Life span: 01/25/1814 to 03/24/1899TabsLife SummaryFull name: Francis Harrison PierpontPlace of Birth: Monongalia County, VABurial Place: Fairmont, WVBirth Date Certainty: ExactDeath Date Certainty: ExactGender: MaleRace: WhiteSectional choice: NorthOrigins: Slave StateFamily: Francis Peirpoint (father), Catherine Weaver (mother)Education: OtherOther Education: Allegheny College, PAOccupation: PoliticianAttorney or JudgeBusinessmanEducatorPolitical Parties: WhigRepublicanGovernment: GovernorState legislature Note Cards Francis Harrison Pierpont (American National Biography) ScholarshipPierpont's role as governor of the Restored regime and his advice and encouragement to the nascent movement to create a separate state in western Virginia earned him the nickname "Father of West Virginia." When the statehood movement finally won its objective in June 1863, Pierpont, Unionist governor of old Virginia, turned down an invitation to serve as governor of West Virginia and moved the Restored government to Alexandria in northern Virginia. For the remainder of the war his tiny administration, representing only those few Virginia counties in Union-occupied areas of northern and eastern Virginia, struggled to maintain a semblance of authority despite encroachments by Confederate raiders and Federal generals and despite political officials, who now seemed embarrassed by the Lilliputian size of the Pierpont government. Their troubles notwithstanding, Restored Unionists, urged on by Governor Pierpont, held a constitutional convention in Alexandria in 1864 and drew up an antislavery constitution that anticipated many of the reforms of postwar Reconstruction. When the war ended in the spring of 1865, Governor Pierpont moved his Unionist state government to Richmond and began the thankless task of administering President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction plan. Richard Lowe, "Pierpont, Francis Harrison," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/04/04-00790.html. Events Date span begin Life span End Event 06/20/1863 06/20/1863 In Wheeling, West Virginia, Arthur Boreman is inaugurated as the first governor of the new state 05/09/1865 05/09/1865 President Johnson recognizes Virginia's "Alexandria" legislature and appoints Francis Pierpont provisional governor 06/19/1865 06/23/1865 Virginia's "Alexandria" legislature moves back to Richmond for its final session 06/21/1865 06/21/1865 The new Virginia legislature replaces the restrictive Alexandria Oath with the milder Amnesty Oath 07/25/1865 07/25/1865 In Virginia, several former Confederate officers and officers are elected as mayor and city councillors 07/28/1865 07/28/1865 In Virginia, Union General Alfred Terry voids the recent Richmond city elections 05/13/1867 05/13/1867 In Richmond, former Confederate president Jefferson Davis appears in federal court under a writ of habeas corpus and is released on bail. Documents Images Francis Harrison Pierpont Francis Harrison Pierpont, detail Francis Harrison Pierpont, circa 1880 Francis Harrison Pierpont, circa 1880, detail Bibliography Chicago Style Entry Link Moore, James Tice. “Men in Crisis: Virginia's Civil War Governors.” Virginia Cavalcade 35, no. 4 (1986): 148-161. View Record
Francis Harrison Pierpont (American National Biography) ScholarshipPierpont's role as governor of the Restored regime and his advice and encouragement to the nascent movement to create a separate state in western Virginia earned him the nickname "Father of West Virginia." When the statehood movement finally won its objective in June 1863, Pierpont, Unionist governor of old Virginia, turned down an invitation to serve as governor of West Virginia and moved the Restored government to Alexandria in northern Virginia. For the remainder of the war his tiny administration, representing only those few Virginia counties in Union-occupied areas of northern and eastern Virginia, struggled to maintain a semblance of authority despite encroachments by Confederate raiders and Federal generals and despite political officials, who now seemed embarrassed by the Lilliputian size of the Pierpont government. Their troubles notwithstanding, Restored Unionists, urged on by Governor Pierpont, held a constitutional convention in Alexandria in 1864 and drew up an antislavery constitution that anticipated many of the reforms of postwar Reconstruction. When the war ended in the spring of 1865, Governor Pierpont moved his Unionist state government to Richmond and began the thankless task of administering President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction plan. Richard Lowe, "Pierpont, Francis Harrison," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/04/04-00790.html.