Adon Lippincott was born around 1839 in Swedesboro, New Jersey, to Chalkley and Phebe Lippincott. His father was a farmer who owned $25,000 of real estate and $2,500 of personal property by 1860. He grew up and attended school in Harrison, New Jersey.
He enlisted in the Union army on August 1, 1861, and he mustered in as a corporal in Company D of the 48th New York Infantry. The regiment took part in the siege of Charleston and the Battle of Cold Harbor. He was promoted to 2nd lieutenant in July 1863, to 1st lieutenant in May 1864, and to captain in November 1864. He was wounded at Fort Wagner in July 1863 and again at Cold Harbor in June 1864.
He remained devoted to the Union. In September 1864, he assured his sister that “our prospects were never brighter than now. I am as anxious for peace as any one but so long as there is a traitor in arms I believe in ‘fighting it out on this line.’” He was discharged for disability on April 16, 1865.
He settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after the war, and he married Anna Clark. Their son Walter was born around 1871. They moved to Neptune, New Jersey, in the 1870s, and he earned a living as a carpenter. His wife died in the late 1800s, and he married Irene Wilson on April 18, 1901. He moved to Asbury Park, New Jersey, and established a contracting business. He died of apoplexy in Asbury Park on January 2, 1912.