Oliver Prince Buel (January 22, 1838 – April 7, 1899) was an American lawyer and banker.

Early life

Buel was born on January 22, 1838, in

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

in Rensselaer County, New York. He was the youngest of eight children of Judge David Buel (1784–1860) and Harriet ( Hillhouse) Buel (1792–1866). His father, originally from

Litchfield County, Connecticut Litchfield County is in northwestern Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 185,186. The county was named after Lichfield, in England. Litchfield County has the lowest population density of any county in Connecticut and is the ...

, was a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Among his siblings were elder brothers, the Rev. Samuel Buel (father of Lt.-Col. David Hillhouse Buel), the Rev. David Hillhouse Buel, John Griswold Buel, Col. Clarence Buel, and Hambden Buel. His paternal grandparents were David Buel and Rachel ( McNiel) Buel, and his maternal grandparents were John Griswold Hillhouse (brother of U.S. Senator

James Hillhouse James Hillhouse (October 20, 1754 – December 29, 1832) was an American lawyer, real estate developer, and politician from New Haven, Connecticut. He represented the state in both chambers of the US Congress. From February to March 1801, Hill ...

) and Elizabeth ( Mason) Hillhouse of

Montville, Connecticut Montville is a town in New London County, Connecticut in the United States. The population was 18,387 at the 2020 census. The villages of Chesterfield, Mohegan, Oakdale, and Uncasville are located within the town; the latter two have their own ...

. He graduated from

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kill ...

in 1859.

Career

After being admitted to the bar in Troy, Buel practiced law in Troy from 1865 to 1870 before moving to New York City and forming his own law firm with Joel B. Erhardt later known as Buel, Erhardt & Blackwell. He was afterwards associated with W. A. Ogden Hegeman and, later, Buel, Toucey and Whiting (later known as Patterson, Buel, Touchey & Whiting). In 1881, Buel was a founding trustee of the

Metropolitan Trust Company The Metropolitan Trust Company of the City of New York was a trust company located in New York City that was founded in 1881. The trust company merged with the Chatham and Phenix National Bank in 1925 under the name of the Chatham Phenix National ...

which was organized by his cousin, Gen. Thomas Hillhouse, who had just resigned as the Assistant

Treasurer of the United States The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as custodian and trustee of the federal government's collateral assets and the supervisor of the department's currency and coinage produc ...

in New York City (following eleven years in that position after being appointed by President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

in 1870. Hillhouse served as president until his death in July 1897 when he was succeeded by

Brayton Ives Brayton Ives (August 23, 1840 – October 22, 1914) was president of Northern Pacific Railway from 1893 to 1896 and was president of the New York Stock Exchange and the Western National Bank of New York. He also served as an officer in the Union A ...

Personal life

On December 28, 1875, Buel was married to Josephine Maria ( McDougall) Buel, in

Jefferson Barracks, Missouri The Jefferson Barracks Military Post is located on the Mississippi River at Lemay, Missouri, south of St. Louis. It was an important and active U.S. Army installation from 1826 through 1946. It is the oldest operating U.S. military installation w ...

. Originally from Indianapolis, Josephine was the widow of Lt.-Col. David Hillhouse Buel, who was actually Buel's nephew. Oliver became stepfather to her son, David Hillhouse Buel, a

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

graduate who became ordained as a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

priest in 1898 and the 34th President of Georgetown University in 1905 (he later left the Jesuit order to marry, and subsequently became an Episcopal priest). Josephine's other child was Josephine Maria Buel, although she later changed her name to Violet McDougal, she married critic George Merriam Hyde. Buel died at his home, 1037 Fifth Avenue (corner of Fifth Avenue and 85th Street), in New York on April 7, 1899. He was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Troy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buel, Oliver Prince 1838 births 1899 deaths Burials at Oakwood Cemetery (Troy, New York) People from Troy, New York American bankers Williams College alumni Lawyers from New York City