Find Ancestors

A newspaper article from 19 Oct 1918 Free Press, Wexford

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1900-01-01/1949-12-31?basicsearch=%22thomas%20phillips%22&phrasesearch=thomas%20phillips&retrievecountrycounts=false&country=ireland&page=1

View 3 pages FREE when you register to help you get started


KICKS AND TRIPS Sunday night scene in Enniscorthy

Thomas Phillips, a discharged soldier living at Hospital Lane and wearing the Mons medal charged James Walsh, the Folly with threatening to shoot him.
Also Thomas, Annie and Bridget charged John Joe Walsh with assault.
Ellen Walsh snr had a summons against Thomas Phillips for assault.

Seemingly J J Walsh was beating his young wife who asked Bridget and Annie for help. He then set upon the 2 girls and Bridget ran to get Thomas who was also given 'a box to the face' by Walsh.

Bridget said the Walshes and members of her family were cousins but there was bad feeling between them. She was not jealous of John Joe's wife but her brother had not 'been great' with her before her marriage.

Thomas was a married man and minding the baby when Bridget came to him. He had been wounded 9 times and been discharged from the army. James Walsh also arrived and started kicking the Phillips.

Mrs Walsh denied all this and said Bridget had been boxing her husband's face and Thomas wasn't there. She said the Phillips were jealous that she had married her husband.

Mrs Walsh snr said she was going to bed when her son J J came home with a bleeding jaw and Thomas arrived calling her 'filthy names.'

All were bound to keep the peace for 12 months each in a sum of £5 and 2 securities of £2 10s or in default 2 months imprisonment with hard labour.

This is the Service Record for the Thomas in the 1901 census.

British Army Service Records
St Marys, Enniscorthy, Wexford, Ireland

First name(s) Thomas
Attestation service number 3176
Last name Phillips
Attestation corps 3rd Royal Irish Regiment
Birth year 1890
Document type Attestation
Birth parish St Marys
Archive reference WO 96
Birth town Enniscorthy
Series Wo 96 - Militia Service Records 1806-1915
Birth county Wexford
Box 375
Birth country Ireland
Box record number 401
Service number 3176
Archive The National Archives
Regiment Royal Irish Regiment
Country Ireland
Year 1907
Record set British Army Service Records
Attestation date 05 Oct 1907
Category Military, armed forces & conflict
Attestation age years 17
Subcategory Regimental & Service Records
Attestation age months 2


He was single, a farm labourer from Monart, Enniscorthy. He was posted 5 Oct 1907 and discharged 27 Jan 1908.
It then reads what looks like Free and underneath in red writing para 59, S A order d/23.12.07. Under this is Good.

His history sheet is blank apart from Names & NoK
(father) Patrick Phillips - Monart nr Enniscorthy
Brother(E) Lawrence - Royal I Regt - Rawl Pindi, Punjab, India
Brother (Y) Patrick - same as above
Sister (Y) Briget
Sister (Y) Stance?
Sister (Y) Annie
Sister (Y) Jane all Monart, near Enniscorthy, Co Wexford.

Name Mr Laurence Michael Phillips
Gender Male
Age 85
Birth Date 1921
Last Residence Coventry, West Midlands, England
Postal Code District Cv3
Death Date 27 Aug 2006

You wrote: Erika - Thomas = Molly marriage - my cousin agrees with you from what he's learnt.

The info I posted is from the marriage cert.................so not in doubt

Have a look at it yourself

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/

AND find all the births I posted on the same site, which is FREE.

Don't rely on hearsay......................the info is available . Access it yourself

The current plan is for it to be released free on line in April 2026.

The 1926 Irish census is due for release in the next couple of years - that may prove to be informative

If Ancestrys suggestions are correct ( and are often not) your shared ancestors would be great grandparents or great great grandparents.

I don't know how Ancestry work out that a match is only a half relation. I designate some of my matches as a half cousin when they come from a second marriage. Even though we can only ever match with the shared relations dna anyway.

I would suggest that you try doing a tree for the Overtons and see where that leads you.

Although hardly definitive, I have two Overton's in my Ancestry DNA results projected to relate: half 3rd cousin 1x removed or 3rd cousin 2x removed. I've messaged the lady who doesn't have anything from the Overton's beyond in the USA and the dates would be out on her tree.

You'll recall that the Overtons are listed as living at 30 Commercial Road, Swindon, England even though my Grandad Patrick Joseph Phillips is detailed to have been born there and Thomas, his Father, is listed on the birth cert to live there despite otherwise being married to Molly and, as far as we knew, living in Ireland save for being in the Irish army.

Re your question at 21:15, ErikaH -
it was on Ancestry.

Hey Erika, sorry to be a pain in the butt, just added a bit above :-) Apologies - didn't expect you to reply at this time of night but just thought i'd give you the heads up! I've updated bloxhamcakebread on Ancestry too so was praying you'd tell me you stick by it! Thanks.

The birthdate may indeed have been November but the registration didn’t take place until first quarter 1918
I would certainly say that the 1901 family is correct - the father’s details match the marriage certificate which you can look at yourself.
Ages on censuses are at the date of the census…….bear that in mind when calculating birth years etc
Also, not everyone knew exactly how old they were..............

Thanks everyone!

If the Ancestry username is bloxhamcakebread - that's mine. Since receiving that cert in the last few days, and also receiving Molly (Mary) the Mother's, I realise that some of the information is wrong although i've gone on very limited information and difficulty understanding how to obtain Irish records.

Larry (Laurence) by the way is definitely my family - he's my Great Uncle and passed away in 2005. We do have his account of how the family fitted together to a limited extent although nothing about Swindon. We knew about Thomas and Mary's children as follows:

1. Patrick (Paddy) Joseph Phillips (my Grandad) (died before I was born and his estranged wife, my Grandma passed away in 2020 but told me all she knew at the time)

2. Laurence (Larry) Phillips - born in Ireland, died in Coventry, England and was flew back over and buried in Wexford I believe.

3. John O'Reilly (registered in Mother's Maiden Name) - not same Dad - bit of a mystery but I conclude that he's in fact a Cullen) from information at the time - if so it would be Tommy Cullen or one of the immediate family of Tommy.

(the order of those births is not guaranteed to be chronological).

Erika - my Grandad Patrick Joseph Phillips' birthdate was 13 November 1917 not 1918 - I have the birth cert in Swindon. A super massive thanks though Erika for everything you've contributed - I only point this out to avoid any potential confusion. Also, if the 1901 census is correct, Thomas' year of birth would be out compared to the date of birth that you've also found - in the 1901 census it would be approx 1892 but the date of birth also suggested by you is 30 Sep 1890 - would you still stick by this being the right family in the 1901 census please?

Erika - Thomas = Molly marriage - my cousin agrees with you from what he's learnt.

alviegal - that certainly helps with the timeline - thanks and great work finding the article regarding the house sales/availability to rent. it's likely that they may have been built on the old location forming a new one..

It is possible that Mary and Thomas rented a room briefly but we do have the Overton's living there before and after Patrick Joseph's birth. Also, the Overton's are documented in this thread to be a large family that, granted, will have grown over time. Combined with the size of the houses, was there really the space for the Overton family and Thomas, Mary and Patrick? What would be the point of such a short term let. Wouldn't they have stayed on barracks in the circumstances? Maybe to be fair Mary was recovering from the birth BUT wouldn't she have just visited Thomas, travelling over from Ireland after?

Jink20 - Thanks - I don't have a service number for Thomas. I'm very limited although I popped a photo I believe to be him from my family on Ancestry (bloxhamcakebread) - for some reason it's linked to Patrick Joseph Phillips but I do believe it is his Dad. Not sure if the uniform helps?

Jink20: Additional info from a cousin who has served in the military: referring to the photo: "...2 cap badges are different so different regiments. Thomas was Royal Irish Rifles which were an infantry battalion. Chap on right has a white lanyard on shoulder which indicates artillery. Definitely a family [photo]."

Thanks so incredibly much to everybody who has so far contributed!

Argylgran/Erika - for Thomas' Death I have a picture of his grave provided to me by the family which my cousin has vouched for - death on this grave for a Thomas Phillips is 28 JAN 1953 at aged 69. Buried with him is a Mary Phillips having passed away 16 October 1967 aged 76. Mary would be bang on however Thomas would be well out with an 1884 birth - approx 6 years difference from the 30th December 1890 birth proposed. Apparently my photo is taken at St Mary's Cemetery in Enniscorthy. Not sure if this link will work https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/165311082/person/322151010557/facts?sort=-created

I've also learnt from a cousin that 1. He believes that the marriage of Mary O'Reilly = Thomas Phillips was Dec 15th 1915 and

2. from marriage cert, the marriage was at St James' Church, Dublin.

3. Thomas was living in Richmond Barracks where, at that point, the Royal Irish Rifles were based.

4. Mary was living in Church Road in North Strand, Dublin.

5. Mary's Father Patrick was a Carpenter. Thomas' Father was indeed Patrick and he was indeed a Labourer.

6. Mary's Mother's name was Catherine Carol and not Walsh from his understanding but if you continue to believe it is Walsh, it would explain Walsh DNA links quite high up on my DNA hits.

Which site is that on, please, AG?

It doesn't come up on Irish Genealogy site

EDITED

Just checked familysearch - and found it............plus

Name Laurence Phillips
Event Type Birth Registration
Event Date
Sep 1921
Event Place Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland
Event Place (Original) Enniscorthy, Ireland
Page Number 425
Volume Number 4

Either a different family, or a child who died very young and for whom the 1924 child was named

Laurence Philips
in the Ireland, Civil Registration Births Index, 1864-1958
Name Laurence Philips
Birth Quarter Jul-Aug-Sep
Birth Date 1924
Birth Place Enniscorthy, Ireland
Birth Registration Date Sep 1924
Birth Registration Place Ireland
Volume 4
Page 428
FHL Film Number 101229

Grave of that Thomas Philips/Phillips:


Thomas Phillips
in the UK and Ireland, Find a Grave® Index, 1300s-Current
Name Thomas Phillips
Gender Male
Birth Date 30 Dec 1889
Death Date 5 Apr 1955
Cemetery St. Mary's Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland
Has Bio? N
Spouse Mary Phillips
Children
Tom Phillips
Larry Phillips
URL https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/225877181/thomas-phillips

Also according to Findagrave:

Larry - c1924 - 2006, buried in St Mary's Cemetery.
Tom - c1925 - 2004, St Mary's Cemetery. [ and wife Sally c1925 - 2012, nee Crean]
Mary Reilly Phillips 1891-1967, St Mary's Cemetery

??????????

Name: Thomas Philips
Date of Birth: 30th December 1890
Group Registration ID: 9586646
SR District/Reg Area: Enniscorthy
Mother's Birth Surname: Walsh...............forename Mary
Father Patrick............Labourer.
dwelling place: Shannon

06 December 1920 / Enniscorthy
Name: Mary Kate Phillips
Date of Birth: 06 December 1920
Group Registration ID: 1788997
SR District/Reg Area: Enniscorthy
Sex: Female
Mother's Birth Surname: O Reilly

Father THOMAS - ex-Soldier.........who registered the birth

???????
1901 census
Residents of a house 2 in Edward's Lane (Enniscorthy Urban, Wexford)
Phillips Patrick 40 Male Head of Family Roman Catholic Co Wexford Generals Labourer Read and write - Married -
Phillips Mary 39 Female Wife Roman Catholic Co Wexford - Read and write - Married -
Phillips Lawrence 19 Male Son Roman Catholic Co Wexford General Labourer Read and write - Not Married -
Phillips Mary Kate 17 Female Daughter Roman Catholic Co Wexford Domestic Servant Read and write - Not Married -
Phillips Patrick 15 Male Son Roman Catholic Co Wexford General Labourer Read and write - Not Married -
Phillips Bridget 12 Female Daughter Roman Catholic Co Wexford Scholar Read and write - Not Married -
Phillips Anastasia 10 Female Daughter Roman Catholic Co Wexford Scholar Read and write - Not Married -
Phillips Thomas 9 Male Son Roman Catholic Co Wexford Scholar Read and write - Not Married -
Phillips Jane 8 Female Daughter Roman Catholic Co Wexford Scholar Read and write - Not Married -
Phillips John 6 Male Son Roman Catholic Co Wexford Scholar Neither - Not Married -
Phillips Annie 4 Female Daughter Roman Catholic Co Wexford Scholar Neither - Not Married -

I can see NO record of a birth of a Laurence Phillips with MMN O'Reilly


Name: Thomas Phillips
Date of Birth: 22 September 1919
Group Registration ID: 1700831
SR District/Reg Area: Enniscorthy
Sex: Male
Mother's Birth Surname: Reilly
Father Thomas - Soldier
Born in the Workhouse

The Ancestry 'tree' is not correct for the man who married Mary O'Reilly in December 1915 - HIS father was PATRICK - a Labourer.

The man Nicholas Phillips on the 1911 census referred to was a Schoolmaster.

Yet another example of Ancestry trees NOT being accurate