210 ELIZABETH GARY AGASSIZ 



and this very summer I had a note from him which I 

 shall always keep — a last word as it proves, and so 

 affectionate — full of a kind sympathy which I can 

 never forget. 



What a gentle, genial nature — sensitive and shy, 

 but always cordial, and quickly responsive to any 

 friendly expression! 



Among the signers of the Articles of Association no one 

 stands out as more important to the daily life of the Annex 

 than Mr. Oilman. Professor Byerly, who was actively as- 

 sociated with the institution from the time when, as we 

 have seen, he outstripped his fellow-instructors at Harvard 

 in accepting the invitation to teach at the Annex, until 

 1913, was said to be the most indispensable person con- 

 nected with the college, but Mr. Byerly himself pointed out 

 in 1910 in the Harvard Graduates' Magazine that for the 

 greater part of fifteen years Mr. Oilman was practically 

 the one executive oflScer of the Annex. " Of the numerous 

 friends and workers who made the college a success he was 

 the one with whom it held the first place. The professors 

 who labored so faithfully and effectively for the new insti- 

 tution were busy Harvard teachers who devoted to the 

 ' Annex' the precious time they could spare from their ex- 

 acting Harvard work. Mrs. Agassiz's many duties, social 

 and philanthropic, were not laid aside when she became 

 interested in the * Annex,' nor were those of the other ladies 

 who served the college so efficiently .... Mr. Oilman lived 

 for it, and served and fostered it for years unweariedly and 

 ungrudgingly." 



Such was the group with whom Mrs. Agassiz was 

 closely associated in her official position, and since most 



