Charles Nelson Tripp (182330 September 1866) was a
bitumen
Bitumen ( , ) is an immensely viscosity, viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition, it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American Engl ...
businessman in Ontario. Tripp is best known for his role in the formation of the International Mining and Manufacturing Company in 1854, the world's first incorporated oil company. Tripp and his brother Henry were among the first to exploit
Enniskillen Township's bitumen deposits following
Thomas Sterry Hunt and
Alexander Murray's reports on the region and helped kickstart the first oil boom in
Enniskillen Township.
Biography
Early life
Charles Nelson Tripp and his brother Henry emigrated to
Canada West
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...
from Schenectady, New York, sometime before 1850. Tripp moved to
Bath, Ontario, where he worked as a foreman in a stove foundry.
The Tripp brothers learned of the
bitumen
Bitumen ( , ) is an immensely viscosity, viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition, it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American Engl ...
deposits in Lambton County through a series of
Geological Survey of Canada
The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; , CGC) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the environment. A branch of the Earth Science ...
reports by Alexander Murray and
Thomas Sterry Hunt and moved to Enniskillen Township in the early 1850s.
International Mining and Manufacturing Company
After arriving in Enniskillen Township, Tripp amassed 1,450 acres of land and engaged in manufacturing
asphalt
Asphalt most often refers to:
* Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete
* Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...
by boiling bitumen.
In 1852, Tripp petitioned the
Legislative Council of Canada West for a charter to establish the International Mining and Manufacturing Company.
After multiple petitions, the Legislative Council issued a charter on December 18, 1854, resulting in the world's first incorporated oil company.
The charter stipulated that the International Mining and Manufacturing Company's goals were to “erect works for the purpose of making oils, paints, burning fluids, varnishes, and other things of the like from their properties in Enniskillen."
The company was capitalized at a value of $60,000, with Charles Tripp as President.
The Board of Directors included Henry Tripp, Hiram Cook, a wood merchant from Hamilton, John B. VanVoorhies, a wood merchant and contractor from Woodstock and three Americans from New York.
Around the same time as the International Mining and Manufacturing Company's incorporation, Tripp sent samples of the bitumen to Thomas Antisell, who described the sample as "a very valuable variety of Bitumen, and applicable to all the purposes for which this substance is now in such demand," and that it was highly suitable for paints, waterproofing materials and an illuminant if distilled.
In 1855, Tripp sent a sample of his asphalt to the University Exhibition in Paris, and it received an honourable mention.
At the same of the exhibit,
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
ordered asphalt from the Intentional Mining and Manufacturing Company to pave its streets.
Ultimately, Tripp's venture into asphalt manufacturing was not successful. The company had little capital, high transportation costs and growing debts. From 1855 to 1857, 13 creditors issued judgements against Tripp, and he lost all of his land in Enniskillen with the exception of two 100 acre parcels that he sold for 10 shillings to Henry.
One creditor,
James Miller Williams, purchased 600 acres of Tripp's land for £2000 and commenced his own oil operation. Tripp briefly worked for Williams in 1856 and unsuccessfully attempted to sink an oil well near
Bothwell
Bothwell () is a Protected area, conservation village in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland and part of the Greater Glasgow area. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, Scotland, Hamilton, ...
, before heading to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in November.
Williams eventually established the first commercially successful oil well in North America when he struck oil in the summer of 1858.
Later life
After leaving Canada, Tripp travelled to the oil fields in Pennsylvania, before making his way to Louisiana.
Throughout the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, he reportedly explored Louisiana and Texas for minerals under the orders of
Edmund Kirby Smith
Edmund Kirby Smith (May 16, 1824March 28, 1893) was a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate States Army Four-star rank, general, who oversaw the Trans-Mississippi Department (comprising Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, western L ...
and
Henry Watkins Allen.
After the end of the Civil War, Tripp learned of the oil discoveries on his forfeited land and returned to Canada to see if he could lay claim to his former property.
Tripp travelled to Ottawa in 1866 to petition
Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
and succeeded in getting a small parcel of land back, which he sold for $7000.
Tripp then travelled back to New Orleans to pay instalments on his American lands.
Marriage and Children
In 1855, Tripp married Almria Jane Cornish, daughter of William King Cornish, a prominent
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
doctor, physician and lawyer.
Tripp abandoned Cornish when he left for the United States in November 1856, and in 1862 she applied to remove him and Richard Martin as trustees on her
Enniskillen
Enniskillen ( , from , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 14,086 at the 2011 censu ...
properties.
Vice-Chancellor
Spragge ruled that the Court of Chancery could appoint new trustees, but Cornish could not take full control of her properties.
During a public auction of Tripp's land in May 1866, Cornish attempted to secure a 200-acre lot, but she lost the bid after failing to pay the deposit.
Death
Shortly after arriving in New Orleans, Tripp died in a hotel room on September 30 from "congestion of the brain."
His obituary in the ''Ottawa Citizen'' noted that Tripp "knew practically, more about the mineral wealth of every Southern State than any other man."
Reportedly, at the time of his death, Tripp was organizing companies to mine the minerals he had discovered in Louisiana and Texas.
Honours, decorations, awards and distinctions
In 1997, Tripp and his brother Henry were inducted into the ''Canadian Petroleum Hall of Fame'' for discovering the bitumen deposits in Enniskillen township and establishing North America's first incorporated oil company.
In 2008,
Canada Post
Canada Post Corporation (, trading as Canada Post (), is a Canadian Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada.
Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the operating name of the Post Office Department of the Can ...
issued a commemorative postage stamp featuring portraits of Tripp and Williams.
External links
Oil Museum of Canada's biography of Charles and Henry Tripp
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tripp, Charles Nelson
Founders of the petroleum industry
1823 births
1866 deaths
American emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario