T. S. Lippy

Thomas or Tom S. Lippy (c. 1860 – 1931[1]) was an American millionaire and philanthropist who struck it rich in the Klondike Gold Rush.[2]

Lippy was the athletic director of or an instructor at the Seattle YMCA before he and his wife Salome headed north in search of gold in 1896[3] or 1897 after an injury forced him to leave his YMCA job.[4] Some Scotsmen from Nanaimo had staked claims Fourteen to Seventeen on Eldorado Creek.[5] They decided to abandon Sixteen and Seventeen in order to concentrate on some other claims. Lippy had a claim further up the creek, but restaked Sixteen because his wife wanted a cabin, and there was timber there.[5][6] Salome Lippy was the first white woman in the area, until she was joined by Ethel Berry.[7][8] Clarence and Ethel Berry, who also became rich, were neighbors of the Lippys,[9] living a mile away.[8]

On July 25, 1898, the Lippys arrived in San Francisco aboard the Excelsior, the first ship to reach the lower United States from the Klondike with now-wealthy prospectors; the Lippys brought with them gold valued, according to the Chicago Tribune, at "not less than $200,000."[10] He sold his holdings in 1903.[1]

He and his wife went on a worldwide tour, before building a lavishly decorated 15-room house in Seattle.[1] He gave generously to the YMCA, the First United Methodist Church[11] and the Anti-Saloon League, and donated the land for a five-story addition to the Seattle General Hospital.[1] He also set up a free hospital for miners in Dawson City, Canada,[12] and sent "a library of 1000 volumes" to Skagway, Alaska.[13]

He won the 1907 Pacific Northwest Amateur golf tournament[14] and was the Port Commissioner of the Port of Seattle from 1918 to 1921.[1]

Unfortunately, his business investments, "a mattress-and-upholstery company, a brick company, a trust-and-savings bank, and the Lippy Building", all failed, and he died bankrupt in 1931 at the age of 71.[1][15] However, his widow was provided with $50 a month from a hospital land agreement.[1][14] Salome Lippy died in 1938.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Berton, Pierre (November 6, 2015). The Klondike Fever: The Life And Death Of The Last Great Gold Rush. Pickle Partners Publishing. pp. 563–564. ISBN 9781786256737. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Wealthy Klondiker Here: T. S. Lippy Made His Money in Alaska and Is Doing Good With It". Los Angeles Herald. February 8, 1904.
  3. ↑ George Tibbits (July 13, 1997). "Klondike fever shakes Seattle". Juneau Empire. Associated Press.
  4. ↑ Berton, p. ?
  5. 1 2 Berton, p. 54
  6. ↑ Grainger, Alan (2005). The Klondike Chest. Trafford Publishing. p. 27. ISBN 9781412040693. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Women As Plucky Klondyke Pilgrims". Los Angeles Herald. August 8, 1897.
  8. 1 2 Company, W. B. Conkey (January 1, 2010). The Official Guide to the Klondyke Country and the Gold Fields of Alaska. Cosimo, Inc. pp. 145–148. ISBN 9781616404017. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Ethel Berry - Bride of the Klondike". National Postal Museum.
  10. ↑ "Treasure on the Nelson: Vessel Arrives at Seattle with a Million and a Half of Klondike Gold. ... Former Y. M. C. A. Instructor Brings a Fortune From the Frozen North". Chicago Tribune. July 25, 1898.
  11. ↑ "Seattle's First Church Unveils 160-year timeline".
  12. ↑ "Cargo of Gold from Klondike". Chicago Tribune. June 25, 1901.
  13. ↑ "Library for Skagway". The Daily Alaskan. January 10, 1900.
  14. 1 2 Francaviglia, Richard V. (September 1, 1997). Hard Places: Reading the Landscape of America's Historic Mining Districts. University of Iowa Press. p. 14. ISBN 9780877456094. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  15. ↑ David Germain (July 19, 1997). "Back To The Klondike Stampeder's Relatives Mark Alaska Gold Rush Centenial (sic) With Cruise". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press.
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