Charles Ruggles Boardman was born in the town of Empire, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, on October 28, 1860. His father, Napoleon Boardman, had been an officer in the Union army, and his mother, Mary Louise Tallmadge, was the daughter of Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, United States Senator from New York and third Territorial Governor of Wisconsin.
Boardman attended the University of Wisconsin, receiving his B.A. in 1884. After graduation he became the city editor of the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern from 1884 to 1888, and the business manager from 1888 to 1897. In 1895, he helped organize the Globe Printing Company of Oshkosh which published the Northwestern, and he became its vice-president. He also entered the field of insurance. In 1908, he helped found the Wisconsin National Life Insurance Company, of which he was director, vice-president, and from 1916 to 1946, president.
General Boardman gained his greatest prominence through his military career. Long before his entrance into business life, he had an interest in the National Guard. In 1880, at the age of 19, he enlisted in the Guard at Fond du Lac. He received his commission as captain in 1885 and four years later was promoted to major. In 1897 he was appointed adjutant general of the state of Wisconsin. He was reappointed each term by succeeding governors until he retired in 1913. As adjutant general he was in command of the State National Guard. His term of office was an important one for that organization, for it covered not only the period of the Spanish American War, but the period just prior to World War I.
During World War I, General Boardman re-entered upon his military career. In 1917 he was appointed brigadier general and was sent overseas in command of the 64th infantry brigade of the 32nd division.
General Boardman was also active on the Wisconsin political scene. He was a staunch Republican, whose conservative temperament inclined him toward the anti-La Follette wing of the party.
