Frederick Lothrop Ames Jr. (July 23, 1876 – June 19, 1921) was a

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

financier and socialite. He was the great-grandson of Oliver Ames, who established the Ames Shovel Company, grandson of

Oliver Ames Jr. Oliver Ames Jr. (November 5, 1807 – March 9, 1877) was president of Union Pacific Railroad when the railroad met the Central Pacific Railroad in Utah for the completion of the First transcontinental railroad in North America. Biography Born i ...

, and son of Frederick Lothrop Ames.

Early life and education

Frederick Lothrop Ames Jr. was born July 23, 1876, in North

Easton, Massachusetts Easton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,058 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Boston area. Easton is governed by an elected Select Board. Open Town Meeting acts as the legislative br ...

. He was the second son of Frederick Lothrop Ames Sr. and Rebecca Caroline (Blair) Ames, and went by the name "Lothrop." The Ames' were fairly prominent in 19th century

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

society, and had a major presence in small North Easton. Lothrop's father Frederick Sr. was considered by many to be the wealthiest man in Massachusetts. Frederick Sr. died at age 58 in 1893, leaving young Lothrop fatherless and extremely wealthy at age seventeen. Lothrop received an

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1898. In 1902, he purchased the yacht Vigilant, which had won the America's Cup back in 1893.

Career

Lothrop had interests in the family shovel business and served on the boards of directors of many companies, including banks, mining companies, railroads, power companies, hospitals, dredging companies, and others. He was involved with the breeding of

Guernsey cattle The Guernsey is a breed of dairy cattle from the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is fawn or red and white in colour, and is hardy and docile. Its milk is rich in flavour, high in fat and protein, and has a golden-yellow tinge du ...

and was a prominent member of the Massachusetts Guernsey Breeders Association. Lothrop kept an office in the family-owned

Ames Building The Ames Building is located in Boston, Massachusetts. It is sometimes ranked as the tallest building in Boston from its completion in 1893 until 1915, when the Custom House Tower was built; however, the building was never the tallest structure in ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Stone House Hill House

In 1904, shortly after his marriage to Edith, Lothrop commissioned architects Douglas H. Thomas and J. Harleston Parker, later of the firm Parker, Thomas and Rice) to design a mansion on the Easton-Brockton town line. The 50-room “Stone House Hill House” contained a gymnasium with glass-roofed indoor clay tennis court, marble swimming pool, squash court, garage, conservatory, barns and maintenance buildings. The building was completed in 1905. By 1935, Ames was deceased and Edith remarried; she sold the entire Stone House Hill House and property to the Catholic

Congregation of Holy Cross , image = Congregation of Holy Cross.svg , image_size = 150px , abbreviation = CSC , formation = , founder = Blessed Fr. Basile-Antoine Marie Moreau, C.S.C. , founding_location = L ...

. Between 1935 and 1948, the congregation used the place as a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

to educate candidates for the priesthood. In 1948 the Congregation of Holy Cross established Stonehill College on the property.

Personal life

He married Edith Callender Cryder, daughter of Duncan Cryder of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, on May 31, 1904, at Trinity Church in New York City. They had two children, Frederick and Mary.

Death

Lothrop took ill on May 1, 1921, had surgery on May 6, appeared to recover on June 11, but died on June 19 at his home in North Easton. His funeral was held June 22 at the Unity Church of North Easton, which his family had attended for many years. He was buried at the Village Cemetery behind the church.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ames, Frederick Lothrop Jr. 1876 births 1921 deaths American manufacturing businesspeople Harvard College alumni Blue Water Medal recipients Butler–Ames family People from Easton, Massachusetts