DEATH OF HON. ORMSBY PHILLIPS.
The following papers were clipped from "The Pittsburg Dispatch," issue of Nov. 13, 1884: —
Hon. Ormsby Phillips, one of the owners of "The Dispatch," died at his residence on Ridge Avenue, Allegheny, yesterday morning at nine o'clock. For the past three weeks Mr. Phillips had been seriously ill; and although not entirely unexpected, his death was a severe blow to his grief-stricken family.
The deceased, with whose prominence in the community every citizen is familiar, was born at Jefferson Barracks, a few miles south of St. Louis, on Oct. 2, 1829. His father, Major Asher Phillips, served in the war of 1812; and his grandfather was Oliver Ormsby, an early settler on the South Side. At an early age, Mr. Phillips, with his parents, removed to Louisville; and he was educated at the schools there, and at the Western University in this city. At the age of nineteen he took charge of a telegraph-office in Louisville, and soon after came to Pittsburg. Here he was one of the coterie composed of Messrs. Robert Pitcairn, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Phillips, and David McCargo, who were employed in the first telegraph-office opened in this city. Later he formed a partnership in the iron-foundery business with John and W. J. Anderson, and subsequently engaged in the manufacture of glass in the firm of Phillips & Co. In 1862 Mr. Phillips was commissioned captain of Company C, Fifteenth Regiment of State Militia, and served until the regiment was discharged. In November, 1881, he became a partner in the Dispatch Publishing Company, and filled the position of business manager until his death.
Mr. Phillips filled several important public positions during his lifetime. In 1867 he became a director in the Western Penitentiary, and served as secretary of the board until May last, when he was elected president. In this position Mr. Phillips labored assiduously for the best interests of the institution, and the impress of his unselfish efforts will live long after him. He was one of the early directors of the Morganza House of Refuge, and also served many years in the same office in connection with the Western Pennsylvania Hospital, and the Insane-Asylum at Dixmont. His traits of character and disposition seemed to especially fit him for the work which his association with the institutions named involved. It is not surprising that Mr. Phillips was also prominently identified with nearly every charitable enterprise of a public nature. He seemed to throw his whole soul into such work, and his energy contributed largely to the success which invariably attended such enterprises. The Sanitary Commission Fair saw Mr. Phillips among its promoters. He was elected mayor of Allegheny City in 1874, as an independent candidate. His opponents were D. L. Smith, Republican, and the late Peter Farley, who was killed a short time ago on the Fort Wayne Railroad at Wood's Run, the Democratic candidate. Mr. Phillips's election was due to his personal popularity; and for this reason it is not to be wondered at, that, during the riots of that same year, Allegheny City was remarkably free from acts of lawlessness. Since 1867 Mr. Phillips was one of the trustees of the Dollar Savings Bank. He was also a director of the Boatman's Insurance Company, and a vestry-man of St. Andrew's Church. In all these varied fields of labor the deceased brought the force of his own individuality prominently into play. He enjoyed the high respect and esteem of the entire community, and his loss will be keenly felt outside the circles of a grief-stricken family and a host of friends.
Mr. Phillips was married on Oct. 17, 1859, to Miss Annie S. Bakewell, daughter of the late John P. Bakewell. She with five children survive him: the latter are Messrs. Bakewell and Henry Phillips, Mrs. Sarah Phillips, wife of Professor Phillips of the Western University, and Misses Annie and Margaret Phillips. He also leaves a brother, Dr. T. A. Phillips of the East End.
Source: Recollections of Seventy Years and Historical Gleanings of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, by Judge John E. Parke, published by Rand, Avery & Co., Boston, 1886; Pgs. 356-357
