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William J. Oliphant (1845–1930) was an American
Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
veteran and photographer from Austin, Texas. He published the first photographs of buffalo hunts in North America.


Early life

William James Oliphant was born on September 30, 1845 in
Lawrenceburg, Indiana Lawrenceburg is a city in Dearborn County, Indiana, United States. The population was 5,042 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat and largest city of Dearborn County. Lawrenceburg is in southeast Indiana, on the Ohio River west of Cin ...
.William Russell Young III, "OLIPHANT, WILLIAM JAMES," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fol10), accessed July 24, 2014. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.Lawrence T. Jones III Texas Photographs: William J. Oliphant
Southern Methodist University Digital Libraries

Texas State Library and Archives Commission
His father, William S. Oliphant (1813-1890), was a jeweller. His mother was Jane (Van Zile) Oliphant (1822-1867). He moved to Texas with his parents when he was seven years old, in 1853. The family settled in Austin, where his father's jewellery store was located on Pecan Street, now known as Sixth Street.Lawrence T. Jones, ''Lens on the Texas Frontier'', College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press, 2014, p. 5

/ref> He studied photography under Alexander Gardner (photographer), Alexander Gardner (1845–1930) and
Timothy H. O'Sullivan Timothy H. O'Sullivan (c. 1840 – January 14, 1882) was a photographer widely known for his work related to the American Civil War and the Western United States. Biography O'Sullivan's history and personal life remains unclear as there is lit ...
(1840-1882) in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...


Career

During the American Civil War of 1861-1865, Oliphant served as a private in the Company G of the Sixth Texas Infantry Regiment, also known as the "Travis Rifles," of the
Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
(CSA). He served in the
Battle of Missionary Ridge The Battle of Missionary Ridge was fought on November 25, 1863, as part of the Chattanooga Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the Union victory in the Battle of Lookout Mountain on November 24, Union forces in the Military Division of ...
, the
Battle of Pickett's Mill The Battle of Pickett's Mill (May 27, 1864) was fought in Paulding County, Georgia, between Union forces under Major General William Tecumseh Sherman and Confederate forces led by General Joseph E. Johnston during the Atlanta Campaign in the ...
, and the
Battle of Atlanta The Battle of Atlanta was a battle of the Atlanta Campaign fought during the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply hub of Atlanta, U ...
(where he was wounded and caught by Union forces). He was in prison at
Camp Chase Camp Chase was a military staging and training camp established in Columbus, Ohio in May 1861 after the start of the American Civil War. It also included a large Union-operated prison camp for Confederate prisoners during the American Civil W ...
for nearly a year, from July 1864 to March 1865. Shortly after the war, Oliphant became a photographer in Austin. His studio was above his father's jewellery shop at 117 Pecan Street. Indeed, together with Hamilton B. Hillyer (1835–1903), he was one of the earliest photographers in Austin to have a studio in the city. Additionally, he published photographs taken by other photographers. He is perhaps best known for publishing the earliest photographs of buffalo hunts in the United States. They are known as the ''Life on the Frontier'' series, taken by George Robertson in 1874.Buffalo Hunt, 1874
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
From the 1880s to the 1920s, Oliphant worked for the government. He worked for the
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts is an executive branch position created by the Texas Constitution. The comptroller is popularly elected every four years, and is primarily tasked with collecting all state tax revenue and estimating the am ...
from 1881 to 1886, the
Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...
from 1887 to 1890, and for the Travis County Tax Assessor's Office from 1905 to 1927.


Personal life

Oliphant resided at the Oliphant-Walker House in Hyde Park, a suburb of
Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city i ...
. He married twice. His first wife was Lizzie J. Walker (1848-1873). After she died in 1873, he got remarried to Alice Olive Townsend (1852-1908) in 1877. They had four children. One of his daughters married
Walter Prescott Webb Walter Prescott Webb (April 3, 1888 in Panola County, Texas – March 8, 1963 near Austin, Texas) was an American historian noted for his groundbreaking work on the American West. As president of the Texas State Historical Association, he lau ...
, a Texas historian.


Death and legacy

Oliphant died on November 11, 1930 in Austin, Texas. He was buried at the Oakwood Cemetery in Austin, Texas. The William J. Oliphant chapter of the
United Daughters of the Confederacy The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, ...
in Austin, Texas is named in his honor.


Bibliography

*Oliphant, William J. ''Only a Private: A Texan Remembers the Civil War''. Edited by James M. McCaffrey. Houston, Texas: Halcyon Press, Ltd. 2004.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliphant, William J. 1845 births 1930 deaths People from Lawrenceburg, Indiana People from Austin, Texas Confederate States Army personnel Northern-born Confederates American photographers Bison hunting Burials at Oakwood Cemetery (Austin, Texas)