Arthur Ingram Boreman was born in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, the son of a town merchant. At the age of four, he and his family moved to Middlebourne, Tyler County. In 1845, Boreman was admitted to the bar and established a law practice at Parkersburg the following year. He represented Wood County as a Whig delegate in the Virginia General Assembly from 1855 to 1861, then served as a circuit judge under the Reorganized Government of Virginia. A member of the Constitutional Union party, Boreman was elected West Virginia's first governor in 1863.
Boreman contributed effectively to the government of the new state, supporting legislation which instituted the West Virginia Code, Board of Public Works, and the public school system. During the Civil War, he organized state militia units to combat Confederate guerrillas in the southern part of the state. In 1865, he encouraged legislation which prohibited former Confederates from voting or holding public office, guaranteeing Republican control of the state for five years. In 1869, Boreman resigned from office to join the United States Senate six days prior to the end of his term. After one six-year term in the Senate, he returned to Parkersburg to practice law. In 1888, Boreman was again elected as a circuit judge, serving until his death in 1896.