Oliver Burr Jennings
Oliver Burr Jennings (June 3, 1825 – February 12, 1893) was an American businessman and one of the original stockholders in Standard Oil.
Early life
Jennings was born in 1825 in Fairfield, Connecticut, to Abraham Gold Jennings and Anna Burr.[1] His brother was Frederick B. Jennings.[2] At a young age he came to New York to learn the dry goods business.[3] Through his great-grandfather, Peter Burr, he was distantly related to U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr.[4][2]
Career
In 1849, he headed West to seek his fortune in the California Gold Rush. He set up a general mercantile store in San Francisco with Benjamin Brewster and amassed a considerable fortune by outfitting prospecting camps along the coast and around Sacramento.[5]
Standard Oil
In 1862, he returned to New York with the intention of retiring from all business activities. Due to his close relationship with his wife's brother-in-law, William Avery Rockefeller, Jr., he became interested in the affairs of the Standard Oil Company.[3] In 1871, when Standard Oil was incorporated in Ohio, Jennings was one of the original stockholders. Of the initial 10,000 shares, John D. Rockefeller received 2,667; William Rockefeller, Henry Flagler, and Samuel Andrews received 1,333 each; Stephen V. Harkness received 1,334; Jennings received 1,000; and the firm of Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler received 1,000.[6]
Jennings served as a director of Standard Oil of Ohio and then as a trustee of the Standard Oil Trust that resulted from the company's reorganization in 1882.[7]
Personal life
On December 13, 1854, he married Esther Judson Goodsell (1828–1908) in Fairfield. Her sister Almira Geraldine Goodsell (1844–1920) was the wife of Standard Oil co-founder William Rockefeller, Jr. (1841–1922).[7] Together, Oliver and Esther had five children:[1]
- Annie Burr Jennings (1855–1939),[8] a philanthropist.[9]
- Walter Jennings (1858–1933),[2] the director of Standard Oil Company of New Jersey and president of the Jekyll Island Club from 1927 until 1933.[10]
- Helen Goodsell Jennings (1860–1946), who married Dr. Walter Belknap James (1858–1927), president of the Jekyll Island Club from 1919 until 1927
- Emma Brewster Jennings (1861–1942), who married Hugh Dudley Auchincloss, Sr. (1858–1913)
- Oliver Gould Jennings (1865–1936), who married Mary Dows Brewster (b. 1871), daughter of Benjamin Brewster and Elmina Hersey Dows.[11]
Jennings died in 1893 at his residence in New York City.[3] His estate amounted to US$10,000,000 (equivalent to $339,111,111 in 2023), which he left entirely to his family.[12]
Descendants
Jennings was the grandfather of Benjamin Brewster Jennings (1898—1968), businessman, and Hugh Dudley Auchincloss, Jr. (1897–1976), stockbroker who married Janet Lee Bouvier.[13]
References
- ^ a b Ward, George Kemp (1910). Andrew Warde and His Descendants, 1597-1910. A.T. De La Mare. pp. 117, 189.
- ^ a b c "WALTER JENNINGS DIES IN THE SOUTH | Son of One of Associates of John D. Rockefeller Sr. in - Original Standard Oil. | A POWER IN N. J. STANDARD | Was a Descendant of Aaron Burr | A Philanthropist, Patron of Art and Prominent Clubman". The New York Times. January 10, 1933. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- ^ a b c "Oliver Burr Jennings". The New York Times. 1893-02-13. p. 4. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
- ^ Michael J. Pauley (April 9, 1982). "National Register of Historic Places Nomination: Peter Burr House" (pdf). National Park Service.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Men of Progress. New England Magazine. 1898. pp. 402–3.
- ^ Dies, Edward (1969). Behind the Wall Street Curtain. Ayer. p. 76.
- ^ a b McCash, June Hall (1998). The Jekyll Island Cottage Colony. University of Georgia Press. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-8203-1928-5.
- ^ "MISS JENNINGS LISTS 11 KIN AS CHIEF HEIRS | Servants and Charities Also Share in $6,000,000 Estate". The New York Times. August 2, 1939. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- ^ "Annie Burr Jennings: Philanthropist 1855-1939 · Wonder Women of Fairfield · Fairfield Photos". fairfieldmuseum.omeka.net. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- ^ "Walter Jennings Dies After Heart Attack At Jekyll Island" (PDF). The Long Islander. January 13, 1933. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- ^ "Oliver Jennings, Capitalist, Dead. Director of Many Companies, 71, Had Been on Board of Bethlehem Steel. Was Former Legislator. Served in Connecticut House of Representatives. Brother of Mrs. Walter B. James". New York Times. October 14, 1936. Retrieved 2010-11-02.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "All in the Family; Provisions of the Will of Oliver Burr Jennings of this City". The New York Times. 1893-02-26. p. 4. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
- ^ Buck, Albert H. (1909). The Bucks of Wethersfield, Connecticut. Stone Printing and Manufacturing Co. pp. 120–3.
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