Joseph Phillips
Joseph Phillips (1787-1881) migrated from Virginia to present-day Scott County as part of the Abraham Goad caravan in the early 1800s, settling on Little Bull Creek near Winona. He and his brother, Thomas Phillips, who also made the trip, are the ancestors of most of the Phillips family living in Scott County today.
See Also: Scott County Lineage Project
Biography
Born Oct. 16, 1787, Joseph Phillips was from Grayson, Va. He was the son of Tobias Phillips (1750-1808) and Margaret “Peggy” Jennings (1753-1830). His siblings included Thomas Phillips (1768-1841), Rhoda Cock (1770-1842), Tobias Phillisp Jr. (1770-1862), Margaret “Molly” Quesenberry (1776-1850), Richard Phillips (born 1778), George Phillips (1780-1860), Elizabeth Dalton (1783-1850), Robert Phillips (1783-1850), and Frances Dalton (1788-1877).
Tobias Phillips was a Revolutionary War veteran, and a third-generation Virginian. His great-grandfather, John Phillips, migrated from Wales to America in the 17th century.
Move to Tennessee
Sometime before 1807, young Joseph Phillips joined his brother, Thomas, in moving to present-day Scott County. Thomas was married to Mary Goad (1770-1840), the daughter of Abraham Goad. Abraham made the journey with them and settled on New River at what is now the Vanderpool Place, south of Huntsville. In addition to Mary, another of his daughters also made the trip.
Shortly after their arrival in Tennessee, Joseph married Elizabeth “Millie” Lawson (1786-1838), the daughter of Randolph Lawson and Susannah Cross. Randolph Lawson was a Revolutionary War veteran who settled “next-door” to Abraham Goad, at the mouth of Paint Rock Creek. He had at least two brothers who made the trip to Tennessee with him.
There was a tie to the Goad family besides Thomas’s marriage to Mary. Thomas’s and Joseph’s maternal grandmother, Hannah Goad (wife of George Phillips), was the daughter of Abraham Goad Jr. (1710-1779) and Joanna Wheatley (1720-1779). He had a brother, John Goad (1700-1771), who was the father of Abraham Goad who moved to Scott County. Abraham Goad and the Phillips brothers were first cousins, twice removed.
Family
Joseph and Millie had at least 10 children: William Phillips (1817-1870), Nehemiah Phillips (1819-1892), Lucretia Phillips (1820-1891), Jehu Phillips (1821-1910), Aaron Phillips (1825-1898), Wiley Phillips (1829-1906), Riley Phillips (1829-1918), Harvey Phillips (1832-1880), and Jeremiah Phillips (1837-1918).
Jehu Phillips served as Scott County Trustee in the 1860s, and later wrote a series of articles for the Cumberland Chronicle in 1904 that provided invaluable insight into the early days of Scott County.
Joseph Phillips’ descendants in Scott County include retired federal judge Tom Phillips and retired district attorney William Paul Phillips, along with their brother, retired financial advisor Steve Phillips. Oneida Mayor Lori Phillips-Jones is also among his descendants.
The children of Thomas and Mary Goad Phillips included Sarah West, Jonathan Phillips, Emanuel Phillips, Elijah Phillips, and John Riley Phillips.
Emanuel Phillips died in Knoxville during the Civil War, while serving in the Union army.
The Phillipses in Scott County today are usually descended from either Joseph Phillips or his brother, Thomas Phillips.
Death
Joseph Phillips died on April 28, 1881, at the age of 93. He was buried at Phillips Cemetery at Little Bull Creek. His wife, Millie, died in 1838. Joseph remarried to Elisabeth Hicks (1775-1881). She was buried at the same cemetery in November 1881.