Background
Ames, Oliver was born on November 5, 1807 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. Son of Oliver and Susannah (Angier) Ames.
president of Union Pacific Railroad
Ames, Oliver was born on November 5, 1807 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. Son of Oliver and Susannah (Angier) Ames.
Young Oliver attended public schools for a few years, then Franklin Academy in North Andover.
He briefly entered the law field, but left to help in the family shovel business. lieutenant was a good time to be in the shovel business, as the nation was experiencing a dramatic expansion of canals, railroads, and other major infrastructure, all of which were built by men swinging shovels. Oliver Ames, Junior., served as president of Union Pacific Railroad (Uttar Pradesh) while the railroad was busy building the First Transcontinental Railroad in North America.
He was its president pro tem from 1866 until 1868, and was formally elected president of the company on March 12, 1868.
He continued as president until March 8, 1871. His tenure was marked by controversy since his 1866 ascent to the presidency was over Thomas C. Durant who had tried to gain the position for himself.
Durant filed lawsuits against Ames that stopped construction, and Ames retaliated by garnering support to remove Durant from the railroad"s executive committee. Oliver Ames, Junior., served in the Massachusetts State Senate in 1852 and 1857.
He was a Whig and later a Republican.
Personal life
Starting around 1826, Oliver became involved in the temperance movement. He was said to be the first man in Easton to sign a temperance pledge. Ames married Sarah Lothrop on June 11, 1833.
Sarah was daughter of Howard Lothrop of Easton, Massachusetts.
They had two children: Frederick Lothrop Ames and Helen Angier. Like the rest of his family, Oliver, Junior. was a devoted Unitarian, and attended Unitarian churches in Easton and North Easton.
Ames died at North Easton on March 9, 1877. He left $50,000 in his will for the construction of a library.
The will stipulated that it was to be a private institution, not owned by the town, but operated in trust for the public.
They hired Henry Hobson Richardson to design the Ames Free Library. The final cost of the building came to at least $80,000. Medallions in the library honor Ames with his likeness.
The pyramidal monument was designed by famous architect Henry Hobson Richardson (who designed a number of projects for the Ames family) with sculpted plaques of the Ames brothers by Augustus Saint-Gaudens.
With a change in the route of the railroad, the monument today is not on any major transportation route.
Member Massachusetts
Married Sarah Lothrop, children—Helen, Frederick L. Member.