Robert Shaw Oliver

Robert Shaw Oliver (September 13, 1847 – March 15, 1935) was an American soldier and businessman.

Early life Oliver was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 13, 1847. He was a son of Daniel Augustus Oliver and Elizabeth Willard (née Shaw) Oliver (1823–1850), who died three years after his birth.

His maternal grandparents were Robert Gould Shaw and Eliza Willard (née Parkman) Shaw. Through his abolitionist uncle Francis George Shaw and, his wife, Sarah Blake Sturgis Shaw, he was a first cousin of Josephine Shaw Lowell (wife of Charles Russell Lowell) and Robert Gould Shaw (who was killed at the Second Battle of Fort Wagner during the Civil War). Through his uncle Quincy Adams Shaw and, his wife, Pauline Agassiz Shaw, he was also a first cousin of wealthy landowner Robert Gould Shaw II (who was the first husband of Nancy Langhorne, who later became Viscountess Astor).

From 1881 to 1903, he was employed by Rathbone, Sard & Co., stove manufacturers in Albany. In 1881, he was elected as the first president of the United States National Lawn Association, known today as the USTA. He served as brigadier general of the 5th Brigade and then of the 3rd Brigade in the New York National Guard.

Personal life In 1870, Oliver was married to Marion Lucy Rathbone (1847–1926), a daughter of General John Finley Rathbone and Mary (née Baker) Rathbone. They had four children: who was a Harvard graduate, priest, scholar, and physician. Elizabeth Shaw Oliver (1874–1951), who married Francis Kerby Stevens (1877–1945). Cora Lyman Oliver (1876–1955), who married Joseph H. Choate Jr., son of Ambassador Joseph Hodges Choate and suffragist Caroline Dutcher Sterling Choate. Marion Lucy Oliver (1879–1936), who died unmarried.

Oliver died on March 15, 1935, in Charleston, South Carolina, and was cremated and buried with his wife, Marion in the Albany Rural Cemetery according to the Cemetery's Burial Cards.

Descendants Through his daughter Cora, he was a grandfather of Helen (née Choate) Platt (1906–1974), great-grandfather of diplomat Nicholas Platt, the former U.S. Ambassador to Zambia, the Philippines, and Pakistan; and a great-great-grandfather of actor Oliver Platt. Also through Cora, he was a grandfather of Marion (née Choate) Harding (1905–1979), who married Charles Barney Harding, who served as chairman of the New York Stock Exchange and Smith, Barney & Co. (founded by his grandfather Charles D. Barney).