Robert Shaw Oliver (September 13, 1847 – March 15, 1935) was an American soldier and businessman.

Early life

Oliver was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 13, 1847. He was a son of Daniel Augustus Oliver and Elizabeth Willard (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Shaw) Oliver (1823–1850), who died three years after his birth. His maternal grandparents were Robert Gould Shaw and Eliza Willard (née Parkman) Shaw. Through his abolitionist uncle Francis George Shaw and, his wife,

Sarah Blake Sturgis Shaw Sarah Blake Shaw (née Sturgis; August 31, 1815 – December 31, 1902) was an American abolitionist, women's rights supporter, anti-imperialist and philanthropist. She was the daughter of Bostonians Nathaniel Russell Sturgis (1779-1856) and S ...

, he was a first cousin of

Josephine Shaw Lowell Josephine Shaw Lowell (December 16, 1843 – October 12, 1905) was a Progressive Reform leader in the United States in the Nineteenth century. She is best known for creating the New York Consumers League in 1890. Seth Low's biographer descri ...

(wife of

Charles Russell Lowell Charles Russell Lowell III (January 2, 1835 – October 20, 1864) was a railroad executive, foundryman, and General in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was mortally wounded at the Battle of Cedar Creek and was mourned by a number ...

) and

Robert Gould Shaw Robert Gould Shaw (October 10, 1837 – July 18, 1863) was an American officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Born into a prominent Boston Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist family, he accepted command of the firs ...

(who was killed at the

Second Battle of Fort Wagner The Second Battle of Fort Wagner, also known as the Second Assault on Morris Island or the Battle of Fort Wagner, Morris Island, was fought on July 18, 1863, during the American Civil War. Union Army troops commanded by Brig. Gen. Quincy Gillm ...

during the Civil War). Through his uncle

Quincy Adams Shaw Quincy Adams Shaw (February 8, 1825June 12, 1908) was a Boston Brahmin investor and business magnate who was the first president of Calumet and Hecla Mining Company. Family and early life Shaw came from a famous and moneyed Boston family. With ...

and, his wife,

Pauline Agassiz Shaw Pauline Agassiz Shaw (February 6, 1841 – February 10, 1917) was an American philanthropist and social reformer who opened day nurseries, settlement houses, and other establishments in Boston to help new immigrants and the poor. She financed pub ...

, he was also a first cousin of wealthy landowner

Robert Gould Shaw II Robert Gould Shaw II (sometimes referred to as RGS II) (June 16, 1872 – March 29, 1930) was a wealthy landowner, international polo player of the Myopia Hunt Club and socialite of the leisure class in the greater Boston area of Massachusetts. He ...

(who was the first husband of Nancy Langhorne, who later became Viscountess Astor). He graduated from a military academy in

Ossining, New York Ossining may refer to: * Ossining (town), New York, a town in Westchester County, New York state *Ossining (village), New York, a village in the town of Ossining * Ossining High School, a comprehensive public high school in Ossining village * Ossi ...

Career

Oliver served as a second lieutenant in the 5th Massachusetts Colored Cavalry at the age of 17. After the

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 ...

, he remained in the Army assigned to the 25th Army Corps in Texas and the 8th US Cavalry in California, Oregon and Arizona fighting in many Indian campaigns until 1879. From 1881 to 1903, he was employed by Rathbone, Sard & Co., stove manufacturers in Albany. In 1881, he was elected as the first president of the United States National Lawn Association, known today as the

USTA The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, ...

. He served as brigadier general of the 3rd brigade of the New York State Militia. In 1903, he was appointed Assistant Secretary of War by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

and continued under President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

, serving for ten years. General Oliver spoke at the dedication of several monuments to Civil War Union Units from Pennsylvania at the Antietam Battlefield in 1904. The content of his speech can be found in the reference.

Personal life

In 1870, Oliver was married to Marion Lucy Rathbone (1847–1926), a daughter of General John Finley Rathbone and Mary (née Baker) Rathbone. They had four children: *

John Rathbone Oliver John Rathbone Oliver (January 4, 1872 – January 21, 1943) was an American psychiatrist, medical historian, author, and priest. His novel ''Victim and Victor'' was a contender for the 1929 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, but the award went to Juli ...

(1872–1943), who was a Harvard graduate, priest, scholar, and physician. * Elizabeth Shaw Oliver (1874–1951), who married Francis Kerby Stevens (1877–1945). * Cora Lyman Oliver (1876–1955), who married

Joseph H. Choate Jr. Joseph Hodges Choate Jr. (February 2, 1876 – January 19, 1968), was an American lawyer who chaired the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers, a group established in 1927 that promoted the repeal of prohibition. Upon repeal in 1933, President Fran ...

, son of Ambassador

Joseph Hodges Choate Joseph Hodges Choate (January 24, 1832 – May 14, 1917) was an American lawyer and diplomat. Choate was associated with many of the most famous litigations in American legal history, including the Kansas prohibition cases, the Chinese exclusi ...

and suffragist

Caroline Dutcher Sterling Choate Caroline Dutcher Sterling Choate (June 16, 1837 – November 12, 1929, generally styled Mrs. Joseph H. Choate) was an artist, educational reformer, suffragist, philanthropist and socialite. She was the wife of lawyer and U.S. Ambassador to the Un ...

. * Marion Lucy Oliver (1879–1936), who died unmarried. Oliver died on March 15, 1935 in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, and was cremated and buried with his wife, Marion in the

Albany Rural Cemetery The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7, 1844, in Colonie, New York, United States, just outside the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the U.S., at over . Many historical Am ...

according to the Cemetery's Burial Cards.

Descendants

Through his daughter Cora, he was a grandfather of Helen (née Choate) Platt (1906–1974), great-grandfather of diplomat

Nicholas Platt Nicholas Platt (born March 10, 1936) is an American diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Pakistan, Philippines, Zambia, and as a high level diplomat in Canada, China, Hong Kong, and Japan. He is the former p ...

, the former

U.S. Ambassador to Zambia The history of ambassadors of the United States to Zambia began in 1964. Until 1964 Zambia had been a colony of the British Empire, first as Northern Rhodesia and then as a part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. On December 31, 1963, ...

the Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

; and a great-great-grandfather of actor

Oliver Platt Oliver Platt (born January 12, 1960) is a Canadian-born American actor. He is known for his starring roles in many films such as ''Flatliners'' (1990), ''Beethoven'' (1992), ''Indecent Proposal'', ''The Three Musketeers'' (both 1993), ''Executiv ...

. Also through Cora, he was a grandfather of Marion (née Choate) Harding (1905–1979), who married

Charles Barney Harding Charles Barney Harding (September 11, 1899 – October 25, 1979) was an American financier who served as chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, Smith Barney, Smith, Barney & Co., and the New York Botanical Gardens. Early life Harding was born ...

, who served as

chairman of the New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed co ...

and Smith, Barney & Co. (founded by his grandfather Charles D. Barney).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Robert Shaw 1847 births 1935 deaths People from Boston People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War United States Assistant Secretaries of War Burials at Albany Rural Cemetery