Francis Phillips : Short Biography

FRANCIS  PHILLIPS (b. Co. Monaghan 1800; d. 1876 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia)

Francis Phillips (1800-1876) and Jane Donnelly (1805-1856), my second great grandparents, married on 24 April 1827 at St John's Church, Kilcrow,[1] Ematris Parish, County Monaghan.  The Tithe Applotment Book for 1830 and the Griffith Valuation for 1858 indicate that Francis and Jane lived on Carsan Townland in Ematris Parish and Francis made a living as a school teacher.  Between 1830 and 1847 they had 9 children (6 girls, 3 boys), including my great grandmother Catherine Phillips (1843-1910).

I found no records of any ancestors of Jane Donnelly, but Francis Phillips' 1876 death certificate recorded his parents' names (my 3rd great grandparents) as Susan and Francis, who was also a teacher.  From 1804 Francis senior was a member of the Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Ireland which appears to have been established in December 1790 and met in Rockcorry and Cootehill.[2]

Jane Phillips (nee Donnelly) died in 1856 leaving Francis a widow with 9 children between the ages of 25 and 9.  Francis Phillips and all his children and spouses of the older married children emigrated to Australia between 1855 and 1861.  The eldest child, Ann, aged 25 with her husband William Armstrong, together with her brother, John Phillips, aged 21, and his wife Mary Tate, were the first of the Phillips family to emigrate to Australia, where they arrived on the Conrad in 1855.[3]  Ann and John were followed by their siblings Susan, Emily and Thomas in 1858 on the ship Alfred.[4]

In 1859, John Phillips sponsored his father, Francis, and three youngest sisters, Mary Jane, Catherine and Rebecca, to migrate to Australia under the NSW Immigration Deposit scheme.  Francis and his daughters, Mary, Catherine, and Rebecca, and his son, Henry and Henry's wife Margaret, left Plymouth, England, on 15 April 1861 on the 1,000 ton Mangerton.  The passage took 4 months and they arrived in Moreton Bay (Brisbane) on 7 August 1861[5]  Francis's calling was described as a Schoolmaster on the Mangerton's passenger list.[6]

It seems that Francis Phillips continued working as a teacher in Brisbane, as this is the occupation listed on his death registration and certificate.  He died at home (Boundary Street, Spring Hill) from dysentery on 30 March 1876 and was buried at Brisbane General Cemetery (Toowong) the following day.

Canberra, Australia

20 April 2020

[1] Summary of Marriage Record supplied by Ireland Reaching Out (www.irelandxo.com).

[2] Lodge No 731, Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Ireland Membership Registers, 1733-1923 (Ancestry.com).

[3] List of Immigrants per ship Conrad arrived 15 November 1855, NSW Government Records.

[4] List of Immigrants per ship Alfred at Moreton Bay arrived 19 September 1858, NSW Government Records.

[5] Ozships Australian Shipping 1788-1968, osz 13923; http://www.ozships.net/ozships/.

[6] Queensland, Australia, Passenger Lists, 1848-1912, through Ancestry.com; Register of passengers on immigrant ships arriving in Queensland, Mangerton, 7 August 1861, Queensland Archives