By Linda M. Hocking
Title: Elijah Boardman Papers, 1782-1853
Primary Creator: Boardman, Elijah (1760-1823)
Extent: 97.0 Items
Arrangement: The collection is arranged in four series.
Date Acquired: 03/12/2012. More info below under Accruals.
The Elijah Boardman Papers (2012-07-0) consist of 97 volumes, primarily documenting Boardman's business dealings under various enterprises. Twenty six volumes document the business enterprise he ran with his brother, Daniel Boardman in New Milford, Connecticut. Two volumes were kept by his wife, Mary Anna Whiting Boardman. Four ledgers document other businesses, presumably turned over to Boardman for collection.
Boardman's business had close ties to Litchfield and relates to a number of other collections (see administrative information for details). Before embarking on a mercantile venture with his brother Daniel in New Milford in 1781, Boardman served in the American Revolution and trained as a clerk in New Haven. The brothers’ newspaper advertisements (not included in this collection) reveal a network of trade, offering goods from Europe and India in exchange for agricultural products. The ledgers document this intricate pattern in which local agricultural goods, received in trade or purchased, were shipped to New York and sold at a premium. He brought back rum, molasses, and a large variety of textiles to sell in the local market.
In 1795, Boardman became a member of the Connecticut Land Co., one of the purchasers of the Connecticut Western Reserve. Boardman became prominent in politics after 1800. He was repeatedly elected to the Connecticut General Assembly and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1821. For this election, Boardman, a democrat, joined Oliver Wolcott (1760–1833) on the Toleration Party ticket.
In 1792, Boardman married Mary Anna Whiting. They had six children. Two of their sons, William Whiting Boardman and George Sherman Boardman, attended the Litchfield Law School. Two daughters, Caroline Boardman Schroeder and Mary Anna Boardman, attended the Litchfield Female Academy.
While serving his Senate term, Boardman died on a visit to Ohio in 1823.
This collection is currently being processed. If you have questions, please contact Linda Hocking at lhocking@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org. For images and details about the processing project, see the tumblr page eboardman.tumblr.com.
Repository: Litchfield Historical Society
Accruals: One volume, Daybook No. 26, was purchased and donated by Derin Bray.
Acquisition Source: Caroline Boardman McDaniel Lamphier
Acquisition Method: The collection is a gift of Joan Boardman Wright McDaniel and her daughter, Caroline Boardman McDaniel Lamphier, direct descendants of Elijah and Mary Anna Whiting Boardman.
Related Materials:
Boardman & Seymour records (http://www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/archon/?p=collections/findingaid&id=127&q=&rootcontentid=3074), 1794–1811(a collection of orders, invoices, receipts, and correspondence documenting a partnership between Boardman and Moses Seymour Jr. of Litchfield) document the extent of Boardman’s trade. The Notes and Proceedings of the Connecticut Land Company (http://www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/archon/?p=collections/controlcard&id=961), 1795–1809; the Judson Canfield papers(http://www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/archon/?p=collections/controlcard&id=275) 1760–1856; and the Samuel Flewwelling Papers have to do with the Connecticut Western Reserve.
Related materials in other repositories include the Boardman Family Papers at Yale University Library Manuscript and Archives; the Daniel Boardman Papers at Columbia University Libraries Rare Book & Manuscript Library; the Boardman Family Papers at the New Haven Museum; and the Boardman Papers at the William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan.
The American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is home to a Ralph Earl painting of Boardman (http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/20011181).
The Wadsworth Athenaeum collections include the Earl landscape of the Boardman house in New Milford, CT. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, CA holds the Earl painting of Boardman’s wife(http://emuseum.huntington.org/view/objects/asitem/People$00401166/0?t:state:flow=9cfe3c78-1169-4d36-bbd8-bc16523445eb) Mary Anna Whiting Boardman, and their son William Whiting Boardman.
For more information please see http://www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/archon/index.php?p=collections/controlcard&id=127.Other URL: http://www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/ledger/students/356
