146 Bayswater

H. J. Oliver's Personal Life

Herbert James Oliver was the son of James Oliver and Sarah Bethena Holgate. James Oliver was, in turn, the son of John Oliver, who established the J. Oliver and Sons furniture company with his partner William Holgate. It seems likely that Sarah was William Holgate’s daughter—certainly she was related in some way. The furniture company eventually became the Oliver family business. By 1913, H. J. Oliver was the superintendent. He was very active in his community: he was appointed steward of Rosemount Methodist Church, and successfully campaigned to be a trustee of the Ottawa Public School Board; and later to be the alderman of his ward.

It is likely that he owned and rented many properties, such as his residence 146 Bayswater. Other properties include 59 and 61 Oliver Street (what is now Gladstone Avenue), and multiple homes on Lisgar Street. His wealth came from his family's prosperous furniture factory.

It is not clear what his wife’s name was, but she was the daughter of John and Margaret Martin, and her father was connected with the Union Bank of Canada. They had at least three sons and one daughter together: Frederick John, Lola Evelyn, James Herbert, and Noel Franklin. Frederick John sadly died in 1909 when he was only seven and a half years old. H. J. Oliver’s three other children all eventually married. Lola married Edward Kirby, James Herbert married Doris Alva Perry, and Noel married Edith Nunn. Lola lived in St. Catherine’s, but both the sons remained in Ottawa.

H. J. Oliver and his family lived in a few different homes over the years. The first mention in the newspapers states his place of residence as 61 Bayswater, where they stayed until around 1918. They moved into 146 Bayswater, where James Oliver, his father, lived before them. It is here that he spent the duration of his terms as Public School Board trustee, representing the Dalhousie Ward. Around 1931, the family moved to 223 Primrose Avenue—in Elmdale Ward—where he ran for alderman. Finally, around 1941, they moved to 414 Albert Street. There, it appears, he stayed until the end of his life.






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