San
Joaquin County
Biographies
ORVILLE PHILLIPS
A native of Michigan, Orville
Phillips was born at Fowlerville, Livingston County, on October 16, 1880, a son
of George H. and Margaret (Daily) Phillips.
George H., the father, was born in New York in 1842 and accompanied his
parents to Michigan in the late ‘40s, transportation being by ox teams, and
there they were farmers; his mother was also a native of New York, born in
1840, and was taken by her parents to Michigan in the ‘50s. His father passed away in 1916, while his
mother now resides in Tucson, Arizona.
Orville Phillips received a good
public school education and assisted his father with the farm work until he was
nineteen years old, when he left home to work on the Michigan Grand Trunk
Railroad and followed railroading until he came to California in 1901. In 1912 he settled in Tracy and entered the
employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad, remaining with them until he decided
to establish his own business, and in consequence of this determination the
Tracy Auto Electric Company was formed.
In May, 1922, Mr. Phillips disposed of his interest in the Tracy Auto
Electric Company and accepted a position with the Shell Oil Company at Corral
Station, it being a pumping plant on the valley pipeline of the Shell Oil
Company near Tracy.
Mr. Phillips’ marriage united him
with Miss Lillie Eaton, a daughter of Orrison and
Josephine (Hoffman) Eaton, both pioneers of San Joaquin County. They are the parents of two children, Orris
A. and Fred O. Fraternally Mr. Phillips
is a Mason and also a member of the Eastern Star of Tracy.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
1147. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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