Robert Oliver (soldier)

Robert Richard Oliver (1738–1810 or 1811) was a lieutenant colonel in the American Revolutionary War[1][2] and a representative and president of the council of the Northwest Territory's first general assembly.[3][4]

Early life

Oliver was born in Boston[5] to Irish immigrants. In 1763, he married Mary Walker of Worcester.

Revolutionary War

He enlisted as a lieutenant of a company of Minutemen in April 1775. Oliver was promoted to captain in the 3rd Massachusetts Regiment in 1776, major in the 2nd Massachusetts[6] in November 1777 or 3rd Massachusetts (November 1, 1777–January 1, 1783)[7] and lieutenant colonel in the militia in 1779.[1] Major Oliver was assigned to the 2nd Massachusetts from January 1 to November 3, 1783.[7] He served under Colonel Rufus Putnam, and his service was applauded by Baron von Steuben.[2] He retired in November 1783 as a brevet lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Massachusetts.[1][5]

The Library of Congress possesses a number of letters from Oliver to George Washington, David Humphreys (an aide de camp to Washington), William Heath and others, as well as letters to Oliver.[8] For example, Major Oliver and other officers of the Massachusetts Line signed a June 13, 1779, letter to George Washington regarding issues they had with how promotions were being handled.[9]

Oliver is an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati.[10]

Post-war

After the war, Oliver moved to the Northwest Territory. He was appointed a justice of the peace of Washington County in 1788,[11] and a major of the county militia the following year.[1] He was also a judge on the Court of Common Pleas (dates unknown).[4] He invested in the Ohio Company of Associates, purchasing two shares, and was elected its president in 1801.[5] A May 10, 1792, proclamation granted Oliver, Rufus Putnam, Manasseh Cutler and Griffin Green 214,285 acres (86,718 ha) for "warrants ... issued for army bounty rights".[1]

He was elected as a representative of Washington County after the formation of the first territorial legislature in 1798,[6] also serving as the president of the council (1779–1803).[4] He ran for the Ohio Senate as a Federalist in 1803 (the year Ohio became a state), but came in fifth.[12] He was second in an 1807 election for Washington County commissioner.[13]

He died in Marietta, Ohio, in 1810[5] or 1811.[1][14]

References
  1. "Proclamation, 10 May 1792". National Historic Publications & Records Commission, National Archives.
  2. Hildreth, S. P.; Badgley, C. Stephen (June 15, 2011). Memoirs of the Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio. Badgley Publishing Company. p. 317. ISBN 9780615501895 – via Google Books.
  3. Chase, Salmon Portland, ed. (1833). The Statutes of Ohio and of the Northwestern Territory, Adopted Or Enacted from 1788 to 1833 Inclusive: Together with the Ordinance of 1787; the Constitutions of Ohio and of the United States, and Various Public Instruments and Acts of Congress, Volume 1. Corey & Fairbank. p. 287.
  4. Andrews, Israel Ward (1877). Washington County, and the Early Settlement of Ohio: Being the Centennial Historical Address, Before the Citizens of Washington County. P. G. Thomson. p. 76.
  5. "To George Washington from Rufus Putnam, 5 April 1784". National Historic Publications & Records Commission, National Archives.
  6. "George Washington, January 17, 1783, General Orders". Library of Congress.
  7. Heitman, Francis B. (1914). "Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution: April, 1775, to December, 1783" (PDF). The Rare Book Shop Publishing Company. p. 37.
  8. "Search results for "Robert Oliver" in the Library of Congress". Library of Congress.
  9. "To George Washington from Officers of the Massachusetts Line, 13 June 1779". founders.archives.gov.
  10. Drake, Francis Samuel (1873). "Memorials of the Society of the Cincinnati of Massachusetts".
  11. "Wolf Bounty". Legacy Library, Marietta College. August 28, 1788.
  12. "Ohio 1803 State Senate, Washington County". Digital Collections and Archives at Tufts University.
  13. "Ohio 1807 Commissioner, Washington County, 3 Years". Digital Collections and Archives at Tufts University.
  14. The tombstone shown on his Find a Grave entry states 1811.
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