MG-389. JAMES A. BEAVER COLLECTION, 1790-1915 and undated.
James Addams Beaver served as 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 the poor and orphans. Among the items in the collection is a manuscript entitled "Reminiscences from Memory of Events and Incidents on Scouts and Marches with Troops of the U.S. Army before the Civil War in 1861, in Arizona and New Mexico Territories," that was sent to Governor Beaver from, J.C. McKee, a Surgeon and a Lieutenant Colonel. In the paper, McKee refers to his "colored" servant. Also, Union County Star and Lewisburg Chronicle dated September 24, 1862 includes a citation that a "General B. F. Butler has freed more slaves than all the Abolitionists in the land as a 'military measure.’" The same issue also contains an article entitled "Proclamation of the President," reporting President Abraham Lincoln’s recommendation to congress with regard to slavery.