In 1880, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Phillips had not lived in Moundville long but must have had one of the larger homes in early Moundville. They lived there with their three daughters and five boarders. Mr. Phillips was age 46 and a native of Ohio and his wife, Elizabeth, was 37 and from Pennsylvania. Their daughters were Mary, age 17, born in Pennsylvania; Eva, age 12, born in Ohio, and Ida May, age 2, born in Ohio. Since, baby Ida was born in Ohio, this indicates that the family had not arrived in Vernon County until after 1878. The boarders were John Coss and his children. John Coss and Elizabeth Phillips were brother and sister. Coss was recently widowed.

At the 1886 Ft. Scott fair, Thomas Phillips won the premium for the first place mare colt that was sired by Mr. Creel's stallion.

The Republicans of Moundville Township met in March 1899 to nominate their ticket for the election to be held later that year. The candidate for Justice of the Peace was Thomas Phillips.

The 1900 Vernon County census showed the family still living in Moundville. They listed their birth dates as: Thomas Phillips, April 1834; Elizabeth Phillips, March 1842; Eva Phillips, August 1867; and Ida Phillips, November 1877. Thomas and Elizabeth said they had been married for 36 years, meaning 1864. Elizabeth also stated that she had had two children and both survived. This means then, that Mary Phillips who had been listed as age 17 in the 1880 census (so born in 1863), was Thomas' daughter by a previous marriage.

In November 1906, Miss Ida Mae Phillips had to resign as teacher at Vernon Star school to come home and care for her father, Thomas Phillips. Thomas Phillips died Nov. 29, 1906. He was buried at Welborn Cemetery, northwest of Moundville. His grave marker listed his birth date as April 16, 1834.

In 1910, the widow, Elizabeth Phillips lived on church street in Moundville. Her daughter, Ida, lived with her. On May 28, 1912, Ida Mae Phillips married William L. Jones in Jackson County, Missouri. The marriage record verified that William was from Iowa County, Iowa and that Ida Mae was from Vernon County, Missouri. By 1920, Elizabeth Coss Phillips was living in Kaw Township, Jackson County, MO with her daughter and son-in-law, Henry and Eva Powell.

Her death certificate was filed in Jackson County, MO and she is indexed as: "Elizebeth M. Phillips". She died September 26 , 1920. The attending physician had last seen her on September 25. The death certificate lists her parents as Charles Coss and Melvina Clovis and provides a birthdate March 4, 1842. The death certificate states that burial was September 27, 1920 at Moundville, MO. The county cemetery guide for Welborn Cemetery indicates that her information is not engraved onto Thomas' grave stone. The informant for the death certificate was "Thos Phillips". This could not be her husband because he had died in 1906. Perhaps someone can explain who this informant was.

There were other Phillips families living in or near Moundville. For example, Mrs. Susan Phillips, wife of William T. Phillips died March 25, 1910, at the age of 55. She was buried at Welborn Cemetery. She had been born August 5, 1854, in Tennessee. William T. Phillips' dates are June 11, 1846 - October 16, 1931. He was born in Ohio. William T. Phillip married Susan Willis on November 5, 1874, in Bates County. By 1880, they were in Vernon County. They raised a very large family near Moundville. The 1910 census for Moundville Township tells that William Phillips was Moundville's postmaster. He was widowed by the time that census was taken. Living with him was his daughter Laura, who had been married for 3 years to John D. Garton, age 29. They had a son Lawrence Garton, age 2. William also had three sons, still at home, Charlie, age 25; Walter, age 19 and Layton, age 16.

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