Francis Harrison Pierpont

Francis Harrison Pierpont(January 25, 1814 – March 24, 1899), called the "Father ofWest Virginia,"was an American lawyer and politician who achieved prominence during theAmerican Civil War.During the conflict's first two years, Pierpont served as Governor of theRestored Government of Virginiaand, in this capacity, administered the part of Virginia then under Unionist control (i.e., future West Virginia) before West Virginia's admission to the Union as a separate state. After recognizing the creation of West Virginia, Pierpont continued to serve as Governor of the Restored Government. However, the degree of civil authority he could exercise was minimal for the remainder of the war. Having claimed to be the legitimateGovernor of Virginiafor the duration of the conflict, Pierpont assumed civil control of the state's entire post-1863 territory following the dissolution of the Confederacy and continued to serve as Governor during the early years ofReconstruction.

Francis Harrison Pierpont
Governorof the Restored Government of Virginia
In office May 15, 1861 – June 20, 1863
Lieutenant Governor	Daniel Polsley(1861–1863) Leopold C. P. Cowper(1863–1868)
Preceded by	John Letcher(C.S.A.)
Succeeded by	Arthur I. Boreman
Governor of Virginia (Disputed untilMay 9, 1865)
In office June 20, 1863 – April 4, 1868
Preceded by	William Smith(C.S.A.)
Succeeded by	Henry H. Wells
Personal details
Born	(1814-01-25)January 25, 1814 Morgantown, Virginia,U.S. (nowWest Virginia)
Died	March 24, 1899(1899-03-24)(aged 85) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Julia Augusta Robertson
Occupation	Lawyer
Signature

In recognition of his significance to its state history, in 1910, West Virginia donated a marble statue of Pierpont as the second of its two contributions to theU.S. Capitol'sNational Statuary Hall Collection.

Early life

He was the third son of Francis Peirpoint and was born at the Peirpoint "Plantation" in the "Forks of Cheat" on the Morgantown-Ices Ferry Road,Monongalia County.His middle name, "Harrison," was added later by the boy's father in honor of his commanding officer, GeneralWilliam Henry Harrison.

Pierpont, the original family name, was altered to Peirpoint in the land office atRichmond, Virginiain issuing patents for land deeded to his grandfather, John Pierpont (1742-1796) who grew up inFairfax County, Virginiaand attended the Fairfax Friends Meeting, but left to enlist in the Revolutionary Army, then after it ended moved west toMorgantown, West Virginia.Virginia lawyers advised the family that to hold their grandfather's land, they had to spell their last name as recorded in the patent. Thus Francis used the name "Peirpoint" throughout his life. He also utilized "Pierpont" throughout most of his adult life, including during his terms as the Civil War and Reconstruction Governor of Virginia. In 1880, when President Garfield appointed him Collector of Internal Revenue, Peirpoint sent his name to the U.S. Senate as Francis H. Pierpont.Pierpont writes that "He consented to the change of his name because it was right."

While Frank was a boy, his family moved their leatherworking business to what is todayMarion County, West Virginia.He was a great-grandson of Morgantown's founderZackquill Morgan. Frank Pierpont was educated in a one-room schoolhouse and by his own reading.Pierpont became linked with the region's history for the rest of his life.After walking to Pennsylvania, he enrolled in and graduated fromAllegheny College.Later, he taught school inHarrison County.Then he traveled and became an abolitionist after seeing slavery's abuses in Mississippi.

He returned home to Fairmont, handled the family's tanning business, became active in the Methodist Church, and began studying law. He was admitted to thebarin 1841. In 1848, Pierpont became the local attorney for theBaltimore and Ohio Railroad.Before entering politics, he also helped found Fairmont Male and Female Seminary, the forerunner toFairmont State University.

Political career

Francis Harrison Pierpont,NSHCstatue

Civil War

An active supporter ofAbraham Lincoln,Pierpont became more involved in politics as an outspoken opponent of Virginia'ssecessionfrom theUnion.When Virginia seceded and entered thewar,delegates from the northwestern counties of Virginia, which refused to join theConfederacy,met at theWheeling Convention.Declaring that their elected officials had abandoned their posts, arump governmentwas established inWheeling,with Pierpont as the provisional Governor. Claiming to be the legitimate government of the entire Commonwealth of Virginia, the "Restored Government"drafted a newVirginia Constitutionand sent representatives to the Union Congress.TheSecond Wheeling Conventionmet on June 11, 1861. On June 20, 1861, it unanimously elected Pierpont governor of the Restored Government of Virginia, with the recognition of President Lincoln.In 1862, Pierpont attended theLoyal War Governors' ConferenceinAltoona, Pennsylvania,organized byPennsylvania GovernorAndrew Gregg Curtin,which ultimately backedAbraham Lincoln'sEmancipation Proclamationand the Union war effort. Pierpont was again elected governor for a four-year term by the legislature on May 28, 1863.

Under Pierpont's leadership, the Wheeling government called for a popular vote on creating a new separate state. Despite a lack of overwhelming support and widespread fraud in the voting process, the Restored Government pressed the U.S. Congress for statehood, which also approved the issue.The new state took the name West Virginia and was admitted into the Union in 1863. A lifelong West Virginian, Pierpont had hoped to become the new state's first governor. However, the Lincoln administration was keen to ensure that the continuity of the Restored Government was not disrupted and made clear it would not countenance Pierpont leaving his post unless a suitable successor could be found, who, for political reasons, would have had to be a man with roots in the Commonwealth's post-1863 borders who was loyal to the United States, willing to recognize West Virginia, qualified to serve as a state governor and yet also willing to accept an office that it appeared would be little more than a figurehead position for an indeterminate period.

As no viable candidate willing to succeed Pierpont could be found,Arthur I. Boremanwas elected governor of West Virginia. At the same time, Pierpont reluctantly remained Governor of the "restored" state of Virginia. From 1863 until 1865, the Pierpont administration'sde factocontrol was limited to those parts of the Commonwealth not claimed by West Virginia that were held by Federal arms - specifically, several Northern Virginia, Norfolk area, and Eastern Shore counties.While Pierpont claimedRichmondas the official state capital (as his administration had done since 1861), thede factoseat of government was established inAlexandriafor the remainder of the Civil War. The pro-Confederate state government in Richmond maintained its claim to the Commonwealth's antebellum borders and administered the regions of the Commonwealth still held under Confederate arms - at the time of West Virginia's statehood, this included at least some measure of control about thirteen counties claimed by the newly admitted state. In 1864 Pierpont called aConstitutional Conventionin Alexandria that recognized West Virginia, abolished slavery, and promulgated the civil Constitution in force in Virginia until 1869.

On May 9, 1865, one month after the surrender of theArmy of Northern Virginia,PresidentAndrew Johnsonrecognized Pierpont as the Governor of Virginia.Pierpont immediately re-located the seat of government to Richmond.

Reconstruction

Grave

Pierpont followed a policy of forgiveness to those politicians who had served in the Confederate military and government. The Virginia government started to pass laws restoring ex-Confederates to their lost privileges, to the displeasure of most former Union Republicans. As the South became increasingly resistant toReconstructionafter the war, the United States Congress passed the MilitaryReconstruction Actof 1867. Through this Act, Virginia was designated the "First Military District"in 1868, and military commanderJohn Schofieldreplaced Pierpont withHenry H. Wellsuntil state delegates could write and enact a new constitution. According to the Civil War historian Richard Lowe,Hiram Bond,a formerVanderbilt familyfunctionary and friend of Grant, planned the removal of Pierpont and installation of Welles. Pierpont became one of the key figures in theVirginia constitutional convention of 1867–1868,which resulted in the Underwood Constitution of 1869. After this, Pierpont left Virginia politics and returned to his law practice in West Virginia.

Pierpont subsequently was elected to one term in theWest Virginia House of Delegatesin 1870 but lost his seat when theDemocratstook control of the state.His last public office was as a collector ofInternal Revenueunder PresidentJames Garfield.After his retirement, he helped create the West Virginia Historical Society, as well as served as President of the Methodist Protestant Church.

Death and legacy

He died at his daughter's home inPittsburgh, Pennsylvaniaon March 24, 1899.Three years later, his remains were relocated toWoodlawn CemeteryinFairmont,West Virginia. They reside next to those of his wifeJuliaand three of their four children.

A monument to Francis Pierpont was installed in Wheeling on West Virginia Day in 2015.

See also

• Charles Henry Ambler– Premier Pierpont biographer and preeminent historian of West Virginia

Further reading

• Ambler, Charles H.Francis H. Pierpont: Union War Governor and Father of West Virginia(1937), the standard scholarly biography
• Downing, David C.A South Divided: Portraits of Dissent in the Confederacy.Nashville: Cumberland House, 2007.ISBN978-1-58182-587-9
• Hearne, Julian G.Some Unknown Facts of American History: The Saga of Governor Pierpont.McClain Printing Company,1987.ISBN0-9618158-0-9

External links

• Francis H. Pierpont inEncyclopedia VirginiaArchivedJune 20, 2010, at theWayback Machine
• "Pierpont, Francis Harrison".New International Encyclopedia.1905.
• "A Guide to the Francis H. Pierpont Restored Government Executive Papers, 1861-1865",The Library of Virginia
• "A Guide to the Executive Papers of Governor Francis Harrison Pierpont, 1865-1868",The Library of Virginia
• "A Guide to the Executive letter book of Governor Francis H. Pierpont, 1861-1864.",The Library of Virginia
• West Virginia & Regional History Center, WVU Libraries'sPierpont, Francis Harrison (1814-1899), Papers 1811-1949
• Klos, Stanley Y.,The Father of West Virginia: A Perple xing Name Change.