Collection is open for research.
Gift of Glenn Mason and Judith Mason, August 2024 (RL2024-055).
Herman Oliver was born in 1885 near John Day, Oregon. He was the son of cattle and sheep rancher Joseph Cayton Oliver (1850-1921), and in 1907, Herman Oliver persuaded his father not to sell his ranch and to let him and his brother Frank operate it. By the 1920s, Oliver had built the ranch to more than 40,000 acres, thousands of cattle and sheep, and hundreds of horses. In 1917, he was elected a director of the Grant County Bank; he became the bank's president in 1935. He was also president of the Oregon Cattle and Horse Raisers Association from 1928 to 1938, and a member of the Oregon State Board of Higher Education from 1929 to 1957.
Oliver married Eliza Laurence (1888-1976) in 1906; the couple had three children. Herman Oliver retired from ranching in 1957, but remained with the Grant County Bank until it merged with the First National Bank of Oregon in 1968. He died in December 1970.
Sources: Obituary in the Oregonian, December 6, 1970, page 44; obituary in the Capitol Journal (Salem, Oregon), December 5, 1970, page 1; vital records via Ancestry.com; "Gold and Cattle Country," by Herman Oliver (Portland, Or.: Binfords & Mort, 1961).
Researcher access to color positive in Box 4, Folder 6 is limited for preservation purposes; contact library staff to inquire about viewing.
Herman Oliver papers, Coll 1081, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
In the course of processing, original file folders were retained, while papers that had been either loose or in a file box were housed in acid-free folders. In cases where a date range written on an original file folder did not reflect the actual date range of its contents, the true date range was written on the front flap.
Other materials at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library relating to Herman Oliver include his book, "Gold and Cattle Country" (call number 979.164 O48g); and the Oliver Ranch records, Coll 1077.
The collection consists of the papers of Herman Oliver, a rancher and banker from Grant County, Oregon. The bulk of the collection consists of Oliver's business and personal correspondence. Other correspondence in the collection is that of his wife, Eliza Oliver; and two letters sent to his daughter, Anna Wiseman. Other materials include financial papers in the form of invoices and receipts; photographs; Oregon State College (now Oregon State University) Extension bulletins about ranching; a speech that Oliver gave to the Oregon Cattle and Horse Raisers' Association; high school commencement programs; and ephemera.
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.