Oliver Ames (governor)

Oakes and Oliver Ames Jr., Ames's father and uncle, were leading figures in the Union Pacific Railroad as well as principals in Crédit Mobilier of America, a shell corporation established by Union Pacific insiders to siphon profits from the railroad's construction.[7] While a member of Congress, Oakes Ames sold shares of Crédit Mobiler to other Congressmen well below their estimated market value. When this was exposed in 1872, a congressional committee determined it a bribe for the purpose of influencing railroad legislation. The scandal resulted in Oakes Ames's censure and he died not long afterward.[8]

Ames inherited his father's fortune, nationwide network of business interests, and $6–8 million in debt related to the scandal. He was also co-executor to his father's estate. Over a period of years, Ames was able to pay off the debts, provide more than $1 million in bequests, and divide the estate amongst the heirs.[9]

Jay Gould, who removed Ames from the Crédit Mobilier board of directors

In 1875, financier Jay Gould gained control of the Union Pacific, while a group of Ames-dominated Boston investors retained control of Crédit Mobilier.[10]

Crédit Mobilier remained mired in legal action related to the scandal, and its shares were a major component of Oakes Ames's estate. The company's only major asset was a $2 million note against UP, and Ames instigated legal action to recover its value. Gould and Union Pacific countersued and conducted a hostile takeover of Crédit Mobilier, ousting Ames from the company's board and discontinuing its lawsuit.[11] Ames launched legal action as a shareholder, and succeeded in forcing CM into receivership in 1879 with himself as the receiver.[12] Their legal wrangling largely subsided in 1880, when most of the holdout shareholders were bought out by Gould.[13]

During their fight, Ames sold Gould his controlling interest in the Central Branch Union Pacific Railroad, a separate paper railroad chartered to provide service in Kansas, at $250 per share.[14] Ames made a large profit on the sale, which Gould purchased in order to assemble the pieces of a full transcontinental rail network under the Union Pacific umbrella.[3][14]

He was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate in 1879 and saw to the incorporation of the new town of Cottage City, where he owned a summer home.[16][17] He also sat on the committees overseeing railroads and schools.[17] He was re-elected in 1881.[2]

In 1882, Ames was nominated for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. Though he won his race, Republican Robert R. Bishop lost the gubernatorial election to Democrat Benjamin Butler in a bitterly divisive contest.[18] Ames served from 1883 to 1886 under Butler (1883) and Republican George D. Robinson (1884–86).[16]

In 1883, the Massachusetts legislature passed a resolution exonerating Ames's father and calling on Congress to reverse his censure.[19] While in office, he also state's divestment from the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and the Hoosac Tunnel at 1/3 of par value.[16] He was at first criticized for the relatively low price, but it was later seen to be a good deal.[5]

He advocated the improvement of public schools, as a counter to private religious schools. During his second term, he donated $1,000 to the College of the Holy Cross, which upset anti-Catholics in the state and cost him votes in his third election against William E. Russell.

Ames supported the work of the Massachusetts Temperance Society but was opposed to the legislated prohibition of alcohol.[5] He became unpopular with advocates of temperance. In 1889, the legislature passed a state constitutional amendment enacting prohibition, but it was voted down in the required popular referendum that followed.[22]

Ames married Anna Coffin Ray of Nantucket in 1860. The couple had six children.[24] Their youngest son, Oakes Ames, was a well-known American botanist and orchid expert who owned palatial properties in Boston, Martha's Vineyard, and North Easton.[25][26]

Ames was elected an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity in 1917, by the fraternity's Alpha Chapter at the New England Conservatory in Boston. He is the only known member to receive such a posthumous offer.[27]

Ames was a major financier of Easton's public high school, and it is named Oliver Ames High School in his honor.[28][26] He is also the namesake of the small community of Oliver, Nebraska[29] and of the schooner Governor Ames, in which he was invested.

With his cousin Frederick Lothrop Ames, Ames financed the construction of many projects designed by architect H. H. Richardson and landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted in North Easton, including Oakes Ames Memorial Hall and the Ames Free Library. The site of these properties is now the H. H. Richardson Historic District of North Easton, a National Historic Landmark District.[30]

Ames was a patron of sports and the arts. He owned Booth's Theatre in New York City[26] and raised funds to send members of the Boston Athletic Association to the 1896 Summer Olympics.

He was at one time the president of the Merchants' Club of Boston, and he was also president of the Boston Art Club.[2]