Boardman, Norman 1813-1894

BOARDMAN

Posted By: Nettie Mae
Date: 6/19/2017 at 21:02:35

Source: The Annals of Iowa, Vol. 1, No. 6, July 1894, pg 501
HON. NORMAN BOARDMAN, who recently died at his home in Lyons, Clinton county, was born at Morristown, Vermont, April 30, 1813. He first came west in the spring of 1837. This was long before the era of railroad building, and he had to hire a team at Detroit to carry him on to Chicago, which was then a frontier town of about five thousand inhabitants. After traveling through Illinois he crossed the Mississippi and took a school for the summer in one of the new towns of Missouri. In the fall he went down to St. Louis, and from there returned by river and canal to his home in Vermont. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and a few years later elected States Attorney on the Democratic ticket. But visions of the great west again attracted him from his New England home. In 1852 he went to St. Paul and visited the chief towns of the upper Mississippi. He finally stopped at Lyons and entered several sections of Clinton county land. With other parties he laid out the town of Osage, in Mitchell county, and named it after Orin Sage. He also laid out a large addition to Lyons and finally settle there and made it his permanent home. He became a Republican upon the organization of that party, and in 1861 was elected to the State Senate from Clinton county. He was made chairman of the committee on schools, serving with marked ability. He secured important legislation to protect the school funds of the State. In 1869 he was appointed by President Grant Collector of Internal Revenue for the Second District. While holding this position he was instrumental in ferreting out extensive frauds practiced by some of the distilleries in his district, which resulted in the seizure and confiscation of several large establishments. The work for which Mr. Boardman will be longest remembered was the suggestion of the first Old Law-Maker's Reunion, resulting in a permanent organization known as the "Pioneer Law-Makers' Association" which meets biennially at the capital. It has been instrumental in adding large and valuable contributions to the historical material of the State. Mr. Boardman had three sons who have attained prominent positions in the State, Homer C. being Senator from Story county, William K. is State Dairy Commissioner, and Charles D. a Trustee of the state Agricultural College.