Sonoma County Biography
Hiram L. Tripp
Ably maintaining the various positions which have become his since his residence in Sonoma county Hiram L. Tripp has won the good opinion of thoughtful citizens and the trust and confidence of those who have watched his quiet but effective work. He is now filling the position of postmaster in Santa Rosa, to which he was appointed by President Roosevelt in 1906, and reappointed by President Taft in 1910. Not unlike many others who are trust and responsibility in this thriving city of the west, Mr. Tripp is a native of the far east, his birth having occurred in Chestertown, N. Y., April 9, 1848. At the age of twenty years he took up the responsibilities of life by accepting his first position in the business worked, having in the meantime gained a fair education n the schools of his home town.
At the age just mentioned Mr. Tripp went to Glens Falls, warren county, N. Y., and accepted a position with a mercantile firm in that city, and so eagerly and diligently did he apply himself to this duties, that during the years that he remained with these employers he gained a valuable insight into the business, an insight which proved a working basis for many years following. It was with his recently acquired knowledge as a stimulus that he came to California in 1875, confident that the west held forth greater promise of success for young men of ambition than the older and most thickly settled east in which he had been reared. San Francisco was his objective point on coming to the state, and for three years he was engaged in the clothing business in the metropolis with very fair success. It was with this practical experience along a special line of merchandising that he came to Santa Rosa in 1878 and opened the only exclusively gentlemen’s clothing and furnishing goods store in town. A thriving business was carried on under his name until 1884, when J. D. Barnett bought an interest in the business, this association continuing until May 1, 1888, when Mr. Trip assumed entire control of the business through the withdrawal of Mr. Barnett. Mr. Tripp’s proprietorship was destined to be of short duration, however, for he soon took in George S. Thurston as partner, and this association continued one year, when he again became sole owner and would undoubtedly have continued until the present time, had the business not met with total destruction in the earthquake and fire of April, 1906. The stock carried by Mr. Tripp was the most complete of any similar enterprise of the kind in the city and the business transacted made it one of the busiest centers of activity and contributed immeasurably to the commercial importance of the town. It was during the same year in which this disaster occurred that Mr. Tripp received his first appointment as postmaster of Santa Rosa, and so ably did he perform the duties of his first term that he received reappointment at the hands of President Taft in 1910, and at the present time is ably filling the office for which he is so well fitted. Previous to his first appointment in this capacity he had been elected to the state legislature, in 1805, on the Republican ticket, and for one term he rendered earnest and faithful service to his fellow-citizens.
In Santa Rosa, September 24, 1884, was celebrated the marriage of Hiram L. Tripp and Mrs. Mary (Crane) Weymouth, who was a native of Ohio and had been a resident of California for a number of years. Fraternally Mr. Tripp is identified with the Masonic order, in which he has attained the Knight Templar degree, and is also a Shriner. He has served as master of Santa Rosa lodge No. 57,, F. & A. M., as high priest of Santa Rosa Chapter No. 45, R. A. M., and as commander of Santa Rosa Commandery No. 14, K. T. Mr. Tripp is a man who has the entire respect and esteem of all who know him, a wide circle of friends ready to speak of the many qualities which have made him a citizen of worth to Sonoma county.
History
of Sonoma County, California
History by Tom Gregory : Historic Record Company, 1891
Los Angeles, Ca. 1911
Transcribed by Roberta Hester Leatherwood
June 27, 2011 Pages 840-841
Sonoma County Biographies ~ Archive Biography Index ~ Archive Index
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