Oliver Dwight Filley (May 23, 1806August 21, 1881) was an American businessman,
abolitionist
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The British ...
, and politician who served as the 16th mayor of
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
from 1858 to 1861.
Early life
Filley was born on May 23, 1806 in
Bloomfield, Connecticut. He was the eldest of six children, five sons and one daughter,
born to Oliver Filley and Annis (
née Humphrey) Filley.
His siblings included Marcus Lucius Filley, Jay Humphrey Filley, Joseph Earl Filley, Giles Franklin Filley, Jennette Annis Filley and John Eldridge Filley,
who all became prominent.
Career
In 1829, Filley emigrated to St. Louis, Missouri.
He ran a successful tinware business in St. Louis, eventually amassing a fortune and retired in 1873. He was a director of the Bank of the State of Missouri, and "subscribed largely" to the
Kansas Pacific Railway.
He contributed financially to
Frank P. Blair's antislavery newspaper the ''St. Louis Union.''
Mayor of St. Louis
Originally, Filley was a "
hard money Jackson Democrat
Jacksonian democracy was a 19th-century political philosophy in the United States that expanded suffrage to most white men over the age of 21, and restructured a number of federal institutions. Originating with the seventh U.S. president, And ...
" and a personal friend of
Thomas H. Benton, the Democratic
U.S. Senator from
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
from 1821 to 1851 who was a champion of
westward expansion
The United States of America was created on July 4, 1776, with the U.S. Declaration of Independence of thirteen British colonies in North America. In the Lee Resolution two days prior, the colonies resolved that they were free and independe ...
in the United States, a cause that became known as
Manifest Destiny.
During the time late 1840s when the
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was an unsuccessful 1846 proposal in the United States Congress to ban slavery in territory acquired from Mexico in the Mexican–American War. The conflict over the Wilmot Proviso was one of the major events leading to the ...
proposed to ban
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
in
territory acquired from
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
in the
Mexican War,.
Filley declared himself in full support of
Free Soil
The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery into ...
and the
emancipation of Missouri, leading him to support
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...
in the
presidential election of 1848. The Free Soil party was eventually absorbed into the
Republican party.
He was the first
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
mayor of St. Louis and he became the first mayor elected for a two-year term under the new City Charter of 1859. He was reluctant to take the position.
As mayor, he headed the movement for arousing and consolidating union sentiment as the chairman for the Committee of Public Safety. The
Fire Alarm Telegraph System was completed and put into use during his term in office.
Personal life
In 1835,
Filley was married to Chloe Velina Brown (1808–1890), the daughter of Eli Brown,
in Bloomfied, Connecticut.
In St. Louis, the family lived at 2201 Lucas Place and attended the Central Presbyterian Church.
Together, they were the parents of six children, including:
* Oliver Brown Filley (1836–1887), one of the proprietors of the
Fulton Iron Works who married Mary McKinley.
* Ellen Filley (1841–1929), an
Emma Willard School
The Emma Willard School, originally called Troy Female Seminary and often referred to simply as Emma, is an independent university-preparatory day and boarding school for young women, located in Troy, New York, on Mount Ida, offering grades 9– ...
alumna who married Thomas Tilden Richards (1840–1881) in 1865.
* Maria Jeannette Filley (1843–1930), who married John Tilden Davis (1844–1894).
* Alice Filley (1845–1933), who married Robert Moore (1838–1922), a
civil engineer.
* Henry Marcus Filley (1847–1902),
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
graduate.
* Jeanette Filley (1850–1933), who married Isaac Wyman Morton (1847–1903) in 1877.
* John Dwight Filley (1853–1930), the president of the American Manufacturing Company who married Fannie Douglass.
Filley died on August 21, 1881 of acute kidney disease while vacationing in
Hampton, New Hampshire
Hampton is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 16,214 at the 2020 census. On the Atlantic Ocean coast, Hampton is home to Hampton Beach, a summer tourist destination.
The densely populated central part ...
.
He was buried in
Bellefontaine Cemetery
Bellefontaine Cemetery is a nonprofit, non-denominational cemetery and arboretum in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1849 as a rural cemetery, Bellefontaine is home to a number of architecturally significant monuments and mausoleums such as t ...
.
Descendants
Through his eldest son Oliver, he was the grandfather of Oliver Dwight Filley (1883–1961),
was a Harvard graduate and pilot who volunteered with the
British Air Force during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
(before America entered the War) and was married to Mary Percy Pyne (b. 1893), the daughter of
Percy Rivington Pyne II, in 1917.
Another grandson was
Dwight Filley Davis
Dwight Filley Davis Sr. (July 5, 1879 – November 28, 1945) was an American tennis player and politician. He is best remembered as the founder of the Davis Cup international tennis competition. He was the Assistant Secretary of War from 1923 to ...
(1879–1945), who served as the 49th
United States Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
from October 14, 1925 until March 4, 1929 in the administration of
Calvin Coolidge and later as the
Governor-General of the Philippines
The Governor-General of the Philippines (Spanish: ''Gobernador y Capitán General de Filipinas''; Filipino: ''Gobernador-Heneral ng Pilipinas/Kapitan Heneral ng Pilipinas''; Japanese: ) was the title of the government executive during the colo ...
from 1929 until 1932.
References
External links
*
Oliver D. Filleyat the St. Louis Public Library: St. Louis Mayors website.
at Missouri History Museum.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Filley, Oliver D.
1806 births
1881 deaths
Mayors of St. Louis
People from Bloomfield, Connecticut
19th-century American politicians