The Ames family is one of the oldest and most illustrious families of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The family's branches are descended from John Ames, the son of a 17th-century settler of the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the Thirteen Colonies, thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III of England, William III and Mary II ...

, and numerous public and private works throughout the U.S. are named after family members, including the city

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary medici ...

and the

NASA Ames The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) laborat ...

research center in California.

Origins

The scion of the American Ames family was William Ames who was born in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to John Ames and Cyprian Ames (née Brown) in 1605. The family's earliest known ancestor died in 1560. It is thought the family's surname was, at some point prior to emigration, changed from ''

Amyas Amyas is a surname and male forename thought to be derived either from the Latin verb '' amare'' or the French city of Amiens. People *Sir Amyas Bampfylde (1560–1626), English politician and Member of Parliament for Devon in 1597 * Amyas Borto ...

''. In the 16th century Amyas was frequently confused with Ames. William Ames immigrated to

Massachusetts Bay Massachusetts Bay is a bay on the Gulf of Maine that forms part of the central coastline of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Description The bay extends from Cape Ann on the north to Plymouth Harbor on the south, a distance of about . Its ...

in 1638, eventually settled in Braintree, and died in about 1653. With his wife Hannah, he had one son, John, born in 1647.

Heraldry

The heraldist William Armstrong Crozier recorded an heraldic achievement matriculated to William Ames, from an original grant issued by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

. ;Shield :''Argent on a bend cotissed between two annulets Sable, a quatrefoil between two roses of the field;'' ;Crest :''A rose Argent, slipped and leaved proper, in front thereof an annulet Or''

Notable family members

The children of William Ames' son, John (born 1647), included John (born 1672), Nathaniel (1677), and Thomas (born 1681). They, in turn, had a number of notable descendants.

Descendants of John Ames (born 1672)

* Samuel Ames (1824-1875), chief justice of the

Rhode Island Supreme Court The Rhode Island Supreme Court is the court of last resort in the U.S. State of Rhode Island. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, all selected by the Governor of Rhode Island from candidates vetted by the Judicial No ...

Marcus Ames Marcus Ames (1828–1887) was an American minister and prison chaplain who was an early reformer in juvenile corrections. A member of the Ames family, he served as head of the Lancaster Industrial School for Girls and as chaplain of the state ...

(1828-1887), chaplain of the state institutions of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

Herman Vandenburg Ames Herman Vandenburg Ames (; August 7, 1865 – February 7, 1935) was an American legal historian, archivist, and professor of United States constitutional history at the University of Pennsylvania and, from 1907 to 1928, dean of its graduate sc ...

(1865-1935), dean of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Graduate School *

Joseph Sweetman Ames Joseph Sweetman Ames (July 3, 1864 – June 24, 1943) was a physicist, professor at Johns Hopkins University, provost of the university from 1926 to 1929, and university president from 1929 to 1935. He is best remembered as one of the founding ...

(1865-1943), president of

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

* Louis Annin Ames (1866-1952), businessman and designer of the

City of New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

flag

Descendants of Nathaniel Ames (born 1677)

Nathaniel Ames Nathaniel Ames (July 22, 1708 – July 11, 1764), a colonial American physician, published a popular series of annual almanacs. He was the son of Nathaniel Ames first (1677–1736) and the father of Nathaniel and Fisher Ames. The family was ...

(1708-1764), almanac publisher *

Fisher Ames Fisher Ames (; April 9, 1758 – July 4, 1808) was a Representative in the United States Congress from the 1st Congressional District of Massachusetts. He was an important leader of the Federalist Party in the House, and was noted for his o ...

(1758-1808), member of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

, (1741-1822), doctor and almanac publisher *

(1796-1835), seafarer and author * Ellis Ames (1809-1886), member of the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...

Descendants of Thomas Ames (born 1681)

The descendants of Thomas Ames, known for the

Ames Manufacturing Company Ames Manufacturing Company was a manufacturer of swords, tools and cutlery in Chicopee, Massachusetts, as well as an iron and bronze foundry. They were a major provider of side arms, swords, light artillery, and heavy ordnance for the Union in the ...

and

Ames True Temper Ames True Temper is a multinational corporation headquartered in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, USA. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Griffon Corporation. Ames True Temper specializes in the manufacture of non-powered lawn and garden products. T ...

which was the source of their wealth, have principally been associated with

North Easton, Massachusetts Easton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,058 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Boston area. Easton is governed by an elected Select Board. Open Town Meeting acts as the legislative bran ...

Stonehill College Stonehill College is a Private college, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1948 by the Congregation of Holy Cross and is located on ...

maintains the Ames Family Collection, containing documents related to the Thomas Ames branch dating from the 19th to 20th centuries. They were donated to the college in 2000 by Elizabeth M. Ames, and later supplemented by additional deposits from other family members. * John Ames (1738-1805), military officer and industrialist *

Oliver Ames, Sr. Oliver Ames Sr., or "Old Oliver", (April 11, 1779 – September 11, 1863) was the family patriarch of the Ames family of Easton, Massachusetts. He established the family shovel business, which over generations grew to become one of the largest ...

(1779-1863), industrialist *

Oakes Ames Oakes Ames (January 10, 1804 – May 8, 1873) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. As a congressman, he is credited by many historians as being ...

(1804-1873), member of the

Oliver Ames Jr. Oliver Ames Jr. (November 5, 1807 – March 9, 1877) was president of Union Pacific Railroad when the railroad met the Central Pacific Railroad in Utah for the completion of the First transcontinental railroad in North America. Biography Born i ...

(1807-1877), president of the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

John Ames Mitchell John Ames Mitchell (January 17, 1845 – June 29, 1918) was an American publisher, architect, artist and novelist. He was co-founder, editor, and publisher of the original ''Life'' magazine, in which he was a contributing artist, and the au ...

(1845-1918), architect * Oakes Angier Ames (1829-1899), industrialist * Oliver Ames (1831–1895),

governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachusetts ...

* Frederick Lothrop Ames (1835-1893), member of the

Winthrop Ames Winthrop Ames (November 25, 1870 – November 3, 1937) was an American theatre director and producer, playwright and screenwriter. For three decades at the beginning of the 20th century, Ames was an important force on Broadway, whose repertoir ...

(1870-1937), playwright *

(1874-1950), botanist * Frederick Lothrop Ames Jr. (1876-1921), socialite

Family tree

* John Ames / Susannah Howard :* David Ames :*

/ Susannah Angier ::*

/ Evelina Orville Gilmore :::* Oakes Angier Ames ::::*

:::* Oliver Ames / Anna Coffin Ray ::::*

Oakes Ames (botanist) Oakes Ames (; September 26, 1874 – April 28, 1950) was an American biologist specializing in orchids. His estate is now the Borderland State Park in Massachusetts. He was the son of Governor of Massachusetts, Oliver Ames, and grandson of Con ...

Blanche Ames Ames Blanche Ames Ames (February 18, 1878 – March 2, 1969) was an American artist, political activist, inventor, writer, and prominent supporter of women's suffrage and birth control. Personal life Born Blanche Ames in Lowell, Massachusetts, Am ...

::* Oliver Ames, Jr. / Sarah Lothrop :::* Frederick Lothrop Ames / Rebecca Blair ::::* Frederick Lothrop Ames, Jr. / Edith Cryder ::* Harriet Ames (1819-1896) / Asa Mitchell (1819-1877) :::*

Notes

References

{{reflist American families Butler–Ames family