Frederick Albion Ober
Frederick Albion Ober was an American ornithologist and travel writer born on February 13, 1849, in Beverly, Massachusetts. The eldest son of a shoe manufacturer, Ober initially trained in shoemaking and developed a passion for birds during his youth. Despite financial challenges that limited his formal education, he pursued his interests in ornithology and taxidermy, eventually selling his bird collection to Harvard University to fund further exploration. His explorations took him to Florida, the West Indies, and even into South America, where he documented numerous bird species, some of which were named in his honor.
Ober's writing career began with essays detailing his adventures, leading to the publication of his first book in 1880. He traveled extensively throughout his life, including significant journeys to Mexico and Northern Africa. He was also involved in the establishment of the Explorers' Club in 1904 and later shifted his focus to writing travel guides. Though his ornithological contributions were well-regarded by scholars, his other works received mixed reviews for their style and historical accuracy. Ober passed away on May 31, 1913, in Hackensack, New Jersey, leaving behind a legacy of exploration and adventure in the natural world.
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Subject Terms
Frederick Albion Ober
Writer
- Born: February 13, 1849
- Birthplace: Beverly, Massachusetts
- Died: May 31, 1913
- Place of death: Hackensack, New Jersey
Biography
Frederick Albion Ober was born on February 13, 1849, in Beverly, Massachusetts, the oldest child of shoe manufacturer and variety store clerk Andrew Kimball Ober and Sarah Abby Hadlock Ober. Ober studied at local schools and acquired shoemaking skills from his father. His family lacked money to pay for him to continue his education. Ober observed birds in his community and developed an enthusiasm for ornithology. He learned taxidermy techniques to preserve specimens he collected.
In 1862, Ober began work as a shoemaker and drugstore clerk. He saved enough income to pay for one year’s tuition at Massachusetts Agricultural College, starting classes in 1866. Returning home to work the next year, Ober continued his bird- watching interests. During the next four years, Ober cobbled shoes, sold goods, and gathered birds.
Harvard Universitybiology professor Alexander Agassiz became aware of Ober’s expertise concerning Massachusetts birds. Agassiz contacted Ober regarding purchasing his collection for Harvard’s Museum of Natural History. In 1870, Ober had married Lucy Curtis, but she died several months afterwards. The widowed Ober sold his birds to Harvard in order to finance travels to observe birds in other parts of the world. Ober combined the Harvard money with funds from Forest and Stream to explore birdlife in Florida’s Everglades and at Lake Okechobee from 1872 to 1874. He started his writing career by submitting essays describing his adventures to his sponsor.
In 1876, Ober traveled to the West Indies, concentrating on birds living on the southern Caribbean islands. The Smithsonian Institution sponsored Ober’s observations, which lasted until 1878 and were continued in 1880. Ober prepared an account of his travels, which was included in the Smithsonian’s annual report. He emphasized that he had found twenty-two types of birds previously unknown to scientists, describing those new species, two of which became his namesakes, an oriole called the Icterus oberi and a flycatcher named the Myiarchus oberi.
Ober wrote his first book, Camps in the Caribbees: The Adventures of a Naturalist in the Lesser Antilles, in 1880. In the early 1880’s, Ober traveled to Mexico. He visited northern Africa and Spain in 1888 and South America the next year. In the 1890’s, Ober married Jean MacCloud. He traveled from 1891 to 1892 as the Columbian Exposition commissioner, visiting sites associated with Christopher Columbus.
On April 1, 1895, Ober married his third wife, Nellie Frances MacCarthy. They had two children. Ober’s later works were mostly for young readers. In 1904, Ober helped establish the Explorers’ Club. Four years later, Ober stopped his ornithological activities and sold real estate near his Hackensack, New Jersey, home. He continued writing, offering travel suggestions and resort information to vacationers. Publishers reissued Ober’s book A Guide to the West Indies and Bermudas years after his death on May 31, 1913, at Hackensack.
Scholars respected Ober’s ornithological writing but dismissed his other work as being poorly written and romanticized, with weak historical analysis and too many personal comments. Readers, though, liked Ober’s style, vicariously accompanying him on his adventures.