Oliver Burr Jennings (June 3, 1825 – February 12, 1893) was an American businessman and one of the original stockholders in Standard Oil.
Early life
Jennings was born in 1825 in Fairfield, Connecticut, to Abraham Gould Jennings and Anna (née Burr) Jennings.[1] His brother was Frederick B. Jennings.[2] At a young age he came to New York to learn the dry goods business.[3] Through his great-grandfather, Peter Burr, he was distantly related to U.S. Vice PresidentAaron Burr.[4][2]
Career
In 1849, he headed West to seek his fortune in the California Gold Rush. He set up a general mercantile store in San Francisco with Benjamin Brewster and amassed a considerable fortune by outfitting prospecting camps along the coast and around Sacramento.[5]
On December 13, 1854, he married Esther Judson Goodsell (1828–1908) in Fairfield. Her younger sister, Almira Geraldine Goodsell, was the wife of Standard Oil co-founder William Rockefeller, Jr.[7] Together, Oliver and Esther had five children:[1]
Annie Burr Jennings (1855–1939),[8] a philanthropist.[9]
Helen Goodsell Jennings (1860–1946),[11] who married Dr. Walter Belknap James (1858–1927), president of the Jekyll Island Club from 1919 until 1927.[12]
Jennings died in 1893 at his residence in New York City.[3] His estate amounted to US$10,000,000 (equivalent to $339,111,111 in 2023), which he left entirely to his family.[16]