Capt. James Oliver of Boston

History of THE ANCIENT & HONORABLE ARTILLERY CO. of BOSTON:

CAPT. JAMES OLIVER, Boston; freeman October 12th, 1640. He was son of the worthy Elder Thomas Oliver. He was chosen Ensign of the Ar. Co. 1651, Lieutenant 1653, and Captain in 1656, and a second time in 1666. He was a Selectman of Boston in 1653, by the title of Cornet, and may have been an officer in Capt. William Davis's troop of horse.

In 1675, many Indians, " who had subjected themselves to the English, were hurried down to Deer Island, where they remained during the winter," and suffered severely. "On the 10th of September, at nine o'clock at night, (such was the alarm of the people), there gathered together about forty men, some of note, and came to the house of Capt. James Oliver ; two or three of them went into his entry to desire to speak with him, which was to desire him to be their leader, and they should join together, and go and break open the prison, and take one Indian out thence and hang him. Capt. Oliver, hearing their request, took his cane and cudgel- ed them stoutly, and so for that time dismissed the company, which had he in the least countenanced, it might have been accompanied with ill events in the end." He was a member of the Old South Church.

• ************************************************************ Commanded a company of men from Boston in King Philip's War during the period NOV. 1675 through Feb. 1676. He was one of the few officers who passed through the Great Swamp Fight unscathed. See George M. Bodge, SOLDIERS IN KING PHILIP'S WAR (Rockwell & Churchill Press, Boston MA, copyright 1896 -- digitized by Google.

References

• Warden, William A., Genealogy of the Dexter family in America; descendants of Thomas Dexter, published 1905. page 9 Archive.Org