Male

October 21, 1749

February 21, 1809

Poquonock, CT

Oliver Phelps began working at the age of 7. His father died when he was 3, leaving his mother to care for 17 children. He opened a store in Granville, MA in 1770. He joined the Continental Army but left in 1777 to become the Massachusetts Superintendent of Purchases of Army Supplies. He held several political positions and became an investor in real estate in the western part of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. He was an organizer of the Connecticut Land Company, and accumulated around a million acres of land along the Mississippi River. The real estate investments led to heavy debt which Phelps was unable to repay. He moved to New York State and served as a Congressman from there. He died in 1809.

Lawyer

Ohio History Central Oliver Phelps