Dade County History Book

PHILLIPS FAMILY HISTORY

The first sign of my family in America was Reverend George Phillips, who came to America in the “Argella” which set sail on April 12, 1630. Accompanying him were his two children, Samuel and Elizabeth, who were born in Suffolk, England. He and his wife, whom he married in Suffolk, England arrived in Salem on June 12, 1630. His wife died very soon after and was buried in Salem. He continued up the Charles River and founded a settlement called Watertown where he continued to be a minister for about fourteen years. On May 18, 1631 he was admitted a free man, the earliest date of any such admission.

On July 2, 1644, George died at the age of fifty-one. He is commended for founding the Congregational Church in America. George was survived by four sons named Samuel, Zerobabel, Jonathan and Theophilus.

Zerobabel, who was my ninth great-grandfather, was the first child of George Phillips and his second wife, Elizabeth Welden. He was born in Watertown, Massachusetts, on April 15, 1632 and died in Southampton around 1689. There is no record of his first wife, but there was a son by the name of Theophilus Phillips. In 1671, he married Ann Hunt who gave birth to a son, Theophilus on May 15, 1672 and to Philip Phillips on December 27, 1678. 

Theophilus married a lady named Francis (last name unknown) and they had a daughter named Elizabeth. Philip married a lady named Elizabeth Hunt and had a son named Abner.

Abner married Elizabeth Phillips, a cousin, and had six children named Philip, Richard, Miojah, Cornelius, George, and Ephraim.

Richard, being sixth great-grandfather, married Susannah Chamber in DeKalb County, AL. They had two children named Abner and Mary Ann Phillips. Abner married Martha Ellis and Mary Ann married James Ellis, Martha’s brother. Abner and Martha, my fourth great-grandparents, had a son named Pleasant Dallas Phillips.

Pleasant was married to Sara Hawkins and their child was Benjamin Abner Phillips. Benjamin Abner married Jane Humble and had a child named Willie Austin Phillips, who is my grandfather.

Mary Ann Phillips and James Ellis had a child named Mary Ann who married Thomas Gifford. May and Thomas had a daughter named Lula who married Charlie Koger. They daughter of Lula and Charlie was Eunice Koger and she is my grandmother. Their son is Robert Glenn Phillips and daughter is Janey. Glenn is my dad and my name is Andy. (Submitted by Andy Phillips, Trenton, Georgia 30752)