Nelson Phillips

The Nelson Phillips Family

This illustration shows the thirty acres of the Nelson Phillips' farm overlaid on the 1874 map.

The Nelson Phillips' farm was 30 acres in size and became the Evergreen Tract that opened in 1928. It had a distinctive "seven" shape and was located with E. Molloy Road on the south, the Wright Tract on the west and the Northwood Tract on the east.

Connection to Mattydale

In 1859 Nelson Phillps purchased 10 acres in the northeast corner of Daniel Lynch's 120 acres on Salina Lot 8. Sometime after about 1870 Phillips purchased an additional 20 acres. He bought the western half of a 40 acre strip, adjacent to his originally 10 acres. William Garrett owned the eastern half.

Family History

Where did they originally come from

The origin of Nelson Phillips' ancestors has not been determined.

Where did they initially settle

Nelson's father was a blacksmith and was an early settler of the Village of Salina. Nelson Phillips had lived in the First ward until his move to the town of Salina. He grew up in the village of Salina when the people living there were known as Salt Pointers. For a while he too ran a blacksmith shop and for a while he was on the police force. In an 1898 newspaper interview, Nelson Phillips shared his memories of the old days [1898-02-20].

Family connections

Nelson had the misfortune of having the Garretts for his neighbors to the east. This didn't lead to any connections in the usual sense of the word but Phillips did have some interactions with the Garretts. Nelson took William and Betsey Garrett to court in 1885 and charged them with stealing two of his pigs. He received a verdict of $52. Whether he was ever able to collect the money is unknown [1885-03-30].

Property History

Nelson Phillips lived on his Salina farm from about 1859 until sometime prior to 1898. In 1901, Emily M. Knowlton, his daughter, bought the Phillips homestead in Salina for $1,000. Phillips got the use of the house for the rest of his life. Nelson died on August 7, 1903, at the age of 90 years. In the Spring of 1908 the Knowltons tried to find someone to rent the old Phillips farm. In 1909, Frank Knowlton, Emily's husband, tried to sell the Phillips place as a "Garden Farm."  By 1911 the farm was for rent again and Frank Knowlton was offering Holstein Heiffers for sale, so it must have still been a working farm at that time. In January 1916 August J. Melkoski bought the old Phillips farm. In 1928 it was opened up for residential development as the Evergreen Tract by the Joseph K. Elliott Company.

Notable Facts or Events

Nelson Phillip's fight with the gang of Irish rowdies [1853-09-05], [1853-09-29].

NOTES:

[1853-09-05] - "Irish Row - Police Office Injured," The Daily Standard, Syracuse, NY, Monday, September 5, 1853.

[1853-09-29] - "$50 REWARD," The Syracuse Daily Journal, Syracuse, NY, Thursday, September 29, 1853.

[1885-03-30] - Phillips Suit Against Garrett, The Syracuse Standard, Syracuse, NY, Monday, March 30, 1885

[1898-02-20] - "Salt Pointers Were Victors," The Sunday Herald, Syracuse, NY, Sunday, February, 20, 1898.