Dr. Phillips was the son of Thomas Phillips and Julia Ford. Dr. Phillips's place of birth is a point of controversy. Some accounts say he was born into slavery in 1833 in Gettysburg, Virginia, while others have him born in Searcy, Arkansas. By his own account, Dr. Phillips was born a slave. Dr. Phillips married at least three times. His first wife Sarah Walner Phillips died in 1902 and was the mother of William, Arlivia, Narcis, and Daisy. Dr. Phillips next married Joella Graves in 1903. The couple remained childless, and Joella died in 1914. Dr. Phillips's third marriage was to V. Olive Bailey in 1915. This marriage produced a son, Thomas H. Phillips, Jr., born in 1917.
Dr. Phillips lived in Kansas and Missouri before moving to Keokuk, Iowa in about 1890. While living in Moberly, Missouri, Dr. Phillips published two newspapers; "Brother's Optic" and "Western Outlook." Both were popular publications, and Dr. Phillips's children were active in the publishing and distribution of the papers.
After moving to Keokuk, Dr. Phillips continued to be an activist in local affairs, medicine, and religion. Aside from being pastor of Pilgrim's Baptist Church, and a leader in the the Baptist movement in the Midwest, Dr. Phillips owned one of the most prestigious homes in Keokuk. The large stucco structure stood at the corner of Paleon and 18th Steets. The home contained a comprehensive library, and Dr. Phillips opened the library to the black citizens and their children because blacks were unable to enter the public (white) library in town. In 1910, Dr.Phillips turned his home into a sanitarium. The sanitarium offered many amenities, such as vapor baths and massage. There were 22 rooms dedicated to the patients.
Dr. Phillips routinely wrote articles in the local paper urging his fellow black citizens to do good work despite the discrimination they experienced. His was a thoughtful and prayerful approach to the wrongs and inequities he saw.
Contemporaries described Mr. Phillips as over six feet in height, slender, with a shock of white hair and a ram-rod straight posture.
********************************************
The Daily Gate City and Constitution - Democrat (Keokuk, Iowa) 13 Oct 1920, page 9.
DR. T.H. PHILLIPS ANSWERS CALL
Prominent Negro Doctor and Preacher Passes Away Last Night at the Age of Eighty-seven Years.
WAS BORN IN ARKANSAS
He was Veteran of the Civil War and a G.A.R. and Belonged to and Was Prominent in Fraternal Circles.
Last night at 7 o'clock occurred the death of the Rev. Dr. T.H. Phillips at his home, 1802 Palean street from a complication of diseases, incident to old age. He had been in poor health for some time, and confined to his bed for the last two weeks.
The Rev. Dr. Phillips had lived in Keokuk for over thirty years and he is one of the well known colored men in this city. During practically all of that time, he practiced medicine here and for a number of years, he also served as pastor of the Pilgrim's Rest Baptist Church. He was one of the oldest Baptist preachers in this part of the country. Dr. Phillips was a member of several fraternal organizations chief among them the Masonic lodge. He was an active member of the U.B.F.'s and the S.M.T.'s and was the founder of the insurance department of these organizations. Dr. Phillips was a veteran of the civil war and belonged to the G.A.R.'s.
Dr. Phillips' career as a physician was a remarkable one. Having received his medical education in Kansas and Missouri, he came to Keokuk over thirty years ago and began his practicing here. He became popular as a doctor and served professionally many white people as well as colored and persons from other cities would come here for treatments. Although eighty-seven years of age when he died, he continued his practice up to the time of his recent illness. Dr. Phillips was greatly admired by a large number of people who had great faith in his skill as a doctor and also highly respected him as a minister of the gospel. Dr. Phillips possessed an unusually good library, and he was considered to be a man well read, and containing a versatile knowledge of books and literature in general.
BORN IN ARKANSAS
T.H. Phillips was born March 4, 1833 in Arkansas. His early years were spent in Kansas and Missouri where he received his education, and during the civil war, he engaged in that struggle. For the past thirty years he had lived in this city. Five years ago, he married Miss V. Olive Bailey, who survives him.
The survivors are his wife and little son, Thomas H.K. Phillips, Jr., and two daughters by a former marriage; Mrs. W.F. McKinzie of Minneapolis; and Mrs. M.O. Culberson of Clinton, Ia. There are also two granddaughters and one grandson.
************************************
The following is courtesy of Angela D. Gates, Keokuk Public Library.
Source: Unknown
The Rev. Thomas H. Phillips, negro pastor of Pilgrim's Rest Baptist Church, 14th and Exchange, was born in Virginia in 1833, 28 years before the outbreak of the Civil War. He died Oct. 12, 1920 at 87 years in Keokuk. A giant of a man, he was sold on the slave auction block three times. At the time of his church pastorate, which extended over a long period of years in the early 1900's, Phillips built mud baths adjacent to his home on the southwest corner of 18th and Palean Sts (604 S. 18th) where some of his patrons were the wealthier citizens of Keokuk. The mud baths were a therapy that brought better health to the users, Phillips contended. The patrons were completely covered with mud, except for his breathing apparatus and washed off by Phillips after the bath. Phillips who was a strong man, physically, constructed a powerless merry-go-round for the children of his neighborhood in about 1902 and set it on a lot adjacent to his church. Phillips furnished his own motive power for the contraption, pushing the "ride" day and night for the young patrons at 5 cents a head.
He once scared the bejeepers out of a newspaper carrier boy on a dark night. Stepping out from his doorway, he demanded of the carrier, "Feel my side here, boy. Do you feel anything?," he asked the startled kid. "That's a rebel bullet I've carried nearly all my life."
Dr. Phillips lived in Kansas and Missouri before moving to Keokuk, Iowa in about 1890. While living in Moberly, Missouri, Dr. Phillips published two newspapers; "Brother's Optic" and "Western Outlook." Both were popular publications, and Dr. Phillips's children were active in the publishing and distribution of the papers.
After moving to Keokuk, Dr. Phillips continued to be an activist in local affairs, medicine, and religion. Aside from being pastor of Pilgrim's Baptist Church, and a leader in the the Baptist movement in the Midwest, Dr. Phillips owned one of the most prestigious homes in Keokuk. The large stucco structure stood at the corner of Paleon and 18th Steets. The home contained a comprehensive library, and Dr. Phillips opened the library to the black citizens and their children because blacks were unable to enter the public (white) library in town. In 1910, Dr.Phillips turned his home into a sanitarium. The sanitarium offered many amenities, such as vapor baths and massage. There were 22 rooms dedicated to the patients.
Dr. Phillips routinely wrote articles in the local paper urging his fellow black citizens to do good work despite the discrimination they experienced. His was a thoughtful and prayerful approach to the wrongs and inequities he saw.
Contemporaries described Mr. Phillips as over six feet in height, slender, with a shock of white hair and a ram-rod straight posture.
********************************************
The Daily Gate City and Constitution - Democrat (Keokuk, Iowa) 13 Oct 1920, page 9.
DR. T.H. PHILLIPS ANSWERS CALL
Prominent Negro Doctor and Preacher Passes Away Last Night at the Age of Eighty-seven Years.
WAS BORN IN ARKANSAS
He was Veteran of the Civil War and a G.A.R. and Belonged to and Was Prominent in Fraternal Circles.
Last night at 7 o'clock occurred the death of the Rev. Dr. T.H. Phillips at his home, 1802 Palean street from a complication of diseases, incident to old age. He had been in poor health for some time, and confined to his bed for the last two weeks.
The Rev. Dr. Phillips had lived in Keokuk for over thirty years and he is one of the well known colored men in this city. During practically all of that time, he practiced medicine here and for a number of years, he also served as pastor of the Pilgrim's Rest Baptist Church. He was one of the oldest Baptist preachers in this part of the country. Dr. Phillips was a member of several fraternal organizations chief among them the Masonic lodge. He was an active member of the U.B.F.'s and the S.M.T.'s and was the founder of the insurance department of these organizations. Dr. Phillips was a veteran of the civil war and belonged to the G.A.R.'s.
Dr. Phillips' career as a physician was a remarkable one. Having received his medical education in Kansas and Missouri, he came to Keokuk over thirty years ago and began his practicing here. He became popular as a doctor and served professionally many white people as well as colored and persons from other cities would come here for treatments. Although eighty-seven years of age when he died, he continued his practice up to the time of his recent illness. Dr. Phillips was greatly admired by a large number of people who had great faith in his skill as a doctor and also highly respected him as a minister of the gospel. Dr. Phillips possessed an unusually good library, and he was considered to be a man well read, and containing a versatile knowledge of books and literature in general.
BORN IN ARKANSAS
T.H. Phillips was born March 4, 1833 in Arkansas. His early years were spent in Kansas and Missouri where he received his education, and during the civil war, he engaged in that struggle. For the past thirty years he had lived in this city. Five years ago, he married Miss V. Olive Bailey, who survives him.
The survivors are his wife and little son, Thomas H.K. Phillips, Jr., and two daughters by a former marriage; Mrs. W.F. McKinzie of Minneapolis; and Mrs. M.O. Culberson of Clinton, Ia. There are also two granddaughters and one grandson.
************************************
The following is courtesy of Angela D. Gates, Keokuk Public Library.
Source: Unknown
The Rev. Thomas H. Phillips, negro pastor of Pilgrim's Rest Baptist Church, 14th and Exchange, was born in Virginia in 1833, 28 years before the outbreak of the Civil War. He died Oct. 12, 1920 at 87 years in Keokuk. A giant of a man, he was sold on the slave auction block three times. At the time of his church pastorate, which extended over a long period of years in the early 1900's, Phillips built mud baths adjacent to his home on the southwest corner of 18th and Palean Sts (604 S. 18th) where some of his patrons were the wealthier citizens of Keokuk. The mud baths were a therapy that brought better health to the users, Phillips contended. The patrons were completely covered with mud, except for his breathing apparatus and washed off by Phillips after the bath. Phillips who was a strong man, physically, constructed a powerless merry-go-round for the children of his neighborhood in about 1902 and set it on a lot adjacent to his church. Phillips furnished his own motive power for the contraption, pushing the "ride" day and night for the young patrons at 5 cents a head.
He once scared the bejeepers out of a newspaper carrier boy on a dark night. Stepping out from his doorway, he demanded of the carrier, "Feel my side here, boy. Do you feel anything?," he asked the startled kid. "That's a rebel bullet I've carried nearly all my life."
Dr. Phillips was the son of Thomas Phillips and Julia Ford. Dr. Phillips's place of birth is a point of controversy. Some accounts say he was born into slavery in 1833 in Gettysburg, Virginia, while others have him born in Searcy, Arkansas. By his own account, Dr. Phillips was born a slave. Dr. Phillips married at least three times. His first wife Sarah Walner Phillips died in 1902 and was the mother of William, Arlivia, Narcis, and Daisy. Dr. Phillips next married Joella Graves in 1903. The couple remained childless, and Joella died in 1914. Dr. Phillips's third marriage was to V. Olive Bailey in 1915. This marriage produced a son, Thomas H. Phillips, Jr., born in 1917.
Dr. Phillips lived in Kansas and Missouri before moving to Keokuk, Iowa in about 1890. While living in Moberly, Missouri, Dr. Phillips published two newspapers; "Brother's Optic" and "Western Outlook." Both were popular publications, and Dr. Phillips's children were active in the publishing and distribution of the papers.
After moving to Keokuk, Dr. Phillips continued to be an activist in local affairs, medicine, and religion. Aside from being pastor of Pilgrim's Baptist Church, and a leader in the the Baptist movement in the Midwest, Dr. Phillips owned one of the most prestigious homes in Keokuk. The large stucco structure stood at the corner of Paleon and 18th Steets. The home contained a comprehensive library, and Dr. Phillips opened the library to the black citizens and their children because blacks were unable to enter the public (white) library in town. In 1910, Dr.Phillips turned his home into a sanitarium. The sanitarium offered many amenities, such as vapor baths and massage. There were 22 rooms dedicated to the patients.
Dr. Phillips routinely wrote articles in the local paper urging his fellow black citizens to do good work despite the discrimination they experienced. His was a thoughtful and prayerful approach to the wrongs and inequities he saw.
Contemporaries described Mr. Phillips as over six feet in height, slender, with a shock of white hair and a ram-rod straight posture.
********************************************
The Daily Gate City and Constitution - Democrat (Keokuk, Iowa) 13 Oct 1920, page 9.
DR. T.H. PHILLIPS ANSWERS CALL
Prominent Negro Doctor and Preacher Passes Away Last Night at the Age of Eighty-seven Years.
WAS BORN IN ARKANSAS
He was Veteran of the Civil War and a G.A.R. and Belonged to and Was Prominent in Fraternal Circles.
Last night at 7 o'clock occurred the death of the Rev. Dr. T.H. Phillips at his home, 1802 Palean street from a complication of diseases, incident to old age. He had been in poor health for some time, and confined to his bed for the last two weeks.
The Rev. Dr. Phillips had lived in Keokuk for over thirty years and he is one of the well known colored men in this city. During practically all of that time, he practiced medicine here and for a number of years, he also served as pastor of the Pilgrim's Rest Baptist Church. He was one of the oldest Baptist preachers in this part of the country. Dr. Phillips was a member of several fraternal organizations chief among them the Masonic lodge. He was an active member of the U.B.F.'s and the S.M.T.'s and was the founder of the insurance department of these organizations. Dr. Phillips was a veteran of the civil war and belonged to the G.A.R.'s.
Dr. Phillips' career as a physician was a remarkable one. Having received his medical education in Kansas and Missouri, he came to Keokuk over thirty years ago and began his practicing here. He became popular as a doctor and served professionally many white people as well as colored and persons from other cities would come here for treatments. Although eighty-seven years of age when he died, he continued his practice up to the time of his recent illness. Dr. Phillips was greatly admired by a large number of people who had great faith in his skill as a doctor and also highly respected him as a minister of the gospel. Dr. Phillips possessed an unusually good library, and he was considered to be a man well read, and containing a versatile knowledge of books and literature in general.
BORN IN ARKANSAS
T.H. Phillips was born March 4, 1833 in Arkansas. His early years were spent in Kansas and Missouri where he received his education, and during the civil war, he engaged in that struggle. For the past thirty years he had lived in this city. Five years ago, he married Miss V. Olive Bailey, who survives him.
The survivors are his wife and little son, Thomas H.K. Phillips, Jr., and two daughters by a former marriage; Mrs. W.F. McKinzie of Minneapolis; and Mrs. M.O. Culberson of Clinton, Ia. There are also two granddaughters and one grandson.
************************************
The following is courtesy of Angela D. Gates, Keokuk Public Library.
Source: Unknown
The Rev. Thomas H. Phillips, negro pastor of Pilgrim's Rest Baptist Church, 14th and Exchange, was born in Virginia in 1833, 28 years before the outbreak of the Civil War. He died Oct. 12, 1920 at 87 years in Keokuk. A giant of a man, he was sold on the slave auction block three times. At the time of his church pastorate, which extended over a long period of years in the early 1900's, Phillips built mud baths adjacent to his home on the southwest corner of 18th and Palean Sts (604 S. 18th) where some of his patrons were the wealthier citizens of Keokuk. The mud baths were a therapy that brought better health to the users, Phillips contended. The patrons were completely covered with mud, except for his breathing apparatus and washed off by Phillips after the bath. Phillips who was a strong man, physically, constructed a powerless merry-go-round for the children of his neighborhood in about 1902 and set it on a lot adjacent to his church. Phillips furnished his own motive power for the contraption, pushing the "ride" day and night for the young patrons at 5 cents a head.
He once scared the bejeepers out of a newspaper carrier boy on a dark night. Stepping out from his doorway, he demanded of the carrier, "Feel my side here, boy. Do you feel anything?," he asked the startled kid. "That's a rebel bullet I've carried nearly all my life."
Dr. Phillips lived in Kansas and Missouri before moving to Keokuk, Iowa in about 1890. While living in Moberly, Missouri, Dr. Phillips published two newspapers; "Brother's Optic" and "Western Outlook." Both were popular publications, and Dr. Phillips's children were active in the publishing and distribution of the papers.
After moving to Keokuk, Dr. Phillips continued to be an activist in local affairs, medicine, and religion. Aside from being pastor of Pilgrim's Baptist Church, and a leader in the the Baptist movement in the Midwest, Dr. Phillips owned one of the most prestigious homes in Keokuk. The large stucco structure stood at the corner of Paleon and 18th Steets. The home contained a comprehensive library, and Dr. Phillips opened the library to the black citizens and their children because blacks were unable to enter the public (white) library in town. In 1910, Dr.Phillips turned his home into a sanitarium. The sanitarium offered many amenities, such as vapor baths and massage. There were 22 rooms dedicated to the patients.
Dr. Phillips routinely wrote articles in the local paper urging his fellow black citizens to do good work despite the discrimination they experienced. His was a thoughtful and prayerful approach to the wrongs and inequities he saw.
Contemporaries described Mr. Phillips as over six feet in height, slender, with a shock of white hair and a ram-rod straight posture.
********************************************
The Daily Gate City and Constitution - Democrat (Keokuk, Iowa) 13 Oct 1920, page 9.
DR. T.H. PHILLIPS ANSWERS CALL
Prominent Negro Doctor and Preacher Passes Away Last Night at the Age of Eighty-seven Years.
WAS BORN IN ARKANSAS
He was Veteran of the Civil War and a G.A.R. and Belonged to and Was Prominent in Fraternal Circles.
Last night at 7 o'clock occurred the death of the Rev. Dr. T.H. Phillips at his home, 1802 Palean street from a complication of diseases, incident to old age. He had been in poor health for some time, and confined to his bed for the last two weeks.
The Rev. Dr. Phillips had lived in Keokuk for over thirty years and he is one of the well known colored men in this city. During practically all of that time, he practiced medicine here and for a number of years, he also served as pastor of the Pilgrim's Rest Baptist Church. He was one of the oldest Baptist preachers in this part of the country. Dr. Phillips was a member of several fraternal organizations chief among them the Masonic lodge. He was an active member of the U.B.F.'s and the S.M.T.'s and was the founder of the insurance department of these organizations. Dr. Phillips was a veteran of the civil war and belonged to the G.A.R.'s.
Dr. Phillips' career as a physician was a remarkable one. Having received his medical education in Kansas and Missouri, he came to Keokuk over thirty years ago and began his practicing here. He became popular as a doctor and served professionally many white people as well as colored and persons from other cities would come here for treatments. Although eighty-seven years of age when he died, he continued his practice up to the time of his recent illness. Dr. Phillips was greatly admired by a large number of people who had great faith in his skill as a doctor and also highly respected him as a minister of the gospel. Dr. Phillips possessed an unusually good library, and he was considered to be a man well read, and containing a versatile knowledge of books and literature in general.
BORN IN ARKANSAS
T.H. Phillips was born March 4, 1833 in Arkansas. His early years were spent in Kansas and Missouri where he received his education, and during the civil war, he engaged in that struggle. For the past thirty years he had lived in this city. Five years ago, he married Miss V. Olive Bailey, who survives him.
The survivors are his wife and little son, Thomas H.K. Phillips, Jr., and two daughters by a former marriage; Mrs. W.F. McKinzie of Minneapolis; and Mrs. M.O. Culberson of Clinton, Ia. There are also two granddaughters and one grandson.
************************************
The following is courtesy of Angela D. Gates, Keokuk Public Library.
Source: Unknown
The Rev. Thomas H. Phillips, negro pastor of Pilgrim's Rest Baptist Church, 14th and Exchange, was born in Virginia in 1833, 28 years before the outbreak of the Civil War. He died Oct. 12, 1920 at 87 years in Keokuk. A giant of a man, he was sold on the slave auction block three times. At the time of his church pastorate, which extended over a long period of years in the early 1900's, Phillips built mud baths adjacent to his home on the southwest corner of 18th and Palean Sts (604 S. 18th) where some of his patrons were the wealthier citizens of Keokuk. The mud baths were a therapy that brought better health to the users, Phillips contended. The patrons were completely covered with mud, except for his breathing apparatus and washed off by Phillips after the bath. Phillips who was a strong man, physically, constructed a powerless merry-go-round for the children of his neighborhood in about 1902 and set it on a lot adjacent to his church. Phillips furnished his own motive power for the contraption, pushing the "ride" day and night for the young patrons at 5 cents a head.
He once scared the bejeepers out of a newspaper carrier boy on a dark night. Stepping out from his doorway, he demanded of the carrier, "Feel my side here, boy. Do you feel anything?," he asked the startled kid. "That's a rebel bullet I've carried nearly all my life."
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