Lily Lin Sou - The Richest Chinese Woman in the United States
Lily Lin Sou (later Lily Look by marriage), was not only known as the “richest Chinese woman in the United States,”[1] but also as “the first child born in Colorado of Chinese parents.”[2] Lily was reportedly born in Como in 1874.[3] Her father was Chin Lin Sou, a labor contractor and entrepreneur, who moved to Black Hawk in 1871 and then to Fairplay, Como, and finally Denver.[4] According to the Fairplay Flume, Lily was married in 1894 at the age of twenty to Look Ding,[5] a wealthy merchant in Denver who was much older than she.[6] Lily's three-day wedding ceremony is briefly mentioned by author William Wei who recalls that Lily wore "an imported wedding dress costing one thousand dollars," with five-dollar gold coins as decoration.[7] Lily and her spouse resided at 2047 Market Street in Denver.[8] Lily (who insisted on being called “Mrs. Lily” or “Mrs. Look”), was money savvy and taught her spouse a thing or two about investing. They did well and, when Look Ding passed away in 1909, he left all his fortune to Mrs. Lily.
Only thirty-five years old, Mrs. Lily continued to accrue wealth, with her monthly income around $3,000. Mrs. Lily owned and operated land, restaurants, and lodgings.[9] She is described as the “boss of Chinatown,” and a “ruling power” among her community. According to the Fairplay Flume, Mrs. Lily said of herself, "I am business woman [sic]…and I attend my own business.”[12] In addition to her vast resources of revenue, Mrs. Lily offered loans on "her terms" to men in the Chinese community, ran a gambling house, and speculated in the opium scene. She employed many of her relatives and her daughter and son (Gim Gee and Look Quen), attended the public school.[13] As the Fairplay Flume article is the only major source of information regarding Mrs. Lily's life, it is difficult to know how much of it is true. We see both admiration and disdain sprinkled throughout the article and it is hard to parse out what is fact and what might be vindictive/sinophobic fiction. It is probably safe to assume, however, that Mrs. Lily was a member of no small importance in the Chinese community, that she was financially independent, and that she made a significant enough impression on the rest of Denver to warrant an entire news article dedicated solely to her.
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[1] “Richest Chinese Woman in the United States Runs Store in Denver,” Fairplay Flume (Fairplay, CO), Mar. 6, 1910, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection, https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/.
[2] Fairplay Flume (Fairplay, CO), Mar. 1, 1894, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.
[3] “Richest Chinese Woman,” Fairplay Flume, Mar. 6, 1910.
[4] William Wei, Asians in Colorado: A History of Persecution and Perseverance in the Centennial State (Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 2016), 78.
[5] “White Chinaman,” Fairplay Flume (Fairplay, CO), Aug. 13, 1894, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.
[6] Fairplay Flume, Mar. 1, 1894.
[7] Wei, 78.
[8] “White Chinaman,” Fairplay Flume, Aug. 13, 1894.
[9] “Richest Chinese Woman,” Fairplay Flume, Mar. 6, 1910.
[12] “Richest Chinese Woman,” Fairplay Flume, Mar. 6, 1910.
[13] “Richest Chinese Woman,” Fairplay Flume, Mar. 6, 1910.