Nat Gould

William Francis Phillips 1842-1928

William Francis Phillips was born in 1842 at Warslow in Staffordshire, the son of John Phillips 1806-1891 of Warslow and his wife née Mary Frost 1810-1890, and baptised there on 2 May 1847.

When the 1861 Census was taken he was recorded as being a lead miner, living with his parents at Shaw Crofts in Warslow.

On 10 October 1870 he married Elizabeth Jane Moreland 1846-1932 at Chesterfield in Derbyshire. She was born on 10 January 1846 at Dalry, Ayrshire in Scotland.

When the Census was taken in 1871 William Francis Phillips was recorded as being an iron miner boarding in the household of Thomas Lax at 7 Grange Street, Brotton near Redcar in Yorkshire (1). With him was his unmarried brother Joseph Phillips, also working as an iron miner.

In 1874 William Francis Phillips and his family emigrated to New Zealand on board the SS Howrah (2). On the voyage their infant son (named after his father) died. The family settled first at Foxton in the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the north island of New Zealnd near Palmerston North, and by 1880 were farming there. By 1911 however William Francis Phillips had become a butcher trading at Kimbolton Road in nearby Feilding (3).

William Francis Phillips and his family in about 1890

They had the following children:

Elizabeth Ann Phillips. Born on 9 May 1871, she was married to Archibald Smart 1868-1931, and they had eight children. She died on 8 March 1956 at Waimauku, Auckland in New Zealand.

William Francis Phillips. He was born on 24 April 1873, and died at sea on 10 September 1874.

William Francis Phillips. He was born on 18 August 1876. He died on 29 August 1906.

Bertha Phillips. Born on 17 April 1878 in Manawatu-Wanganui, she was married to Robert McMurray 1875-1945, and they had ten children. She died on 9 October 1956 at Palmerston North.

Robert Moreland Phillips. He was born on 12 February 1880 at Awahuri, Wellingon in New Zealand. He married Elizabeth Ann Williams 1891-1948 and they had six children. He married secondly Mabel Barnes 1890-1908. Robert Moreland Phillips died on 2 July 1940 at Albany, Auckland.

Anna Phillips. She was born on 7 March 1881 at Awahuri, and was married to David Josiah Lovelock 1877-1954. She died on 15 September 1960 at Palmerston North.

Maggie Phillips. She was born on 3 February 1893 at Awahuri. She was married to William Henry Groube 1878-1949, and they had six children. She died on 29 October 1966 at Waihi Beach in New Zealand.

John Phillips. He was born on 16 July 1885, and died on 20 May 1951.

Alexandra Phillips. She was born in 1888.

Their father William Francis Phillips died on 2 December 1928 at 35 Denbigh Street in Feilding, where he was buried on 4 December 1928.

His widow Elizabeth Jane Phillips nee Moreland died on 22 January 1932 at Fielding.

(1) Information of Julie Riddiough http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/brottonhistory/ The Brotton Ironstone Mine was opened in 1865 and closed in the 1920s. The recorded output ranged from around 1,500 to 2,000 tons per day. There were about 500 employees.
(2) The photograph is from the collection of Dana McMurray, who also provided the information about the family in New Zealand.
(3) Feilding is an agricultural centre in one of the most fertile relions of New Zealand. It was first settled by people from Britain in 1874, so the Phillips family would have been among its earliest inhabitants. Feilding is today considered to be the most beautiful town in the country.