DNA
Through research and thanks to thephillipsdnaproject.com, I have confirmed that I have a common ancestor with a descendent of John Phillips, who married Celia Brothers. This adds fuel to the fire that William was that common ancestor, as William and Reuben were the only two head of households that had boys between 10 and 15 in the US Federal Census in 1830. Of the two, John is living next door to William in 1840.
Marriage to Celia Brothers
The first record of John Phillips is his marriage to Celia (“Seleah”) Brothers (1822 – 1888) on 15 July 1837. It was solemnized 20 July 1837 by William Little – a justice of the peace for St Clair County.
1840 Census
I found John to be living with Celia next door to his likely father William. We can see that John is between 20-30 and Celia is between 15-20, and John would have been 23, Celia 18.
1850 Census
John is living a few doors down from Brison and Israel Brothers, and now has new children Sarah (1843), Rebecca (1845), and John W (1849)
Based on the agricultural census in 1850, it looks like John grew corn.
1860 Census
In the 1860, John and Celia are living with the kids and next to Carroll Phillips (Thomas Carroll Phillips who married Martha Reed). This year they added Joseph (1852), William (1857), Ceilia J (1859) and Mary J. (1860)
In the agricultural census, we see that John has about 300 bushels of corn, and owns about 440 acres of land
Death
By one account, John died in 1864 from pneumonia. He did not want to fight in the civil war and would stay in his attic when they would come around looking for recruits. There’s no way to know for sure – we can try to triangulate a death time. His last child, Unicie Phillips (1864) was born in 1864.
In 1866, Alabama had a new census. Based on the neighbors from the 1860 census, I’m pretty certain that Celia is “S. Philips”. Celia would be 43, and the household has 1 female between 30 and 40. The ages of the other children are consistent with their birth years.
We can rule out the cause of death being the civil war – no soldiers are noted in her row.
We can pretty much put the range at 1864-1866.
1870 Census
In 1870, Celia and the family have moved to Etowah County, a newly established county that isn’t too far away from the rest of the Phillips family. While I do not have a land record to go off of, it’s likely the county was simply formed around them and the family did not move.
She is neighbors with Isaiah and Rebecca brothers.
1880 Census
The final census show Celia living with Joseph, John, Celia J. Mary J and Unicia, and she is living next door to her son Joseph.
NorthEast Alabama Families 