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.
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.
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.
The collection is open to researchers.
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[Identification of item], Reuben P. Boise family papers, Archives and Special Collections, Mark O. Hatfield Library, Willamette University.
The photographs have been removed from the collection for preservation purposes. They are available upon request.
Asa Culver Collection, Five College Archives & Manuscript Collections
Various letters and documents pertaining to Rebecca Boise's responsibilities as executor of the will of Reuben Boies, 2nd.
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.
Signed by Justice Boise.
One signed by Asahel Bush.
The 58th anniversary of the organization of the First American Government on the Pacific Coast.
Contains a handwritten copy of the Hesperian Society Constitution.
Written on back of speech -"R. P. Boise address on occasion of reburial here (Salem, Oregon) of Jason Lee".
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.
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."