John C. Phillips Jr. | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Phillips in 1875 | |
| Born | October 21, 1838 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | March 1, 1885 (aged 46) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Burial place | Mount Auburn Cemetery |
| Education | |
| Children | 5, including John and William |
| Relatives |
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John Charles Phillips Jr. (October 21, 1838 – March 1, 1885) was an American businessman.
Phillips was born October 21, 1838, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the only son of twelve children of the Rev. John Charles Phillips and Harriet Welch. He was the grandson of John Phillips, nephew of Wendell Phillips, and descendent of George Phillips.
Phillips grew up in Methuen, Massachusetts, his father accepted a call to become pastor of the town's First Congregational Church. In 1851, Phillips entered Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He entered Harvard College in 1854 and graduated in 1858. Following graduation, he worked at his brother-in-law's brokerage office then as a clerk at R. C. Mackay's shipping-house at Union Wharf. In 1860, Phillips was sent as supercargo to Calcutta where he lived for two years upon his arrival. He returned to Boston in 1862 with intentions to enter the Army for the American Civil War, but was persuaded not to enlist.
Phillips was sent to England in 1864, and formed a partnership with William Mackay, the son of his former employer, under the name Mackay & Phillips. A few years later, Phillips started his own firm John C. Phillips & Co. with two previous associates, Floyd & Stevens. The firm's primary dealings were in China and Manila.
In 1873, Phillips inherited a large fortune from a distant relative (fourth cousin), William Phillips, who was unmarried at the time of his death.
Phillips sailed to London in 1874. Here, on October 23, 1875, he married Anna Tucker, the daughter of a Boston lawyer. They returned to the United States and lived in New York City for a year before returning to Boston.
Phillips commissioned Peabody & Stearns to design Moraine Farm, a large estate overlooking Wenham Lake in Beverly, Massachusetts. He also commissioned the firm to design a winter residence in Boston on the corner of Berkeley Street and Marlborough Street.
Phillips donated large sums of money to Phillips Academy and Phillips Exeter Academy, both which bore his family's name. He was also a trustee of the Boston Children's Hospital, the Perkins School for the Blind, and the Peabody Museum. He was also a director of the Union Bank of Boston and the Boston and Albany Railroad.
Phillips died March 1, 1885, in Boston of heart disease. [1]
His funeral was attended by Oliver Wendell Holmes and Robert Treat Paine. He was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery.
He had five children,
- John Charles Phillips III (1876–1938)
- William Phillips (1878–1968)
- Anna Tucker Phillips (1880–1961), married Raynal Bolling
- Martha Phillips (1882–1960), married Andrew J. Peters
- George Wendell Phillips (1883–1955)
https://archive.org/details/memoirofjohncphi00portrich
https://harvardartmuseums.org/collections/object/156993
Funeral of John C. Phillips. Boston Globe, March 4, 1885
References
edit- ^ Porter, Edward G. (1888). Memoir of John C. Phillips. Cambridge: John Wilson and Son – via Internet Archive.