Hixon Family History
The Hixon family story begins with Gideon Cooley Hixon, who was known for his strong character, ingenuity, generosity to friends, and his business acumen. He was a skillful entrepreneur and a true venture capitalist. He became a leading citizen in his community and Senator for the 31st District of Wisconsin. Gideon recognized the need for lumber in the southern U.S. following the Civil War and started a business surrounding this concept in the 1860s. This led to a company that eventually encompassed lumber, flour, wool, tanneries, railroads, pulp, paper manufacturing, electric power and banking.
Early Life
The original business really took off 20 years later when, in the build-up to World War One, there was great demand for crates and his lumber became a hot commodity. His sons eventually took over the family business and pushed the company into a new direction after meeting two young consultants in the 1940s, Edwin Booz and Carl Hamilton, who are now better known as the founders of Booz Allen Hamilton. They had identified a technology to connect wires without solder and, in the period after World War One and before World War Two, marine and aircraft technology was extremely significant.
Aircraft Marine Products
The Hixon Family ended up investing in a company called Aircraft Marine Products, which grew rapidly through the Second World War before pivoting into electronic connectors which really took off with the rising age of computers. Aircraft Marine Products eventually rebranded to AMP and the company went public in 1965. AMP was eventually acquired by Tyco in the 1990s for $11B in stock. The Hixon family, having benefitted from AMP and its sale, then chose to diversify into real estate, oil and gas, and venture capital.