John Phillips

John Phillips was the uncle of one of our most famous citizens, John M. Phillips. As this is written not much is known about John Phillips except what is below. John Phillips' mansion existed on what is now Hornaday Road and was demolished around 1905 to make way for the developement of Phillip Manor. Phillips Manor Plan was designed by John M. Phillips.

Equipco is a division of Phillips Corporation. The company has an Employee Handbook in which a historical record of John Phillips' company, his relationship with John M. Phillips and both of their children.

Equipco Link

Phillips Section of Southside Cemetary in Carrick

Headstone of John Phillips. Headstone located in the Phillips Section of Southside Cemetary in Carrick

Headstone of John Phillips' wife, Eliza Rossiter. Headstone located in the Phillips Section of Southside Cemetary in Carrick

John Phillips and Eliza Rossiter Phillips had 8 children and according to the 1900 census page 6 of them were still alive in 1900.

Living in the Phillips Manor in 1900 was

John Phillips Eliza (wife) Aline (daughter) (you have her gravestone pictured on your site Mary V. Wenke (daughter, widowed and childless living back home with mom and dad) May F. Gorgas (a 20 year house servant from New York ) Not living with them were Olive, Lillian and John

It is interesting to take the census page and all census pages from that batch and compare them to the map of the Hornaday Road development. The names of the census page match up to the map.

Five of the John and Eliza Phillips’ children are as follows:

Mary P. Wenke born 1853 died 1905 Olive E. West born 1855 died 1931 Lillian S. Fisher born in Nov 1857 (died 1937 in Los Angeles ) Aline Phillips born 1861 died 1932 Elizabeth born ?

Lillian married Albert Fisher on Sept 22, 1883. They had four children

               Aline Margaret Boleky born Dec 1884 died 1955

               Catherine G. Smith born May 1886

               John Phillips Fisher born June 1890 died Nov 1954

               Frank McFarland Fisher born July 1892

John Phillips Fisher (my father) was married to my mother Julia Marie Fisher in 1937 and they had one child

               Kathleen Marie Fisher born Dec 1950

Possibly one of John Phillips' or John M. Phillips' grandchildren?

This is Olive and her husband. Olive married Matthew H. West, MD and they moved to Homestead Borough and lived at 214 E. Fifteenth Avenue. The site is now a church. It appears that Olive married Matthew in 1899 when he was 53 and she was 44. This explains why they never had children. Matthew died a few years later and Olive moved back home to Carrick.

== Title: Directory of Homestead, East Homestead 1896. Collection: Historic Pittsburgh Full-Text Collection ==

Could this be John Phillips' daughter, Mary?

Note that no first name of his daughter is included in this New York Times article. Since this was in a New York newspaper, one can assume that Mr. Phillips was a very important industrialist in Pittsburgh and nationally and because of that John Phillips and Lillian were spared embarrasment.

In 1900 Census, Lillian and Albert Fisher were living in Baldwin Township which could have been in Carrick. Albert was born October, 1857 in Switzerland Lillian was born November, 1857 Children: Aline, December 1884, Catherine, May, 1886, John P. June, 1890, Frank, July, 1892.

Note:

In November, 2008 the Carrick-Overbrook Historical Society had the honor of receiving a letter from the decendent of Lillian Phillip, Kathleen Fisher-Pascale

"As I related to you in the last email, I am the daughter of Lillian Phillips’ oldest son who was named John Phillips Fisher. There is a huge generation spread with John Phillips born in 1822, Lillian born when John was 35 years old in 1857, John P. Fisher born in 1890 when Lillian was 33 and then me born in 1950 when John P. Fisher was 60 years old! (I am the only person my age I know who has a parent born in the 1800’s!)

My father died of lung cancer when I was 3 and a half years old. I never knew him except for the stories that my mother told me. I never knew my grandparents Lillian and Albert either. But I have pieced stories together and here is what I know of Lillian.

As you know Lillian eloped with Albert and according to the 1900 census page which is attached they lived very close to the Phillips Manor but according to the census they ‘rented” the house they lived in. I was told that her mother never forgave her, but her father did and I think after her mother died in 1911 things got better for her and Albert. I know that she did inherit some money after her father’s death so she must have not been entirely cut out of the family fortune. I also know that she inherited four of her mother’s matching 2.5 carat diamonds which Lillian in turn bestowed on each of her children. (I am lucky enough to have one of them and maybe I will be able to locate who has the other three someday!) My father lived with his parents in California until their deaths in 1937.

The entire Albert Fisher family moved to California (I doubt if it was all at the same time) but they all are buried here in Los Angeles. I am piecing together the family…but I believe most of my generation is dead. I will have to find offspring from that generation.

I have very few pictures of my father, but I have attached two of him to this email. The first was taken in Pittsburgh (I think) sometime around 1915. The second is on his wedding day with my mother in 1937."

Kathleen Fisher-Pascale Los Angeles, Ca kpascale@lmu.edu

John P. Fisher 1915 (Pittsburgh)