Ames family

The Ames family is a prominent American lineage tracing its documented colonial American history to William Ames, who emigrated from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638. William eventually settled in Braintree, Massachusetts, where he and his wife, Hannah, had a son, John, born in 1647. Later genealogical accounts connect the family to an earlier English ancestry and suggest that the surname may once have been rendered as Amyas, although the precise name transition is not fully established. Over subsequent generations, branches descended from John Ames, born in 1647, became established across New England and beyond. The family is associated particularly with Massachusetts and Rhode Island, while its descendants also achieved influence in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Iowa, and other parts of the United States. Several members entered public life, including Samuel Ames, who served as chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court; Fisher Ames, a Federalist member of the United States Congress; Ellis Ames, a member of the Massachusetts General Court; and Oliver Ames, who became governor of Massachusetts. The best-known industrial branch descended from Thomas Ames, born in 1681. During the nineteenth century, members of this branch were associated with the Ames Manufacturing Company and the Ames Shovel Works in North Easton, Massachusetts. These enterprises helped create the family's industrial wealth and left a substantial architectural and civic legacy in the town. The family's business interests also extended, at different times, to Annin & Co., D. & J. Ames Paper, the United States Cartridge Company, the Old Colony Railroad, Union Pacific Railroad, Crédit Mobilier of America, the Booth Theatre, and interests connected with General Electric and Life magazine. The existence of an association or significant interest in these enterprises does not imply that every company was continuously controlled by the family. Ames descendants were active in transportation and infrastructure as well as manufacturing. Oakes Ames was a congressman and an important figure in the nineteenth-century railroad era, while Oliver Ames Jr. served as president of the Union Pacific Railroad. The family's broader public profile also included university leadership, medicine, architecture, publishing, theater, botany, and civic administration. Joseph Sweetman Ames became president of Johns Hopkins University; Herman Vandenburg Ames was dean of the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School; John Ames Mitchell was an architect, publisher, and designer associated with the New York flag; and Winthrop Ames became a theater producer and playwright. Oakes Ames, the botanist, contributed to the study of orchids and plant science. The family name survives in numerous public places and institutions. The city of Ames, Iowa, and NASA's Ames Research Center in California are named for individuals connected with the family, although they represent different civic and institutional contexts rather than a single commercial brand. Other associated sites include the Ames Building, Ames Free Library, Ames Monument, Ames Shovel Shop, Oakes Ames Memorial Hall, Queset House, Borderland, and the Ames Gate Lodge. These sites reflect philanthropy, industrial history, public service, and the preservation of family-associated architecture. The family’s documentary legacy is also preserved in collections such as the Ames Family Collection at Stonehill College. The collection contains papers relating primarily to the Thomas Ames branch from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Materials were donated in 2000 by Elizabeth M. Ames and later expanded through additional deposits from family members. Because the Ames family is a lineage rather than a unified operating company or consumer brand, it has no single headquarters, current chief executive, consolidated product portfolio, or clearly defined present-day corporate status.

The Ames family's American history begins with William Ames, who was born in England in 1605 to John Ames and Cyprian Ames, née Brown. William emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638 and later settled in Braintree. He died around 1653. His son John, born in 1647, became the ancestor of several important later branches. The descendants of John Ames, born in 1672, included figures in law, religion, higher education, medicine, government, and civic design. Samuel Ames became chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, while Marcus Ames served as chaplain of Rhode Island state institutions. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Herman Vandenburg Ames and Joseph Sweetman Ames held senior academic positions, respectively at the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University. Louis Annin Ames was a businessman and was associated with the design of the New York City flag. Another branch descended from Nathaniel Ames, born in 1677. Nathaniel Ames, born in 1708, was an almanac publisher, and his work helped establish a tradition of publishing and practical knowledge within the family. His descendants included the physician and almanac publisher Nathaniel Ames, the author and seafarer Nathaniel Ames, the Massachusetts legislator Ellis Ames, and Fisher Ames, who represented Massachusetts in Congress. The branch descended from Thomas Ames, born in 1681, became especially important in Massachusetts industrial history. John Ames, born in 1738, was a military officer and industrialist. His descendants, including Oliver Ames Sr., Oakes Ames, Oakes Angier Ames, and other members of the family, were associated with the Ames Manufacturing Company and the Ames Shovel Works. North Easton became the principal setting for this branch’s industrial activity and family philanthropy. The shovel business generated wealth that supported civic buildings, estates, libraries, transportation interests, and other public works. Oakes Ames served in Congress and became associated with the construction-era history of the Union Pacific Railroad and Crédit Mobilier of America. Oliver Ames Jr. later became president of the Union Pacific Railroad, while Oliver Ames served as governor of Massachusetts. Other family members participated in architecture, publishing, theater, botany, business, and social life. John Ames Mitchell was an architect and publisher; Winthrop Ames was a theater producer and playwright; Oakes Ames, the botanist, was known for his work on orchids; and Frederick Lothrop Ames and his descendants were connected with Massachusetts civic and business life. The family’s influence is visible not only through personal biographies but also through places named for Ames family members. These include Ames, Iowa, NASA’s Ames Research Center, the Ames Building, the Ames Free Library, the Ames Monument, the Ames Shovel Shop, Oakes Ames Memorial Hall, Queset House, Borderland, and other historic structures. Some are memorial or civic projects, while others are surviving industrial or residential properties. Ames-related business holdings historically included manufacturing, railroad, publishing, theater, firearms-related production, and electrical-industry interests. The family did not operate these activities as one continuously unified corporate group, and the available historical account does not establish a present-day family-controlled enterprise. The Stonehill College Ames Family Collection provides documentary evidence for the Thomas Ames branch and preserves papers from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. As a result, the Ames family is best understood as a historical American dynasty and interconnected network of enterprises and institutions, not as a conventional contemporary brand.

• 2000

  Ames Family Collection donated to Stonehill College

  [1]Ames familyen.wikipedia.org

  Elizabeth M. Ames donated family documents to Stonehill College; later deposits expanded the collection.

• 1647

  Birth of John Ames

  [1]Ames familyen.wikipedia.org

  John Ames, William Ames’s son, was born and became the ancestor of several later Ames branches.

• 1638

  William Ames emigrates to Massachusetts Bay

  [1]Ames familyen.wikipedia.org

  William Ames emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony and eventually settled in Braintree.

• 1605

  Birth of William Ames

  [1]Ames familyen.wikipedia.org

  William Ames was born in England and later became the documented colonial American progenitor of the Ames family.

A historically prominent American family and network of industrial, civic, academic, cultural, and philanthropic associations rather than a conventional commercial brand.

1. 1Ames familyen.wikipedia.org