The Phillips Family

My earliest proven ancestor from the Phillips family of Preston and Griswold, Connecticut is my very elusive third great-grandfather, Thomas Phillips, who married Susanna Olin, daughter of Squire and Alice (Walton) Olin, on September 21, 1825 in Lisbon, Connecticut. I have found many clues that satisfactorily convince me that he was the son of Thomas and Catherine (Johnson) Phillips, who moved from the West Greenwich/Coventry area of Kent County Rhode Island between 1800 and 1810 and settled first in the part of Preston, Connecticut that later became Griswold, near the Voluntown boundary. The only thing lacking is a document or record stating that my third great-grandfather was the son of this couple.

Evidence From Marriage and Census Records

      That my third great-grandfather, Thomas Phillips, was the son of another Thomas Phillips is evidenced by his original marriage record, found in Lisbon Vital Records, Vol. 1, where he is listed as "Thomas Phillips ^Junr.". In the 1820 census (when Thomas Phillips, Jr. would have been thirteen or fourteen years of age) is found the household of Thomas Phillips of Griswold, Connecticut on page 720. In the original census listing, this Thomas Phillips was living in the household next to Squire Olin, who was the father of Susanna Olin, who Thomas Phillips, Jr. married. There was a male, aged 10-15, living in Thomas Phillips' household. (I know, from his death record and census records, that my ancestor, Thomas Phillips, was born around 1806-1807, so he would be around 13 or 14 years of age in 1820). It seems very likely that this Thomas Phillips of Griswold, was, indeed, the father of my third great-grandfather. I will refer to them as Thomas Phillips, Sr. and Thomas Phillips, Jr. from here on, to simplify matters.

      Thomas Phillips, Sr. appeared in the 1810 census listing for Preston and in the 1820 census listing for Griswold, Connecticut. (Note: The difference in towns is explained by the fact that in 1815, the Town of Griswold was set apart from Preston, CT. A similar distinction in towns is made in land records for Thomas Phillips before and after 1815 -- see below)

      In the 1810 census for Preston, CT., Thomas Phillips, Sr. had in his household 2 males 10-16 years old, 1 male 45 years old and older, 1 female age 0-9 years old, 2 females 16-25 years old, and 1 female 45 years old and older. The 1810 census provides a stumbling block to my theory, because there was no male, 0-9 years old in this household (Thomas, Jr. would have been 3 or 4 years old at the time of this census). I still can't explain this, aside from the possibility of an error on the part of the census taker. A comparison of the households of Thomas Phillips, Sr. in 1810 and 1820 is shown in the table below:

Note: there was no other Thomas Phillips appearing in the 1810 or 1820 census for either Preston or Griswold, CT. (Griswold wasn't formed until 1815). In addition, Thomas Phillips doesn't appear in an earlier census listing for Preston, nor does he appear after the 1820 census. The Thomas Phillips who appeared in the 1830 census for Griswold, CT. is my third great-grandfather, Thomas Phillips, Jr., who married in 1825.

Thomas and Catherine (Johnson) Phillips
of Rhode Island and Connecticut

                  The only published information I have found on a Thomas Phillips of the era of Thomas Phillips, Sr. of Preston and Griswold, Connecticut is that of a Thomas Phillips, born 1762 in Coventry, Rhode Island, son of James Phillips, who married Catherine Johnson, daughter of Ebenezer and Elizabeth (Tingley) Johnson. Thomas Phillips was a descendant of Michael Phillips, who was admitted a freeman of Newport, R.I. in 1668. Thomas and Catherine (Johnson) Phillips had two children, William Phillips of Norwich, Connecticut and Patience (Phillips) Thayer of Sterling, Connecticut, who were written about in published genealogies.

                  George Burton Thayer, a great-grandson of Thomas and Catherine Phillips, wrote of them in his book, The Thayer and Burton Ancestry. According to George Thayer, Thomas and Catherine Phillips of Coventry, Rhode Island settled on the "Kettle Farm" in Sterling, Connecticut, where Thomas Phillips died on January 31, 1833. Sterling, Connecticut is where George Thayer's grandmother, Patience (Phillips) Thayer, settled with her husband Caleb Thayer.

                    Interestingly enough, George Thayer states that Catherine (Johnson) Phillips, wife of Thomas Phillips, died "at Jewett City, Conn., where she was buried".   Jewett City is located within the boundaries of Griswold, Connecticut, which certainly places Catherine Phillips closer to Thomas Phillips, Sr. of Preston-Griswold than had she died in Sterling, CT. Moreover, The Hale Collection of Connecticut Cemetery Inscriptions has in its index, a death notice, found in the Norwich Courier, Issue Oct. 24, 1824, page 206, for Mrs. Catharine Philips, age 53, who died on October 6 [1824].   George Thayer gives Catherine Phillips' birth date as 1771, which exactly coincides with the death record listed in Hale. [Note: Catherine Phillips may be buried in the Jewett City Baptist Cemetery where Susannah (Olin) Phillips is buried].

                   Although George Thayer writes that Thomas and Catherine Phillips settled in Sterling, CT., census and land records, which I discuss below, indicate that they settled first in the part of Preston, CT. that was set apart as Griswold after 1815. I suspect that Thomas Phillips, Sr. didn't move to Sterling until after Catherine died in 1824, however I haven't been able to find evidence of his residence in Sterling in any records -- census , land or otherwise.

                    The Brewster Genealogy, 1566-1907, Volume 1 by Emma C. Brewster Jones discusses William Phillips, son of Thomas and Catherine (Johnson) Phillips "of Newport, R. I.", who married Asenath Brewster in Lisbon, Connecticut on November 24, 1818. The children of William and Asenath Phillips were born in Jewett City and Norwich, Connecticut. The marriage location of William and Asenath Phillips immediately caught my eye, because my third great-grandfather, Thomas Phillips, Jr., married Susannah Olin in Lisbon, CT. seven years later, on September 21, 1825.

                   An investigation of Rhode Island census and land evidence records for 1800 brought forth no information for Thomas and Catherine Phillips in Coventry, although it did for the neighboring town of West Greenwich in Kent County:

In the 1800 census listing for West Greenwich, Thomas Phillips appears with 2 males under 10 years old, 1 male 26 and under 45 years old, 2 females under 10 years old, 1 female 10 and under 16 years old, and 1 female 26 and under 45 years old.

In land evidence records for West Greenwich, I found four land deeds, the first signed by Thomas Phillips of Coventry, the latter three signed by Thomas Phillips and his wife, Catherine Phillips of West Greenwich, dated between March 9, 1799 and February 14, 1801. I found no other deeds in Kent County, Rhode Island for Thomas and/or Catherine Phillips after February 14, 1801. I am convinced that this is because Thomas and Catherine Phillips removed to Preston, Connecticut, where they next appeared in the 1810 census for Preston. A comparison of the two households of Thomas Phillips of West Greenwich, R.I. in 1800, and of Thomas Phillips of Preston, CT. in 1810 is shown, below. The similarity between the members of the two households is striking. [Note: Thomas Phillips of West Greenwich appeared in West Greenwich no later than the 1800 census, and Thomas Phillips of Preston appeared in Preston no earlier than the 1810 census. I don't think this is a coincidence. I'm convinced that they're the same person]

                   A move to Connecticut would not seem unusual for Thomas Phillips. Earlier generations of his family had made the move before him. His paternal grandparents, Michael and Freelove (Wilkinson) Phillips of Smithfield, Rhode Island moved to Pomfret, Connecticut in the 1700s, where their youngest son, Elijah, lived with his wife, Rhoda Sayles. Michael and Freelove Phillips died in Pomfret and are buried at the Sabin Cemetery near Elijah and his family.

Land Evidence Records from
Preston, Griswold and Voluntown, Connecticut

                  An examination of land evidence records from New London County, Connecticut brought forth an interesting series of land deeds by Thomas Phillips of Preston. These land interactions were prefaced by the deed of one Polly Phillips of Coventry, Rhode Island, who, on November 2, 1812, bought for $182, from Benjamin S. Coit of Preston, a farm of  ± 50 acres along with buildings, which was located partly in Preston and partly in Voluntown, CT. Two years later (November 18,1814), Thomas Phillips of Preston purchased this same ± 50 acre farm from Polly Phillips for $225.One week later (November 26, 1814), Thomas Phillips sold the ± 50 acre farm to Henry Nichols of West Greenwich, R.I. for $211.60, under the condition that Thomas Phillips would buy the deed back from Nichols in four installments, with interest, over a period of two years. In the Voluntown version of this land deed, Phillips is referred to as "Capt. Thomas Phillips". One year later (November 3, 1815),Thomas Phillips "of Griswold" signed a mortgage deed for $43.29 to John Chapman of Voluntown for the ± 50 acre farm "Provided ... if I the said Thomas Phillips ... shall well and truly pay to the said John Chapman ... a certain Note of hand by me the said Thomas Phillips well executed ... for the sum of forty three Dollars twenty nine cents and on Interest according to the tenor thereof then this deed is to be void."  (Note: Griswold was set apart from Preston in October 1815, which probably explains why Thomas Phillips was referred to as "of Griswold" in the 1815-1817deeds.) A little more than one year later, on January 13, 1817, Thomas Phillips of Griswold signed a quit-claim for $20 to Benjamin S. Coit of Griswold (the original owner of the farm from whom it was purchased by Polly Phillips) for the ± 50 acre farm and clarified his relationship with Polly Phillips,  "it being the same land conveyed to me by my daughter Mary Phillips", thus giving the name of another daughter (or perhaps a daughter-in-law) of Thomas and Catherine Phillips.

More Phillips Family Clues

                 Two years before Thomas Phillips, Jr. married Susannah Olin, a man named Hercules Phillips (his name has been spelled varyingly as Harkless, Harkness and Herculass) married Susannah's older sister, Joanna Olin. Hercules Phillips and Joanna Olin were married on October 12, 1823 in Griswold. I have found a variety of records for Hercules Phillips and have been able to compile some very basic facts about his life. He was born about 1799-1801 and died on February 17, 1860 in Windham, CT. where his occupation was listed as "weaver". Hercules Phillips is buried at the Geer Cemetery in Griswold where his wife Joanna and several Olin family members are buried. He was married prior to his marriage to Joanna Olin -- to Hannah Hill on December 6, 1821 in Norwich, CT. He appears in the 1850 census for Griswold, CT. as "Harkless Phillips" age 49, born in Rhode Island, with wife "Joan", daughters Jane, Olive, Ann and son Henry, and Mary Ann Olin, age 23 (I'm not sure who she is).

                Owing to the closeness in their in birth dates and the fact that they married sisters, I have long suspected that Thomas Phillips, Jr. and Hercules Phillips were brothers. Finding that Hercules was born in Rhode Island and that he entered into a close business arrangement (see details of lease agreement, below) with Thomas Phillips, Jr. fairly convinces me that they were brothers.

               On August 15, 1835, Hercules and Thomas Phillips entered into a lease agreement together with John C. Tibbett of Griswold to rent a complex containing:

"a cotton factory building with machine shop and picking house attached together, with all other machinery tools in said buildings, also two dwelling houses, one of stone and the other wood situated near said factory building and which have been heretofore occupied by the help employed in said factory, together with the gardens which have been usually occupied by the families living in said factory houses, also the blacksmith shop with the forges and tools therein and also so much of the land in addition to the gardens above mentioned as will be necessary to store wood upon, and also the avenues and lanes which have been used as roads for the conveyance of every thing necessary in the preservation of the manufacturing business, the property herein described being situated on the Cutter farm so called."

               The lease agreement was to last for a period of one year, after which time Hercules and Thomas Phillips would relinquish their right to the premises. On August 25, 1836, Hercules and Thomas Phillips of Griswold transferred their rights to the lease of the premises described above to James B. Goddard of Norwich for $167.

               On October 12, 1833, Hercules Phillips purchased land from Caleb Thayer of Sterling, Connecticut. Caleb Thayer was married to Patience Phillips, daughter of Thomas and Catherine Phillips.

The Other Phillips Families in Preston and Griswold

                  When I first began to investigate the ancestry of Thomas Phillips, husband of Susan Olin, I found plenty of evidence of people with the surname Phillips living in Griswold and Preston, Connecticut. Most of these Phillips' could be traced back to Jonathan & Esther (Ayers) Phillips who married on 15 March 1721/22 in Preston. I could find no evidence of my Thomas among the descendants of this couple. Moreover, there appeared to be more than one Phillips line in the area who could not be linked to the Jonathan & Esther Phillips family: Jeremiah Phillips of Newport, who married Margaret Stanton in 1777 (note: the fact that he is listed as"of Newport" in Preston vital records is probably significant as Michael & Barbara Phillips, the progenitors of my line of Phillips, settled in Newport); Elijah, who married Susannah Gates in 1778; and William, who married Temperance Branch in 1748. According to the Powers-Banks Ancestry William Phillips who married Temperance Branch "was the son of Michael Phillips in Plainfield, 1741, from Rhode Island." This sounds remarkably like Michael Phillips who married Freelove Wilkinson, grandparents of Thomas Phillips. William Phillips of Preston is about the right age to have been a child of Michael and Freelove Phillips. If this is the case, then relatives of Thomas Phillips had lived in the Preston area for many years before he arrived.

                  The LDS IGI lists children Azriah, Mary, John, Michael, Sarah, Deborah, Freelove, Jeremiah and Elijah as the children of Michael & Freelove Phillips. It's interesting to note the names Jeremiah and Elijah, names that are also found among some of the early Phillips in Preston and Griswold. It would not be surprising at all to learn that they were all in some way related to Michael and Barbara Phillips of Newport from whom my line of Phillips descends.

Direct Descendants of Michael Phillips

1 Michael Phillips + Barbara
2 James Phillips + Mary Mowry
3 Michael Phillips + Freelove Wilkinson
4 James Phillips + (possibly Alice Brown)
5 Thomas Phillips + Catherine Johnson
6 Thomas Phillips, Jr. + Susan Olin
7 Susan M. Phillips + Abel Burdick
8 Frank R. Burdick + Sarah H. Clark
9 Bertha M. Burdick

SOURCES

Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records Prior to 1850, compiled under the supervision of Lucius A. Barbour and Lucius B. Barbour, Connecticut State Library (Hartford, Connecticut) :
          Town of Griswold, LDS Family History Library microfilm # 2970.
          Town of Lisbon, LDS Family History Library microfilm # 2973.
          Town of Norwich, LDS Family History Library microfilm # 2976.
          Town of Plainfield, LDS Family History Library microfilm # 2977.
          Town of Preston, LDS Family History Library microfilm # 2977.
          Town of Windham, LDS Family History Library microfilm # 2983.

The Brewster Genealogy 1566-1907, Volume 1, by Emma C. Brewster Jones.
The Grafton Press. New York. 1908, p. 414.

The Charles R. Hale Collection, (Death and Inscriptions PHEL - PIK), compiled by Charles R. Hale: LDS Family History Library microfilm # 0003184.

New England Families Genealogical and Memorial: Third Series, Volume III. 1915. Reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1996, p. 1145..

Griswold, Connecticut Register of Deeds, LDS Family History Library (FHL) microfilm # 0004371, Volume 1, pp 22-23, 121; microfilm # 0004372, Volume 3, pp. 479 and 493.

Lisbon, Connecticut Vital Records, original records filmed on LDS Family History Library microfilm # 1311198, Volume 1, p. 71.

Powers-Banks Ancestry by William H. Powers. Ames Iowa: John Leslie Powers, 1921, page 166.

Preston, Connecticut Register of Deeds, LDS Family History Library microfilm #0005388 , Volume 16, page 429 and microfilm # 0005389, Volume 17, pp. 52 and 64.

Preston, Connecticut Vital Records, original records filmed on LDS FHL Microfilm # 0005380.

Thayer and Burton Ancestry by George Burton Thayer. Hartford Conn: Press of the Plimpton MFG. Co. 1894, pp. 63-65, 83-84, 92-93, 108-109, 116, 123, and 142.

Voluntown, Connecticut Register of Deeds, Volume 9, original records filmed
on LDS Family History Library microfilm #5885.

West Greenwich, Rhode Island Register of Deeds, pp. 299, 300, 458, 527-528, original records filmed on LDS Family History Library microfilm #0929540.

1820 U.S. Census, Griswold, New London County, Connecticut, page 720.

1800 U.S. Census, West Greenwich, Kent County, Rhode Island, page 147.

1810 U.S. Census, Preston, New London County, Connecticut, page 73.