My Genealogy Hound

Henry C. Phillips, not unknown to the many citizens of Jefferson County, was born on January 30, 1844, in Conway County, Ark., and is the son of Nelson and Minerva (Vandyke) Phillips, of North Carolina and Georgia, respectively, the former dying in Jefferson County, Ark., in 1855, at the age of fifty-five years, and the mother in 1859, when thirty seven years of age. The parents were married in Conway County, which they made their home until the year 1847, when they moved to Jefferson County, and located on the farm now occupied by Thomas H. Collier. This section of the country was then very thinly settled, and what few families did reside here were constantly terrorized by outlaws and desperadoes. It was from an encounter with one of these men that the elder Phillips received a wound from which he never fully recovered, and died nineteen years later. He opened up one of the first farms in that section, and also operated a gin. After his death his widow married a Mr. C. H. Price, and moved to what is now Colton Center, where she resided until her death. In politics, the father was a Whig, and in secret societies, a Mason of high standing. He was a saddler and harness-maker by trade, but turned his attention more to farming than anything else. The Vandyke family were of Dutch origin. Seven children were born to the elder Phillips and his wife, of whom four are yet living: Henry C., Charles E. (a banker in Hillsboro, Tex.), Thomas M. (a farmer in Jefferson County) and Thaddeus C. (a banker in the State of Texas). Those deceased are Mary A., an infant and Nelson. Henry C. was educated in the schools of Jefferson County, and continued his studies until shortly after his mother’s death. He then went to work for a neighbor, and remained with him until March, 1861, when he joined the Confederate army, and enlisted in G. W. Carroll’s company of the Eighteenth Arkansas Infantry, as a private soldier. He operated generally east of the Mississippi River until the surrender of Port Hudson, and then he was transferred to the western territory. During his service Mr. Phillips took part in a great many battles: The evacuation of Corinth, the second battle at that place, Iuka, Port Hudson, and on the western side of the river he was assigned to the quartermaster’s department, taking part in a number of raids and minor engagements. After the war he turned his attention to farming, but in 1871 entered into commercial life near Rob Roy, which he carried on until the year 1882, when his farming interests demanded his exclusive attention. Upon leaving the army he was practically bankrupt, and the struggle against adversity up to 1871 was a bitter one, but since that year the tide of fortune seems to have turned in his favor, and he is now in a prosperous and independent position. He owns about 655 acres of very fertile land, and has placed some 230 acres under cultivation. In 1866 he was married to Miss Emma A. Poole, of Jefferson County, who died two years later, leaving two children, both deceased since. In politics, Mr. Phillips is and always has been a stanch Democrat. He was elected justice of the peace, and filled that office for a number of years with great credit, winning the admiration and esteem of every citizen in his county.