WILLIAM ARTHUR PHIPPS

Los Angeles County

Biographies

WILLIAM ARTHUR PHIPPS

PHIPPS, WILLIAM ARTHUR, Mining and Exploration, Los Angeles, California, was born in Toronto, Canada, December, (sic) 20, 1859, the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Phipps. He married Edith I. Belli at Calumet, Michigan, July 18, 1894.

Major Phipps was descended of a fine old line of Britishers, with the Scotch strain predominant in the family. His forbears for generations had been prominent in the life of the Dominion and various branches attained distinction in the United States. His wife, the daughter of Camillo Belli, an Italian artist, comes also of a notable house, her ancestors having been of the Italian nobility, the possessors of a castle which stands to-day one of the historic landmarks of Italy.

Major Phipps, noted as a man of high scholarly attainments, received the preliminary part of his education in the public schools of Toronto and though he was graduated from the University of Toronto, he received a large part of his training at the hands of private tutors. From them he learned the higher subjects, including languages, in several of which he was exceptionally fluent.

From early boyhood Major Phipps, despite the advantages of travel and a cultured family circle, preferred the out-of-doors for his habitat and his life is pointed to as one of the most picturesque in the West. When he was a young man he joined the Canadian militia as a cadet and because of his exceptional ability as a marksman and a woodman, was promoted to the rank of Major. While serving with his command, Major Phipps saw a great deal of active service in the Northwest, operating in conjunction with the celebrated Northwest Mounted Police. With the daring men of the Mounted Police he endured the many hardships and dangers of their campaigns in the interest of peace and order. For days at a time he was in the saddle, with only short respite for food and sleep, in the pursuit of outlaws of that section, which, in the late sixties and early seventies, was one of the wildest regions on the North American continent. Young militiamen, like Major Phipps, were compelled to undergo unusual hardships and only the strongest of them survived.

Major Phipps’ father was a private banker and stock broker in Toronto, a man of considerable wealth and of substantial standing, and when his two sons, the Major and his brother Frank, had attained the age of sixteen years, they were taken into the bank and there trained for the business. While they learned the details of banking and brokerage they also studied at home under private tutors, so that when they were of age they not only had thorough business training, but also were splendidly educated in literature, languages and the arts.

After attaining his majority Major Phipps left the employ of his father and went to the Northwest, while his brother went into the insurance business and is to-day a prosperous insurance broker of Collinswood, Ontario. Shortly after this the elder Phipps sold out his banking and stock interests and retired from business, while Major Phipps who had always a tendency to travel, visited various parts of Western Canada and the United States, as a rancher, prospector and hunter, finally locating in Calumet, the center of the mineral territory of Northern Michigan.

With a partner, Major Phipps purchased a small newspaper there and operated it for several years, he assuming the duties of editor. In this capacity he showed unusual talent as a writer and a poet, and, being a man of strong mind, did not hesitate to express himself editorially against evil. Through his virile writings he was enabled to bring about various reforms in the little community, but he also brought upon himself many bitter enmities and much trouble. On one occasion he was arrested and imprisoned for attacking a churchman in his newspaper, but within a short time he was vindicated and given his liberty, the majority of public opinion upholding him in his editorial stand.

While in Northern Michigan Major Phipps took an active interest in mining affairs, in addition to his newspaper work, and was a stockholder in various mining companies, one of which was the celebrated Calumet & Hecla Mine. With the profits he made in these ventures Major Phipps bought into others, some of which proved successful, while others were unfortunate. Being a man of keen foresight and a splendid judge of ore lands, he was on the lookout continually for new mining territory and made frequent trips of exploration to various sections in the hunt for properties.

It was during one of these trips that Major Phipps came upon the property which was destined to make himself and others millionaires and open up to development one of the richest copper mines in the world. He had heard of copper finds in Arizona, so left Michigan and went to the Bisbee-Warren District of the Territory, where he met the locators of what is now known as the Calmet & Arizona Mine. Securing a lease on the property, the Major immediately set about to organize the Calumet & Arizona Copper Company, having for his associates a number of wealthy Michigan friends who had been his loyal supporters at various hazardous periods in his newspaper career.

After successfully promoting his company, Major Phipps returned to Arizona and began the actual work of mining the copper which has since poured millions into the pockets of its owners. The Major was for several years the controlling stockholder and the dominating factor in the Calumet & Arizona, but sold out his interests a little at a time, until, finally, he retained a comparatively small holding.

Being progressive and enterprising, and a man of unbounded energy, the money he obtained from the sale of his Calumet & Arizona stocks he put into other properties and it was not long before he was one of the largest individual mining operators in the Territory of Arizona. Among other properties owned by him were the Black Diamond Mine in Arizona, also the Dragoon, operated by the Dragoon Copper Company, of which he was President. A third notable property controlled by him at one time was the Italie Mine, near Bakersfield, California, operated by the Italie Gold Mining Company, in which he held the office of President.

During his connection with these properties the Major was unusually active. In the management of his operating properties and the search for new deposits Major Phipps, who was a splendid horseman, rode thousands of miles and is said to have covered practically every traversable foot of the Territory of Arizona.

About the time he attained his great success as a copper operator, Major Phipps’ attention was attracted to the steel industry, then on the eve of the great consolidation which resulted in the United States Steel Corporation, the billion dollar concern in which his relative, Henry Phipps, was one of the principal factors. With the foresight characteristic of the man, Major Phipps purchased holdings in a number of small steel companies in different parts of the United States and when the great consolidation was brought about took stock in the combine in exchange for his smaller interests. His business judgment in this deal was vindicated by the realization of a handsome fortune from the increase in the value of his stocks a few years later.

About the year 1905, Major Phipps, who had been wont to divide his time between Arizona and Pittsburg (sic), established his headquarters in Los Angeles, and there, besides looking after his mining and steel business, became interested in various other business enterprises. One of these was the American Machinery & Construction Company, of which he was a Director, and another was the Mason Smokeless Combustion Company, in which he was President and a heavy stockholder. This company was organized for the manufacture of a patented device designed to arrest smoke from manufacturing plants and thereby add to the cleanliness of municipalities.

While a man of diversified business interests, Major Phipps was always the cultivated man of many talents, a scholar, poet, literateur, raconteur and fine host. His study of many subjects made him regarded by his friends, who included brilliant writers, artists, lawyers and doctors, as one of the most thoroughly posted men in the United States. He has been described by John McGroarty, a well known California editor, as one of the most profound students of literature and history with whom he had ever come in contact. This was instanced in 1911, when Mr. McGroarty was at work on the celebrated “Mission Play,” a story of the monastery days in California which was staged in the environment of the historic San Gabriel Mission. Knowing Major Phipps’ capacity for historical knowledge, Mr. McGroarty, who was a warm personal friend of the Major, sought his advice on various matters connected with the preparation of this beautiful dramatic effort. The result was that Major Phipps collaborated with him on a part of it and his assistance was later declared by Mr. McGroarty to have been of great value to him.

In his earlier days Major Phipps was a famous hunter of big game and stalked his quarry from the mountains of America to the wilds of Africa. He had a wonderful fund of hunting anecdotes and some of his exploits formed the basis, at different times, of interesting fiction. He not only was a splendid shot and a huntsman, but he also was an enthusiastic fisherman and in his latter days his collection of fishing tackle, including some exceptionally fine rods and reels, was one of his choicest treasures.

The Major’s wife shared with him this love of the open country and accompanied him on many of his expeditions. In fact, for several years they spent their vacations in the mountains, taking with them some of their closest friends, and spending several months in fishing and hunting. On these expeditions they traveled in a specially appointed camp wagon, drawn by powerful mules, and, having a corps of cooks and attendants, they enjoyed the life of freedom which appealed to both so strongly. At a later period Major Phipps had a magnificent camp wagon constructed from plans drawn by himself, which contained many original ideas for an outfit of this kind, including a perfectly appointed kitchen and folding beds. This entire establishment was drawn by a span of magnificent horses, valued at $1500 apiece, instead of mules as formerly used.

In his home life Major Phipps was a lavish host and entertained his intimates frequently at select little banquets, which were notable for their charm of appointment and the interesting forms of entertainment. At these gatherings Mrs. Phipps was a gracious hostess and she, being a singer of exceptional talent, aided largely in their success.

One of Major Phipps’ most intimate friends and guests at these affairs was Dr. M. L. Moore, of Los Angeles, who was his physician for five years. Major Phipps and Dr. Moore were born on the same day and it was their custom to celebrate their birthdays together.

During the Summer of 1911 Major Phipps became ill and after being confined to his bed for several weeks, died on August 2, 1911. His demise was a great shock to Mrs. Phipps, for during the seventeen years of their married life they had been inseparable companions.

Being a man of scholarly instincts, Major Phipps’ friends were among the most intellectual class of every community wherein he chanced to be, but he was mourned by many others than his immediate circle, for he was a generous philanthropist, noted for the fact that he never sent a supplicant away empty-handed. During the last few years of his life he maintained a private list of benefactions, the beneficiaries being unknown even to his most intimate friends. In this way he gave away thousands of dollars annually. One of his best known philanthropies was the sustaining of old friends of his mining days who had not been so fortunate as he in their search for fortune, and it was said of him that he had enabled scores of them to get a new start in life.

Major Phipps possessed a great deal of individuality and this was forcibly illustrated in his personal life and surroundings. He had a penchant for previous stones and possessed a private collection of gems, possibly one of the largest and most diversified in the United States.

He loved the beautiful things in life, and although he had mining properties and other business interests in various parts of the United States and Mexico, to which he could have devoted all his time, he preferred his books or painting (for he was a capable artist in addition to his other accomplishments) to the mere wealth that his properties represented.

Following the death of Major Phipps, his widow traveled for some months, but later settled in a beautiful home in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

Mrs. Phipps has carried on the philanthropies of Major Phipps to a certain extent and plans at a future date to establish a sanitarium on a splendid ranch which she owns near Duarte, California, as a memorial to her husband.

Transcribed 10-3-08 Marilyn R. Pankey.

Source: Press Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Pages 137-138, International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta. 1913.

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