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Thomas or Tom S. Lippy (c. 1860 – 1931) was an American millionaire and philanthropist who became wealthy as a prospector in the Klondike Gold Rush.
Lippy was the athletic director of or an instructor at the
Photo of "Three men in front of 16 Eldorado claim owned by T. S. Lippy, Eldorado Creek, ca. 1898"
in the Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries {{DEFAULTSORT:Lippy, T. S. 1931 deaths American gold prospectors American philanthropists People of the Klondike Gold Rush People from Seattle Year of birth uncertain
Thomas or Tom S. Lippy (c. 1860 – 1931) was an American millionaire and philanthropist who became wealthy as a prospector in the Klondike Gold Rush.
Lippy was the athletic director of or an instructor at the Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
, before he and his wife Salome headed north in search of gold in 1896 or 1897 after an injury forced him to leave his YMCA job. Some Scotsmen from Nanaimo
Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...
had staked claims Fourteen to Seventeen on Eldorado Creek.Berton, p. 54 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. Sixteen proved to be one of the richest claims of the gold rush.
Salome Lippy was the first white woman in the area, until she was joined by Ethel Berry. Clarence Clarence may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Clarence County, New South Wales, a Cadastral division
* Clarence, New South Wales, a place near Lithgow
* Clarence River (New South Wales)
* Clarence Strait (Northern Territory)
* City of Clarence, a loca ...
and Ethel Berry, who also became rich, were neighbors of the Lippys, living a mile away.
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
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'', at "not less than $200,000." He sold his holdings in 1903.
He and his wife went on a worldwide tour, before building a lavishly decorated 15-room house in Seattle. He gave generously to the YMCA, the First United Methodist Church and the Anti-Saloon League, and donated the land for a five-story addition to Seattle General Hospital
Seattle General Hospital and School for Nurses was a hospital and nursing school in the U.S. state of Washington. It was located at 909 Fifth Avenue in Seattle. The hospital was originally established in 1895 and reopened in a new building in 1900 ...
. He also established a free hospital for miners in Dawson City, and sent "a library of 1000 volumes" to Skagway, Alaska
The Municipality and Borough of Skagway is a first-class borough in Alaska on the Alaska Panhandle. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,240, up from 968 in 2010. The population doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal wit ...
.
He won the 1907 Pacific Northwest Amateur
The Pacific Northwest Amateur is an annual amateur golf tournament. It is one of the oldest amateur tournaments in the United States having first been played in 1899. It is organized by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) and the tournam ...
golf tournament and was the Port Commissioner of the Port of Seattle
The Port of Seattle is a government agency overseeing the seaport and airport of Seattle, Washington, United States. With a portfolio of properties ranging from parks and waterfront real estate, to one of the largest airports and container t ...
from 1918 to 1921.
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. However, his widow was provided with $50 a month from a hospital land agreement. Salome Lippy died in 1938.
References
External links
Photo of "Three men in front of 16 Eldorado claim owned by T. S. Lippy, Eldorado Creek, ca. 1898"
in the Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries {{DEFAULTSORT:Lippy, T. S. 1931 deaths American gold prospectors American philanthropists People of the Klondike Gold Rush People from Seattle Year of birth uncertain