I grew up surrounded by my large, extended family: cousins (close and not-so-close), aunts, uncles, all four of my grandparents, great aunts and uncles, and even three of my great grandparents. Family was the main part of my universe. But it was also kind of confusing for a kid to understand who was who and how we were all related. A few years ago when I was going through my childhood stuff at my parents’ estate, I found a family tree chart that I made by hand in 1965 when I was eleven years old. That was about the time I got the genealogy bug that I have had ever since. That was also the year my mother came into possession of a copy of the book Phillips Family History.
Phillips Family History was written by Harry Phillips who happens to be my double third cousin, twice removed. It was published in 1935 by the Lebanon Democrat, the local newspaper in Lebanon, TN. We share two sets of ancestors, one set on my Phillips line and one set on my Henderson line.
Harry Phillips, born in 1909 in Watertown, TN was from my grandparent’s generation, and not close enough for me to ever meet him. Nonetheless, it was exciting for me back in 1965 to see a well-researched genealogical book about a branch of my family. Disappointing however was the fact that the book was published a year before my mother was born, so she was not included in the book. But her older sister and my grandparents and great grandparents and cousins and aunts and uncles were! Even more amazing was the deep family history Harry had documented – from our original Phillips ancestors, Joseph and Mary Philips who emigrated from Wales to America in 1755 to my mother’s generation in 1935. In particular, Phillips Family History documents the story and descendants of my 5G grandfather, John Phillips (1768-1846), and his brother Benjamin (1766-1846). John and Benjamin were among the first settlers of the area later known as Watertown, Tennessee. The book traces the lineage of 4,124 descendants of John and Benjamin Phillips.
Phillips Family History has been a major source of inspiration to me since those early days. In the book he describes the methods he used to gather and check his information. This includes a vast array of public and government records, history books, genealogical records, hundreds and hundreds of various mailings of personal letters, form letters, and post cards to gather his information. His book has become a seminal record of families in Wilson County, TN. He started working on this book in 1933, just after he had graduated from college, and published it two years later in 1935.
But his book Phillips Family History is just a small part of this great man’s life story.
Harry attended Cumberland University in Lebanon, TN where he earned his baccalaureate and law degrees with the intention of becoming a newspaperman. He worked his way through college as a reporter for the Lebanon Democrat and as a correspondent for the Nashville Banner. He also sold bibles door-to-door for Southwestern Publishing, a company that would later be run by his first cousins once removed J.B. Henderson and William Eugene Henderson. He decided to study law with the idea that it would help him as a newspaperman. But the Great Depression took its toll on the newspaper business, and after graduation, newspaper jobs were scarce, so he decided to practice law instead. He then passed the bar exam and was somewhat reluctantly admitted to the practice of law in 1933. There was not much business for a new lawyer in the small town of Watertown in those post-depression days, so he apparently poured his energies into researching and writing Phillips Family History.
As he was completing the book, life threw him another curve ball. He had not intended to enter politics, but the local candidate for the Tennessee legislature made a major faux pas and fell out of favor just before the election, and Harry was encouraged to put his name on the ballot. With only five minutes before the deadline, Harry’s qualifying petition was submitted, his name was placed on the ballot, and he won the election. As a result, he served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1935 to 1937.
He then served as assistant state attorney general of Tennessee from 1937 to 1943.
He joined United State Navy during World War II, and served from 1943 to 1946, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
After the war, he was again an assistant state attorney general of Tennessee from 1946 to 1950.
He next returned to private practice in Nashville with Louis Farrell, Jr., B.B. Gullett, and former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Weldon White from 1950 to 1963.
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy, at Senator Albert Gore’s urging, nominated him to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Note: Harry Phillips and Al Gore Sr. were high school classmates in Watertown.
Judge Phillips joined the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in July 1963. He served as chief judge from 1969 until 1979 when he took senior status. He served in that capacity until his death in 1985, and was the longest-serving judge in that capacity.
During his judicial career, Judge Phillips wrote over 500 majority opinions and numerous law review articles. He also wrote several books in addition to Phillips Family History: The History of the Sixth Circuit, and the third and fourth editions of Pritchard on Wills and Estates and co-authored The History of Wilson County, Tennessee.
He successfully managed Albert Gore Sr’s races for the Senate in 1952 and 1958. He served as a member of the Tennessee campaign committee for John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson in 1960.
Judge Phillips had many other professional accomplishments, but above all these, he was known as a person of humanity and humility. Judge George Edwards, Judge Phillips’ successor as chief judge, summed up these qualities best in 1981 at the formal presentation of Judge Phillips’ official portrait for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit when he said:
“His industry and perseverance are well known among his friends and associates. No one works harder to achieve what he believes in. His legal scholarship is acknowledged far and near. His loyalty to the institutions in which he believes is legendary. This is not a blind loyalty, but one born of a deep understanding of the fundamental precepts of these institutions – his church, his family, this Nation and this Court. His humanity translates an abiding belief that we all are God’s children into a deep concern for the welfare of every person who touches his life. His courage enables him to take unpopular positions without hesitation when he furthers the cause of equal justice by doing so. All of these traits are undergirded by absolute integrity and a sense of fair play which is reflected in his life as well as his judicial decisions.”
Judge Harry Phillips died in England in on August 3, 1985 from injuries received when he was struck by an automobile while crossing a busy London street. He was in London to attend the American Bar Association convention.
In 1986, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit named its Nashville satellite library after Judge Phillips in recognition of his lifelong commitment to legal scholarship.
In 1990, Nashville’s first American Inn of Court named itself and its library after Judge Phillips, recognizing that he epitomized the qualities of competence, collegiality, and commitment to justice that are at the heart of the Inn’s mission. American Inns of Court (AIC) are designed to improve the skills, professionalism and ethics of the bench and bar. An American Inn of Court is an amalgam of judges, lawyers, and in some cases, law professors and law students.
References:
Phillips Family History
The Tennessean, August 4, 1985, Front page “Services Pending for Judge Phillips”
Presentation of Portrait of the Honorable Harry Phillips to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth District
https://www.fjc.gov/node/1386296https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Phillips_(judge)
Southern Roots and Branches 
Enjoyed this very much. Glad to hear from you after all this time.
David Mason
Thank you David! It is wonderful to see this note from you!
Reblogged this on BNA Bucket list and commented:
Another inspirational family member of the Phillips clan.
Fascinating article, Billy. Thanks for taking the time to write it.
By the way, I work at the Historical Research Center @ the R.C. Archives (a branch of the R.C. Library System). I added a copy of your ‘Story of Walter Hill’ to our vertical files since it’s the most complete history of that community available. I hope you will find time to complete and post the second part of it one day soon.
Thank you Lisa! I continue doing my research for the next installment of the Walterhill story. My day job at MTSU has just been so extra-demanding especially since the pandemic – but I definitely plan to follow though with one or two more chapters.
As always, a very interesting story about key individuals coming from rural middle Tennessee! My Great Uncle Laddie Peyton Henderson married my Great Aunt Ollie Mae Leahew. That’s our connection!
Maybe we can get together sometime,
James C. Leyhew
Thanks, Billy, for this wonderfully interesting post. I don’t think we have spoken since our 20th? high school reunion, and I hope you are doing well. I’ve been working on my family genealogy for 25 years, and especially since retirement. It is the well-written personal history like this about your cousin that brings our ancestors to life!
Hi David! Thanks for your note! I hope you get as much satisfaction as I do from these pursuits! I think you are probably right about the last time we talked. Hope to see you at the 50th reunion this summer!