1880, served until 1892 and then entered private legal practice for eight years. Boise returned to the circuit court in 1898 where he served until his retirement in July 1904. Boise died on April 10, 1907.
Boise married Ellen Francis Lyon, of Boston Massachusetts, in 1852 and the couple had three sons: Reuben P., Whitney L., and Fisher A. Ellen died in 1865. In 1867, Boise married Emily A. Pratt, also from Massachusetts. They had two daughters, Ellen S. and Mae E. Emily Pratt Boise died in March, 1919.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Reuben P. Boise family papers consist of letters, speeches and writings, legal documents, and photographs. There are letters to and from Boise, his first wife Ellen Francis Lyon Boise, Matthew Deady, Asahel Bush, and Senator B. F. Harding. The writings and speeches appear to have all been authored by Reuben P. Boise. The speeches cover a wide range of subjects including tariffs, the history of the Jason Lee house, the legal system in Oregon, and slavery. Included among the legal documents is a copy of Reuben Boise 2nd's will.
The collection also contains photographs of Boise family members as well as people such as Asahel Bush, Matthew Deady, Senator B. F. Harding and others. A collection of postcards of California includes places such as San Francisco and San Diego.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Library acts as "fair use" reproduction agent.
For further information, see the section on copyright in the Regulations and Procedures of the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library.
Copyright Information: Before material from collections at Willamette University Archives and Special Collections may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permission. Persons wishing to quote from materials in any collections held by University Archives and Special Collections should consult the University Archivist. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Reuben P. Boise family papers, Archives and Special Collections, Mark O. Hatfield Library, Willamette University.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in the following series: Series I: Boise family papers, 1819-1932; Series II: Photographs and travel postcards. Series I is divided into subseries by family members. The subseries are arranged alphabetically and documents are arranged chronologically within each folder.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
I: Boise family papers, 1805-1937Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
Subseries A: Boise, Ellen Francis papers |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 1 | Letters |
1850-1865 |
Subseries B: Boise, Elizabeth papers |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 2 | Composition; news clipping of Elizabeth's funeral |
1904 |
Subseries C: Boise, Patrick papers |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 3 | 4th of July Oration |
1814 July 4 |
Subseries D: Boise, Rebecca papers |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 4 | Boise, Lizzie |
1856-1876 |
| 1 | 5 | Legal documents
Various letters and documents pertaining to Rebecca Boise's responsibilities as executor of the will of Reuben Boies, 2nd.
|
1868-1892 |
| 1 | 6 | Letters |
1903-1909 |
Subseries E: Boise, Reuben, 2nd papers |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 7 | Council Meeting, Blandford, Massachusetts |
1805 May 21 |
| 1 | 8 | Court document
Paternity suit with witness statement by Truly Hill against William Jones, taken down and signed by Reuben Boise, Justice of the Peace for Hampden County; warrant for the arrest of William Jones, signed by Reuben Boise; notification of arrest and incarceration of William Jones, signed by Deputy Sheriff, P. T. Norton.
|
1827 August 24 |
| 1 | 9 | Court summons |
1822 |
| 1 | 10 | Military appointment for Reuben Boise Jr. |
1805 September 6 |
| 1 | 11 | Obituary notice for Reuben Boise, 2nd |
1876 May 3 |
| 1 | 12 | Petition against saloon
Signed by Justice Boise.
|
1832 September 26 |
| 1 | 13 | Surveyor's report |
1842 February 18 |
| 1 | 14 | Will of Reuben Boise, 2nd |
1868 October 12 |
Subseries F: Boise, Reuben Patrick papers |
|||
Letters |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 15 | Berman, E. N. |
1855 August 20 |
| 1 | 16 | Boise, Reuben P. |
1851-1904 |
| 1 | 17 | Bush, Asahel |
1855 November 12 |
| 1 | 18 | Campbell, A. |
1852-1856 |
| 1 | 19 | Comptroller's Office, Treasury Department; Elisha Whittesly |
1854 June 16 |
| 1 | 20 | Davis, L. A. |
1852 September 12 |
| 1 | 21 | Deady, Matthew |
1852-1856 |
| 1 | 22 | Dye, Eva Emery |
1899 February 28 |
| 1 | 23 | Geary, Edward R. |
1873 |
| 1 | 24 | Gibbs, A. C. |
1853 January 27 |
| 1 | 25 | Harding, B. F. |
1862-1863 |
| 1 | 26 | Lawson, R. H. |
1877 April 25 |
| 1 | 27 | Lyman, Horace |
1878 April 24 |
| 1 | 28 | Siletz Commissioner Letters |
1892 |
| 1 | 29 | Simpson, Ben |
1874 February 8 |
| 1 | 30 | Thompson, D. P. |
1874 |
| 1 | 31 | Willson, William H. |
1851 March 26 |
Documents |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 32 | 4th of July orations |
undated |
| 1 | 33 | Baccalaureate Address |
1879 |
| 1 | 34 | Boise, Fisher Ames obituary |
1852 April 28 |
| 1 | 35 | Commencement Speech invitation |
1877 April 22 |
| 1 | 36 | Essay, Tariff |
undated |
| 1 | 37 | Eulogy for Reuben P. Boise |
1907 April 11 |
| 1 | 38 | Eulogy, Delazon Smith |
undated |
| 1 | 39 | Mohair Pelt sale announcement |
1901 March |
| 1 | 40 | Paper on the Puritans |
undated |
| 1 | 41 | Receipts
One signed by Asahel Bush.
|
1854-1860 |
| 1 | 42 | Recipe to color Madder |
undated |
| 1 | 43 | Salem Election Broadsheets |
1898 |
| 1 | 44 | Souvenir Programme
The 58th anniversary of the organization of the First American Government on the Pacific Coast.
|
1901 May 2 |
| 1 | 45 | Speech – Alka-Hespurian Society
Contains a handwritten copy of the Hesperian Society Constitution.
|
undated |
| 1 | 46 | Speech – Alumni Association |
undated |
| 1 | 47 | Speech – Civil War |
undated |
| 1 | 48 | Speech – Grange |
undated |
| 1 | 49 | Speech - "Here and Hereafter" |
undated |
| 1 | 50 | Speech - "History of the Jason Lee dwelling" |
undated |
| 1 | 51 | Speech - "History of the Jason Lee"
Written on back of speech -"R. P. Boise address on occasion of reburial here (Salem, Oregon) of Jason Lee".
|
1906 |
| 1 | 52 | Speech - "History of first judges in Oregon" |
1858 |
| 1 | 53 | Speech - "History of Salem" |
undated |
| 1 | 54 | Speech – History of Oregon legal profession |
circa 1900 |
| 1 | 55 | Speech – Oregon State Grange |
circa 1900 |
| 1 | 56 | Speech – publicly owned railroads |
circa 1893 |
| 1 | 57 | Speech - Slavery |
undated |
| 1 | 58 | Speech |
undated |
| 1 | 59 | Speech |
undated |
| 1 | 60 | Speech |
undated |
| 1 | 61 | Speech |
undated |
| 1 | 62 | Speech |
undated |
| 1 | 63 | Speech |
undated |
| 1 | 64 | Speech fragments |
undated |
| 1 | 65 | Speech request |
1896 May 14 |
Subseries G: Boise, Reuben Patrick Jr. papers |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 66 | Application – Sons of the American Revolution |
1916 May 1 |
| 1 | 67 | Boise family history correspondence
Correspondence with John Denison, Jennie Boise Smith and Erastus Holden including a Boise family tree and an account of the maiden voyage of the clipper ship, the "Flying Cloud." Ellen Francis Lyon was a passenger on this ship when she came to marry Reuben Patrick Boise in 1852.
|
1916-1932 |
| 1 | 68 | Documents re: Huntington, J. W. P.
Letters from Lindsay and Oliver Applegate regarding their financial dealings with J. W.P. Huntington, Superintendent of Indian Affairs. There is also a document, dated March 10, 1873, entitled "Statement of Differences arising in settlement of accounts of J. W. P. Huntington, late Superintendent of Indiana Affairs, under his bond of January 8, 1868."
|
1868-1874 |
Subseries H: Boise, Sally papers |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 69 | Letter, Other documents |
1876-1887 |
Subseries I: Boise, Whitney papers |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 70 | Smith, Mrs. Jennie |
1920 August 12 |
| 1 | 71 | Invitations |
1888 |
Subseries J: Spiller family papers |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 72 | Spiller, Mary |
1884 |
| 1 | 73 | Spiller, Reubie |
1882 |
Subseries K: Unidentified papers |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 74 | Hammond, Mrs. E. |
1902 August 4 |
| 1 | 75 | Oregon Bar Association Proceedings |
1895 |
| 1 | 76 | Oregon Historical Society |
1902 September |
| 1 | 77 | Pacific University Bulletin |
1936-1937 |
| 1 | 78 | Play scripts |
undated |
| 1 | 79 | Putnam, Samuel |
1902 August 4 |
| 1 | 80 | Two poems |
1813 |
| 1 | 81 | Two valentines |
1860-1881 |
| 1 | 82 | Unidentified letters |
1868-1877 |
| 1 | 83 | University of Oregon programs |
1878 |
Series II: Photographs and travel postcards, 1819-1932Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box | ||
| 2 | Subseries A: Photographs |
1819-1923 |
| 2 | Subseries B: Travel postcards |
1819-1923 |
| Cabinet Cards 1 | Subseries C: Cabinet cards |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Personal Names
- Boise, Ellen Francis
- Boise, Reuben Patrick, Jr., 1859-1933
- Boise, Reuben Patrick, Jr., 1859-1933
- Boise, Reuben, 2nd
- Boise, Whitney
- Bush, Asahel, 1824-1913
- Deady, Matthew P. (Matthew Paul), 1824-1893
- Dye, Eva Emery, 1855-1947
- Harding, Benjamin Franklin, 1823-1899
- Hill, Truly
- Jones, William
Corporate Names
- Oregon Territory. Legislative Assembly
- Oregon. Constitutional Convention (1857)
- Oregon. Supreme Court
Geographical Names
- Blandford (Mass.)
- Oregon
- Salem (Or.)
Form or Genre Terms
- cabinet photographs
- correspondence
Finding aid processed by Rose Marie Walter.
2008
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
