Lawrence Kip

Lawrence Kip (September 17, 1836 – November 17, 1899) was an American soldier, author, and sportsman who was prominent in New York society during the Gilded Age.

Early life

Kip was born on September 17, 1836, in Morristown, New Jersey. He was the son of the Rt. Rev. William Ingraham Kip (1811–1893), and Maria Elizabeth (née Lawrence) Kip (1812–1893). His younger brother was William Ingraham Kip Jr., who married Elizabeth Clementine Kinney, the daughter of the U.S. Ambassador to Italy, William Burnet Kinney. Kip's father was a prominent minister who served at Grace Church before becoming the Episcopal Bishop of California until his death in 1893.

His paternal grandparents were Leonard Kip and Maria (née Ingraham) Kip and his uncle was author Leonard Kip. He was descended from Hendrick Hendricksen Kip, one of the nine original assemblymen serving in New Amsterdam from 1647 under Pieter Stuyvesant, Governor of New Netherlands. His ancestors were the namesake of Kips Bay in Manhattan. His maternal grandparents were merchant banker Isaac Lawrence and Cornelia (née Beach) Lawrence, herself the daughter of a minister of Trinity Church.

Kip attended the Churchill Military Academy at Sing Sing, and was appointed Cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point in June 1853.

Career

Following his graduation from West Point, he was commissioned a Second lieutenant, Third Artillery in June 1857 and became part of the expedition under General Wright against the northern Indians. During this campaign, he reportedly distinguished himself in the Battle of Four Lakes and Spokane Plains and acted as Adjutant of the Artillery Battalion. In 1859, Kip published an account of the campaign in a book entitled Army Life on the Pacific.