Name Oliver Jennings | Children Oliver Gould Jennings | |
Died February 12, 1893, New York City, New York, United States | ||
Oliver Burr Jennings (June 3, 1825 – February 12, 1893) was an American businessman and one of the original stockholders in Standard Oil.
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Early life
Jennings was born in 1825 in Fairfield, Connecticut, to Abraham Gold Jennings and Anna Burr. His brother was Frederick B. Jennings. At a young age he came to New York to learn the dry goods business. Through his great-grandfather, Peter Burr, he was distantly related to U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr.
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.
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. 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.
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.
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). Together, Oliver and Esther had five children:
Jennings died in 1893 at his residence in New York City. His estate amounted to US$10,000,000 (equivalent to $266,555,556 in 2016), which he left entirely to his family.
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.