The Elijah Boardman Papers (2012-07-0) consist of an initial donation of 97 volumes; (2012-14-0) Day Book No. 26; (2013-126-0) 22 additional bound volumes and three record storage cartons of Boardman, Schroeder, and Wright family papers including bills and receipts in wrappers and family correspondence; and (2015-21-0) 33 Boardman family letters purchased by the Society.

The Litchfield Historical Society, as part of a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, has digitized selected records from the collection and uploaded to the Connecticut Digital Archive. The structure of the content within CTDA follows the structure of the finding aid.

For images and details related to the processing of the papers, see the tumblr page eboardman.tumblr.com.

The papers are arranged in four series:

Series 1. Elijah Boardman Business Papers, 1794-1824

Series 2. Elijah and Daniel Boardman Papers, 1782-1794

Series 3. Boardman, Lane, Ruggles, Schroeder, Whiting, and Wright Family Papers, 1785-1978

Series 4. Miscellaneous Ledgers, undated

Description of the series:

Series 1. Elijah Boardman Business Papers, 1794-1824

Elijah Boardman (1760-1823) was the third son of deacon Sherman Boardman and Sarah Bostwick, of New Milford, Connecticut. As a boy, Boardman was educated under private tutors, and at age 16, he enlisted in the Continental regiment of Colonel Charles Webb. In March 1776, during the Revolutionary War, he was stationed in Long Island but his regiment left in October when the British took over the city. Boardman suffered from poor health and spent much of the war bed-ridden with a fever. Following the war, Boardman trained as a clerk in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1781, he went into business with his brother Daniel in New Milford, Connecticut. The ledgers, account books, blotters, and other bound material primarily document Boardman's business dealings, as do the bills and receipts. When Daniel Boardman left to open shop in New York, NY, Daniel and Elijah Boardman was dissolved, and Elijah Boardman started his own name, later adding a store in New Preston and going into partnership with Moses Seymour in Litchfield. According to Samuel Orcutt's "History of New Milford," Boardman accepted a partner named Elijah Bennitt in 1812, and sold the firm in 1819.

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, daughter of Dr. William Whiting and Anna Mason Whiting of Great Barrington, MA. 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. At the age of 63 Elijah Boardman passed away on August 18, 1823 on a trip to Ohio to visit his son. His body was returned to Connecticut and he was interred at the Center Cemetery in New Milford.

Series 2. Elijah and Daniel Boardman Papers, 1782-1794

Sources disagree as to whether Daniel and Elijah Boardman opened their store in 1781 or 1782. The earliest record in this collection is labeled “Day Book No. 3” dated December of 1782. Daniel was the eldest son of Deacon Sherman Boardman and Sarah Bostwick Boardman. He earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degrees from Yale, and served as a major of a militia company from New Milford. The brothers’ newspaper advertisements (not included in this collection) reveal an intricate pattern in which local agricultural goods, received in trade or purchased, were shipped to New York and sold at a premium. They brought back rum, molasses, and a large variety of textiles to sell in the local market. The October 31, 1792 Connecticut Journal announced that the dissolution of their partnership would occur on March 1, 1783. According to Mary Anna Whiting Boardman’s memoir, he operated a separate store in New Milford for two years before moving to New York, NY where he partnered in a dry good store with Henry Hunt. Prior to his departure, Daniel Boardman also twice served in the Connecticut General Assembly. In 1797 he married Hetty More or Moore of New York, with whom he had six children.

This series includes blot books, day books, ledgers, accounts of stocks, and bills and receipts. The sub-series are arranged chronologically.

Series 3. Boardman, Lane, Ruggles, Schroeder, Whiting, and Wright Family Papers, 1782-1978

The correspondence contained within the collection is primarily that of the Boardman’s daughter Cornelia Boardman with her siblings, cousins, and extended family members. It also includes papers of her brother-in-law John Frederick Schroeder, who married her sister Caroline. Schroeder’s correspondence includes both family matters and documents pertaining to his work as a minister. Some of the materials have been described at the item level, but most are described at the folder level.

William Whiting Boardman (1794-1871) was the oldest child of Elijah Boardman and Mary Ann Whiting. He attended the Colchester Academy in preparation for college and was graduated from Yale College in 1812. He studied law first in Cambridge and then at the Litchfield Law School in 1816, two years before being admitted to the bar. Boardman was a Judge of Probate in New Haven, Connecticut from 1825 to 1829. He served in the Connecticut State Senate from 1830 to 1832 and was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1836 until 1839, and then again in 1845, 1849 and 1851. In 1840, he was appointed to fill a vacancy in the United States Congress and was subsequently elected. He remained in that office for three years. Other interests included the militia. Boardman rose to the rank of major in the Governor's Foot Guard. He was a trustee of Trinity College from 1832 until 1871 and acted as the president of both the Gas Light Company of New Haven and the New Haven Water Company. In 1857, he married Lucy Hall of Poland, Ohio. He and his wife had no children. He died in his New Haven home on Hillhouse Avenue and is interred in Grove Street Cemetery.

Henry Mason Boardman (1797-1846) was the second child of Elijah Boardman and Mary Anna Whiting. He was educated at local schools and occupied himself with family business. He married Sarah Hall Benham, daughter of Benjamin Benham of New Milford, in 1818. The couple removed to Boardman, Ohio and went on to have four children. Boardman superintended his father’s land transactions. He organized a parish church for the town, and oversaw the construction of a church building.

George Sherman Boardman (1799-1825) was the third child of Elijah Boardman and Mary Anna Whiting. He graduated from Union College in 1819 and studied at the Litchfield Law School the same year. He was admitted to the bar in 1820 and began the practice of law in New Milford. He died on January 18, 1825.

Caroline Maria Boardman Schroeder (1802-1853) was the fourth child of Elijah Boardman and Mary Anna Whiting. She married the Reverend John Frederick Schroeder of New York City in 1825. Schroeder was born in Baltimore in 1800 to Hermann Henry Schroeder and Mary Schley Schroeder.

Mary Anna Boardman (1805-1822) was the fifth child of Elijah Boardman and Mary Anna Whiting.

Cornelia Elizabeth Boardman was the sixth child of Elijah Boardman and Mary Anna Whiting. She was born August 4, 1808 in New Milford, Connecticut. She attended school in New Haven where her brother William Whiting Boardman resided, and New York where her sister, Caroline Boardman Schroeder, lived. Her father died when she was 15 years old. Despite several proposals of marriage, Cornelia chose to remain single and remain home to care for her mother, who lived to the age of 80. Cornelia inherited the family home in New Milford and cared for it until her death on May 14, 1880. The family home was passed down through Caroline’s children and remained in the family into the 20th century.

Series 4. Miscellaneous Ledgers, undated

The collection also includes 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).

For images and details documenting the processing of the Elijah Boardman Papers, see the tumblr page eboardman.tumblr.com.