Children of John Shaffer Phipps circa 1915

John Shaffer Phipps (August 11, 1874 – May 12, 1958) was an American lawyer and businessman who was an heir to the

Phipps family The Phipps family of the United States is a prominent American family that descends from Henry Phipps Jr. (1839–1930), a businessman and philanthropist. His father was an English shoemaker who immigrated in the early part of the 19th century t ...

fortune and a shareholder of his father-in-law's Grace Shipping Lines. He was a director of the

Hanover Bank Manufacturers Hanover Corporation was the bank holding company formed as parent of Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company, a large New York bank formed by a merger in 1961. After 1969, Manufacturers Hanover Trust became a subsidiary of Manufac ...

, U.S. Steel Corp. and W. R. Grace & Co.

Early life

John Shaffer Phipps, who was known as "Jay", was born on August 11, 1874 in

Allegheny, Pennsylvania Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by ...

Henry Phipps Henry Phipps may refer to: * Henry Carnegie Phipps (1879–1953), sportsman and financier * Henry Phipps Jr. (1839–1930), entrepreneur and major philanthropist * Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave General Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave, ...

(1839–1930) and Anne Childs Shaffer (1850–1934). His father was the son of English born parents who emigrated to Philadelphia in the early part of the 19th century before settling in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

in 1845. His father became an

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

known for his business relationship with

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

and involvement with the

Carnegie Steel Company Carnegie Steel Company was a steel-producing company primarily created by Andrew Carnegie and several close associates to manage businesses at steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century. The company was forme ...

. His siblings were

Amy Phipps Amy is a female given name, sometimes short for Amanda, Amelia, Amélie, or Amita. In French, the name is spelled ''"Aimée"''. People A–E * Amy Acker (born 1976), American actress * Amy Vera Ackman, also known as Mother Giovanni (1886� ...

(1872–1959), who married

Frederick Edward Guest Frederick Edward "Freddie" Guest, (14 June 1875 – 28 April 1937) was a British politician best known for being Chief Whip of Prime Minister David Lloyd George's Coalition Liberal Party, 1917–1921. He was also Secretary of State for Air betw ...

(1875–1937), Helen Margaret Phipps (1876–1934), who married

Bradley Martin Bradley Martin (December 18, 1841 – February 5, 1913) was an American socialite known for giving the Bradley-Martin costume ball at the Waldorf Hotel in New York City on the night of February 10, 1897. Early life Martin was born on December 1 ...

Henry Carnegie Phipps Henry Carnegie Phipps (May 11, 1879 – March 21, 1953) was an American Sportsperson, sportsman and financier, the owner of Wheatley Stable along with his wife Gladys Mills Phipps, and a member of the wealthy Phipps family. Early life Phipps was b ...

(1879–1953), who married Gladys Livingston Mills (1883–1970), and Howard Phipps (1881–1981), who married Harriet Dyer Price.

Estates

John Phipps amassed almost of rolling Virginia farm lands in

The Plains, Virginia The Plains is a town in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States. The population was 245 as of the 2020 census, up from 217 at the 2010 census. It is centered on the intersection of VA 55 (John Marshall Highway) and VA 245 (Old Tavern Road). The ...

including Brenton, an 1889 stone manor house. He was a

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

player and

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse owner, and the property assembled from 1928 onwards would be the site of his Rockburn Stud farm. Upon his death it passed to his son Hubert. Phipps purchased an old

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

farm on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

where he built a large mansion with magnificent gardens that, following his death, became a non-profit organization that today is known as

Old Westbury Gardens __NOTOC__ Old Westbury Gardens is the former estate of businessman John Shaffer Phipps (1874–1958), an heir to the Phipps family fortune, in Nassau County, New York. Located at 71 Old Westbury Road in Old Westbury, the property was converted in ...

and is open to the public. In the 1920s he purchased several large properties in

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...

including one that was once used as a pineapple plantation. He subdivided the property and turned it into the three largest subdivisions containing luxury residential homes in what is now the

El Cid Historic District The El Cid Historic District is a U.S. historic district (designated as such on August 31, 1995) located in West Palm Beach, Florida. The district is bounded by Flamingo Drive, South Flagler Drive, Dyer Road and South Dixie Highway. It contains ...

. John Phipps built a home for himself he called "Casa Bendita." A large oceanfront mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, it was designed in 1921 by architect

Addison Mizner Addison Cairns Mizner (December 12, 1872 – February 5, 1933) was an American architect whose Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival style interpretations left an indelible stamp on South Florida, where it continues to inspire archit ...

. Today, the property is occupied by his granddaughter, Susan Phipps Cochran, and her husband.

Personal life

On November 4, 1903 he married Margarita Celia Grace (1876-1957) at

Battle Abbey Battle Abbey is a partially ruined Benedictine abbey in Battle, East Sussex, England. The abbey was built on the site of the Battle of Hastings and dedicated to St Martin of Tours. It is a Scheduled Monument. The Grade I listed site is now op ...

Battle, East Sussex Battle is a small town and civil parish in the local government district of Rother in East Sussex, England. It lies south-east of London, east of Brighton and east of Lewes. Hastings is to the south-east and Bexhill-on-Sea to the south. Batt ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. She was the daughter of

Michael P. Grace Michael Paul Grace (1842 – September 20, 1920) was an Irish-American businessman who was a shareholder and chairman of the board of directors of W. R. Grace and Company shipping company of New York City and of Grace Brothers & Co. Ltd. of London ...

and niece of

William Russell Grace William Russell Grace (May 10, 1832 – March 21, 1904) was an Irish-American politician, the first Roman Catholic mayor of New York City, and the founder of W. R. Grace and Company. Early life Grace was born in Ireland in Riverstown near the C ...

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

immigrants who became very successful in business, founding the Grace Shipping Line. They spent their honeymoon, traveling via automobile, in India. John and Margarita had four children: * John Henry Phipps (1904–1982), who married Elinor Klapp *

Hubert Beaumont Phipps Hubert Beaumont Phipps (November 12, 1905 – August 15, 1969) was a Virginia publisher and editor as well as a breeder of thoroughbred horses and purebred cattle. He was a member of the prominent Phipps family who made a fortune in steel as ...

(1905–1969), who married Lady Phoebe Pleydell-Bouverie, third daughter of

William Pleydell-Bouverie, 7th Earl of Radnor William Pleydell-Bouverie, 7th Earl of Radnor, (18 December 1895 – 23 November 1968) was a British peer. Radnor was the son of Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 6th Earl of Radnor and Julian Eleanor Adelaide Balfour. His education was Harrow School, ...

. * Margaret Phipps Boegner (1906–2006), who married J. Gordon Douglas, Jr. *

Michael Grace Phipps Michael Grace Phipps (January 10, 1910 – March 13, 1973) was an American businessman, champion polo player, owner/breeder of racehorses, and a philanthropist. Biography Michael Phipps was the son of John Shaffer Phipps and Margarita Celi ...

(1910–1973), who married Muriel Fillans "Molly" Lane (1909–1968). He died on April 27, 1958 in

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoas ...

Early life

Estates

Personal life

See also

References

Further reading