Harley Martin Kilgore (1893-1956), Senator, Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
West Virginia and Regional History Center
West Virginia & Regional History Center
West Virginia University
P.O. Box 6069
1549 University Avenue
Morgantown, WV 26506
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Lori Hostuttler
Phone: (304) 293-3536
Restrictions:

No special access restriction applies.

Terms of access:

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Harley Martin Kilgore (1893-1956), Senator, Papers, A&M 1500, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
2.8 Linear Feet 2 ft. 9 1/2 in. (6 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 document case, 2 1/2 in.); (6 oversize folders, 1 in. total)
Creator:
Kilgore, Harley Martin, 1893-1956
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Harley Martin Kilgore (1893-1956), Senator, Papers, A&M 1500, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

Papers of Harley M. Kilgore, U.S. Senator from West Virginia. Contains material on the Senate Judiciary Committee and its various subcommittees including the anti-monopoly, internal security, and immigration groups. Other papers deal regard the Special Committee Investigating the National Defense Program (also known as the Truman Committee), West Virginia elections, and the National Guard. There is one box of campaign materials and various speeches.

Correspondents include Bernard M. Baruch; Charles F. Brannan; Alben W. Barkley; Harry F. Byrd; Solon J. Buck; Price Daniel; Everett M. Dirksen; Guy M. Gillette; W. Averell Harriman; Thomas Hennings; Rush Dew Holt, Sr.; Theodore F. Green; Estes Kefauver; Lyndon B. Johnson; Herbert H. Lehman; George Jessel; Owen J. Roberts; Stuart Symington; Millard E. Tydings; Adlai E. Stevenson; and Harry S. Truman.

Biographical / historical:

Harley Martin Kilgore (January 11, 1893 - February 28, 1956) was born in Brown, West Virginia, to Quimby and Laura Martin Kilgore. He received his LL.B. from West Virginia University in 1914 and was admitted to the bar the same year.

He taught school in Hancock, West Virginia in 1914 and 1915. Also in 1915, he organized the first high school in Raleigh County, WV, and served as principal. He established his law practice in Beckley, WV in 1916. During World War I, he served in the infantry from 1917 and was discharged as a captain in 1920. Kilgore married Lois Elaine Lilly in Huntington, WV on May 10, 1921. That same year, he helped organize the West Virginia National Guard, and was promoted to major and appointed commander of 2nd Battalion the following year. He also served as Beckley city recorder in 1922. His son, Robert Martin Kilgore, was born in 1924. His daughter, Elinor Stuart Kilgore, was born in 1926.

In 1932, Kilgore was assigned to the state headquarters of the National Guard. He was elected judge of the Raleigh County criminal court from 1933 to 1940 on the Democratic ticket. In 1940, he was elected to the U.S. Senate with support from the Neely faction of the Democratic Party, and won reelection in 1946 and 1952. Also in 1940, he was placed on active military duty as judge advocate for West Virginia's Selective Service system until he entered the Senate. A member of the U.S. Senate from 1941 until his death, Kilgore served as chairman of the Judiciary Committee and the Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program. In October 1942, he became chair of the Subcommittee on War Mobilization of the Military Affairs Committee (also known as the Kilgore Committee).

In 1948, Kilgore served as a delegate at the Democratic National Convention, where he was an outspoken supporter of Harry S. Truman. He retired from the West Virginia National Guard as a lieutenant colonel in 1953. He died in 1956 at age 63 at Bethesda Naval Hospital, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Physical location:
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard