William J. Oliphant

William J. Oliphant
Born	September 30, 1845 Lawrenceburg, Indiana, U.S.
Died	November 11, 1930(1930-11-11) (aged 85) Austin, Texas, U.S.
Residence	Oliphant-Walker House
Occupation	Army private, photographer, photography publisher
Spouse(s)	Lizzie J. (Walker) Alice Olive Townsend
Relatives	Walter Prescott Webb (son-in-law)

William J. Oliphant (1845–1930) was an American Confederate States Army veteran and photographer from Austin, Texas. He published the first photographs of buffalo hunts in North America.

William James Oliphant was born on September 30, 1845 in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. His father, William S. Oliphant (1813-1890), was a jeweller. His mother was Jane (Van Zile) Oliphant (1822-1867). He moved to Texas with his parents when he was seven years old, in 1853. The family settled in Austin, where his father's jewellery store was located on Pelican Street, now known as Sixth Street.

He studied photography under Alexander Gardner (1845–1930) and Timothy H. O'Sullivan (1840-1882) in Washington, D.C..

During the American Civil War of 1861-1865, Oliphant served as a private in the Company G of the Sixth Texas Infantry Regiment, also known as the "Travis Rifles," of the Confederate States Army (CSA). He served in the Battle of Missionary Ridge, the Battle of Pickett's Mill, and the Battle of Atlanta (where he was wounded and caught by Union forces). He was in prison at Camp Chase for nearly a year, from July 1864 to March 1865.

Shortly after the war, Oliphant became a photographer in Austin. His studio was above his father's jewellery shop at 117 Pecan Street. Indeed, together with Hamilton B. Hillyer (1835–1903), he was one of the earliest photographers in Austin to have a studio in the city. Additionally, he published photographs taken by other photographers. He is perhaps best known for publishing the earliest photographs of buffalo hunts in the United States. They are known as the Life on the Frontier series, taken by George Robertson in 1874.

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