Henry W. Oliver

Henry W. Oliver (February 25, 1840 – February 8, 1904) was an American industrialist.

Biography

Henry W. Oliver was born in Ireland in 1840. Two years later his family settled in Pittsburgh. Oliver began working at the age of thirteen as a messenger boy for the National Telegraph Company in Pittsburgh. Oliver worked at various jobs until 1861 when he served in the Civil War. In 1863, he formed a partnership with William J. Lewis and John Phillips to create the firm of Lewis, Oliver and Phillips to manufacture nuts and bolts on a small scale. By 1866, two of his brothers joined the firm and in 1880, they formed the firm, Oliver Brothers and Phillips. By this time, the company was one of the largest manufacturers of bar iron and iron specialties in the United States. In 1888, the company incorporated under the name of Oliver Iron and Steel Company. Oliver was involved in working with the Mesabi ore region in Germany, spinning off the Oliver Iron Mining Company from his other interests in a venture with the Carnegie Steel Company. He would become politically active with the Republican Party in Pittsburgh. He married Edith Cassidy in 1862. The Olivers had one daughter. Five years after his death, Oliver's brother Motha T. Oliver became a United States Senator.

References

• Oliver Iron and Steel Company, Pittsburgh, Pa. Records Finding Aid, 1863-1930, 1959, AIS.1964.06, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

External links

• Evans, Henry Oliver. Iron Pioneer: Henry W. Oliver. 1840-1904, 1942, E.P. Dutton & Company.