Thomas Elwood Valentine

Installing the first lighting system around the Statue of Liberty so it could be seen for miles away at night qualifies as a notable accomplishment, but it never made Thomas Valentine famous. His family tree is interesting because his great-great-grandfather was a soldier in the American Revolution, his great-uncle was the District Attorney in Philadelphia, and both his grandfather and father were dentists. 

His father was also a member of the 97th Pennsylvania Infantry in the Civil War, a notable unit in that it never fought in any major or “well-known” battles. An interesting fact about Thomas is that he was born exactly nine months and 11 days after his parents wed. Coincidentally, that was just nine years before another Thomas developed the first practical-use incandescent lightbulb.

Three other boys and three girls were also born to the Valentines while they lived in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. Their father moved his practice to Philadelphia in 1884 and their mother enjoyed the luxury of live-in domestic help. They were most likely among the first to enjoy electricity throughout their fine home.

Tom married a city girl named Mary on January 14, 1892 and they welcomed Margaret, the first of their four daughters, that August. He was part of the “electric generation” and lighting was his career. They moved to Atlantic City in 1899 where the first newspaper ads for Valentine Electric Sign Company appeared, like this one, in the Business Directory column in 1904.

It was a great location. The Boardwalk, first built in 1870, was booming, thanks to lights at night. So was Tom’s business. He was awarded a permit in 1906 to illuminate a sign for American Tobacco Company with 3,000 light bulbs. That same year, four brewing companies wanted their signs lit to sell more beer when it is most often consumed, at night. A contract was signed to install what would be the country’s largest sign at the 1907 Jamestown Exposition in Virginia, and soon after that the little company paid a 100 percent dividend to its stockholders.

This flashing theater sign on Broadway in New York City was a Valentine creation. Soon, utility companies wanted the firm to build welcome signs they would donate to their cities to attract tourists (which would also indirectly promote electric usage to consumers). 

One typical example was Toledo, Ohio. The Commerce Club chose the winning entry in a slogan contest for the city, and the Toledo Railways & Light Co. paid Valentine Electric to display it on a 25-ton structure, 100 feet long and 58 feet tall. It was switched on by the city in 1913, adorned with 7000 flashing lights that alternated between three images: the slogan, a locomotive, and a lake freighter. Other cities followed, and Valentine signs sprang up in Hong Kong, South America, Cuba, Dublin, and Copenhagen.

Tom’s crowning achievement was lighting up Lady Liberty in 1916, at a price of $30,000 (or close to $700,000 a hundred years later). The project was paid for by a public subscription campaign conducted by the New York World newspaper. Floodlights were mounted on steel pipe frames made in Atlantic City and assembled on site. President Woodrow Wilson spoke and then threw the switch during a ceremony on December 2.

(The lighting grid was rebuilt by Westinghouse Electric in 1932 and again in 1945 with mercury vapor lamps. A new system was installed prior to the 1976 bicentennial, and as part of the statue’s restoration in 1986, culminating with the latest LED system, created in 2015.)

That crowning achievement was apparently Tom’s last big contract. Advertising seems to have stopped and there were no newspaper mentions after 1918. Outside of work, he was a member of the Elks Lodge and a scoutmaster for his son’s Boy Scout troop. The company decorated City Hall with lights for the Christmas season, but there were no big business deals like there were in years past.

All four girls were married by 1920. Living with them that year were Margaret, husband Alfred Ripley, and their son. Alfred worked in his father-in-law’s business, but incandescent bulbs grew dim in popularity compared to the latest technology, neon signs.  Alfred’s son, Thomas Valentine Ripley continued his grandfather’s business as well as his name. 

The last few years of Tom’s life are silent other than an illness that came upon him in 1928. He died the following year and his funeral was held in Philadelphia. His grave is with both of his parents and four of his siblings, but their markers in Section 17 have not been located.

Mary continued living with Alfred’s family until her death in 1955, and chose to be buried in New Jersey. Alfred adapted to the times as a successful neon sign builder and taught his son, who was a Purple Heart Marine Corporal in World War II. Tom later renamed the business Ripley Silver Neon Sign Company, and enjoyed a successful career as a third generation sign maker until he retired in 1978.