Stephen Henry Olin

Stephen Henry Olin (April 22, 1847 – August 6, 1925)[1] was a lawyer and the acting president of Wesleyan University and a member of New York society during the Gilded Age.

Stephen Henry Olin
Acting
President of Wesleyan University
In office
1922–1923
Preceded byWilliam A. Shanklin
Succeeded byJames L. McConaughy
Personal details
Born(1847-04-22)April 22, 1847
Middletown, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedAugust 6, 1925(1925-08-06) (aged 78)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Spouse(s)
Alice Wadsworth Barlow
​
​
(died 1882)​

Emeline Harriman Dodge
​
​
(m. 1903; his death 1925)​
RelationsHenry Olin (grandfather)
ChildrenAlice Townsend Olin
Julia Lynch Olin
ParentsStephen Olin
Julia Matilda Lynch Olin

Early life

Olin was born on April 22, 1847, in Middletown, Connecticut. He was the son of Stephen Olin (1797–1851) and Julia Matilda (née Lynch) Olin (1814–1879),[2] his father's second wife after his first marriage to Mary Bostwick.[3] His father, a lawyer who became an ordained minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church,[4] served as the first president of Randolph Macon College, from 1834 to 1836, and later served as president of Wesleyan University from 1839 until his death in 1851.[4]

His maternal grandfather was James Lynch. His paternal grandparents were U.S. Representative from Vermont Henry Olin,[5] and Lois Richardson Olin. His grandfather was the nephew of Gideon Olin and a cousin of Abram B. Olin, both of whom also served as members of the House of Representatives from Vermont.[6][5]

Olin graduated from Wesleyan University in 1866 and received the honorary LL.D. from the University in 1894.[1]

Career
Bust of Stephen Henry Olin, lobby, Olin Library, Wesleyan University.

Two years after graduating from Wesleyan, he began the practice of law in New York City, with the firms of Olin, Rives & Montgomery; Olin & Rives; and Olin, Clark & Phelps. He focused his practice on copyright law representing many of the eminent publishing companies in the United States.[1]

For thirty years, Olin was a trustee of the New York Public Library, and before that, was a trustee of the Astor Library. He served as president of the University Settlement Society, vice president of the New York City Bar Association, and was a member of the New York National Guard, retiring in 1903 with the rank of colonel and chief of staff.[1]

Wesleyan University

From 1922 to 1923, following the leave of absence, and eventual death, of president William A. Shanklin, Olin was asked and dutifully served as acting president of his alma mater, Wesleyan University,[7] where his father had served as the second president and where he was a longtime trustee.[lower-alpha 1][8] In 1925, while in ill health, he traveled to Middletown, Connecticut, to witness the installation of President Dr. James L. McConaughy,[8][9] who later served as Lt. Governor and Governor of Connecticut after he was president of the University.

Following his death, the University paid tribute to Olin with a memorial service at the college chapel presided by the president of the board of trustees.[10]

Society life

In 1892, Olin was included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in The New York Times.[11][12] Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom.[13] Olin was one of the founders of the Players Club, a member of the Society of Colonial Wars, the Century Club, the University Club, the City Club, and the Downtown Club.[1]

"Glenburn"

Glenburn was the Olin estate about three miles south of the village of Rhinebeck, New York. It was originally part of the Beekman patent.[14]

In 1742 Judge Robert R. Livinston of Clermont, married Margaret, the only surviving child and heiress of Col. Henry Beekman of Rhinebeck. Their daughter Margaret (1749-1823) married Dr. Thomas Tillotson of Maryland on February 22, 1779. Between 1788 and 1790 he established a country place and called it "Linwood." Tillotson also obtained another part of the Beekman lands, twenty-nine acres of woodland lying east of Fallsburgh Creek, which passes through two beautiful waterfalls before reaching the Hudson River.[14]

Tillotson's daughter Janette married Judge James Lynch. In 1830, Dr. Tillotson gave as a present to his twelve-year old granddaughter, Julia Lynch, the wooded gorge containing the waterfalls of Fallsburgh Creek. She called the place "Glenburn" and, when a new cottage had been built, it became her summer home and that of her parents. Julia Lynch was married to Rev. Stephen Olin at "Glenburn," in 1843, and returned there after her husband's death in 1851. At Mrs. Olin's death, in 1889, "Glenburn" descended to her son, Stephen Henry.[14]

At one time the neighborhood had a post office of its own—the Glenburn post office, but this ceased when rural delivery service was established in Rhinebeck.

Personal life

Olin married Alice Wadsworth Barlow (1853–1882),[15] daughter of Samuel Latham Mitchill Barlow and Alice Cornell Townsend.[16][17] Alice's brother was the lawyer and jurist Peter Townsend Barlow. Together, they were the parents of:[18]

After his wife's death in 1882 at the age of 29,[15] he remarried to Emeline Harriman (1860–1938), the widow of William Earl Dodge III, in 1903.[26] Emeline was the daughter of Oliver Harriman and the sister of Anne Harriman Vanderbilt, Oliver Harriman, Jr., J. Borden Harriman, and Herbert M. Harriman.[26] Emeline had two children from her first marriage, William Earl Dodge IV,[lower-alpha 2] and Annie Cleveland Dodge.[lower-alpha 3]

Olin died at his home, 400 Park Avenue in New York City on August 6, 1925, and his funeral was held at St. Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue.[1] After his death, his widow remarried to Howland Spencer on December 15, 1931.[29] They divorced in the Spring of 1938,[30] and she resumed using the Olin surname until her death in August 1938.[26]

Legacy

The Olin Library at Wesleyan University was named after Olin and his father.[9]

References
Notes
  1. Olin was the first trustee elected by the alumni and served as a trustee of Wesleyan University for 45 years.[1]
  2. William Earl Dodge IV (1883–1927) was married to Jessie Sloane (1883–1968),[27] daughter of Henry T. Sloane. They divorced and she remarried to George D. Widener Jr. (1889–1971).[28]
  3. Annie Cleveland Dodge (1880) was married to John H. McCullough.
Sources
  1. "S. H. OLIN DIES AT 78; 50 YEARS A LAWYER; Specialized on Copyright Law and Represented Foremost Publishing Houses. ACTING HEAD OF WESLEYAN For 30 Years He Was Trustee of the New York Public Library -- A Founder of Players Club" (PDF). The New York Times. August 7, 1925. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  2. "Stephen Olin and Julia Olin letters". archives.nypl.org. Manuscripts and Archives Division | New York Public Library. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  3. Olin, Stephen (1852). The Works of Stephen Olin. Harper & Brothers. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  4. "Stephen Olin, Office of the President". www.wesleyan.edu. Wesleyan University. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  5. "OLIN, Henry – Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  6. Brown, John Howard (2006). The Cyclopedia of American Biography V6: Comprising the Men and Women of the United States Who Have Been Identified with the Growth of the Nation. Kessinger Publishing. p. 61. ISBN 9781428640511.
  7. "COL. OLIN HEADS COLLEGE.; Will Act as President of Wesleyan University for a Year" (PDF). The New York Times. August 4, 1922. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  8. "DR. OLIN DEFIES ILLNESS.; Wesleyan Trustee Goes to Commencement in Special Car" (PDF). The New York Times. May 31, 1925. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  9. "WESLEYAN INSTALS DR. M'CONAUGHY; New President Declares Scholastic Liberty and Individual Growth Chief Aims" (PDF). The New York Times. June 6, 1925. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  10. "WESLEYAN HONORS OLIN.; University Holds Memorial for Acting President of 1922–23" (PDF). The New York Times. November 9, 1925. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  11. McAllister, Ward (16 February 1892). "THE ONLY FOUR HUNDRED | WARD M'ALLISTER GIVES OUT THE OFFICIAL LIST. HERE ARE THE NAMES, DON'T YOU KNOW, ON THE AUTHORITY OF THEIR GREAT LEADER, YOU UNDER- STAND, AND THEREFORE GENUINE, YOU SEE" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  12. Patterson, Jerry E. (2000). The First Four Hundred: Mrs. Astor's New York in the Gilded Age. Random House Incorporated. p. 217. ISBN 9780847822089. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  13. Keister, Lisa A. (2005). Getting Rich: America's New Rich and How They Got That Way. Cambridge University Press. p. 36. ISBN 9780521536677. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  14. Historical and Genealogical Record Dutchess and Putnam Counties New York, Press of the A. V. Haight Co., Poughkeepsie, New York, 1912 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  15. "DIED. OLIN". The New York Times. 10 November 1882. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  16. "Obituary -- OLIN". The New York Times. 9 November 1882. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  17. Starr, Leslie (2007). Welcome to Wesleyan: Campus Buildings. Wesleyan University Press. p. 36. ISBN 9780819568557. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  18. Cutter, William Richard; Clement, E. H. (Edward Henry); Hart, Samuel; Talcott, Mary Kingsbury; Bostwick, Frederick; Stearns, Ezra S. (1911). Genealogical and family history of the state of Connecticut; a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation. New York, Lewis historical publishing company. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  19. "MARRIED: DOWS--OLIN" (PDF). The New York Times. 12 November 1903. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  20. "TRACY DOWS; Succumbs Suddenly in London at Age of 64--Harvard Graduate". The New York Times. 4 July 1937. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  21. "Mrs. Lewis S. Chanler, 78, Dies; Headed Reform Bahai Movement; Widow of Former Lieutenant Governor Formed Society in '29 -- Wrote Several Books" (PDF). The New York Times. 12 March 1961. p. 86. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  22. "WEDDINGS OF A DAY.; Benkard--Olin" (PDF). The New York Times. 12 December 1902. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  23. "J. Philip Benkard, Broker, Stricken in Parade; Ex-Lieutenant Colonel Dies in Ambulance" (PDF). The New York Times. 7 April 1929. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  24. "LEWIS S. CHANLER WEDS MRS. BENKARD; Ex-Lieut. Governor of New York Marries Divorced Wife of J. Philip Benkard in Paris. GUARDED WITH SECRECY Mr. Chanler Was Divorced in Paris From His First Wife, Who Was Alice Chamberlain" (PDF). The New York Times. 25 May 1921. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  25. "L.S. CHANLER DIES; STATE EX-OFFICIAL; Lieutenant Governor, 1906–08, Defeated in Gubernatorial Race by Hughes in 1908 WAS A CRIMINAL LAWYER Defended Clients Who Could Not Pay -- Toured Ireland for Parnellites in '90's" (PDF). The New York Times. 2 March 1942. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  26. Times, Special To The New York (14 August 1938). "MRS. EMELINE H. OLIN IS DEAD AT NEWPORT; Daughter of Oliver Harriman Is Stricken After Brief Illness" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  27. "Mrs. George Widener, 84, Wife. of Sportsman, Dies". The New York Times. 12 March 1968. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  28. Times, Special To The New York (9 December 1971). "George Widener, Racing Figure, Dies at 82". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  29. "MRS. S.H. OLIN WEDS HOWLAND SPENCER; Widow's Marriage at Her Home Here a Surprise as Troth Was Not Announced. THIRD WEDDING FOR BOTH Bride'a Sister, Mrs. W.K. Vanderbilt, and Capt. R.D. White Only Witnesses of Ceremony" (PDF). The New York Times. December 16, 1931. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  30. "HOWLAND SPENCER SUES FOR A DIVORCE; Charges in Florida That Former Emeline Harriman Conspired to Malign Him" (PDF). The New York Times. August 10, 1937. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
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