Aquilla Bolton Caldwell (February 11, 1814 – June 18, 1893) was West Virginia's First & Fifth Attorney General, serving between 1863–1864 and 1869–1870. (Elected 1863, Appointed 1869)

Early and family life

Caldwell was born on Caldwells Run in Ohio County near Wheeling to Mary Yarnell Caldwell and her husband Joseph Caldwell. His grandfather, James Caldwell, emigrated from northern Ireland with his family and in 1770 settled in the near-wilderness that became Ohio County. With

Ebenezer Zane Ebenezer Zane (October 7, 1747 – Nov. 19, 1811) was an American pioneer, soldier, politician, road builder and land speculator. Born in the Colony of Virginia (possibly near what became Moorefield, West Virginia), Zane established a settle ...

, he helped found the town of Wheeling on the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

, becoming a justice of the peace in 1777 and militia commander during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, as well as raising a large family. His sons (Bolton's uncles)

James Caldwell (Ohio politician) James Caldwell (November 30, 1770May 5, 1838) was the first member of the United States House of Representatives to represent Ohio's 4th congressional district. Early and family life His father James Caldwell (1724-1804) and his wife Elizabeth ...

and Alexander Caldwell (Virginia judge) helped found the state of Ohio (and became the first U.S. Congressman for the district across the river from Wheeling) and U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Virginia, respectively. His father Joseph, the youngest son of James Caldwell Sr., after military service during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

became the first president of Wheeling's Merchants and Merchants Bank. He remarried after Mary died when young Bolton was five. After private education locally, Bolton attended Jefferson College (now

Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to ...

) and received a degree in 1833, shortly before his cousin Alfred Caldwell (politician) (son of James Caldwell Jr.). Bolton Caldwell then went to

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and studied law under

Joseph Story Joseph Story (September 18, 1779 – September 10, 1845) was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving from 1812 to 1845. He is most remembered for his opinions in ''Martin v. Hunter's Lessee'' and ''United States ...

and Greenleaf, as his cousin Alfred would soon also emulate. On May 14, 1846, A. Bolton Caldwell married Mathilda Anne Newman, with whom he would have two children.

Career

After graduation, Bolton Caldwell sought his fortune by practicing law in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

beginning in 1840. He moved to

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

in 1844, won elections in 1845, 1847 and 1852 and became the parish attorney (prosecutor) for

East Carroll Parish, Louisiana East Carroll Parish (french: Paroisse de Carroll Est) is a parish located in the Mississippi Delta in northeastern Louisiana. As of 2020, its population was 7,459. The parish seat is Lake Providence. An area of cotton plantations in the antebel ...

. Caldwell then returned home and joined the Virginia bar. In 1858 he returned to Wheeling (where his cousin Alfred had begun his own legal practice and already twice been elected mayor and once to the Virginia Senate), and began his legal practice, which included stints as a federal prosecutor and as the Ohio County prosecutor as discussed below. A. Bolton Caldwell became the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the Western District of Virginia after nomination by President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

and the concurrence of the U.S. Senate, serving from 1861 until 1863.Lewis, Virgil Anson (1896). History and Government of West Virginia. Werner School Book Company. pp. 181–187 His cousin Alfred Caldwell, meanwhile, as a reward for his active support of President Lincoln and the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

, was appointed consul to the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the independent island ...

in 1861 (and with the Senate's approval served until 1867, when he was removed for malfeasance by President Johnson). Meanwhile, in 1863 West Virginians elected Bolton Caldwell as their first Attorney General. He served for 18 months, completing his term. During President Lincoln's first term in office, Caldwell was offered an appointment as Judge to the United States District Court, but for personal reasons, he turned down the appointment,

John Curtiss Underwood John Curtiss Underwood (March 14, 1809 – December 7, 1873) was an Attorneys in the United States, attorney, abolitionist politician and a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Dis ...

being selected instead. On July 1, 1869, Caldwell returned to the Office of the West Virginia Attorney General when he was appointed by the Governor after Attorney General

Thayer Melvin Thayer Melvin (November 15, 1835 – November 9, 1906) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Melvin served as the fourth Attorney General of West Virginia from January 1, 1867, until July 1, 1869, and ...

resigned. After his term as Attorney General Bolton Caldwell won election as Ohio County Prosecutor and later Circuit Judge.

Death and legacy

Caldwell died in 1893 at the home of his son-in-law in Wheeling. His cousin Alfred Caldwell Jr. (his cousin and ally Alfred Caldwell's son) would become West Virginia's 10th attorney general, first winning election as a Democrat in 1885.

Sources

The Political Graveyard
*http://www.wvago.gov *WV Blue Book

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell, Aquilla B. 1814 births 1893 deaths 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century West Virginia politicians American jurists Burials at Greenwood Cemetery (Wheeling, West Virginia) Caldwell family County prosecuting attorneys in West Virginia District attorneys in Louisiana Harvard University alumni Lawyers from Wheeling, West Virginia Mississippi lawyers Politicians from Wheeling, West Virginia United States Attorneys for the Western District of Virginia Virginia lawyers Washington & Jefferson College alumni West Virginia attorneys general West Virginia circuit court judges