Leonard Kip
Encyclopedia
Leonard Kip was a scion of Old New York who joined the Gold Rush to California for a year of adventure before returning to his home state for a long career in law and literature. However, he continued to contribute to the California-based magazine Overland Monthly until 1894.
landowners who had settled in the New Amsterdam colony in the early 17th century . He attended Trinity College
in Connecticut
from 1842–46, studied law after receiving his B.A. and was preparing to commence a legal career when news of the mining bonanza at Sutter's Mill
excited his curiosity and ambition. He became one of the fabled Forty-Niners, making the long voyage round Cape Horn to California . The rawness of San Francisco intrigued him without pleasing him. He saw it as “running wild after amusement” and seeking wealth in an “unnatural excitement which could not last” . After several months in mining country near Stockton, Kip left California predicting the collapse not only of gold fever but of any significant future the state due to “a climate presenting the most insufferable extremes of heat and cold,” worthless soil, scarcity of water, and the growing threat of cholera in what was already a “stronghold of dysentery” . He returned east, settled into legal work in Albany
, and married, in 1852, Harriet L. Van Rensselaer, daughter of a general and member of an even more prominent New York family than his own . In 1850, he published his first book, the California Sketches that recount his skeptical observations of the Gold Rush
. Other books and articles followed, including ten novels, most of them tales of mystery or the supernatural. In 1855, he was elected president of the Albany Institute of Art and History, a position he filled for ten years. Kip died February 15, 1906.
Although Leonard Kip quickly wearied of California, his brother the Rt. Rev. William Ingraham Kip
(1811–93) followed in1853 and remained until his death forty years later, a major figure in the state’s development as the first Protestant Episcopal
Bishop of California and a noted religious writer and church historian .
Life and work
Kip, born September 13, 1826, descended from prosperous and distinguished Hudson River valley Dutch and HuguenotHuguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
landowners who had settled in the New Amsterdam colony in the early 17th century . He attended Trinity College
Trinity College (Connecticut)
Trinity College is a private, liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut after Yale University. The college enrolls 2,300 students and has been coeducational since 1969. Trinity offers 38 majors and 26 minors, and has...
in Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
from 1842–46, studied law after receiving his B.A. and was preparing to commence a legal career when news of the mining bonanza at Sutter's Mill
Sutter's Mill
Sutter's Mill was a sawmill owned by 19th century pioneer John Sutter in partnership with James W. Marshall. It was located in Coloma, California, at the bank of the South Fork American River...
excited his curiosity and ambition. He became one of the fabled Forty-Niners, making the long voyage round Cape Horn to California . The rawness of San Francisco intrigued him without pleasing him. He saw it as “running wild after amusement” and seeking wealth in an “unnatural excitement which could not last” . After several months in mining country near Stockton, Kip left California predicting the collapse not only of gold fever but of any significant future the state due to “a climate presenting the most insufferable extremes of heat and cold,” worthless soil, scarcity of water, and the growing threat of cholera in what was already a “stronghold of dysentery” . He returned east, settled into legal work in Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, and married, in 1852, Harriet L. Van Rensselaer, daughter of a general and member of an even more prominent New York family than his own . In 1850, he published his first book, the California Sketches that recount his skeptical observations of the Gold Rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
. Other books and articles followed, including ten novels, most of them tales of mystery or the supernatural. In 1855, he was elected president of the Albany Institute of Art and History, a position he filled for ten years. Kip died February 15, 1906.
Although Leonard Kip quickly wearied of California, his brother the Rt. Rev. William Ingraham Kip
William Ingraham Kip
William Ingraham Kip was an American Protestant Episcopal bishop.-Early life:Kip was born in New York City, of Breton ancestry, the son of Leonard Kip and Maria Kip. He graduated at Yale in 1831. After briefly studying law, Kip turned to a clerical calling and graduated from the General...
(1811–93) followed in1853 and remained until his death forty years later, a major figure in the state’s development as the first Protestant Episcopal
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
Bishop of California and a noted religious writer and church historian .
Other publications
Besides contributing to periodicals, he published:- California Sketches (1850)
- Volcano Diggings (1851)
- Ænone (1866)
- The Dead Marquise (1873)
- Hannibal's Man (1878)
- Under the Bells (1879)
- Nestlenook (1880)