Thomas Walsh (miner)
Encyclopedia
Miner
A miner is a person whose work or business is to extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the most dangerous trades in the world. In some countries miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance....
who discovered one of the largest gold mines in America. He was also famous for giving the famed Hope Diamond
Hope Diamond
The Hope Diamond, also known as "Le bleu de France" or "Le Bijou du Roi", is a large, , deep-blue diamond, now housed in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C. It is blue to the naked eye because of trace amounts of boron within its crystal structure, but exhibits red...
to his daughter Evalyn Walsh McLean
Evalyn Walsh McLean
Evalyn Walsh McLean was an American mining heiress and socialite who was famous for being the last private owner of the Hope Diamond as well as another famous diamond, the Star of the East...
as a wedding present.
He was probably born on his father's farm, Baptist Grange, in Lisronagh
Lisronagh
Lisronagh is a village in the barony of Iffa and Offa East, South Tipperary, in Ireland.-Location:It is one half of the Roman Catholic parish of Powerstown and Lisronagh in the diocese of Waterford and Lismore. It is located on the R689 regional road 7km north of Clonmel, and 6km south of Fethard...
, Tipperary, Ireland and was the son of Michael Walsh, a farmer, and Bridget Scully. According to his daughter's book, Father Struck It Rich he was apprenticed to a millwright at age twelve and soon became a fine carpenter.
In 1869, he emigrated to the United States with his sister, Maria, after the death of his father. For a time, he settled in Worcester
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, with his aunts, Catherine and Bridget Walsh Power, who helped "shake the greenhorn off him".
Around 1870 or 71, he heeded the call to "go west young man" and soon found himself in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
getting paid top dollar for those scarce carpentry skills he allegedly learned from his appenticeship "to a millwright". During the 1870s, the Black Hills
Black Hills
The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...
of South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
saw a 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...
that attracted hoards of hopeful men afflicted with gold fever. At first Walsh was attracted too but not to the gold. He wanted in on the opportunities to trade goods and services at inflated prices.
Gradually, he became more and more immersed in the world of gold and was soon trading mining equipment to prospectors for mining claims as payment. He also studied mining technology at night. In 1877, he returned to Colorado with between $75,000 and $100,000. He and his "between $75,000 and $100,000" soon found themselves in Leadville, Colorado
Leadville, Colorado
Leadville is a Statutory City that is the county seat of, and the only municipality in, Lake County, Colorado, United States. Situated at an elevation of , Leadville is the highest incorporated city and the second highest incorporated municipality in the United States...
where he married the ravishingly beautiful school-marm Carrie Bell Reed on July 11, 1879. The couple had two children:
- Evalyn Walsh: August 01, 1886---April 24, 1947
- Vinson Walsh: April 09, 1888------August 19, 1905
After becoming an expert in the subject, Thomas Walsh finally was overcome by gold fever and took to the hills. Unlike other prospectors he took a far more methodical and careful approach to prospecting which soon paid off.
In 1896, he came home and uttered the words which later was the title of his daughter's book, "Daughter, I've struck it rich!" The Camp Bird Gold Mine
Camp Bird Mine
The Camp Bird Mine is a famous and highly-productive old gold mine located between Ouray and Telluride, Colorado. The mine is within the Sneffels-Red Mountain-Telluride mining district in the San Juan Mountains....
near Ouray, Colorado
Ouray, Colorado
The historic City of Ouray is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Ouray County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 813 at the U.S. Census 2000 and 1,000 as of the U.S. Census 2010...
soon turned out $5,000/day in ore and produced riches for the Walsh family "beyond the dreams of avarice".
The money soon provided the family with a lavish lifestyle that included trips to Europe, fine clothes, and expensive motor cars. Around 1898, the family moved to Washington, D.C.
Thomas Walsh was appointed by President William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
as a commissioner to the Paris Exposition of 1899
In 1903 the family moved into the ornate mansion at 2020 Massachusetts Avenue
Massachusetts Avenue (Washington, D.C.)
Massachusetts Avenue is a major diagonal transverse road in Washington, D.C., and the Massachusetts Avenue Historic District is a historic district that includes part of it....
. Later, this house became the Indonesian Embassy.
Thomas Francis Walsh died on April 8, 1910, at his home in Washington, D.C.
Thomas Walsh had the following siblings:
- Maria Walsh: married Arthur Lafferty, a two-gun police sergeant in Leadville, Colorado
- Michael Walsh: died in 1904 in Denver, ColoradoDenver, ColoradoThe City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, of dropsy of the liver
Other siblings? Mary Ryan
Mary Ryan
Mary Ryan may refer to:* Mary Ryan , Irish Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary 1944–1961* Mary Ryan , a character from both the Fatal Fury and King of Fighters series of computer games...
, in her book, Hope, claims Thomas had half siblings from a later marriage his father made to Margaret Cunningham.
Thomas Walsh is a cousin twice removed to W. Arthur Garrity, Jr., the federal judge who issued the famous 1974 order that Boston schools desegregate by means of busing.
Thomas Walsh is a cousin once removed to New York City civic improver and Macys Lawyer, Patrick L. Ryan.
Sources
- An informal family history written by Margaret Kennedy (c.1972)
- Father Struck it Rich, by Evalyn Walsh McLean (1936)
- Hope by Mary RyanMary RyanMary Ryan may refer to:* Mary Ryan , Irish Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary 1944–1961* Mary Ryan , a character from both the Fatal Fury and King of Fighters series of computer games...
(c.1998)