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Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont film6s en commengant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une teiie empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparattra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — ► signifie "A SUIVRE". le symbole V signifie "FIN ". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre film6s d des taux de reduction diff^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est filmd d partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche 6 droite. et de haut en bas. en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants iilustrent la m6thode. 1 2 3 4 5 6 »*«B8*|5«»' ) A^^ '■'^ I' HENRY KEMBLE OLIVER, •''H^ "•■€«. r7 59 ^'smcii Of IV/ I8«y 5/?C/] i20Nsin '4l irtiiiiirriiti'iw*' jir' M /( 1 1 L msm HENRY KEMBLE OLIVER. I;: „} !asESS»rrr='-'Tr"3S In Proh, From the Seventkentii Annual Report OF THB Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor: 1886. 3^ a HENRY KEMBLE OLIVER. BY REV. JESSE H. JONES. rouT f Laboii: On Wednesday evening, August 12, 1885, General IIknuy K. Olivek. the first chief of this Bureau, died. His large and manifold powers, the high attainments which ho made, and the various important positions in the Commonwealth which he filled ; but especially his eminent services as the founder o the work of this Bureau, becoming thereby the pioneer of all such work in the world, render it fitting that a memorna of him should bo made by the Bureau in this Report. Early Years. Henry Kemble Oliver (originally Thomas Henry, but changed apparently to preserve the name of his "bother) was born in North Beverly, Essex County, in th.s State, on Mon- day, November 24, 1800. He was the third and youngest son and ei^^hth child of the nine children, of Rev. Daniel and Elizabrth (Kemble) Oliver. Ho was in the sixth generation from Thomas Oliver, surgnon, who with his wife Ann and eight children came over from Bristol, England, in the ship Lion, alon- with the family of Governor Winthrop, landing at Bos- ton,'june 5, 1632; and who was one of the founders of the First Church of that town and a Ruling Elder m it. His HENRY K. OLIVKR. mother, dau-htcr of Thomas Komhlc, Esq., of Boston, was dcscciulca from Thomas ami Mar-iiret Komhlo, who camo over to thiit city in IGIO. Both families had remaiiunl there from the first. His ancestors in the direct lino on his father's side, after Surgeon Oliver, were three mcrclumts (the third a gradu- ate of Harvard, and all three of marked eminence), one lawyer, and one minister, his father. The Olivers were connected by marriage with various leading families of the State, -with tho Hutchinsons, Wendells, Brattles, Belchers, and Bradstroets. His father's mother was sister to the grandfather of Oliver Wendell Holmes, and the same blood which ran in his veins, and in tho veins of tho illustrious physician-poet, ran also in those of Wendell Phillips, clariim nomen, whoso personal effort, as much at least as that of any, brought this Bureau into existence. Down to a few years ago tho family had sui>. plied forty out of tho forty-fivo of the Oliver alunmi names at Harvard and Dartmouth. Plainly, then, from tho choicest of that choice seed-wheat which God sifted tho whole nation of En<-land to get, wherewith to plant a new nation in New Eng- land, this man sprang. Tho father. Rev. Daniel Oliver, was a minister of rigid ortho- doxy, after the strict, Puritan type. Ho graduated from Dart- mouth in 1785, was pastor of tho North Church, Boston, from 1787 to 1800, preached in Beverly one year, and in Exeter, N. H., a short time ; after which, in 1802, he brought his family back to Boston to remain, while he himself went forth as a mis- sionary to tho Indians, going for years on long and wearying horseback rides from place to place in what were then the west- ern wilds, preaching the Gospel to the dusky savages of tho forest. The family being now settled in Boston, Henry Kemble in due time attended the Mayhew school there ; and prepared for college partly in the Latin school, partly at Phillips Academy, Andover, and partly with an elder brother in a private school ; 1 Uinini names at tho choicest of vhole nation of n. iu New Eng- i' of rigid ortho- atcd from Dart- h, Boston, from and in Exeter, ought his family it forth as a mib- g and wearying •e then the west- / savages of the enry Kemble in md prepared for illips Academy, 1 private school ; nnd he was l.y this brother entered at Harvard in 1814, at tho ngo of thirteen years and eight m..nths. Surely the boy gave pronii.se of what the man would bo. After two years his father removed hin, to Dartmouth, chiefly at least because he looked with strong disfavo- upon what he considered tho growing theological laxity of Harvard. In 1818 ho was graduated by 6o/A colleges, certainly a smgular ftud very unusual mark of high esteem. Concernh.g himself at this time, he has left those remarks : ..Ou lcavin e;.j;fea^ " ■••■1 6 HENRY K. OLIVER. The schoolroom, in which he was to teach, "had seats for eighty boys, and was crowded with a hundred and twenty boys, -Tan unmanageable mass, but thatathird teacher, Master Parker, .... took the younger classes into the committee room for recitation." Of the spirit in which he began his work he him- self thus writes : " I entered upon my work ao teacher on tlie following Monday, June 14th, 1819, with very great ' fear and trembling,' and entire dis- trust in my own abilities, knowledge and ultimate success. This self-distrust has always characterized mc and has impeded my labors ; but I determined to work hard in school and out, and if that would secure success, no effort on my part should be wanting." From the first he felt poorly furnished for his work. His early studies "were not congenial, consisting mostly, after he was nine, of mere translations from Latin and Greek into English, with very insufficient instruction in any English studies." As expressing his own judgment in his riper years he says : " My intellectual powers had not been properly and philosophi- cally cultivated On the whole, the nine years spent in pre- paring for college and in college I have always considered a failure ; and but for the hard, close, unyielding perseverance of the nine years that followed graduation, I should, as a scholar, have been a greater failure. But finding, when I commenced teaching, my im- perfections, I set about a course of self-education, first in the studies in which I was guiding others, then in French, then in Spanish and Italian, adding afterwards a wide course of mathematics and philos- ophy, general literature and history, with astronomy." It is of special interest as showing the power of his mind to grow, and grasp, and enlarge its aptitudes, to know that whereas in youth he had no relish for mathematics, he came u •S;;*..:iL.-i^ ■Wt:i!(K«!afeS5S .3Sii»)ijfe, , «'had seats for and twenty boys, sr, Master Parker, nmittee room for his work he him- following Monday, ing,' and entire dis- ate success. This has impeded my ind out, and if that be wanting." )r his work. His r mostly, after he and Greek into I in any English in his riper years jrly and philosophi- years spent in pre- onsidercd a failure ; erance of the nine cholar, have been a 3d teaching, my im- a, first in the studies then in Spanish and liematics and philos- omy." power of his mind des, to know that thematics, he came HENRY K. OLIVER. 7 at length, as the result of his determined studying, to have in them a positive delight. This course he pursued alone, this '« battle ho fought out un- aided," except as he "consulted that well-known and accurate Greek scholar, the late Hon. John Tickering." " Feeling," he continues, " the great deficiencies of my previous education,"and the constant push of the demands made upon me by the pupils, I was merciless to myself, studying as many hours out of school as I taught within. What I thus acquired I have never for- gotten " And he still further says, " My unvarying rule in the classics was to keep myself as thoroughly prepared on every author in the hands of every class in school, as existing facilities would allow, keeping mvself a fortnight in advance of tlieir several lessons ; and never entering the schoolroom but with the certainty that no question could be brought to me that I could not at once answer." . It was this hard studentship and the mastery thus acquired, which caused it to be said of him in after years,— " He was a diligent student, and a fine classical scholar. The classics were his delight, and to the day of his death he had not for- gotten the beautiful passages from the Greek and Roman wntcrs which he had early learned ; and the sharp, clear sentences wha-h he alwavs wrote showed how the Athenian style had taken fast hold upon his mind. His command of words was something wonderful, and his vocabulary seemed inexhaustible." He rose constantly in the estimation of men. His salary at first was $600 a year, a quite munificent sum for those days, rarely, if ever, par.lleled for so young a man ; and now con- sidered to be more in proportion than the $1,500 which is now paid for much older men in the same relative position. Yet once and again his salary was increased, October 1, 1822, to $750, and in June, 1824, to $900. He was selected as the '3 N 8 HENRY K. OLIVER. ^ f ' orutor of the day in Ssilcm for the Fourth of July, 1824, and acquitted hinisolf so crcdital)ly that his oration was long remem- bered and spoken of highly. Besides the eloquence of his stylo, it is especially mentioned that he " dwelt with much enthusiasm on the cause of the Greeks," who were then striv- in«^ for independence; and with burning words ''denounced the melancholy exception to the purity of our institutions, the scourge and curse of negro slavery;' and also " the persecution of the Indians in Georgia ;" and that he paid an earnest tribute to Lafayette, closing with a glowing apostrophe which has been preserved. In 1827, when at length the English High School was established, on the IGth of June he was appointed princi- pal with a third increase of salary, now to $1,000. On Monday, July 9, 1830, Master Oliver resigned his position, and directly after set about building a two-story schoolhouso near his own home on Federal street, for a private academy. In the construction and appointments of this build- ing no pains were spared to introduce every excellency then known. Without, it had an ample playground and gymnastic apparatus. Within, it had a coat-room, wash-room, recitation rooms, and various apparatus. The following account of the school is from a Salem print : " The course of study laid down was extensive and coniplete, boys being prepared cither for college, or for business life ; the latter course induding the French anu Spanish languages, and a very wide range in mathematics, history, and general literature. For the first time in any Salem school, if not for the first time in any school in this country, music was taught, and a regular course of gymnastic train- ing with suitable apparatus was provided. A very complete set of philosophical, astronomical, and chemical apparatus, costing upwards of $2,000 was procured, which enabled him to supplement his oral aud book instruction by actual illustrations His school was always full, and, with the aid of able assistant teachers, he was en- abled to achieve a satisfactory success." / J.B«tx-tiKl'?H«fc™-..?*«.>»d<^f^||SI^^;. HENRY K. OLIVER. 9 ily, 1824, and 8 long reniem- [juenco of his 3lt wiih much jre then striv- 5 <* denounced istitutions, the lie persecution earnest tribute vhich has been ih High School pointed princi- lO. iR resigned his ig a two-story st, for a private s of this build- jxcellency then and gymnastic •oora, recitation account of the id coiriplete, boys ; the latteV course , very wide range ^or the first time ,ny school in this gymnastic train- y complete set of !, costing upwards pplement his oral . His school was ichers, he was en- After five years ho yielded to the urgency of friends and changed his school over into one for girls, and '« his rooms were°immcdiately filled." This school ho continued to teach for eight years, when a very complimentary event withdrew him aUogether from his profession, and changed his whole career. Here then we may pause and briefly survey in retro- spect his course of life. It was the year 1844. For twenty- five years he had been a teacher in Salem, and his course had been a steadily growing and unbroken success. It was a very remarkable career. Some clue to the secret of it we may gain from the following statements, chiefly made by former pupils, expressing the estimation in which ho was held, and showing the work he had done and his manner of doing it. Mr. D. H. Emerson, son of Rev. Browne Emerson in whoso house he first lived at Salem, wrote to him in a letter of remi- niscences in 1878 thus : «« You made the Latin school what it became while you were there, and I ascribe all the glory it acquired to you. You drilled us in the grammar and text-books. You compelled us to know all about them. You ground them into us. You were severe in that, J^nd you succeeded with your pupils. Yet you were never severe in your treatment of those who were placed under your rule. This is my testimony. With greatest respect and affection." The same gentleman writing of him said : " When I was but a youth he came to my father's house and all the time he continued there we felt that he was in that home as an elder brother, and as a son With all his decision of character he was never cruel or unjust. In that empire in which he wielded a sceptre, the Salem Latin School, he ever ruled by love. Himself a splendid scholar, he had patience with our dulness, and seemed to enjoy the pains he took to lead us forward in the paths of learn- ing." mm^^i ^'TZT^j^l^mSSM^: i — 1, 10 HExXRY K. OLIVER. An old pupil writes : «« Wc found him strict without pctulancy, exemplary in habits, firm and humane in correction, never losing temper. He punishe-l if ho found it needed, on his own responsibility, without referring to tlio senior master ; but often with his expressed approbation, saying, ' Mr. Oi-iVKK, punish that boy well,' the only effect of which was, however, to emphasize the delibcrateness of the punishment without increasing the amount. I never saw any sign of resentment on the part of the boys." Another writes : " Master Oliver was the idol of the boys of '19, '20, '21 ; and, therefore, it is as ' Master ' Oliver that ive have ever loved to think and speak of him." Yet another writes : " No man held his scholars more by his potency of nature, his fine mind, his sympathy with youth, his many-sidedness. It is fifty years since, and yet his character shines in our memory with undi- minished brightness." Of his private school he himself said : " No fact laid down in the sciences as existing in those days, and within the grasp of the general school, failed to be illustrated ex- periraentally." Concerning discipline in his girls school, he also said : " During eight years of my instructing girls no instance occurred of what may be called punishment. To strike a girl was abhorrent to my nature; nor did anything occur which needed that, or any other method of severity in discipline. Yet I had an average of fifty pupils." n ^^e^4*jH«^^^V.B^'''^^^^&.;^^^-' .._L HENRY K. OLIVER. 11 in habits, firm unishc'l if he erring to tlio ation, saying, )f which was, nnont without tracnt on the '20, '21 ; and, loved to think of nature, his ss. It is fifty ory with undi- [lose days, and illustrated ex- said : itance occurred 1 was abhorrent id that, or any an average of Rov. Joseph B. Felt in his liistory of Salem, also, pronounces this school, " the most complete unci successful ever carried on in that city." As an illustration of the truthfulness of the testimony homo concerning him, that " his teaching developed great, interest and great proficiency in the scholars of all the schools in which he taught," wc give the following fact. " The senior class in the English High School between 1827 and 1830 computed all the solar eclipses of the 19th century between 1831 and 1900, visible in the United States." Can this bo equalled, or any- thing like it given for that time? These sayings are great praise, such praise as only the ex- cellent of the earth win ; but they are the natural utterance of those who had felt the quickening power of his master soul. Wc glean from them a few phrases in which certain chief traits of his character appear : " Never severe ;" '♦ never losing tem- per ;" " he ever ruled by love ;" " Master Oliver was the idol of the boys ;" "I never saw a sign of resentment on the part of the boys ;" " no man held his scholars more by his potency of nature." Yes, " potencij of nature," that is the crowning phrase, which includes all the truth contained in the other sayings. Let us try and unfold a little the reality that is in it, and so gain a larger and fuller knowledge of this nature which was so power- ful. This youth, this man, this teacher, this "Master" of youth was a wide, deep, strenuous river of human vitality flowing upon and through those in his charge. He maintained com- plete government, kept clockwork order and precision, and worked his scholars to the hight of their bent ; and yet there was no domiaeering spirit in the man, nothing of tyranny in his temper, or of harshness in his methods. He ruled, but not by will. He controlled, but not by fear. Rather it was his own strong, abounding life which quickened the very fountains *#®te*f ■JUrr TT^'" 12 HENRY K. OLIVEK. of the life of his pupils, making them wish to do what ho would have them do, aud awakening in them the desire to strive and the effort to achieve, beyond what could have arisen m them ot themselves. By this power he belon.^ed to that class of teach- ers, few and rare, who are of the first order, of whom Mrs Emma WiUard of Troy, N. Y.. and President Mark Ilopku^s of Williamstown, Mass., are illustrious examples. . Durin- the period which now came to a close the followmg events personal to himself had occurred. In 1821 he moved his father's family to Salem, and assumed their support. Dur- in^ 1824 he was studying for the ministry, with a view to en^terincr the Episcopal Church, and a sermon which he com- posed i^s extant ; but becoming Unitarian in his views he gave the matter up. In 1825 he married Sarah, daughter of Cap . Samuel Cook, a retired sea-captain, by whom he had, mall, seven children, two sons and five daughters. In 1836 he was elected a member of the first Common Council of Salem, and was twice re-elected. When - Master" Oliver closed his school, and changed the whole course of his life, he had arrived at the full maturity of his powers; and they were marked by largeness of nature, strength, inteilectuality, and gentleness. All the best that was in him had been displayed. Henceforth there was to be rather the varied application of his powers in larger spheres of action than the growth and expansion of those powers. ^ e turn now to consider the new direction of his activity. Adjutant-General. The very complimentary event by which his professional work as a school teacher was brought to an end, and he was set instead in a large field of public affairs, was his appoint- ment. March 22. 1844. by Governor George N. Bnggs, upoi "^r -^-^«-T'*^(te*^?*3.'se^i HENRY K. OLIVER. 13 ,t ho would Btrivo and in them of S8 of teach- whom Mrs. Hopkins of le following . ho moved port. Dur- \ a viow to ch ho com- 3WS he gave tor of Capt. I had, in all, 1836 he was f Salem, and , changed the I maturity of 88 of nature, best that was ts to bo rather 3r spheres of powers. We ivity. lis professional jd, and he was as his appoint- L Briggs, upoi the recommendation of Hon. Levcrott Saltonstall, as adjutanl- gencral of the State. This altogether strange event, by wl ich the master of a girls school was put in charge of tho military affairs of a great State came about as follows : In 1821 tho young teacher enlisted in the Salem Light In- fantry. He had an erect, soldierly figure, and strong, military aptitudes ; and this company was to him like a military school in which ho acquired a good degree of military knowledge and training. So marked were his capacities and acquirements, that at different times he was pressed to accept a commission, but steadily declined. When, however, in 1833, he, still a private, was elected lieutenant-colonel of tho newly organ- ized Sixth Regiment (the same which made itself so famous in Baltimore in 1861), ho accepted, and three years after was made its colonel. As showing how efficient an officer he was, tho following incident is related. "On the occasion of Governor Edward Everett's visit to Salem, September 22, 1837, the Governor said that he never saw regimental manoeuvres performed with equal rapidity out- side of the regular army," as they were then performed by Colonel Oliver's regiment. In 1839 he resigned his colonelcy ; but his fine and noble gifts had been brought clearly to view. His splendid personal appearance, his athletic form, his military bearing, his power to command, his abundant knowledge and thorough training, all went to make him a well-nigh ideal officer. We may feel certain that he was not surpassed, perhaps he was not equalled, by any military officer in the Commonwealth at that time. So when we know the man, it does not then seem so strange that the head of a girls school was made the head of the military affairs of tho State. With the moderate salary of $1,500, and no allowances, he set himself "earnestly at work, and soon had matters in hand." " He made personal visits to the various regiments ; ■HS~ •xrr-zrr^'*' :4 j^ IIENUY K. OUVEli. MoM all the parados of the several hriga.les a„d regi- ' , f,„. .IrilU anil inatruelion of comm.ss.oncd and ,„ents, """S« ' f-;^^;^ » ; ,, ^ ,„„,,.,„„t „„,„,er of privates nnn-conunissioncu oinccis, witu u o : „ 1 battalions of 150 to 200 .nen, and t-k Perso ' I,,"™ of then,. . . . Thus interest was exe.ted m the ...fan- trv °u,d the service was soon improved." I'n May ma, the Mexie.n war being in progress, the „„ -J government ealled for troops, and by d.reeUon of o! "nor Uri..s General Ol.vku took eharge of nus.ng and oZZ U eTe-^iment whieh Massaehnsetts sent out to «,at : Ltr th: eonunana of Colonel Caleb Cushmg^ T^ns "giment entered the eity of Mexico with the army of General ''t,''the year 1838 Colonel Ouve. had been elected fi„t ,. , .f the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company lieutenant ot the Ancioui ,,ai,n ». General c:-x:;;.». --- re:; Pt)lk a member of tno liomu « , . iv„«t Point and was made its secretary. But m r S :; ^t^bou-ors and e«e„t labo- wa. ealled to new duties in a wholly diverse sphere ot action. SUPEKmXENDEST 0. THE AtLANT.O CoTTO. M.t-LS. „.He appointment "^ « -tlfl%«tLt- *" t^rrbi:^u - ""^^^^^^^^^^ -- -; in civil iiie oeiui complete success of iiiid ouit,ci nffiirs committed to nis :;;:rao"r:::-a,eaftornont„f. HENRY K. OLIVER. 15 and rcgi- doned and if privates : personal the infun- igress, the lirection of raising and out to that ling. This of General sleeted first y Company as General ial, military by President the Military jry. But in tie was called r Mills. school to be ring one then of that State etc success of le men and in mitted to his ora out of a romance, rather than a chapter of sober proso in this plain, prosaic century ; hardly less strange is the next movement in the life of this extraordinary man, by which he, who had never run a spindle or loom, or handled a pound of cotton in any practical way, and who knew nothing more of a cotton mill than might be learned by walking casually through one, was called to be superintendent of a cotton mill not yet in existence. Having been appointed to this position by the directors and treasurer of the ♦♦ Atlantic Cotton Mills," a newly organized manufacturing corporation at Lawrence, ho resigned his position as adjutant-general, January 15, 1848, and repaired at once to that city. There he found one mill erected, but only the walls and flooring, no part of its " fitting up," that is, of its shafting, elevators, closets, etc., being in position, nor any of its machinery set up. He at once went to Lowell, and devoted three months with Mr. Homer Bartlett, agent of the Massachusetts mill there, to acquiring a knowledge of the general management then in vogue of large cotton mills, to selecting overseers, second hands, etc. ; and to watching the several stages in the process of manufac- turing the goods from the bale to the cloth. On the fifth of July the machinery began to be delivered at his own mill, and with his newly selected overseers, and with- out any outside assistance, he did all the work of fitting, set- ting up, and starting the machinery ; getting it all running and beginning to turn out cloth in October. Their very first goods were of the finest grade, and were made from cotton known as '♦good middling," bought at seven cents a pound; and the General remarked with honorable pride, " a more beautiful arti- cle had not been placed upon the market. They have always kept a lead in the trade." In nine months this man had learned a complicated and dif- ficult manufacturing business, of which he before knew nothing, had selected with Mr. Bartlett's assistance his staff of subordi- ^fvT« IG HENRY K. OLIVER. nnto oiruMiil><, every ono of whom were unknown to him when ho bogmi, hiul tiikcn an empty Hholl of a l.uiKlin-, an.l lie and they 'togolhor hud set up all Iho machinery in it, and in lc38 than four months from the time they began to set it up had it in complcto sticccssful operation, turning out the host of goods. Such a work was the manifestation of extraordinary, perhaps of wholly unique powers. In July of this year (1848), his family moved to Lawrence. The next year a second mill was built under his charge ; and equipped and run with the same success as attended the other ; and in 1850 yet a third mill was built. Otherwise his life as superintendent was in the nature of the case monotonous, and few incidents can be recalled. A general survey of the field with the statement of the chief reasons for his success, so far as we have been able to gather them, will set the man and his work in Lawrence sufficiently before us. The first of his powers were rare keenness, quickness, pcnc- tration and scope of mind, by which he seized at once and held in masterful grasp whatever he set his mind upon. And these qualities were equally shown in the realm of things and the rci'lm of persons. Ho saw into the system of a cotton mdl, comprehended it as a whole, and mastered it in detail in five months. Ho could brigade a mill or a State with equal readi- ness and success. And he had such power to grow that he in- troduccd improvements or supervised others in doing so with a readiness equal to that of experts trained in the matter from their youth. But his power to read persons was quite equal to his power to penetrate things. He knew a man when ho saw him. His great gray eye was like the eye of fate. His was indeed an eagle glance. So marvellous was this power that only they who experienced it could really have the full sense of what he was in this regard. The next of his powers was his personal magnetism, his power over men whereby ho so touched and quickened them in -.. t^-. , .!«.''-;:-«■« .m- m*A ■ tmmms^ms^mi IIKNIIY K. OLIVKU. 17 hlin whon md lio and and in less it up iuid it lit of goods, ry, perhapa » Lawrence, ■linrge ; and I tlio otiicr ; ) his life as (tonoiis, and of the field 3ce89, 80 far nau and his kness, pcne- nco and held And these ings and tlie i cotton mill, Jctail in five equal readi- w that he in- ioing so with > matter from pite equal to when ho saw ite. His was is power that the full sense agnetism, his kened them in the viMy fountains of their life, tliat tli«>y instinetively desired to do wliat he would have done ; and thus ho secured from them, whether ho was present or alisent, tiieir host Horviee. A third power, closoly allied to lliis, was his pure sineor- ity, a soureo of pereimial -rood will wliich llowed a clear, living stream from the depths of his own life in sweet purposes i..id wise actions for the wellaro of all in his charge. I5y the work- in" together of the last two powers in him he drew to himself the excellent men, the line, well-skilled, and growing young men ; and when they came it was to stay, and so well pleased were they that they drew others after them also. Thus it was that ho gathered round him a class of overseers much superior to what is often found in mills. And what were all these powers, as in happy radiance thoy were shed forth in Lawrence iu constant glory of well-doing, hut that same "potency of nature" which hound with silken cord his scholars to him when he was a school teacher, even from his early youth? In a slight incident which ho relates, this kingly gentleness wherein his inlluenco over others so largely lay is well disi)layed, and we present it here. " A girl had appropriated to her own use a piece of clotli from her loom, pinning it about her waist under her clothing, and it liad become loosened and dropped upon the ground, as she with tlic rest of the help was leaving the null-yard at evening. It was piekeil up by an overseer, and brought with the girl to me, standing at the time [as he often did] on the mill-steps seeing the crowd go out. The poor girl trembling and mortified, stood amidst shouts of laugh- ter, doubtless anticipating some severity at my hands. Knowing that not she alone of all the weavers had done tliis kind of wrong, I waited awhile till silence ensued, and then holding up the piece of cloth, said, ' Let her among you who never did the like say how this girl shall be punished.' Nobody spoke, but they all quietly wall„th.r iUu»tn,tio„ of hi. n„.,.n,l i.upulso lowanl l.i» M- ,„„.„„.„ wa. .h„>vn in ..„„n,.ction with a lalal acclent winch ImPDcncd lit the inilla one winter. '.L„..im™ in wi„U.,. U,„ i-. wcnU, r„r,n ov dria aga.n.t ih ,„ U < which wa, »ot at the ,„.,« end of the ..uu,» to hc.„ o ;„.,al.„„a and the like fon, .he ..«.) to .uch an a— „„a »„,i„uy that it wa, ncccary for n.cn to get on n . ,„.oaklt up, and get tho fragmcnta away, so that tho ,,atct „nld have f,oc oon»e to nn. through. On one oeca,um m ,„o winter of 1»55, »hen three n,en were th„. ;-"'"«• ° ,„.c,s„re wa. ,o great that the raek gave ,vay and wa, ca . d 'own instantly on to tho great waterwheel, and one „ three ,nen wa. swept away with it, whde -ne of the others snrau" out, and one fell in just at the ..de. \Vhen he tack 'v :ay the General, hearing the era.h, .prang to the .pot tnd aping down upon the tind.r that had given way .n to "1 but yet held in plaee at the end, seized the man who " d f lien in a. ho vo.e, hat lost bis bold being pulled away t^a watchman who thought be was also falling -n, and «» 1 again .ank. Assuring the watchman *at 'O was • and stooping stiU farther down, a. the man rce to the sn.faee Tseetid tin^e, be grasped him with a flrmer hold, and dragged "' Ztrgeness and manifoldnes, of Genera. Ouvj H^^eir widest fleld and fnl.e.t display in Lawrenee. A"* «- ^^ of bis varied aetivltie. were many and lastmg. One .nsta,^e w „„,k in imnrovin.' Lawrence Common, a lot of eigb- was his work in improvui;, ^ . . .• _ ij.i.i ,„itv, few teen acres, which in 1849 was an umntere.tmg field w.th few t-il IIKNUY K. Of.IVF.R. 19 11. tlu! poor l»y poverty, I good ck'iil ml liirt f^'^' (lent which ttjrtiinst the to kcoi) oil' ftii amount n the muss, nt tho wtitcr occasion, in workin«;, tl»o I wild carried l one of tho )f the others hen tho rack cT to tho spot en way in tho I the man who r pulled away ior of tho city mm- slituto u conunittec to take charge of it and expand the money. Tho Atlantic mills was one of tho companies named ; and Superintendent Olivkk was made chairman of the committee, and the whole work was placed in his charge. By 1853 tivo hundred trees had been planted •• in avenues, and cared for until rooted and estahlished," and tho rude, unsightly field in due time became "a very fine pul)lic square." " Ilis interest in tho park never (lagged, and whenever ho met a Lawrence man his iixpiiry was for his trees on tho common." Another of his i)ul)lic spirited good works was tho establish- ment of a Free Library in his mill. To accomplish this, ho ••called together tho overseers in 1851, and told them that if they would organize themselves into a library association, with suitable officers, ho would coramonce the library with a donation of a hundred volumes, and a loan of $50 for now purchases. This was done ; and by consent of the treasurer, Mr. William Gray, a room was fitted up in tho counting-room building, and the library commenced. Mr. Gray added valu- able donations." Sometime since tho number of volumes had increased to 3,500. He also established free hot and cold baths in a building in the rear of the mill. Naturally, from his former avocation, feeling a deep interest in the educational affairs of tho new town, and having boon elected a member of the school committee, he proposed that as soon as a high school should bo established, ho would con- vey to the city for use in such school all the school apparatus that he had collected for his own school at Salem. This was done ; and in recognition of the gift the building in which the high school was first established (and which is the largest school building in Lawrence) was called the Oliver School ;.^93SiS»Wj|»>-* '"«BB5i* 20 HENRY K. OTJVEll. House. He also presented to the high school for its prin- cipal room a set of busts and statuettes, and of engravings for its walls ; and many books of reference, Latin, Greek, and mathematical, for the use of teachers and pupils. In 1853 he was sent as a delegate to the Constitutional Con- vention, and was made chairman of the committee on military afl'alrs. In the same year occurred the notable case of his " famous effort to deposit his vote" at a turbulent town meeting, in ^hich his courage, vigor, strength, and intense love of free- dom and the exercise of one's legal rights, were so effectively manifested. The town meeting was holdcn to vote on the acceptance of the city charter, and the moderator had made a decision by which the Democrats deemed themselves ag- grieved, and they determined to block the way to the ballot- box, and prevent voting. So u . . . in an instant the avenues to the platform were blocked by a mass of angry, excited men, and tlio prospect of a row was uu- usually promising. The ballot-boxes could not be reached, and everything but arms and tongues were at a stand-still. At this instant General Hexuy K. Oliver entered the hall, and stood for a moment near the door to enquire into the occasion of the singular spectacle. On being informed of the situation of affairs his eyes flashed, and exclaiming, ' I should like to sec the man who dares resist my casting a vote in a legal meeting,' he strode down the open Bpacc, thrusting aside one or two opposers, and cpiickly el])owed his way throu.rh the outer circle of the crowd, until he came to the solid mass blocking his way ; when, placing his hands upon the shoulders of the two nearest men, he sprang up upon the mass, and was rapidly making his way, vote in hand, over lieads and shoulders to the ballot-box, when he was seized by the skirts of his coat ; but leavincr one of them roughly torn away in the hands of his opposers, he reached the box, and placed therein his ballot. This success, no less than the ludicrousncss of the movement, was too much for the 7 HENRY K. OLIVER. 21 il for its prin- cngriivings for II, Greek, and u ititutional Cou- ttee on military if his " ftirnous ,vn meeting, in 36 love of free- re so eflfectively to vote on the rator had made themselves ag- ly to the bailot- [orm were blocked of a row was uu- be reached, and md-still. At this 1, and stood for a on of the singular >f affah-s his eyes le man who dares ode down the open uiekly elbowed his e came to the solid upon the shoulders he mass, and was ads and shoulders ts of his coat ; but ids of his opposers, . This success, no i too much for the solidity of the Democratic column. Good nature was restored, and the voting went on." Wherein his great power lay is well disclosed in the follow- ing remark made by a Lawrence paper in its obituary of him : " In Lawrence the stalwart figure of the General, physically one of the finest specimens of manhood ever resident among us, will be k)ng remembered. Ilis trained voice, and ability as a public speaker and leader, whenever political, musical, or public matters were dis- cussed, made him a prominent figure in every assembly." After a pi'osperous run of the mills in 1855, the treasurer, as an expression of his satisfaction at the result, placed in General Oliver's hands the means to defray the expense of a couri:<3 of six lectures. Of these Hon. Josiah Quincy gave one, and General Oliver four on astronomy, illustrated with large diajrrams and a magic lantern. To these were added six con- certs given by a chorus of a hundred singers selected from among the operatives of the mill, and trained by competent instructors under General Oliver's supervision. Both lec- tures and concerts were given in a hall over the counting- room of the Pacific mills, and were all free to the mill people. So successful were the concerts that one of them was repeated by special request in the city hall to an operative audience, admitted free, of more than 1 ,500 persons. In 1857 the ladies of Lawrence presented General Oliver ■with a gold watch "as a slight token of their sincere regard and esteem, and as a pledge of their confidence in him, as a gen- tleman of generous and noble impulses and of the highest moral principles and sentiments." Nine years had well-nigh passed away since the work of set- ting up the machinery had begun ; and on May 25 of this year I ..^. .-^.Kawi 11 . ,)rimmv^ i.^*wv- ' 22 HENRY K. OLIVER. (1857) ho received a letter from the treasurer couched in flattering terms, announcing the successful run of the i)ast year, the profit made, and asking him to add $500 a year to his salary, making it $3,500. In October following he "was amazed and thunderstruck at receiving" quite another kind of letter, which resulted in his being discharged from the service of the company ; and to his dying day, although he at various times endeavored so to do, he could never get a single word as a clue to show the reason for the treatment inflicted on him. Before the severing of his connection with the company, General Oliveu secured an examination of the mill property and accounts by experts, who reported the mill in complete order, and the accounts correct. Concerning the cause of the event above stated enough is now known to show that his great and generous heart, by which he sympathized so keenly with the operatives that he shrank from cutting down wages as one would shrink from fire, was in large measure the cause. Thus came the first great shadow over his life. From his peculiar and intimate relations with the overseers, it was quite appropriate that he should address them, as he did, a fiu-ewell letter. To this they sent him a letter in response, the chief portions of which are here given. "In reviewing the ten years of your connection with us, tbcy reaUv seem like a pleasant dream, so unruffled their general aspect, and rapid their flight. True there has been an occasional cloud, but all have been satisfactorily resolved On the whole, the remark in your letter that 'unity of opinion and coopera- tive good will have marked our whole course,' is truly just, and one to which we heartily respond. -You will doubtless pardon us for taking the liberty of pomtmg out somewhat in detail the leading characteristics which have dis- tinguished your administration from some others with which we have bern familiar during our history in manufacturing. While then- sole A-„a^^a i ,. - - j^wA-t^mg ' , _ ouchcd in \)nst year, car to his ho "was ci* kind of Lho service I at various rlo word as on him. I company, II property n complete L enough is 3 heart, by ves that ho shrink from [10 the first overseers, n, as he did, in response, with us, they eneral aspect, iisional cloud, ... On the I and coopera- ,■ just, and one ty of pointing liifh have dis- whicb we have ^hile their sole HENRY K. OLIVKR. 23 policy has been to secure the greatest possiljle amount of service for the least possible amount of money, your administration has been characterized, not only by a fair and just regard for the company's interests, by requiring close attention and application on the part of all employed ; but, fartlier tlian tiiis, you have miiforuily manifested a zealous regard for every instrumentality which could be made to contribute to tlieir mental, moral, and religious welfare. "Among the various enterprises to this end allow us to mention that at an early day in our history your generous donation of one hundred volumes, which formed the nucleus of our now extensive library, claims a prominent place, and commands our highest com- mendation and gratitude " It also affords us great pleasure to advert to the fact that, while our mental wants have been thus supplied, our love for the beautiful in nature has not been overlooked : for our j'ard, instead of being left to present a desolate, prison-like appearance, has (in accord- ance with your taste and skill) been made to blossom as the rose, presenting through the flowering seasons, in rich abundance, those representations of all that is beautiful in nature. Who among us has not been admonished by the language of those beautiful flowers, in- citing to lives of purity, innocence and virtue. "Another idea originating with you was the erection of bathing rooms for general use among the operatives, which have largely con- tributed both to their general health, and to their pleasure. "And still another, never-to-be-forgotten; — we refer to those moral and instructive entertainments In the form of lectures and concerts, in which you were pleased to mingle with us as one of us, without regard to distinction or caste. This is truly an anomaly in manufacturing, and found only (to our knowledge) in your adminis- tration. " We also feel greatly indebted to you for the interest manifested in regard to the proper keeping of the Sabbath, and attendance upon public worship ; as also for your agency in securing free seats in the various churches, that none, however poor, need be excluded for want of sittings. In connection with this topic we would name another fact (peculiar to yourself), that, while you have been frank ia a^srwu s :,j^^i-S.f*!SSBHB'siJss3W^^SSfeii 24 IIKNRY K. OLIVER. mill free in expressing your own rolisiou3 and political views, yon liiive aecoiclea to olliers the same lij^lits and privileges nu- molested. " Hut lastly it is well known tln-ougliont tliis community that all the pulplie spirited enterprises of this city, — and especially the cstaMishment of the Oliver grammar and high school, have, from tlie lirst, received your hearty cooperation and bcnelicent dona- tions. In our opinion it is but just to say, our public schools owe tlu'ir present ilourislung condition and standing, mainly to your uu- tiriuLT interest and efforts in their behalf " In conclusion, permit us to ex|)ress our sincere desires that long life, with healtli, happiness and prosperity may attend you here, and a blessed immortality await you hereafter. (Signed) J. M. RICHARDS, ELISIIA WINCH, NEWMAN S. rOSTER, Commillee. riainly General Oliver was before his time. In him we see a luminous ideal and prophecy of what a superintendent is to 1)0 in the coming age, when the spirit of the Crucified shall rule in a cotton mill, as fully as in the life of a saint. The people of Lawrence appreciated the man who had done BO much for their municipality, even if the corpoi-«tion whose working force he had created failed to do so, and in November they elected him mayor, so that he filled that office during the year 1859. In the election of this year he was sent as repre- sentative to the General Court for 1860. During this period ho seived occasionally also as agent of the State Board of Edu- cation, visiting the public schools in various parts of the State, and attending institutes and conventions. ■ I l f- i - I J JIU •"^•^.J ical views, vilcgi'S im- cominniiity :\ especially 'hooi, have, ficeut dona- schools owe to your lin- es that long )u here, and rER, Commiilce. liim we see indent is to icitied shiill lo had done ation whose I November during the nt as repre- this period iird of Edu- •f the State, HENRY K. OLIVER. 26 TUEASUUER or THE COMMONWEALTH. The high esteem in wliich General Oliver was held through- out the State was shown in a very marked way in the autumn of 18(50 by his nomination for the office of Treasurer of the Commonwealth on the same ticket with John A. Andrew. He was four times re-elected, and thus became the war treas- urer, as Andrew became the war governor. And it may not 1)0 too much to say that he did his full share in his place, as Governor Andrew did in his, to maintain Massachusetts in that leadership of all the loyal States, which she took from the start. Wo can hardly imagine what his work really was, but some facts may help us in a measure. When he took the office there were but two clerks in it. When he left it there were thirty-two, including all departments, an increase made neces- sary by the variety and vastness of the financial operations which the war caused. During his five years of office he han- dled $77,780,843.51, — a sum greater by $18,125,204.34 than all the receipts of the State for the sixty years of the century before. In the last year alone (1865), his financial operations amounted to $24,876,163.77, and he had in charge sinking and other funds to the amount of $8,701,509.64. Moreover, wholly beyond the regular duties of his office, he was made virtual paymaster of all the troops which Massachusetts raised, for the various periods before they were mustered into the United States service ; and went about from post to post as the occasion required, carrying the funds with him and paying the troops. Besides all the rest he was made the caretaker of bounty money to the amount of $635,297.90, vvhich it was no part of his duty to receive or have any charge of, but which he took at the request of Governor Andrew because there seemed to be no other person to take it. When the interest had accumulated on this sum to the amount of $9,800, and the i I i W { [ [ f^ if^ • -->ft'H-HK'!Jl""'».^~'*="-S"-*^,-»-.f«*t%-»" -"• 26 HENRY K. OLIVER. nttorney-gcncml had given his written opinion tliat i\m money belonged to tlie party who had taken care of the prni- cipal, General Oliver, having too lino a sense of honor to take it withont a delinitc, legal title, referred the matter to the legislature. This body voted a petty $500 to the treasurer for his services, and turned the balance into the recruitment fund. The mere enumeration of his services at the close of his five years' term (the constitutional limit) "filled six pages of an octavo legislative document (House Doc't No. 22G, 1865)." Ho had received and paid out, that is, twice handled, a sum amounting in round numbers to 155 millions of dollars once handled, had been under bonds of $100,000 renewed every year ; and for all this immense care and labor ho had received an average annual salary of $2,300. And when, at the close of his term of service the legislature learned from him the facts, it promptly raised the salary to $5,000 for his successor; but it did nothing for him. The story of his action in saving the credit of the State in June, 18G4, has been often told, and does not need to be repeated here. But there is one element in the story, never to our knowledge brought out, which deserves to be especially mentioned. This man, who had too fine a sense of honor to take the interest money without an explicit legal title, had equally too fine a sense of responsibility to take the risk of promising more interest on the State loan than the law pro- vided, without making adequate provision to meet the same, if the legislature did not approve his act. And so he and his wife, of their own accord, dedicated their little patrimony to this end, if the need should be, well knowing that they ran the risk of being stripped of their last dollar. And after this joint act of sacrifice by the two in their heart, the husband went cheerily on to the street, and arranged for the amount needed. Such was the man, who served his native State with abundant ti^awiiiftii 'm^^ ^ ^:^?jci!aesm:^ HENRY K. OLIVER. 27 that thla tho prin- loi' to take ter to tho ) treasurer ecruitment of his fivo mges of nn !G, 1865)." lied, a sum lollars once 3wed every id received it the cUjso jin him tho 8 successor ; tho State in need to be )ry, never to >e especially ! of honor to ;al title, had iko the risk the law pro- t the same, if 5 he and his le patrimony that they ran \.nd after this husband weut lount needed, ivith abundant capacity and perfect rectitude in her dire period of stress and storm. Massachusetts, with honest pride in righteous doing, gained for herself the high honor of paying in gold during and after the war every debt incurred in gold before the war, and bo keeping her faith with her creditors unbroken ; and her war treasurer did his full share towards this achievement. By reason of his character and capacity in part it could bo said at the close of the war, <'yet tho fiscal affairs of tho Common- wealth, notwithstanding th' 4rain to which they have been subjected, are in the highest degree satisfactory; and tho financial credit of Massachusetts stands unsurpassed at homo and abroad." No one, wo think, can survey the whole field of this service, and become familiar with tho facts, without comin" to the conclusion that the character which the war treasurer displayed was a distinct honor to the Commonwealth, and that for tho labors ho performed, the burdens he bore, and the ser- vices ho rendered there is still due him a distinct debt. In January, 18G6, the man who had rendered these ffiffantic services to his native State went out of his office by constitu- tional limitation, without a place and without an income. Upon his election as treasurer he had moved back to Salem, and was now dwelling in tho ancestral mansion which his wife had inherited from her father, and around which the most sacred associations of his early manhood were gathered. After but a few days, namely, on tho 26th of this month, his wife died, but ho continued to keep house, his daughters acting as housekeepers. Bureau of Statistics of Labor. In September, 1867, Governor Bullock gave General Oliver an appointment •« to look into the condition of the factory chil- dren in the various establishments of the State ; " and he con- ■€^3aEr-Ka= a^^&iB*SiiWif • 9.>»» » 28 HENRY K. OTJVER. tiuuod in this work nearly two yonr.. - finclin- tlio several laws rc'latiiu' to their cini)h)ynu«nt when under ten years of ago, when I'il^twecn ten and mtcen years of age, and to their school- ing. violated every where." Ho •' prepared two reports on tlio siil.joct which excited not a littlo attention and comment." On the 23d of June, im, Governor Clatlin approved tho bill for tho establishment of this Bureau, and July 31 following appointed General Olivkh its chief. Of his fitness for the place. Loth a. to spirit and capacity, the foregoing narrative o borne in mind that tho held was Avludly" new, that of precedents there were absolutely none, that he was the pioneer of all such work in tho world ; and a fair iud-mcnt will decide that ho worked with courage, fidelity, thorougliness, and much clear-sight. To have staked out the ground would have been a largo work, but he did more. Some of tho worst fallows in tho field he vigorously set about breaking up. Evperiments had to be tried, and he tried them. Some of his work struck at the roots of great evils, or erroneous opin- ions in society, and so awakened deep hostilities. This was inevitable. His reports weighed strongly in behalf of the wage workers They could not be truthful without doing so ; and the larger and more complete they were in setting forth the actual facts, the more they must weigh on that side. At length with strong and heavy hand, but with accurate touch, he laid bare the tenement-house system of Boston; and also made it plain that the savings banks of the Commonwealth were largely the storehouses in which the well-to-do people preserved their plenty out of the reach of taxation. Inevitably a storm was - I liail known in ImcjIjuwI in conneetiou witii (lUfHtioiis of intninitional inthistry. Tiic Mocial wlMtloni of liis roiiviTHntion, now I iiuefi;ire for their deelinin-: years ; — deliniii.i,' ' e(.ini>etenee ' r.s tliat Mim whieii, if invested in days of health and work (from caniinrrs), would yiekl an iiieome at a ^'iven a;j;.', eijiial to their avora,!,'e annual income, and sullh-ient to maintain them in the station in whieii tliey had moved. This is what 1 mean by wise talk, eon- versatiou that moves steadily to new issues, and in whieli material terms are rendered delinile. ' Comi)eteneo ' is a term on many ton^nies,lmt(;en. Oi.ivr.it was the first person whom I heard detlno it us he used it." These words, coming from one of Enghmd's foremost think- ers and writers on industrial cpiestions, are certainly high praise. In them is rollected a single ray from this great and luminous soul. Ho ceased his labors in this Bureau in May, 1873, not being reappointed. All his great, unexampled, highly honorable services to the State seemed to him to have been forgotten ; and this man of keen spirit and high sense of honor was cut to the quick with the apparent injustice done him. lie shared with all prophets and pioneers of human progress in all the ages past the sacrificial pain without which, it would seem, the advancement of mankind cannot be achieved. And now, as we close the record of this passage in his life, we venture the judgment that when he was made chief of this Bureau no otlicr citizen of the Commonwealth was so well prepared, whether by natural endowments or by experience b HKNIiV K. OMVKU. a.'J cspiHially r. (Ji'orgo Kiij^liiii'l in TIlO HOCilll L' h'lH J?llt>Ht, !it wlu'ii in tlll'lllSl'lvOH 'Olllpl'tt'lR'l! ' work (from li;il to tlic'ir I till! Htution I' talk, coii- icli iiuiti'riul n on ni!\ny lieiinl (Ulino most tliiiik- ■tainly high s ffrciit and }, not being y honorablo 1 forgotten ; T was cut to IIo shared 33 in all the id seem, the 3 in hid life, ide chief of was so well y experience and training, for tlu' work that thoro was to do ; and that both wliat lio (lid ami wnut he oiulurvd ontitio him (o the lasting gratitude of all toilers, uhoni ho ho uarnently and with single- ness uf laind served. A JlIHIE at Tlin CnNTKWIAL. For nboiit throe years ho ••was almost entirely unemployed." In ISyr) a school bniMing in Salem was named after him, at the dedication of which he made the addrosa. Also his birth- day was celebrated by his friends in Salem that year in a mim- nor •• long to be remembered." Early in April, 187G, he was appointed one of the judges at the International Centennial Exhibition, held in Philadelphia, Pa., and went there on the tenth of that month. IIo was assigned to Group XXV, which was devoted to «• Instruments of Precision." This ••included astronomical instruments of all sorts, trigonometrical and sur- veying instruments ; magnetic, electric, telegraphic, and tele- phonic instruments ; and microscopes. There were also added nuisical instruments of every variety from organs down ; " and these last Iwing formed into a sub-group, he was made chair- man, and as such prepared the printed reports. Having fin- ished his duties and returned home, ho was recalled in October to bo one of the •• Judges on Appeals." MaYOU of &ALEM.. While yet in Philadelphia he received in November a letter from Salem desiring him to accept a nomination for the mayor- alty of that city. He consented, and was elected and re- elected, serving in all four years. His administration was characterized by economy, reduction of expenses, great reduc- i'j«!Ps?i^=-=.i^"SK?a- ■ -^fj^t^ly«^^!fE'tiSS^'ry'-^'*:^^^^i^flt?:=' 34 HENRY K. OLIVER. tionofthedobtof the city, and a thoroogh v>s,tal.on of tho hools and discussion of their interests. When the .un.en.a yenr of 1881 was approaching, the General, having rounded his full eighty years of life, declined a renomination. Closing Years. I„ DccenAev, 1880, he presided at the annua, dmner of the „1„,n„i of the Boston Latin School; m May, 1881, at he annnal dinner of the Unitarian Assoeiat.on g.ven m Mu. o all, Oc,ohor21,at a han.uet held at the Revere I onsen , ne of the completion by Fran. Li,.t of his sevent.e h year Z in Novenrher, at the annnal dinner of the Assoc.at.on of the Ahinmi of the Boston grammar schools pr.or to 1831. In April, 1881, the family removed for a year to Boston by th desire of his children, that he might have a het^r oppor- tunity for hearing concerts, leetnres, etc. I" J"'^ ° * year the American Institute of Instrnctwm, of vvh.ch as Ma ter OMVBn" he was one of the founders in 1830 oret at bt. Abnn, Vt. -With a possible exception he ^as the .ole sur- Albjns, vt. v> I ..eauest of the directors vivor of the orignu.1 members. By request oi he prepared and delivered there a eulogy on George B. Em r 1 Jho had died in the March before. Durmg the w.n er itwtg he leetured twice before the Young Men's Chr,stnm Union, and delivered other addresses h, Boston, Lawrence, """882, he went to pass the summer at North Andover „i h a du^hter, then recently married. The season beu,g one : ,nu Irheat a weakness of the heart was developed, wh.ch ord nary remedies did not control; and in the ensu.ng wmter a1 1" 1 result was anticipated. More decided treatment, how- J: restored a considerable measure of health as the sprmg II on. In May following he returned to the old house m ill i' ij i ■■' i|v Mi \ HENRY K. OLIVER. 35 ilion of the ic municipiil n"' rounded Ml. linner of the 1881, at the en in Music ere House in entieth year ; Usociatiou of to 1831. to Boston by better oppor- July of that liichas "Mas- 30, met at St. 3 the sole sur- f the directors orge B. Emer- 'in"' the winter Men's Christian ton, Lawrence, Salem, sacred to him by so many hallowed associations and tender recollections, and continued to reside there till his death. "lie gave up attendance upon any public meetings, and went to the i)oll8 but once ; but spent most of his time in reading, and writing music, and articles for the press." At the annual meeting of the trustees of Dartmouth College, held in June, 1883, he was made Doctor of Music. A request having been made by President Bartlett of that institution the following year for a portrait, one was painted in the lato autumn, and sent there in season for the Commencement of 1885. Also, at the request of the present chief of this Bureau, a portrait in oil was provided and placed in the rooms of the Bureau. The letter of the chief acknowledging the portrait gave to the General the highest satisfaction. At length, in midsummer of last year, the time of the end came. On Sabbath evening, July 26, the final stroke fell, being a semi-paralysis of a portion of the brain not affecting the motor system. He lingered, gradually failing, until Wednes- day evening, August 12, when, as the gloaming was darkening over the earth, he peacefully fell asleep. On Monday follow- ing he was buried from the North Church, where he had wor- shipped so long, with the full honors of a reverent people. lie has passed from the sight of men ; but his name shall live and his memory be cherished, we believe, while God shall be wor- shipped in song, and courage, purity, public beneficence, and high manliness shall be loved and honored among men. I 1 North Andover eason being one eveloped, which , ensuing Avinter treatment, how- th as the spring he old house in His Personal Appearance. In person General Oliver was a trifle less than six feet high, of square shoulders and massive frame. His head was 23| inches in circumference, and his brow was Websterian, — a beetling crag, underneath which his large, full-set, and lumin- . ^ yF,.^^-r«*iS^3SM.*eFi«^^»r:^...r S'&:^S^tm^h^^^- r^>#^«*^*^<^--rf*Mi" ..-.^-^ T 36 HENRY K. OLIVER. Mf^i ■Ui- 11 r- 0U8 -rny eyes looked out with keen nnd kindly glance. H.s nose'was Roman, his jaw square and strong; and the flesh h„n«. on his face in folds like a vail, tremulous to every emolion of the sensitive soul that dwelt behind it. There was something of the mastifl' in him. but the heart that beat m that .rim and powerful frame was all alive with gentle humannoss, Ld love of every virtue, and quick delight in every high. chivalric deed. .• i, „« Various expressions of judgment concerning him, ^vhlch ap- peared in the press at the time of his decease, are quite worth preserving, as showing the general estimate in which he was held in the communities where he had resided. u In the death of General Olivek, Salem loses her foremost citizen. jud..e Endicott and Dr. Loring are prob.bly more widely known, butihe general's long and varied career entitles him to the rank .e have given him." . , u Gifted with a commanding presence, and with large and vaned cental aptitudes, with an ear attuned to music and a voice of "n- U„.ited strength and compass ['' a stentorian voice" it was called n Llrenee], he was a born leader. His powers as teacher, wr.ter, .tudcnt and executive omcer were such as are rarely combined in the same person. But the strongest note in his character - the domi- nant chord-was the musical one, as will be surely testified bv those To In him (as the present writer does) in charge of this part If the service in the North Church, Salem, which he raised to choice excellence, as he did also tiiat of the Unitarian Church in Law- ""LLge-hearted, full of generous instincts and purposes, the poor of Lawrence had, during the early years of that city, no warmer and more constant friend than General Oliver. uln educational matters he was equally efficient. When sui^nn- tendent of public schools, or as a private citizen, he could and did step in and fill the place of the high school principal, when that was temporarily vacant." HENRY K. OLIVER. 37 c. His lio flosh 3 every lere waa t in tliiit nnnncss, ry high, ^hich np- ite wortli ti he was )st citizen. ;ly known, le vanli 've and varied (ice of Un- as called in her, writer, jined in the -the domi- ied by those of this part ed to choice •ch in Law- ses, the poor warmer and hen superin- ould and did hen that was "lie was an industrious and unsparinj^ student, his tastes leading him to the lanrs, so benefi- contly exerted, that to the last they loved to think and speak of him as -Master Olivkh ;" and they evidently felt towards him something as President (lartield felt towards his president, Mark Hopkins of Williams College. Ho became master of many studies, some of which at first were distasteful to him, but in which ho acquired by sheer force of mind and will a pos- itive delight. He was master of military allairs in such emi- nent degree that he made the militia regiment which ho commanded well-nigh equal in drill to troops of tho regular army ; and afterwards ho raised tho standard of efficiency of the militia of the whole State, when put in charge over it. lie grasped at once, and became master in a few months, of the whole business of manufacturing cotton cloth, gathering and controlling many hundreds of operatives, and conducting the manufacturing operations of a great corporation with as much smoothness and precision as he did his girls school of fifty pupils,— a gigantic work wrought by a giant man. He be- came master of finance, and bore the unexampled burdens of his office as war treasurer of this Commonwealth so easily, that few realized how great the burdens were, or understood IIKXRY K. OLIVER. 45 ! r! U with tho ho living Avhiit sorvico ho was rciulcriii!,' ; and as a niaslcr ho wroujrht hi.H pioiK'cr work in thin ofli<'('. AI)ov(' all other titles well may he ever be known as "Minster Olivku." ;hc jTreat- iswcr that upon, of singii- was inas- so hcnofi- md speak t towards president, master of d to him, rt'ill a pos- such cmi- which he ho regular [ficicncy of cr it. IIo ths, of tho hcring and lucting the th as much ool of fifty 1. He be- burdeus of I so easily, understood IIis Cast of ^Iind. Whoever surveys the life of General Omveii eannot but feel that he did not gain that high place in tho world's knowledge and esteem, which his powers deserved ; and the reason may justly be asked. It lay in the structure of his mind, and tho nature of his personality as springing therefrom. His mind was fundamentally discursive rather than concen- trative. His life ran out rich and strong on various lines of thought and action, but never did and could not bring all its force to bear on any one work. His powers worked apart, and with i)lenitude of results ; but these were like rays dis- persed from a convex reflector. Tho several beams wore seen, each in its separate line ; but in seeing them one did not feel the full measure of the soul from which they sprang. His selfhood did not centre in his will sufficiently to secure the working of all his gifts together in such a way as to constitute him, in the highest degree which those gifts should have enabled him to be, a personal force in society. Ho himself recognized this at length, as when, near the close of his life, surveying the beginning of his career, ho spoke of the " entire self-distrust " which he felt at that time, and said "that this distrust had always impeded his labors." Last Words. We sum up the whole man in a single saying. General Oliver had the eye of an eagle, the frame of a lion, and the heart of a woman ; and the large and noble powers of such a S ; • :,v'i'i;v'^^j-.k^!ffii.-f -9 46 IlKNRY K. OLIVER. It bclnjr wore 1»1.'ii(1ry, and manage the manufacturing operations of a great cotton-mill corporation ; and such was his power to grasp and master new nd'airs, his keenness in reading men, his judgment in selecting them, and tho " potency of his nature" in moving them to act in willing agreement with himself, that from the lirst yard of cloth tho product of the mills was in the highest grade, and for the whole period that ho had charge they were a complete success. He was the war treasurer of this Conunonwcalth, aa Andrew was the war governor; and without a flaw ot action, hut in tho hour of exigency with ready daring he bore every burden as it came, handling vaster sums of money than any official in his place before or since, and for an average pay about half what is now provided. He was the founder of the work of this Bureau ; and in the fulfilment of his duties endured with dauntless courage tho brunt of a sore conflict, with clear-sighted devotion breaking the way for those who should come after. And finally he was a religious musician, a writer of tunes that cannot die — a «« sweet singer of Israel," whose name will live in dear regard while men shall sing in English speech to the worship of God. The exquisite quality }. * t HENRY K. OLIVKIi. •17 unity in s, nnnot-:il of ^ witli the tlu! stall", n