Thomas Henry Blythe
Thomas Henry Blythe | |
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Born | Thomas Henry Williams [1] July 30, 1822[2] |
Died | April 4, 1883[3] San Francisco, California, U.S. | (aged 60)
Burial place | Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Colma, San Mateo County, California 37°40′48″N 122°28′01″W / 37.680°N 122.467°W |
Monuments | City of Blythe, California |
Nationality | United States (naturalized) |
Occupation | Capitalist[4] |
Known for | Obtaining primary water rights to the lower Colorado River, and using that water to develop the Palo Verde Valley in eastern Southern California,[5] and leaving an unsettled estate worth millions of dollars that became a sensational story over 25 years with numerous competing claims filed.[1] |
Thomas Henry Blythe (born Thomas Williams;^ 1822–1883), was a Welsh-born American businessman; he became a successful self-made capitalist and tycoon after emigrating to San Francisco in the United States. Blythe is most remembered for purchasing, developing, and subdividing the Palo Verde Valley in southern California, and obtaining primary rights to Colorado River water to irrigate the valley.[5] The city of Blythe, California, the largest city in the Palo Verde Valley, is named for him.
Biography[]
Born on July 22, 1822 in Mold, Flintshire, Wales.[5]
The city of Blythe, California, the largest city in the Palo Verde Valley, is named for him.
At the time of Blythe’s death his estate was estimated to be worth around four million dollars. He died suddenly, and unexpectedly, without any family in the United States, and without a will or other instructions regarding his estate. Almost 200 people initially claimed to be his legitimate heirs,[6] including three women each professing to be his wife.[7] Litigation of the estate spanned more than 25 years, but ultimately the entire estate was awarded to Blythe’s illegitimate daughter, Florence Blythe.[8]
Honors and tributes[]
- The city of Blythe, California, originally named Blythe City by Blythe himself, still bears his name.[2]
- Other places and organizations bearing Thomas Henry Blythe's name:
See also[]
References[]
- ^ a b Robbins, Millie (June 4, 1969). "Millie's Column: A Tough Tycoon's Soft Spot". San Francisco Chronicle (Pg 64). San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ a b Gunther, Pgs 59-61.
- ^ "Sudden Death of Thomas H. Blythe". Okland Daily Evening Tribune (Pg 3). April 5, 1883.
- ^ "Local Breveties" (Volume 16, pg 4). The Los Angeles Daily Herald. November 10, 1881.
- ^ a b c Brown and Boyd, Pgs 588-589
- ^ "Blythe's Millions; The Romantic History Fully Told" (Vol. XLIX, Pg 8). San Francisco Chronicle. The Sunday Chronicle. May 19, 1889.
- ^ "Appearance Day; Ninety-Seven Claimants to the Blythe Estate" (Vol XXII, No. 33, Pg 1). The Daily Examiner. February 2, 1886.
- ^ "Florence Blythe, Judge Coffey Declares her to be Millionaire's Daughter" (Pg 1). The Examiner, San Francisco. August 1, 1890.
Bibliography[]
- Brown and Boyd, (John Brown Jr and James Boyd), History of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, The Western Historical Association, 1922, Copyright: The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, Ill.
- Gunther, Jane Davies. Riverside County, California, Place Names; Their Origins and Their Stories, Riverside, CA, 1984. LOC catalog number: 84–72920.
- 19th-century American businesspeople
- Businesspeople from San Francisco
- American venture capitalists
- Blythe, California
- History of Riverside County, California
- Water in California
- Welsh people
- Welsh emigrants to the United States
- People from Mold, Flintshire
- People from San Francisco
- 1822 births
- 1883 deaths
- Burials at Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery (Colma, California)
- Welsh people stubs
- American business biography stubs