Jennings and his wife in 1914
Oliver Gould Jennings House

Oliver Gould Jennings (April 27, 1865 – October 13, 1936) was a financier and an heir to a fortune from Standard Oil who served in the Connecticut House of Representatives.[1]

Early life

Jennings was born on April 27, 1865, in New York City. He was the youngest son of Oliver Burr Jennings (1825–1893) and Esther Judson (née Goodsell) Jennings (1828–1908). His older siblings were Annie Burr Jennings (a philanthropist),[2] a philanthropist.[3] Walter Jennings,[4][5] Helen Goodsell Jennings (wife of Dr. Walter Belknap James),[6][7] and Emma Brewster Jennings (wife of Hugh Dudley Auchincloss Sr.).[8]

His maternal aunt, Almira Geraldine Goodsell, was the wife of Standard Oil co-founder William A. Rockefeller, Jr. Through his sister Emma, he was the uncle of Hugh D. Auchincloss, whose third wife was Janet Lee Bouvier, mother of First Lady Jackie Kennedy.[9]

Jennings attended Phillips Andover, graduated from Yale University, was an 1887 initiate into Yale's Skull and Bones Society,[10]: 42  and later graduated from Columbia Law School.

Career

Jennings served on the boards of Bethlehem Steel, United States Industrial Alcohol Company, McKesson & Robbins, Kingsport Press, Signature Company, National Fuel Gas, and Grocery Store Products.[1]

In 1923, Jennings was elected to serve in the Connecticut House of Representatives.[1]

Personal life

Mailands in Fairfield, Connecticut

In 1896, he married Mary Dows Brewster (1871–1964), daughter of industrialist Benjamin Brewster and Elmina Hersey Dows. Together, they had two children:

  • Benjamin Brewster Jennings (1898–1968), who married Kate deForest Prentice (1903–1994), a daughter of John Henry Prentice, in 1923.[11][12][13]
  • Lawrence Kirtland Jennings (1903–1973),[14] who married Beatrice Black, eldest daughter of Witherbee Black (of the family silversmith firm Black, Starr & Frost-Gorham), in 1927.[15]

Jennings built a forty-room French Renaissance style home called the Mailands in Fairfield, Connecticut. The building later became part of the campus of Fairfield University and was renamed McAuliffe Hall.[16] Jennings also owned a mansion on East 72nd Street in New York City, which is now known as Oliver Gould Jennings House.

He died on October 13, 1936.[1] His funeral was held at St. James Episcopal Church in Fairfield, Connecticut, with the Rev. H. W. B. Donegan presiding.[17] His wife died in 1964 at the age of 93.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "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.
  2. ↑ "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.
  3. ↑ "Annie Burr Jennings: Philanthropist 1855-1939 · Wonder Women of Fairfield · Fairfield Photos". fairfieldmuseum.omeka.net. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "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.
  5. ↑ "Walter Jennings Dies After Heart Attack At Jekyll Island" (PDF). The Long Islander. January 13, 1933. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  6. ↑ "MRS. WALTER B. JAMES: Widow of Academy of Medicine Leader Headed Day Nursery". The New York Times. 16 August 1946. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  7. ↑ Times, Special to The New York (19 April 1927). "GIFTS TO THREE COLLEGES.; Dr. W.B. James Wills $25,000 to Columbia -- Estate, $2,000,000". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  8. ↑ "MRS. AUCHINCLOSS: PHILANTHROPIST, 80; Widow of Hugh D. Auchincloss, a Merchant, Dies in Home at Fairfield, Conn. AARON BURR DESCENDANT Contributed $25,000 to the Presbyterian Hospital Here -- Active in Garden Club". The New York Times. 12 September 1942. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  9. ↑ "HUGH D. AUCHINCLOSS DIES.; Apoplexy Ends Life of Well-Known Merchant". The New York Times. 22 April 1913. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  10. ↑ "Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University Deceased during the Year 1936-1937" (PDF). Yale University. Dec 1, 1937. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
  11. ↑ "MISS PRENTICE TO WED.; Her Engagement to Benjamin B. Jennings Is Announced". The New York Times. 17 January 1923. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  12. ↑ "B. B. JENNINGS WEDS MISS KATE PRENTICE; Bishop Brewster, a Cousin of the Bridegroom, Performs the Ceremony". The New York Times. 19 June 1923. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  13. ↑ "TROTH ANNOUNCED OF KATE JENNINGS; St. Timothy's Graduate Will Be the Bride of Harry H. Webb, Ex-Lieutenant in the AAF". The New York Times. 6 December 1946. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  14. 1 2 "Mrs. Oliver Jennings". New York Times. May 7, 1964. Retrieved 2010-11-01. Jennings, widow of Oliver G. Jennings, who died in 1936, was a member of the first graduating class of.....School. She had long been active in.....
  15. ↑ Times, Special to THE NEW YORK (3 July 1927). "MISS BLACK BRIDE OF L. K. JENNINGS; Elder Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Witherbee Black Wed in Trinity Church, Southport, Conn. BISHOP STIRES OFFICIATES Rafaels Diaz Sings While Guests Assemble -- Reception at Firthside -- Other Nuptials". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  16. ↑ "McAuliffe Hall". Digital Archives @ DiMenna-Nyselius Library. Fairfield University. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  17. ↑ "Oliver Gould Jennings Buried in Fairfield. Funeral at St. James Episcopal Church Conducted by Rev. H. W. B. Donegan". New York Times. October 17, 1936. Retrieved 2010-11-01. More than 500 persons attended the funeral yesterday of Oliver Gould Jennings, capitalist and director of many companies, who died on Tuesday of bronchial.....
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