Samuel F. Phillips
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Samuel F. Phillips | |
---|---|
Auditor of Public Accounts of North Carolina | |
In office January 1, 1863 – July 10, 1864 | |
Succeeded by | Richard H. Battle |
Personal details | |
Born | Samuel Field Phillips February 18, 1824 New York, New York |
Died | November 18, 1903 Washington, D.C. | (aged 79)
Resting place | Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
Spouse(s) | Frances R. Lucas Sarah Maury |
Alma mater | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Samuel Field Phillips (February 18, 1824 – November 18, 1903) was a
Early life
Samuel F. Phillips was born in New York. His father, James Phillips, was a British mathematician.[1] When Samuel was about two years of age his father became the first professor of mathematics at the newly formed University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and the family moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Education
Samuel Phillips graduated from UNC with highest honors in 1841, earning a master's degree three years later. He began his own law practice in North Carolina and joined the UNC law department as a tutor before embarking on a career in politics, beginning with his election as a Whig to the North Carolina General Assemblies of 1852 and 1854. Phillips served on North Carolina's state North Carolina Court of Claims in 1861, and as state auditor from 1862-1864.
Political career
Phillips had been an opponent of
In 1864, Phillips was re-elected to the General Assembly, serving as
In 1866 Phillips left politics to return to the private practice of law. In the Fall of 1867 he moved his family to Raleigh, North Carolina, where he became North Carolina's Supreme Court Reporter. He returned to politics in 1870.
In 1871, Phillips served another term in the
Phillips was part of the team who argued the Civil Rights Cases of 1883, using both the Civil Rights Act of 1875 and the 13th and 14th Amendments as a defense. As part of the legal counsel representing Homer Plessy in the landmark Plessy v. Ferguson case, he argued that the "separate-but-equal" doctrine was nothing less than a disparagement of African-Americans on the basis of color, much like slavery.
After serving as Solicitor General, he went on to become a member of the U.S. and Venezuela Mixed Claims Commissions of 1888 and 1891. Phillips returned to private law practice in Washington, D.C. until 1901.
Personal life
Phillips married Frances R. Lucas (1831–1883), on December 3, 1849, at Chapel Hill. They had 10 children. In 1889 Phillips married Sarah Maury; she died in 1902. They had no children.
Samuel Phillips died on November 18, 1903, aged 79, in Washington, D.C. His body was later moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Cornelia Phillips Spencer (1825-1908), a North Carolina educational activist and author, is his sister.
References
- ^ "Solicitor General: Samuel F. Phillips". www.justice.gov. 2014-10-23. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
External links
- "Solicitor General: Samuel F. Phillips". The United States Department of Justice. June 3, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
- Samuel F. Phillips at Find a Grave
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Solicitor General of the United States.