Eben Erskine Olcott (March 11, 1854 – June 7, 1929) was an American mining engineer. He was president of the Hudson River Day Line and served as two-time president of the

American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) is a professional association for mining and metallurgy, with over 145,000 members. It was founded in 1871 by 22 mining engineers in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Uni ...

in 1901–02.

Early life and education

Olcott was born on March 11, 1854, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He was a descendant of the Olcott family, which settled in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

in the 17th century. His siblings included future

New York County District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York (state), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New ...

William M. K. Olcott and Congressman

J. Van Vechten Olcott Jacob Van Vechten Olcott (May 17, 1856 – June 1, 1940) was a U.S. Representative from New York. Born in New York City, Olcott attended public schools, including the Thirteenth Street School. He also attended the College of the City of New Y ...

. He was educated in the public schools and graduated from

Columbia School of Mines The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (popularly known as SEAS or Columbia Engineering; previously known as Columbia School of Mines) is the engineering and applied science school of Columbia University. It was founded as th ...

in 1874.

Career

Olcott began his engineering career as a chemist in charge of a Hunt and Douglas plant in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. After one year, he then became an assistant superintendent at Pennsylvania Lead Works in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. He later became superintendent of gold mines in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

and held a similar role in

San Juan County, Colorado San Juan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 705, making it the least populous county in Colorado. The county seat and the only incorporated municipality in the county is Silverto ...

. He spent a year examining mines in

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

before becoming manager of the Santa Elena mine in

Sonora, Mexico Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the ...

. Olcott opened an office in 1885 as consultant engineer with Robert Peele that became Olcott, Corning & Peele. He was responsible for developing the gold mines in

Dutch Guiana Dutch Guiana may refer to: * Dutch colonisation of the Guianas, the coastal region between the Orinoco and Amazon rivers in South America * Surinam (Dutch colony), commonly called "Dutch Guiana" after the loss of other large colonies in the area ...

and was a member of the

Cerro de Pasco Cerro de Pasco is a city in central Peru, located at the top of the Andean mountains. It is the capital of the Pasco region, and an important mining center. At elevation, it is one of the highest cities in the world, and the highest or the sec ...

Mining Commission. He also explored the Sandia and Carrabaya gold regions of Peru and the

Huantajaya Huantajaya or San Agustín de Huantajaya was a silver mine in Chile in the Tarapacá area of Atacama Desert east of Iquique. The silver riches of Tarapacá were known to the Spanish since the time of the conquest of the Inca Empire. Pedro Pizarro ...

silver mines of Chile among his missions to South America. In 1895, Olcott became manager of the Hudson River Day Lines that connected

and

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

. He also pursued a career in banking, serving as a vice president of Lincoln Safe Deposit Company and was a member of the advisory board of

Irving Trust Irving Trust was an American Commercial bank headquartered in New York City that operated between 1851 and 1988 when it was acquired by Bank of New York. From 1965 the bank was the principal subsidiary of the Irving Bank Corporation. Between 1913 ...

and director of Catskill Evening Line. Olcott was elected president of the

in 1901 and 1902. He was also a president of the United Engineering Society. Olcott was a member of the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. He sat on the boards of the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the ...

Reformed Church in America The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is a Mainline Protestant, mainline Reformed tradition, Reformed Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 152,317 members. From its beginning in 1628 unti ...

American Bible Society American Bible Society is a U.S.-based Christian nonprofit headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As the American member organization of United Bible Societies, it supports global Bible translation, production, distribution, literacy, engage ...

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

and was a member of the

University Club of New York The University Club of New York (also known as University Club) is a private social club at 1 West 54th Street and Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Founded to celebrate the union of social duty and intellec ...

and

Union League Club The Union League Club is a private social club in New York City that was founded in 1863 in affiliation with the Union League. Its fourth and current clubhouse is located at 38 East 37th Street on the corner of Park Avenue, in the Murray Hill ...

. He also belonged to the

Sons of the American Revolution The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR or NSSAR) is an American Congressional charter, congressionally chartered organization, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky. A non-prof ...

Pilgrims Society The Pilgrims Society, founded on 16 July 1902 by Harry Brittain, Sir Harry Brittain KBE CMG, is a British-American society established, in the words of American diplomat Joseph Choate, 'to promote good-will, good-fellowship, and everlasting peace b ...

, and

Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York The Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York is a charitable organization in New York City of men who are descended from early inhabitants of the State of New York. Charles R. Mackenzie is the current president. The organization preserves ...

Personal life

Olcott married Katharine Lawrence Van Santvoord, daughter of the steamboat businessman

Alfred Van Santvoord "Commodore" Alfred Van Santvoord (January 23, 1819 – July 20, 1901) was a wealthy United States, American businessman who made his fortune running steamboat lines. Early life Alfred was born in Utica, New York on January 23, 1819. He was the so ...

. The couple had three children. He died on June 7, 1929, in New York City, at age 76.{{Cite news , date=1929-06-06 , title=E.E. OLCOTT DIES; DAY LINE PRESIDENT; Organizer of Hudson-Fulton Celebration Succumbs in His 76th Year. EDUCATED AS AN ENGINEER Operated Mines on the Continents --Former President of Two Mining Societies. , language=en-US , work=The New York Times , url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/06/06/archives/ee-olcott-dies-day-line-president-organizer-of-hudsonfulton.html , access-date=2022-08-08 , issn=0362-4331 His nephew was Van Santvoord Merle-Smith, who served as

Third Assistant Secretary of State Assistant Secretary of State (A/S) is a title used for many executive positions in the United States Department of State, ranking below the under secretaries. A set of six assistant secretaries reporting to the under secretary for political affairs ...

under President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

References

1854 births 1929 deaths Columbia School of Mines alumni American mining engineers American bankers American transportation businesspeople Engineers from New York City