Oliver Ames (governor)

This article is about the Massachusetts governor. For other people named Oliver Ames, see Oliver Ames.

Oliver Ames
35th Governor of Massachusetts
In office January 8, 1887 – January 4, 1890
Lieutenant	John Q. A. Brackett
Preceded by	George D. Robinson
Succeeded by	John Q. A. Brackett
33rd Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
In office January 4, 1883 – January 8, 1887
Governor	Benjamin F. Butler George D. Robinson
Preceded by	Byron Weston
Succeeded by	John Q. A. Brackett
Massachusetts Senate
In office 1881–1882
Town of Easton School Committee
Personal details
Born	(1831-02-04)February 4, 1831 Easton, Massachusetts
Died	Easton, Massachusetts
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Anna Coffin Ray
Children	Oakes Ames
Profession	Financier
Signature	Oliver Ames (governor)'s signature

Oliver Ames (February 4, 1831 – October 22, 1895) was an American businessman, financier and politician from Massachusetts. He was the son of Oakes Ames (1804–1873), a railroad baron behind the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad who was notably censured in the Credit Mobilier scandal for actions taken while a United States Congressman. Ames was executor of his father's estate, and took over many of his business interests. A Republican, he served as the 35th Governor of Massachusetts (1887–1890). He was a major philanthropist, especially in his hometown of Easton, which is graced by a number of architecturally significant works by H.H. Richardson as a result of his influence.

Early years

Oliver Ames was born in North Easton, Massachusetts on February 4, 1831, to Oakes Ames and Eveline Orville (Gilmore) Ames. His father was the owner of a shovel factory, which became the largest such business in the country. Ames was educated in the local schools, and then attended private academies in North Attleborough and Leicester. He was briefly employed in the family's factory before enrolling in Brown University.

Business

Ames then entered the family business, where he learned all aspects of its manufacturing processes and worked as a traveling salesman. When his grandfather died in 1863, he became a partner in the business. During these years his grandfather, uncle, and father greatly expanded the business, investing in railroads and other industrial concerns. For ten years, Ames superintended the mechanical business of the establishment, and on his father's death assumed control of his numerous financial trusts, including shares in the Union Pacific Railroad.

Ames' father and uncle were leading figures in the Union Pacific, as well as principals in Crédit Mobilier of America, a corporation established by Union Pacific insiders to siphon profits from the railroad construction. Oakes Ames, while a member of Congress in the 1860s, sold undervalued shares in Crédit Mobilier to several other members of Congress. When this was exposed in 1872, the scandal resulted in the censure of Oakes Ames, who died not long afterward. Ames became executor and an heir to his father's fortune, which included a nationwide network of business interests, as well as more than $8 million in debts, most of them related to the Union Pacific and Crédit Mobilier scandal. Over a period of years, Ames was able to pay off the debts, provide more than $1 million in bequests, and divide the estate amongst the heirs. Ames continued to be active in railroad development, overseeing construction of at least one railroad in the midwest, and sitting on many corporate boards.

Political career

Ames entered public life with the stated intent to vindicate his father's memory. His early political activities included sitting on Easton's School Committee, and chairing the local Republican Party committee. He decided to run for state senate in 1879, after he was unsuccessful in securing passage for the separation of the Martha's Vineyard community of Cottage City, where he owned a summer house, from Edgartown. Winning election, he saw through the incorporation of the town (now known as Oak Bluffs). He also sat on the committees overseeing railroads and schools.

Ames next served as Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 1882 to 1886, first under Benjamin Butler and then George D. Robinson. In 1883, the Massachusetts legislature passed a resolution exonerating his father, and called on Congress to reverse the censure. During this period he also oversaw the sale by the state of its interests in the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and the Hoosac Tunnel.

In 1885, Ames won election as Governor of Massachusetts, and served three one-year terms. During his tenure, a project to expand the Massachusetts State House was approved, and he in 1889 helped lay the cornerstone for its new elements. In 1888, his health began to fail, probably due to the strain of office and his business interests. After leaving office, he traveled to Europe several times to relax and recover his health. He died at his North Easton home in 1895.

Together with his brother Oakes Angier Ames, Oliver financed many important buildings and landscapes in North Easton with architect H. H. Richardson and landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted. Notable among these are Oakes Ames Memorial Hall and the Ames Free Library, centerpieces of the H. H. Richardson Historic District of North Easton, a National Historic Landmark District.

Family and legacy

Ames married Anna Coffin Ray of Nantucket in 1860. The couple had six children; Oakes Ames (1874–1950), their youngest son, was a well-known American botanist and orchid expert.

Ames was elected an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity in 1917, by the fraternity's Alpha Chapter at the New England Conservatory in Boston. He is the only known honorary member known to be elected after his death.

Easton's public high school is named Oliver Ames High School in his honor.

He is the namesake of the small community of Oliver, Nebraska.

See also

• Schooner Governor Ames

Bibliography

• "Ames, Oliver". American Biography: A New Cyclopedia, Volume 2

Political offices
Preceded by Byron Weston	Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts 1883–1887	Succeeded by John Q. A. Brackett
Preceded by George D. Robinson	Governor of Massachusetts 1887–1890	Succeeded by John Q. A. Brackett