Oliver Pollock (1737, Bready,

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

, Northern Ireland – December 17, 1823, Pinckneyville, Mississippi) was a merchant and financier of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, of which he has long been considered a historically undervalued figure. He is often credited with inventing the U.S.

Dollar sign The dollar sign, also known as the peso sign, is a currency symbol consisting of a Letter case, capital crossed with one or two vertical strokes ( or depending on typeface), used to indicate the unit of various currency, currencies around ...

in 1778.

Early life

Pollock sailed to North America at the age of 23 in 1760 with his father from his native Ireland to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He settled in

Cumberland County, Pennsylvania Cumberland County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 259,469. Its county seat is Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Carlis ...

. Two years later, he began his career as a merchant, trading from port-to-port with the Spaniards in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, and was headquartered in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Alejandro O'Reilly. O'Reilly was later made the Governor of Louisiana by the King of Spain. Pollock began working as a merchant in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and, through his relationship with O'Reilly, was favorably received by

Spanish Louisiana Louisiana (, ), was a province of New Spain from 1762 to 1801. It was primarily located in the center of North America encompassing the western basin of the Mississippi River plus New Orleans. The area had originally been claimed and controlle ...

's officials, who granted him free trade within the city. He became the most successful businessman in the city as a result of the scarcity of provisions at the time, bringing in a desperately needed shipment of flour. However instead of taking advantage of the colonists, Pollock sold the flour for half the going price. In 1770 he married Margaret O'Brien of New Orleans, with whom he had eight children before her death in 1799. By the outbreak of the

, Pollock had become very wealthy and had significant political influence. Pollock stayed in New Orleans for eight years and also worked as a plantation owner and selling land in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

Revolutionary War period

Oliver Pollock, a friend of the governor of Louisiana, served in April of

1776 Events January–February * January 1 – American Revolutionary War – Burning of Norfolk: The town of Norfolk, Virginia is destroyed, by the combined actions of the British Royal Navy and occupying Patriot forces. * January ...

as a secret mediator between

Luis de Unzaga Luis de Unzaga y Amézaga (1717–1793), also known as Louis Unzaga y Amezéga le Conciliateur, Luigi de Unzaga Panizza and Lewis de Onzaga, was governor of Spanish Louisiana from late 1769 to mid-1777, as well as a Captain General of Venezuela ...

and the

Founding Fathers The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence ...

Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. May 18, 1736une 6, 1799) was an American politician, planter and orator who declared to the Virginia Conventions, Second Virginia Convention (1775): "Give me liberty or give m ...

and Robert Morris in order to bring the first secret aids for the birth of the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

. In 1777 he was appointed "commercial agent of the United States at New Orleans", making him the representative of the colonies in the city. He used his fortune to finance American operations in the west, and the successful campaign of General

George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American military officer and surveyor from Virginia who became the highest-ranking Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot military officer on the American frontier, nort ...

in Illinois 1778 occurred with his financial support. In the same year, he borrowed $70,000 from Spanish Louisiana's Governor

Bernardo de Gálvez Bernardo Vicente de Gálvez y Madrid, 1st Count of Gálvez (23 July 1746 – 30 November 1786) was a Spanish military leader and government official who served as colonial governor of Spanish Louisiana and Cuba, and later as Viceroy of New S ...

, but the financial needs of the country at the time left him with a loss. In September of that year, Pollock introduced Col. David Rogers and Capt. Robert Benham to the Governor. Rogers was delivering an important letter from Patrick Henry from Virginia. This meeting led to Spain joining the war against England. Pollock served as Gálvez's aide-de-camp during the Spanish campaign against the British that began with the Spanish declaration of war in June 1779. Gálvez and the Spanish troops swept through the future

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida, defeating the British with the capture of Fort Bute and campaigning through the victorious siege of Pensacola in 1781. Pollock's diplomacy assisted in the surrender of Fort Panmure (future

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the only city in and the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,520 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia, Louisiana, Natchez was ...

). During the capture of Fort Bute, he is followed by 2 US officers and 7 volunteers. In 1783 he was appointed an agent by the United States in Havana, where he would be imprisoned for his debts a year later, amounting to $150,000. In 1785 he was released on parole and returned to

, where he met a sympathetic Robert Morris, another financier of the war who had also incurred debts as a result. Morris however had collected a sum of money to buy Pollock time from his debtors. Both Congress and the state of Virginia had continually refused to clear his debts from the war, until 1791 when Congress passed an act discharging them, but in the same year he would return in poverty to Cumberland County.

Later life

Pollock ran for Congress in Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district twice. The first time was in 1804, where he was not elected despite winning the popular vote in

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Cumberland, historic county *Cumberl ...

. He was initially nominated for the same seat again in 1806, but dropped out in favor of his friend, Robert Whitehill, who wound up being elected. In 1800 he again found himself in debt, but within a few years had accumulated property. He owned plantation land in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana including Trudeau House. He remarried in 1805, to Winifred Deady; they had no children. He finally retired in 1819 to Pinckneyville, Mississippi to the home of his daughter Mary, wife of Dr. Samuel Robinson, dying in 1823. His burial site is located in the family cemetery there, although his portraits and personal effects were lost in a fire during the Civil War.

Legacy

In addition to his unintended influence on the uptake of the dollar sign to represent the US dollar, Pollock is depicted in a large public sculpture in downtown

, Louisiana. His life is also commemorated on a plaque nearby.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollock, Oliver 1737 births 1823 deaths Merchants from colonial Pennsylvania 18th-century American merchants Financiers of the American Revolution Irish emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Patriots in the American Revolution People from County Tyrone Candidates in the 1804 United States elections Candidates in the 1806 United States elections