🏠 » Genealogy » Phillis and Thomas
Compiled and written by Kimberli Faulkner Hull
Spouse of granduncle
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© Kimberli Faulkner Hull
Florence Young Phillis was born on 25 May 1887 to Mary Olive “Ollie” Young in Stevenson Township, Marion County, Illinois.1
[Open Endnotes in separate tab]
As a child, Florence lived with her grandparents in Salem Township, Marion County, Illinois.2 By the time Florence was in her late teens, she had moved to Roe, Monroe County, Arkansas where she gave birth to a son, Charlie, on 25 July 1905.3
Florence’s uncle, Herbert Young married Mrs. Annie Simons in Monroe County in February of 1905; perhaps Florence and Charlie lived with or near Herbert.4 Her mother and step-father, Ollie and James Sanders, and half-siblings moved to Roe in 1906 and lived there briefly before returning to Marion County.5
In 1913, when her sister Nelle died, Florence was living in Indianapolis.6 She then moved to Chicago where she met and married John Boyce Phillis on 18 March 1914.7
Florence and John Boyce were living at 118 E. Oak Dr. in Chicago when he registered for the World War I draft in 1917 and John Boyce was working at the Great Northern Hotel at Jackson and Dearborn.8 By 1920, they had moved to 2217 Cleveland Avenue in Chicago and Charlie was living with Florence’s family in Salem, Illinois.9
It is unknown how long Florence and John Boyce remained together as a couple. When John Boyce’s mother, Julia, died in 1927, John Boyce was listed in one of the obituaries as living in Chicago.10 It is believed John Boyce died sometime between 1927 and 1940, as Florence was enumerated living at the Century Hotel on the south side of Chicago as a widow in 1940.11
Florence worked the rest of her life as manager of the Century Hotel.12
Florence Young Phillis died at the age of 59 on 8 September 1946 in Chicago.13 Florence’s son, Charles Clay Young, died at the age of 45 in Marion County, Illinois on 7 October 1950.14
Florence and Charlie are buried in Iuka Cemetery in Iuka, Marion County, Illinois.15
Endnotes
1. Florence’s birth certificate listed father as unknown. Her social security record lists Lonnie Hard as her father. Her death certificate lists James Sanders. Her mother married James Sanders after her birth.
State of Illinois, Stevenson, Marion County, Delayed Certificate of Birth, no. 1251, Florence Young, birth 25 May 1887, 12 Feb 1943 and Certificate of Correction, no 7285, birth 25 Mar 1887. Father: Unknown. Mother: Mary Olive Young, birthplace Salem, Township, Illinois. Residence: Stevenson Twp. Correction changes date from May to March.
Also, U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, Florence Young Phillis, birth 25 Mar 1887, Salem, Illinois. Parents: Lonnie Hard and Mary O. Young.
Also, Illinois, Cook County, Certificate of Death, Chicago, no. 25847, Florence Phillis, 8 Sept 1946. Widow. Birth: 25 Mar 1887, Salem, Illinois. Father: James Sanders, born in Kentucky. Mother: Mary Young, born in Salem, Illinois.
Also, Marion County, Illinois, Register of Marriages, vol. 1, no. 184, James Sanders–Mary O. Young, 28 Oct 1888.
2. 1900 U.S. census, Salem Twp, Marion County, Illinois, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 31, sheet 16B, dwelling 353, family 372, J. F. Young household.
– J. F. Young, age 61, born Nov 1838 in Illinois, married 40 years, farmer
– M. J., age 62, born Aug 1837 in Illinois, married 40 years
– Florence, age 13, granddaughter, born in Mar 1887 in Illinois
3. United States World War II Draft Registration Card, Charlie C. Young, serial no. 715, Local Draft Board 15, Detroit, Michigan. Birth: 25 July 1905, Roe, Arkansas. Mother: Mrs. Florence Philis, 1447 East 55th St., Chicago, Illinois. Employer: Hudson Motor Co., Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan.
4. Monroe County, Arkansas, Marriage Record K, Bond for Marriage License, p. 543, Herbert Young–Mrs. Annie Simons, 25 Feb 1905.
5. “James Sanders Family Moves to Roe, Arkansas,” newspaper article, Salem Herald-Advocate (Salem, Illinois), 9 Nov 1906, p. 1, col. 6.
“James Sanders Family Move to Old Kagy Homestead in Stevenson Township” newspaper article, Salem Herald-Advocate (Salem, Illinois), 30 Jan 1908, p. 8, col. 1.
6. “Miss Florence Young of Indianapolis Returns to Salem,” newspaper article, Salem Herald-Advocate (Salem, Illinois), 22 Aug 1913, p. 8, col. 2.
7. Illinois, Cook County, Chicago, Marriage Certificate with Return, no. 658411, John B. Phillis–Miss Florence Young, 18 Mar 1914. Groom: Age 26. Bride: Age 25.
Also, “Marriage Licenses, John B. Phillis–Florence Young,” newspaper notice, The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois), 19 Mar 1914, p. 11, co. 1. Ages 26 and 25.
8. United States World War I Draft Registration Card, Cook County ward 24, John Boyce Phillis, 5 June 1917. Birth: 17 June 1890, Cambridge, Ohio. Address: 118 E. Oak Dr. Chicago. Occupation: Hotel work, Great Northern Hotel, Jackson and Dearborn. Married. Supports: Wife and child.
Note: Child was most likely Florence’s son, Charlie.
9. 1920 U.S. census, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 1263, ward 23, sheet 8B, dwelling 92, family 179, John Phillis household.
Address: 2217 Cleveland Avenue
– John Phillis, age 29, born in Ohio, usher, railroad depot
– Florence, wife, age 32, born in Illinois
1920 U.S. census, Salem, Marion County, Illinois, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 194, sheet 2A, dwelling 23, family 26, James Sanders household.
Address: 312 Marshall Street
– James Sanders, age 53, born in Kentucky
– Ollie, wife age 52, born in Illinois
– Josephine Grover, daughter, age 25, married, born in Illinois
– William B. Sanders, son, age 23, single, born in Illinois
– Albert, son, age 17, single, born in Illinois
– Charlie Young, grandson, age 14, single, born in Arkansas
– Helen Grover, granddaughter, age 2 months, born in Missouri
10. “Mrs. Minnie May Phillis,” obituary, Dewey Globe (Dewey, Oklahoma), 25 Mar 1927, p. 5, col. 2.
Note: Name is incorrect in the obituary, it should be Julia A. Phillis.
11. No death record was found for John Boyce Phillis. John Boyce was listed in his mother’s 1927 obituary as living in Chicago. Florence was enumerated in 1940 as a widow. John Boyce was also named in the 1945 Oklahoma court filing regarding his father’s estate. However, it appears all family members were listed in the filing, including his mother who had died in 1927.
Ibid.
Also, 1940 U.S. census, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 103-290, ward 2, sheet 3A, dwelling 41, Florence Phillis household.
Address: 1447 E. 55th Street (Address of the Century Hotel).
– Phillis, Florence, age 53, widowed, born in Illinois. Rented house. Manager of hotel.
Also, “Guy G. and Ella Gaskill v. J.C. Phillis Estate,” newspaper notice, Morning Examiner
(Bartlesville, Oklahoma), 12 Apr 1945, p. 8, col. 5.
12. Two advertisements were found listing the contact at the Century Hotel was Mrs. Phillis. Florence’s address on the 1940 census was 1447 E. 55th Street, the same as that in the houseman wanted advertisement and on her death certificate. Thomas Seay and Co. was listed on her death certificate as well; they were the broker in the 1947 sales of the hotel.
“Houseman Wanted, Century Hotel,” newspaper advertisement, Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois), 21 Sept 1945, p. 34, col. 6.
Also, “Ice Box Wanted,” newspaper advertisement, Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois), 23 Sept 1945, p. 21, col. 3.
“Also, Four Story South Side Hotel Sold for $105,000,” newspaper article, Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois), 14 Sep 1947, p. 3B, col. 3.
Also, Illinois, Cook County, Certificate of Death, Chicago, no. 25847, Florence Phillis, 8 Sept 1946. Widow. Birth: 25 Mar 1887, Salem, Illinois. Address: 1447 E. 55th Street. Occupation: Hotel Manager, Thomas Seay and Co. Father: James Sanders, born in Kentucky. Mother: Mary Young, born in Salem, Illinois. Burial: 11 Sept 1946, Iuka.
13. Ibid.
14. Office of the Illinois Secretary of State, Illinois Statewide Death Index, Marion County, no. 0042539, Charles Clay Young, 7 Oct 1950, age 45.
15. Headstone reads: Florence Phillis / 1887 1946.
Find A Grave, memorial 104553333, Florence Young Phillis (1887–1946), Iuka Cemetery, Iuka, Marion County, Illinois with headstone photo.
Also, headstone reads: Charlie Young/ 1887 1946.
Find A Grave, memorial 104553405, Charlie Clay Young (1905–1950), Iuka Cemetery, Iuka, Marion County, Illinois with headstone photo.
Citing this page: Kimberli Faulkner Hull, author, “Florence Young Phillis,” Cool Adventures
( https://cooladventures.com/genealogy/florence-young-phillis/: posted 2022).
