Manuscript Group 389
JAMES A. BEAVER PAPERS
1790, 1796, 1841, 1849-1915, undated
1.5 cubic feet
James Addams Beaver served as Republican Governor of Pennsylvania from 1887 to
1891. Born in 1837 in Millerstown, Perry County, Beaver served as a Second Lieutenant
in Company H of the Second Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers during the Civil
War and rose to the rank of Brigadier General by 1864. He served as Major General
of the Pennsylvania National Guard from 1871-1887 when he was elected Governor.
As Governor, Beaver was an advocate of upgrading housing conditions for orphans
and the poor.
The collection contains correspondence to and from Beaver's mother and other
family members, 1849-1868; correspondence from and to his future wife, 1861-1864;
and four diaries of his experiences in the Civil War, 1861-1864 & undated. There
is also a collection of his speeches (typescript and handwritten) from 1877-1911
on political, military and religious themes. Other items include newsclippings
for his two gubernatorial campaigns, 1882, 1886-1887; an undated biography of
Beaver; a Beaver family geneaology; several deeds and land patents; undated
photographs of the old state capitol building and the governor's mansion; one
volume on flooding written by John B. McMaster in 1892 and apparently not published
because of litigation following the Johnstown flood; and miscellaneous materials
regarding Beaver's college, military, political and personal life.
- Correspondence, 1849-1915. (8 folders) {#389m.1} [Holdings]
- Accounts, 1861-1864, undated. (1 folder) {#389m.2} [Holdings]
- Diaries, 1861-1864. (1 folder) {#389m.3} [Holdings]
- Miscellaneous Personal Material, 1841, 1862, undated. {#389m.4} [Holdings]
- Map of the 140th Pennsylvania Regiment Marches, undated. {#389m.5}
- Reminiscences of Frontier Military Service, 1859-1861, by J. C. McKee, Surgeon
and Lieutenant Colonel, U.S.A., 1890, 1891. (1 folder) {#389m.6} [Holdings]
- Civil War Experiences of Mrs. John Harris, 1888. (1 folder) {#389m.7}
[Holdings]
- Description of the Johnstown Flood, undated. (1 folder) {#389m.8} [Holdings]
- “A Partial Account of the Pennsylvania Floods of 1889,” Typescript,
1892. (1 folder) {#389m.9} [Holdings]
- Biography and Genealogy of Beaver, undated. (1 folder) {#389m.10} [Holdings]
- Proclamation, Thanksgiving, 1888. (1 folder) {#389m.11} [Holdings]
- Speeches, 1877-1911, undated. (9 folders) {#389m.12} [Holdings]
- Deeds and Patents, 1790, 1796, 1873. (1 folder) {#389m.13} [Holdings]
- Photographs, 1913, undated. (1 folder) {#389m.14} [Holdings]
- Hugh Beaver, President Harrison Photograph Information, 1889. (1 folder)
{#389m.15} [Holdings]
- Scrapbook, Political, 1882, 1886, 1887. (1 volume) {#389m.16} [Holdings]
- Certificates, 1856, 1910. (4 items) {#389m.17} [Holdings]