Phipps family

The Henry Phipps family of the United States was founded by Henry Phipps, the son of an English shoemaker who immigrated in the early part of the 19th century to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before settling in Pittsburgh. Phipps grew up with Andrew Carnegie as a friend and neighbor. As an adult, he was Carnegie's business partner in Carnegie Steel Company and became a very wealthy man. He was the company's second largest shareholder and invested in real estate.

After selling his stock in Carnegie Steel, Phipps became a leading advocate of housing for the poor and a major philanthropist. He embraced the principle that those who have achieved great wealth should give back for the public good and create institutions dedicated to that purpose. Phipps and his wife Anne had five children: Amy, John S., Helen, Henry Carnegie, and Howard.

Business activities

In 1907, Phipps established Bessemer Trust Company to manage his substantial assets that would be shared by his offspring following his death. Phipps was also one of the pioneer investors in Florida real estate. At one time, he and his family owned one-third of the town of Palm Beach, 28 miles of oceanfront between Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, prime bayfront property in downtown Miami, and 75 square miles of land in Martin County. The Phipps family donated to the town of Palm Beach one of the most significant gifts in county history: an ocean-to-lake frontage property that is now known as Phipps Park. Another contribution was the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh.

The Phipps family has owned country estates in Old Westbury, New York, on the Gold Coast, the stretch of land on the North Shore of Long Island that once held the greatest concentration of wealth and power in America.

Legacy

By 1974, Bessemer Trust Company had developed an expertise in wealth management that allowed it to take on other clients through the creation of a national bank headquartered in New York City. Phipps' grandchildren, from his son John S. Phipps, donated to the public the Westbury House estate that is now known as Old Westbury Gardens.

Gladys Mills Phipps, granddaughter of Darius Ogden Mills and wife of Henry Carnegie Phipps, was prominent among horse breeders and owners in American Thoroughbred horse racing, as were her son, daughters and several grandchildren and great-grandchilden. She founded Wheatley Stable with her brother, Odgen Livingston Mills. Recently, first cousins Odgen Mills (Dinny) Phipps and Stewart Janney III's horse "Orb" won the 2013 Kentucky Derby.

Lineage

Family members include:

• Henry W. Phipps, Jr. (1839-1930), owner of Bonnie Blink, Lake Success
• Lawrence C. Phipps (1862-1958), nephew of Henry W., United States Senator from Colorado.
• Amy Phipps Guest (1872-1959), daughter of Henry W. Phipps, Jr., owner of Templeton, Old Westbury and Villa Artemis, Palm Beach
• John Shaffer Phipps (1874-1958), oldest son of Henry W. Phipps, Jr., owner of Westbury House, Old Westbury and Casa Bendita, Palm Beach
• Helen Phipps Martin (1876-1934), daughter of Henry W. Phipps, Jr., owner of Knole, Old Westbury
• Henry Carnegie Phipps (1879-1953), son of Henry W. Phipps, Jr., owner of Spring Hill, Old Westbury and Heamaw, Palm Beach
• Howard Phipps (1881-1981), son of Henry W. Phipps, Jr., owner of Erchless, Old Westbury
• Gladys Mills Phipps (1883-1970), wife of Henry Carnegie Phipps
• Lillian Bostwick Phipps (1906-1987), wife of Odgen Phipps
• Ogden Phipps (1908-2002), son of Henry Carnegie Phipps
• Cynthia Phipps (?- 2007), daughter of Henry Carnegie Phipps
• Ogden Mills "Dinny" Phipps (1940-2016), great-grandson of Henry W. Phipps, Jr.
• Raymond R. Guest (1907-1991), son of Amy Phipps Guest
• Winston Frederick Churchill Guest (1906-1982), son of Amy Phipps Guest
• Diana Guest Manning (1909-1994), daughter of Amy Phipps Guest
• Barbara Phipps Janney (1911-1987), daughter of Henry Carnegie Phipps
• Stuart Symington Janney III (born 1948), great-grandson of Henry W. Phipps, Jr., grandson of Henry Carnegie Phipps
• Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff (born 1963), great-grandson of Henry W. Phipps, Jr., grandson of Howard Phipps
• Randolph Hobson Guthrie III (born 1967)

Family tree

See also

• Phipps Garden Apartments
• Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

Notes