Oliver Family Papers 1658-1963 Guide to the Microfilm Edition

Table of Contents Collection Summary Biographical Sketches Collection Description Acquisition Information Organization Detailed Description of the Collection Preferred Citation Access Terms Materials Removed

Collection Summary

Biographical Sketches

Benjamin Lynde (1666-1745) was chief justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court of Judicature from 1728 to 1745. His son Benjamin Lynde, Jr. (1700-1781) was a representative, councilor, and, on his father's death, justice of the Superior Court.

Brothers Andrew Oliver (1706-1774) and Peter Oliver (1713-1791) both occupied strategic positions during the American Revolution and witnessed first-hand the undoing of Britain's Atlantic empire. Andrew Oliver was lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, 1771-1773, a stamp tax collector, and a Loyalist. Peter Oliver was chief justice of the Superior Court and a member of the Massachusetts House.

Many of the 18th- and 19th-century Olivers were known for their scientific achievements. Andrew Oliver (1731-1799) was a judge and scientist who corresponded with Benjamin Franklin and authored numerous scientific essays. His son Benjamin Lynde Oliver (1760-1835) continued his father's work and himself corresponded with Sir William Herschel and Sir David Brewster. He was particularly interested in optics and grinded his own lenses. Daniel Oliver (1787-1842) and Fitch Edward Oliver (1819-1892) were physicians with large practices.

Jeremiah Mason (1768-1848), whose daughter married Fitch Edward Oliver, was one of the most distinguished lawyers of his day and a colleague of Daniel Webster. He served as U.S. attorney general, U.S. senator from New Hampshire, and president of the Bank of the United States, Portsmouth, N.H.

Collection Description

This collection consists of the papers of the Oliver family and the related Lynde and Mason families. The Oliver family papers include diaries and other volumes, letters, notes, sermons, medical and legal material, writings, and other papers of Andrew Oliver (1706-1774), Peter Oliver (1713-1791), Andrew Oliver (1731-1799), Mary Lynde Oliver, Rev. Thomas Fitch Oliver, Benjamin Lynde Oliver, Benjamin Lynde Oliver, Jr., Daniel Oliver, Fitch Edward Oliver, Peter Oliver (1822-1855), Rev. Andrew Oliver (1824-1897), Susan Lawrence Mason Oliver, Charles E. Oliver, Andrew Oliver (b. 1869), Mary Mason Oliver, Andrew Oliver (1906-1981), and others.

Of particular interest are the historical, legal, and scientific notes of Andrew Oliver (1731-1799); scientific notes and drawings by his son Benjamin Lynde Oliver; medical notes and correspondence of Daniel Oliver and Fitch Edward Oliver; sermons of Rev. Thomas Fitch Oliver; diaries of Rev. Andrew Oliver (1824-1897) and letters to his mother Mary Robinson Oliver and his sister Isabella Louisa Oliver; genealogical information; deeds; maps; and sketches and portraits of family members. Correspondents include William Pynchon, Sarah Pynchon, P. O. Hutchinson, Amos Lawrence, and Thomas Hutchinson.

The collection also contains the diaries, letterbooks, notes, and other papers of Benjamin Lynde and Benjamin Lynde, Jr.; papers of Jeremiah Mason related to the Dartmouth College case, a controversy concerning the Bank of the United States, and the slavery issue; correspondence of Charles Mason and Susannah Lawrence Mason; a manuscript copy of William Pynchon's Revolutionary War diary, 1776-1777; miscellaneous sermons; and an account book for the estate of Amos Lawrence.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Andrew Oliver, 1959, 1963, 1964.

Organization of the Collection

The collection is organized into the following series:

Detailed Description of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Oliver family papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.

Materials Removed from the Collection

Photographs from this collection have been removed to the MHS Photo Archives.