The Ames family is one of the oldest and most illustrious families of the United States.[1] The family's branches are descended from John Ames, the son of a 17th-century settler of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Numerous public and private works throughout the U.S. are named after family members, including the city Ames, Iowa, and the NASA Ames research center in California.
The scion of the American Ames family was William Ames, who was born in England to John Ames and Cyprian Ames (née Brown) in 1605.[1] The family's earliest known ancestor died in 1560.[1] It is thought the family's surname was, at some point prior to emigration, changed from Amyas.[1] In the 16th century Amyas was frequently confused with Ames.[2]
William Ames immigrated to Massachusetts Bay in 1638, eventually settled in Braintree, and died in about 1653.[1] With his wife Hannah, he had one son, John, born in 1647.[1][a]
The heraldist William Armstrong Crozier recorded an heraldic achievement matriculated to William Ames, from an original grant issued by the College of Arms.[3]
Shield
Argent on a bend cotissed between two annulets Sable, a quatrefoil between two roses of the field;
Crest
A rose Argent, slipped and leaved proper, in front thereof an annulet Or
The children of William Ames' son, John (born 1647), included John (born 1672), Nathaniel (1677), and Thomas (born 1681). They, in turn, had a number of notable descendants.
Among many monuments and facilities named after members of the Ames family include (clockwise, from top left) the Ames Monument, NASA's Ames Research Center, Boston's Ames Building, and the Ames Memorial Hall.
The descendants of Thomas Ames, known for the Ames Manufacturing Company and Ames True Temper which was the source of their wealth, have principally been associated with North Easton, Massachusetts.[1]Stonehill College maintains the Ames Family Collection, containing documents related to the Thomas Ames branch dating from the 19th to 20th centuries.[8] They were donated to the college in 2000 by Elizabeth M. Ames, and later supplemented by additional deposits from other family members.[8]
John Ames (1738-1805), military officer and industrialist
^A younger brother of William Ames, John, arrived in Massachusetts a few years after William Ames and settled in Duxbury. He fought in King Philip's War and had two sons, William and John.[1]
^Poeckel, Charles A. (2004) [1999]. West Essex: Essex Fells, Fairfield, North Caldwell, and Roseland. Arcadia. p. 27. ISBN0-7385-0141-7.
^Ambrose, Stephen E. (2001). Nothing Like It In the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869. Simon & Schuster. p. 34. ISBN0-684-84609-8.
^Hatheway, Allen W.; Speight, Thomas B. (2017). Manufactured Gas Plant Remediation: A Case Study. CRC Press. p. 224. ISBN9781498796866.
^Sanders, Jack (2003). Ridgefield,1900-1950. Arcadia Publishing. p. 43. ISBN0-7385-1172-2.
^Breisch, Kenneth A. (1997). Henry Hobson Richardson and the Small Public Library in America: A Study in Typology. MIT Press. p. 152. ISBN0-262-02416-0.
^"Men of the Iron Trade: Who They Are, Where They Are, What They Are Doing". The Iron Trade Review. Vol. 60. Penton Publishing Company. 1917. p. 941. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
