Thomas Beebe Ripy, CSA, KY

Biography

THE RIPY FAMILY. James Ripy, a native of Tyrone, Ireland, on coming to America first located in Philadelphia, Penn. He came to Kentucky in 1830, and settled in Lawrenceburg, first engaging in the dry goods business and afterward in the wholesale liquor business, purchasing the products of the distilleries of the county, finding through himself a market for their products, he being the first to engage in the trade in Lawrenceburg. In 1869 he established the distillery now owned and operated by his son, Thomas B. Ripy. From a small beginning it has, under the management of T. B. Ripy, assumed its present magnitude. The works are located in Tyrone, on the Kentucky River, about two miles from Lawrenceburg, and consist of two distinct distilleries, one known as the Cliff Spring Distillery, the daily product being about sixty barrels. The Anderson Sour Mash is located about a quarter of a mile south of Cliff Spring, and has the same capacity. The ground covered by these buildings is about forty acres. The bonded warehouse connected with them has a storage capacity of some 80,000 barrels. The storage house has a capacity of 25,000; cattle sheds for the accommodation of 340 head of cattle and hogs also form a part of these works. Sheds for the storage of corn, etc., in connection with the other buildings, cover about 200 acres. The two distilleries, which are operated by Bailey's Run, are connected by a bridge 400 feet in length. This industry gives employment to forty men. James Ripy married Artemesia Walker, daughter of Randolph Walker. He died in July, 1873, leaving two children: James P. and Thomas B. His widow still survives him. James P. Ripy was born April 2, 1844, in Anderson County, received his early education in the common schools, and then entered the Kentucky Military Institute of Franklin County. At the age of eighteen he entered Company H., Capt. E. S. Dawson, Fifth Kentucky Cavalry, which formed a part of Morgan's command, and served until the close of the war. He then engaged in farming. From 1868 to 1875 he engaged in the wholesale whisky [sic] business in Louisville. In 1876 he returned to Lawrenceburg, and since continued to operate in the same line. He married Miss Helen Lillard, daughter of C. Marion and Frances (McGuire) Lillard, and by this marriage he has five children: James B., Marion W., Hardy B., Francis L. and Helen.

Ripy Walker McGuire Lillard

Franklin-KY PA Ireland

http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/anderson/ripy.txt

T. B. Ripy House
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The T.B. Ripy House is a house on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Anderson County, Kentucky, located in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. It was completed in 1888.

Thomas Beebe Ripy (1847-1902) operated a distillery in nearby Tyrone, Kentucky. The family sold the house in 1965, and it was placed on National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Descendants of Ripy repurchased the house in 2010 with the intent of repairing it.[1]

Link: 'https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._B._Ripy_House

Kentucky’s T.B. Ripy House, Haunted by a Whiskey Baron, is a Real-Life Scooby-Doo Mansion; By Dana Matthews on 11/25/2016

The incredible estate was built in 1888 by Wild Turkey tycoon Thomas B. Ripy, who had recently inherited the family bourbon business. Thomas proved himself to be a savvy business man, and when he died in 1902, he left the mansion to his 10 children and wife. For awhile, life was good for the wealthy Ripys, but then Prohibition put the breaks on the sale of booze and, consequently, the family cashflow. The Ripy family wasn’t going to let a silly little thing like a federal law get in the way of their legacy, and set out to combat the new law by having their mansion Scooby Doo-afied.

Over the course of several months, the Ripy’s paid contractors on the sly to construct secret compartments, trap doors, hidden staircases to secret rooms, and a massive labyrinth-like basement, which proved to be perfect for hiding a few hundred barrels of Kentucky Wild Turkey. Many of these secret booze hideaways are still located in the house today, and some local historians believe that more have yet to be discovered, possibly in the damp, dark basement straight out of a horror movie.

Link:http://weekinweird.com/2016/11/25/kentucky-t-b-ripy-house-ghost-hunt/

Videos: Thomas Ripy: Growing up in a Bourbon Family

Link: http://nunncenter.org/bourbon/thomas-ripy-01-growing-up-in-a-bourbo...