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John D. Hoblitzell, Jr. (1912-1962), Politician, 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

Email: lori.hostuttler@mail.wvu.edu

Phone: (304) 293-3536

Web: wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu

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], John D. Hoblitzell, Jr. (1912-1962), Politician, Papers, A&M 1580, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Summary

Extent:: 4.4 Linear Feet 4 ft. 4 3/4 in. (8 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 folder, 3/4 in.)
Creator:: Hoblitzell, John D., Jr., 1912-1962
Language:: English
Preferred citation:: [Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], John D. Hoblitzell, Jr. (1912-1962), Politician, Papers, A&M 1580, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

Correspondence, speeches, and newspaper clippings of a West Virginia Republican chairman, U.S. senator (serving in 1958), and member of the 1960 Republican National Convention platform committee.

Subjects include: West Virginia and national Republican politics, 1956-1961; the 1958 Congressional election; the 1960 presidential campaign; the State Chamber of Commerce; State Economic Development Agency; Ohio Valley Improvement Association; and West Virginia University.

Correspondents include Sherman Adams, Stephen Ailes, Meade Alcorn, W.W. Barron, Harry Byrd, Robert C. Byrd, Erwin D. Canham, Clifford P. Case, John Sherman Cooper, Carl T. Curtis, Everett M. Dirksen, Henry Dworshak, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Allen J. Ellender, Hiram L. Fong, Barry Goldwater, Leonard W. Hall, Walter S. Hallanan, Ken Hechler, Bourke Hickenlooper, Hubert H. Humphrey, Lyndon B. Johnson, Elizabeth Kee, Thomas H. Kuchel, Henry Cabot Lodge, Edward Martin, Jack Miller, Arch A. Moore, Thurston B. Morton, Karl Mundt, Harold Neely, Richard M. Nixon, Jennings Randolph, Carroll Reece, Chapman Revercomb, A. Willis Robertson, Richard B. Russell, Leverett Saltonstall, Fred A. Seaton, John M. Slack, John Sparkman, Strom Thurmond, Cecil H. Underwood, and Alexander Wiley.

Also includes negatives of photographs (4 in. x 5 in.) of candid shots of Senator Hoblitzell (1958) with President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, West Virginia Governor Underwood, members of his staff, and others.

Biographical / historical:

John Dempsey Hoblitzell, Jr. (December 30, 1912-January 6, 1962) represented West Virginia as a Republican United States Senator from January 25 to November 4, 1958. He was also the State Republican Chairman in 1956; and State Republican Finance Chairman and member of the Platform Committee for the Republican National Convention, 1960.

Hoblitzell was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and graduated from West Virginia University in 1934. He was a businessman working in insurance, real estate, construction and banking. From 1942 to 1946 he served in the United States Naval Reserve, retiring with the rank of lieutenant.

He was also an active community member serving on a number of boards and was the first president of The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, 1939 to 1940.

After an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination to the House of Representatives in 1956, Governor Cecil Underwood appointed Hoblitzell to fill the vacancy of deceased U.S. Senator Matthew Neely. He was defeated by Jennings Randolph when he tried to claim the office by election in 1958.

He continued his business career after leaving the Senate. He died in Clarksburg, West Virginia, in 1962.

[Biographical information adapted from a Wikipedia article "John D. Hoblitzell, Jr." Accessed June 2, 2020.]

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