My Family Tree

McRoberts Genealogy: [died] Dec. 18, 1917.

On February 22, 1872, Narcissa Jane McRoberts was married to James Henry Phillips, the son of Alexander and Christina Decker Phillips. Jane always recalled that Henry had asked her father, Artemus Barnard McRoberts, for his permission to marry his daughter; father said "yes" and she had to agree. To this marriage were born six daughters, two sons, and one child which died at birth. Henry and Jane Phillips began their married life at the old Phillips Homestead, one mile south and west from the McRoberts household. This home was an original log house built by Alexander Phillips to which Henry built a two-story addition to accommodate his family. The original log house had and extra-large solid wood door which could be barred for security to the family. However, this door was open most of the time, with exception of those extremely severe winter days. At one end of this large central room was a a large fireplace. The kitchen and eating facilities were located in a separate building a short distance to the side and rear of the house. Jane made many trips each day from her food preparation activities in the kitchen to her children and other duties in the main part of the house. This kitchen was of two rooms with a chimney in the middle.

Henry Phillips, commonly called "Hen", was a physically short and stocky individual with a reddish-flushed facial complexion, and had white hair in his elder years. His short-trimmed beard showed the stains of his cups of strong coffee which he enjoyed. He was an individual of very somber personality, firm in his word, and with an inclination to always consider the serious matters of living. He was a conservative individual in all actions of living and in his crop and livestock farming operation of approximately 100 acres. He was equally conservative in his lending of money, usually asking the borrower to return the following day. He was an individual who enjoyed the presence of people, and his household was often to have several young men who stayed the winter months and worked for their room and board. His wife often spoke somewhat sharply about the number of persons for which she was always cooking.

In this family were children with varying degrees of reddish color of hair, for this reason it is believed that Henry's hair was red in color in his youthful years.