Working on Wednesday: William R. Phillips (1818-1890), Merchant - After the Pardon 1865 - 1890

Although the Civil War ruined many Southern fortunes (especially those based on land, slaves and cotton), because his business interests were commercial William R. Phillips proved more resilient than most former Confederates. In fact, according to his entry in the 1870 U.S. Census, five years after his pardon application he was back in Atlanta and richer than before the war.*

[Year: 1870; Census Place: Atlanta Ward 1, Fulton, Georgia. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.Minnesota census schedules for 1870. NARA microfilm publication T132, 13 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.]

Ten years later the only Phillips child still living at home in Atlanta is their 16-year-old daughter N.B. William R. is still calling himself a Merchant and there's are three "Roomers" in the household: Mr W. Baker, a 35-year-old merchant*** and two clerks who work in the store. There are still three servants living in the household.

[Year: 1880; Census Place: Atlanta, Fulton, Georgia; Roll: 148; Family History Film: 1254148; Page: 477B; Enumeration District: 103; Image: 0596. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. Original data: Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

The above information doesn't tell us much about William R.'s financial status in 1880 but we can learn more about him from the local newspapers. For instance in 1883 he was a candidate for Bibb County Commissioner.

[Date: Wednesday, May 23, 1883   Paper: Macon Telegraph (Macon, Georgia)   Issue: 10375  Page: 4  

This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004.

ource: GenealogyBank.com]

And he was duly elected as a Democrat and continued to be returned to the office of County Commissioner throughout the 1880s.

[Date: Friday, June 15, 1883   Paper: Macon Telegraph (Macon, Georgia)   Issue: 10395   Page: 4  

This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004.

Source: GenealogyBank.com]

His name appears several time in connection with business affairs but there's this 1890 court calendar listing William R. as the plaintiff in a lawsuit, although I don't know what the issue was nor have I been able to  discover what the result was.

[Date: Thursday, February 27, 1890   Paper: Macon Telegraph (Macon, Georgia)   Page: 5  

This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004.

Source: GenealogyBank.com]

William R. Phillips died on December 22, 1890. His will was filed in Fulton County on February 2, 1891 and recorded on March 5th. I'm going to include only the first two paragraphs here, but in the first item I think we can get a sense of what he was like.

[Wills, Book B, 1882-1894. Ancestry.com. Georgia, Wills and Probate Records, 1742-1992 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Georgia County, District and Probate Courts.]

Will of William R. Phillips

Georgia - Fulton County
          In the name of God, Amen.
I, Wm. R. Phillips of the County and State
aforesaid do make and declare the follow-
ing as my last will and testament,
hereby revoking all others.

Item 1st. My wife know what debts I consider Just.
There I wish her to pay out of my estate
not paying any other claims against me
if she can help it.



*The worth of his "personal property" was unchanged, but his real estate had more than doubled in value. 1870 was the last census to ask about property.
**In the previous census her name was written as Ninnie B. (not to be confused with older sister Nanny T. (Nancy Timney).
***Perhaps a business partners? This is the first census that asked the relationship of all household members to the head.






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