John Gaddis Tipton (January 27, 1849 – October 9, 1914) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

and

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politician, lawyer, and coal miner. He was an alderman in Strathcona from 1908 until 1911 and on

Edmonton City Council The Edmonton City Council is the governing body of the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Edmonton currently has one mayor and twelve city councillors. Elections are held every four years. The most recent was held in 2021, and the next is in 20 ...

from 1912 until 1913, and was a major force for the amalgamation of the two cities, which was effected February 1, 1912.

Early life

Tipton was born in Fairview,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

January 27, 1849. He studied at

Hedding College Hedding College was a college in Abingdon, Illinois, that operated from 1855 to 1927. The school was named after Methodist Bishop Elizah Hedding. Merged with Illinois Wesleyan University in 1930. The campus was used by the Roosevelt Military Academ ...

in Abingdon, and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1874. He migrated to

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

in 1894 and established a

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

mine. He was admitted to the

Law Society of Alberta The Law Society of Alberta (LSA) is the self-regulating body for lawyers in Alberta, Canada, established in 1907 which derives its authority from the Legal Profession Act of the Government of Alberta. Its main office is located in Calgary. As ...

in 1904, and also founded a real estate and insurance firm, Tipton & Sons Investment Company.

Politics

He was elected to the city council of Strathcona in 1908, and served until 1911, when plebiscites in that city and

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

voted to merge the cities. Tipton had been a vocal advocate for this amalgamation, and was elected to the new city's first council in the 1912 election, when he placed third of eighteen candidates. He did not seek re-election at the term's conclusion in December 1913, and died less than a year later, on October 9, 1914, of

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

. He was survived by a wife and two sons.

Honours

Tipton park in Edmonton is named in his honour.

References

Edmonton Public Library biography of John TiptonCity of Edmonton biography of John TiptonJohn Tipton biography in Old Strathcona newsletter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tipton, John 1849 births 1914 deaths Edmonton city councillors Lawyers in Alberta Illinois lawyers Canadian miners Canadian businesspeople People from Fulton County, Illinois American emigrants to Canada Deaths from liver cancer 19th-century American lawyers