Thomas Evans Brittingham

Thomas Evans Brittingham was born to Dr. Irvin Baird and Mary J. League Brittingham on May 18, 1860 in Hannibal, Missouri. Though photographs of his birthplace seem to imply the proverbial humble beginnings, both his father and grandfather were doctors. Thomas attended private school before matriculating at Hannibal College, which is no longer in existence.

After brief stays in Colorado and California, Thomas relocated to Wisconsin in 1885, where he eventually founded the Brittingham and Hixon Lumber Company with Joseph Morris Hixon. Joseph was the son of Gideon C. Hixon of La Crosse, who controlled a sizeable commercial empire. Thomas served as the company's president, guiding its expansion into a chain of twenty-four lumber yards in several states.

Thomas Brittingham was a shrewd businessman, and his financial empire grew quickly. The parent company he operated from his offices on the corner of Washington and Carroll streets in downtown Madison became one of the largest retail lumber yard chains in the country. He was a natural salesman, as an anecdote about his first job with a lumber firm in Wisconsin reveals: "He was anxious for salary, but was put on commission. At the end of a month, they called him in and wanted to put him on a salary. His commission had cost them three times what his salary would."⁵

That anecdote was part of a Wisconsin Journal series entitled "X-Ray Portraits." The human interest piece offers an interesting perspective on the lives of the Brittinghams, particularly concerning Thomas's business practices.