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Ames family

{{Short description|American family}}

{{Infobox family

| name = Ames family

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| coat_of_arms = File:William_Ames_heraldic_achievement.png

| coat_of_arms_size = 175px

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| coat_of_arms_caption = Arms matriculated to William Ames sometime before 1608

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| ethnicity = English

| region = Massachusetts, United States

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| etymology = Amyas; merchant of Amiens

| origin = England

| founded = {{Start date|1638}}

| founder = William Ames

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| other_families = Butler

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| estates = Borderland
Queset House

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The Ames family is one of the oldest and most illustrious families of the United States.{{cite book|last1=Cutter|first1=William|title=New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation, Volume 3|date=1914|publisher=Lewis Historical Publishing|page=[https://archive.org/details/newenglandfamil01cuttgoog/page/n244 1288]|url=https://archive.org/details/newenglandfamil01cuttgoog}} The family's branches are descended from John Ames, the son of a 17th-century settler of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Numerous public and private works throughout the U.S. are named after family members, including the city Ames, Iowa, and the NASA Ames research center in California.

Origins

The scion of the American Ames family was William Ames, who was born in England to John Ames and Cyprian Ames (née Brown) in 1605. The family's earliest known ancestor died in 1560. It is thought the family's surname was, at some point prior to emigration, changed from Amyas. In the 16th century Amyas was frequently confused with Ames.{{cite book|last1=Reaney|first1=P.H.|title=A Dictionary of English Surnames|date=1997|publisher=Oxford University Press}}

William Ames immigrated to Massachusetts Bay in 1638, eventually settled in Braintree, and died in about 1653. With his wife Hannah, he had one son, John, born in 1647.{{efn|A younger brother of William Ames, John, arrived in Massachusetts a few years after William Ames and settled in Duxbury. He fought in King Philip's War and had two sons, William and John.}}

=Heraldry=

The heraldist William Armstrong Crozier recorded an heraldic achievement matriculated to William Ames, from an original grant issued by the College of Arms.{{cite book|last1=Crozier|first1=William|title=Crozier's General Armory: A Registry of American Families Entitled to Coat Armor|date=1904|publisher=Genealogical Association|page=[https://archive.org/details/croziersgeneral01crozgoog/page/n16 12]|url=https://archive.org/details/croziersgeneral01crozgoog}}

;Shield

:Argent on a bend cotissed between two annulets Sable, a quatrefoil between two roses of the field;

;Crest

:A rose Argent, slipped and leaved proper, in front thereof an annulet Or

Notable family members

The children of William Ames' son, John (born 1647), included John (born 1672), Nathaniel (1677), and Thomas (born 1681). They, in turn, had a number of notable descendants.

{{multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width=400

| align = right

| footer = Among many monuments and facilities named after members of the Ames family include (clockwise, from top left) the Ames Monument, NASA's Ames Research Center, Boston's Ames Building, and the Ames Memorial Hall.

| image1 = Ames_Monument_(Laramie,_Wyoming).jpg

| width1 = 200

| image2 = NASA Ames at Moffett Field.jpg

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| image3 = Oakes_Ames_Memorial_Hall_and_Ames_Free_Library_(North_Easton,_MA).JPG

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| image4 = Ames Building, 2.jpg

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}}

=Descendants of John Ames (born 1672)=

  • Samuel Ames (1824-1875), chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court
  • Marcus Ames (1828-1887), chaplain of the state institutions of Rhode Island
  • Herman Vandenburg Ames (1865-1935), dean of the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School{{cite book|last1=Chamberlain|first1=Joshua|title=University of Pennsylvania: Its History, Influence, Equipment and Characteristics; with Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Founders, Benefactors, Officers and Alumni|date=1901|publisher=R. Herndon Company|page=[https://archive.org/details/universityofpenn01cham/page/442 442]|url=https://archive.org/details/universityofpenn01cham}}
  • Joseph Sweetman Ames (1865-1943), president of Johns Hopkins University{{cite journal|last1=Dorsey|first1=Ernest|title=Joseph Sweetman Ames: The Man|journal=American Journal of Physics|date=1944|volume=12|issue=135|pages=135–148 |doi=10.1119/1.1990567|url=http://aapt.scitation.org/doi/abs/10.1119/1.1990567?journalCode=ajp|url-access=subscription}}
  • Louis Annin Ames (1866-1952), businessman and designer of the City of New York flag

=Descendants of Nathaniel Ames (born 1677)=

  • Nathaniel Ames (1708-1764), almanac publisher{{cite book|last1=Crawford|first1=Mary|title=Famous Families of Massachusetts Volume II|date=1930|publisher=Little Brown & Co.|pages=358–364|url=http://library.albany.edu/preservation/brittle_bks/Crawford_Familiesv2/Chpt47.pdf}}
  • Fisher Ames (1758-1808), member of the United States Congress
  • Nathaniel Ames, (1741-1822), doctor and almanac publisher
  • Nathaniel Ames (1796-1835), seafarer and author
  • Ellis Ames (1809-1886), member of the Massachusetts General Court{{cite book|last1=Davis|first1=William|title=Bench and Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Volume 2|date=1895|publisher=Boston History Company|page=199|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GqAsAAAAIAAJ}}

=Descendants of Thomas Ames (born 1681)=

{{multiple image

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| image3 = Oliver Ames, Sr. 1779-1863.jpg

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| caption3 = Oliver Ames Sr., patriarch of the Ames business dynasty in Easton, Massachusetts.

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}}

File:Oakes Ames - Brady-Handy (cropped).jpg, Congressman of Massachusetts and a central figure in the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad.]]

The descendants of Thomas Ames, known for the Ames Manufacturing Company and Ames True Temper which was the source of their wealth, have principally been associated with North Easton, Massachusetts. Stonehill College maintains the Ames Family Collection, containing documents related to the Thomas Ames branch dating from the 19th to 20th centuries.{{cite web|title=Ames Family Collection|url=http://www.stonehill.edu/offices-services/archives/industrial-collections/ames-family-collection/|website=stonehill.edu|publisher=Stonehill College|accessdate=January 31, 2018}} They were donated to the college in 2000 by Elizabeth M. Ames, and later supplemented by additional deposits from other family members.

== Family tree ==

:* David Ames

:* Oliver Ames Sr. / Susannah Angier

::* Oakes Ames / Evelina Orville Gilmore

:::* Oakes Angier Ames

::::* Winthrop Ames

:::* Oliver Ames / Anna Coffin Ray

::::* Oakes Ames (botanist) / Blanche Ames Ames

::* Oliver Ames Jr. / Sarah Lothrop

:::* Frederick Lothrop Ames / Rebecca Blair

::::* Frederick Lothrop Ames Jr. / Edith Cryder

::* Harriet Ames (1819-1896) / Asa Mitchell (1819-1877)

:::* John Ames Mitchell

Financial holdings

The following is a list of businesses in which the Ames family have held a controlling or otherwise significant interest.

|page=27 |isbn=0-7385-0141-7}}

  • Booth Theatre
  • Crédit Mobilier of America{{cite book |last=Ambrose |first=Stephen E. |author-link= |date=2001 |title=Nothing Like It In the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869 |url= |location= |publisher=Simon & Schuster |page=34 |isbn=0-684-84609-8}}
  • D.& J. Ames Paper
  • General Electric{{cite book |last1=Hatheway |first1=Allen W. |last2=Speight |first2=Thomas B. |author-link= |date=2017 |title=Manufactured Gas Plant Remediation: A Case Study |url= |location= |publisher=CRC Press|page=224 |isbn= 9781498796866}}
  • Life (magazine){{cite book |last=Sanders |first=Jack |author-link= |date=2003 |title=Ridgefield,1900-1950 |url= |location= |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |page=43 |isbn=0-7385-1172-2}}

  • Old Colony Railroad{{cite book |last=Breisch |first=Kenneth A. |author-link= |date=1997 |title=Henry Hobson Richardson and the Small Public Library in America: A Study in Typology |url= |location= |publisher=MIT Press |page=152 |isbn=0-262-02416-0}}
  • Union Pacific Railroad{{cite book |last=Rosenberg |first=Chaim M. |author-link= |date=2015 |title=Yankee Colonies Across America: Cities Upon the Hills |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LSBUCwAAQBAJ |location= |publisher=Lexington Books |pages=222–223 |isbn=978-1-4985-1983-0}}
  • United States Cartridge Company{{cite book |last= |first= |date=1917 |chapter=Men of the Iron Trade: Who They Are, Where They Are, What They Are Doing |volume=60 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OBtKAQAAMAAJ |title=The Iron Trade Review |location= |publisher=Penton Publishing Company |page=941 |access-date=17 May 2024}}

Buildings, estates & historical sites

Notes

{{notelist}}

References

{{reflist}}

Category:American families

Category:Business families of the United States

Category:Butler–Ames family