Della (Wolf) Phillips
Frontierswoman,
Mother, & Wife of Dr. Philip Phillips
“Little
was known!”
Leo Wolf conveyed
a tiny downtown Orlando parcel to P. Phillips, a transaction that at
first glance appears to have little intrinsic value. A closer look however finds
a window to a treasure trove of central Florida history. The reason for taking
a closer look at an old 1916 deed
was Leo’s surname, as the party of the first part happened to have the same
last name as that of the maiden name of the wife of the party of the second part.
Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Orlando, Florida
Learning that “little was
known” about Della Wolf, wife of
Florida’s 20th century citrus grower, Dr. Philip Phillips, were words that served as a call to action for
me. All of the mystery that is central Florida history is what had enticed me
to begin researching the past in the first place. Most every local researcher knows the tantalizing little is known
phrase is very often found while digging into central Florida’s past.
The one truth I’ve learned after a decade of researching central
Florida is that to fully understand and appreciate this region's real
history, one must include research of
the spouse, as well as her family. This is the case for the story of Orlando’s
Dr. P. Phillip too, a pioneer said to
have first lost a grove in the Great Freeze of 1895, departed Florida, then returned in the 20th century to achieve his family’s fame
and fortune.
About
that Mr. Leo Wolf:
The 1916 Orange
County document cited above identifies, “Leo
Wolf (unmarried) of Scott, Mississippi, party of the first part, and Dr. P.
Phillips of Orlando, Florida, party of the second part.” The 1910 census of Scott County,
Mississippi, at the Village of Forest, lived a young man named Leo H. Wolf, age 35,
living with his parents, Ben & Anna
Wolf.
Was this the same Leo
Wolf? The 1910 census listed as
well the names and ages of three siblings, as well as a grandson. Sloppy
handwriting suggests the grandson was “Nalter
Philipo, Age 4, born 1906 in Florida.” Census takers had
visited the Scott County family on May 7, 1910.
Walter Phillips, the second son of Philip & Della Phillips of Orlando,
was visiting his grandparents. One month earlier, Orange County census takers included four year old Walter, listed on April 18, 1910, as residing with his parents at Orlando, Florida.
A decade before the 1910 census, Leo was living with his
parents at Scott, Mississippi, with the same three younger siblings, and two
older siblings, brother Ezekiel, and a sister, Della B. Wolf. That 1900 census lists Della as 23 years old, born Mississippi, March 1877.
The Mississippi Marriage Index, 1800-1911, records a January
20, 1901 marriage, at Scott County,
Mississippi, stating the bride was Della Wolf, and the groom was P. Phillips.
Della was believed to have been a native of Alabama, in large part
because of information given by Della herself. The reason was likely due to Della’s family history.
The parents of Della (Wolf) Phillips, Benjamin
& Anne (Kosminsky) Wolf, were married May 17, 1876 at Mobile, Alabama. Anne’s father, Abraham (at times spelled
Kozminski), had been a Polish immigrant. Arriving in the United States in 1849, settling at Mobile, and
establishing a clothing business that was still going strong at the time of his
daughter’s wedding in 1901.
Leo
Wolf’s Occupation:
The 1916 party of the first part, “Leo Wolf of Scott,
Mississippi” not only leads us to learning the true identity of the wife of
Dr. Phillips, Lou Wolf’s occupation of 1900
and 1910 reveals too a lot about the Wolf
family, and even more about Dr. Philip
Phillips.
Dr. P. Phillips, Forest, Mississippi
Ocala
Banner Newspaper, November 1, 1901
Ten (10) months after marrying,
“Dr. P. Phillips, of Forest,
Mississippi”, ran an ad saying he had 200
head of Hereford Bulls and Heifers “acclimated
for Florida. Now is the time,”
said the ad, “to do away with the scrub
cattle of Florida by crossing on the best beef cattle in the world.”
The extent of influence Della Wolf’s family played in a choice
of careers of the then 27 year old
Dr. Phillips is uncertain, but it’s important to note that Della’s father, at the time of the 1901 Phillips
marriage, had been in the meat business for more than three (3) decades. All three of Benjamin’s
sons, by 1901, had followed in their
father’s footsteps.
Dr.
Phillips comes to Florida (again?):
During the fifteen (15)
months between the Forest, Mississippi advertisement, and a January, 1903 notice published in the Ocala
Banner, telling of the delayed arrival of Dr. Phillips’ Herefords to Florida,
the first of two boys was born to Philip
& Della. Named Howard, the
family’s new addition was born March 27, 1902
at Lebanon, Tennessee.
Married 1901 at
Forest, Scott County, Mississippi, a son Howard Phillips was born 1902 at Lebanon, Tennessee. Dr.
Phillips’ Herefords arrived at Ocala, Florida, direct from Texas, according to the Ocala Banner, in February, 1903. The Hereford herd was then taken, that very same month, to Arcadia.
Telegram from Dr. P. Phillips
Ocala
Banner Newspaper, January 9, 1903 (not 1093!)
Was the 1903 arrival
in Florida the first for Dr. Philip
Phillips? According to the pioneer’s time-honored history, this was in
fact his second time in Florida. Dr. Philip Phillips, says local legend, had a
grove at Satsuma, and lost that grove
during Florida’s Great Freeze of 1895.
Phillips
of Satsuma:
US Highway 17 passes through Satsuma today, a roadside village fifteen miles south of Palatka. First established in 1882, on land originally known as the
Hernandez Spanish Land Grant, New Englanders Whitney & Hodges began offering grove
sites to anxious settlers desiring to cash in on the 1880s Citrus boom.
Putnam
County became a sprawling citrus farming region, but two back-to-back freezes, the
first occurring December 29, 1894, followed 40 days later by an even worse cold snap on February
7, 1895, wiped out nearly all of
Florida’s citrus crop.
Dr. Philip
Phillips was 20 years old at the time of Florida’s Great Freeze, born,
said his 1921 passport application,
January 27, 1874. While it is
certainly possible a 20 year old Tennessee lad ventured south and established a
grove prior to December, 1894, the
challenge for historians is to ascertain the accuracy of such a statement.
Satsuma, Florida had its very own Post Office, a mail station
established when Philip Phillips was a mere ten (10) years old. Henry B.
Phillips was appointed Postmaster of Satsuma Post Office on March 4, 1884. So, was this Putnam County Postmaster
related to Orlando’s Dr. Philip Phillips?
“Little is known,” as that popular central Florida history saying goes, about the 19th
century chapter of the life of Dr.
Philip Phillips. But that’s the chapter I find most interesting in the true history of CitrusLAND.
Part TWO of
this story, to be posted February 2, 2018, will continue the Phillips story in a
Blog that I have dubbed: “Louise & the
Other Doctor Phillips!” You will not want to miss it!
Della
(Wolf) Phillips was among the earliest of 20th century
frontierswomen to arrive in an undeveloped yet ever-expanding central Florida.
Remarkable women however had already contributed immensely to settling this
remote land. CitrusLAND: Curse of
Florida’s Paradise, (2013 and in Second Edition 2016) is not only a true
history of 19th century central Florida, but each of 12 chapters begins with a dedication
and brief biography of one very special frontierswoman. Chapter 1, for example, is dedicated to the remarkable Jane Murray - one of the first-ever women to settle in central Florida. And by first I mean 1835! Each of the 12 frontierswoman deserve a special place in local history.
Visit www.CroninBooks.com for details of this
book and others by this author.
And stay tuned, Rick’s Blog will return February 2, 2018 with
Part 2: Louise & the other Doctor Phillips!
Copyright by Richard Lee Cronin 2013 & 2016
