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Emanuel Phillips
Born: 16 Apr 1841, in Jamaica
Died: 19 Jan 1887 in New Orleans, La.
Fanny Kreeger
Born: 23 Nov 1844 in Latvia
Died: 24 Nov 1920 in Baton Rouge, La.
Emanuel's tombstone in New Orleans has him born in Kingston, 17 April, 1842.
However, the Ashkinazi Congregation Register in Kingston, Jamaica, records the births of children of David Phillips and his wife Kate (or Irene?):
Sophia (1833-1916), Eliza (1835), Herbert Emanuel (1837), and then finally, we believe, our Emanuel, born April 16, 1841, and died 1887.
Fanny Kreeger was the daughter of George Kreeger (1804-1853) and Emma Barnett (1802 -1886). Both were born in Germany/Prussia/Russia/ or Latvia. They came to the United States about 1851 with their children Lina (1839 -?) & Samuel (1842-1923), who state they were born in "Russia"; and Fanny, who later writes that she was born in "Courland." They apparently settled in New Orleans immediately.
Following is a chronological of Emanuel and his family. . . .
1859 - Emanuel arrived at New Orleans aboard the ship, S.S. Donato on October 17, from Kingston, Jamaica. The passenger list shows he was "Age 19" and references "Custom House room 219, 2nd floor".
Jessie Phillips, a female, was also on the same ship to New Orleans; was she a cousin? We don't have any further information about her! HELP.
The passengers were: Miss Jessie Phillips, 16; Emanuel A. Phillips, 19; Henry Montfort, 2; Isaac Delgado, 20; Alexander Delgado, 18; I.B. Adams, 40 ; and Aaron Aaron, 50.
Note: the above Isaac Delgado is probably the N.O. philanthropist, born Nov 23, 1839, Kingston; he is found in the 1856 City Dir as "clerk, 95 Gravier St."
1860 - U.S. Census for the City of New Orleans, Wards "2 and 10", on the 22nd day of June, lists Emanuel living with his sister, Sophia and her husband, W. A. Aarons
1861, - Jan. 26, Louisiana seceded from the Union.
- New Orleans City Directory: Emanuel was a Clerk, at 126 Canal Street
1862 -May 1, The Union occupied New Orleans
1866 - N.O. City Dir. showed Emanuel as a Clerk, at 303 St. Charles Street,
and, Samuel Kreeger, brother of Fanny, at :
Kreeger and Selegman, dry goods, 607 Magazine Street
1867 - Emanuel moved to Opelousas late 1867 or '68?
1868 - Emanuel and Fanny signed a marriage contract April 29, keeping separate Fanny's $5,180. They were married May 6, 1868, in New Orleans at her mother's house, and left that day at 5 pm on their wedding cruise aboard the Annie Wagley from New Orleans to Washington. A newspaper society column, describing the wedding, referred to Emanuel as the "popular Opelousas merchant." He brought his new wife (and her mother!) to his home in Opelousas, Louisiana, "cajun country."
1869 - Grace, the first child, was born March 25, in Opelousas.
1870 - U.S. Census for St. Landry Parish, Opelousas, taken on June 3, shows Emanuel with his wife, Fanny, child Grace and mother-in-law.
1873 - George was born May 1, in Opelousas
1874 - Elinor was born in Opelousas, Sept 17
1876 - Sylvia was born October 22, in Opelousas
1877 - Union withdrew troops from New Orleans
1878 - Emanuel: in business in Opelousas, & daughter Madeleine was born there Mar. 20.
1880 - The family then moved to Lafayette, La, and Mercedes was born Apr 3.
The 1880 census index shows E. Phillips taken on June 2, 1880, in Ward 3, Washington Street, Vermilionville, Lafayette Parish: Emanuel age 39; Birthplace: England; Birthplace of Father and Mother: London, England. Living with him were Fanny 35, children Gracie 11, David 9, George 7, Eleanor 5, Sylvia 4, Madeleine 2, Mercedes 2/12, then Emma Kreeger 67 ("Mother-in-law"), and finally Odila Laurence 19, and Alice Dugas 13 two Black Servants.
The 1880 census also has Hyman Liberman, Lafayette, L:ouisiana, Ward 3, Vermillionville Town, Lafayette Street. Hyman was the husband of Lina Kreeger, Fanny's sister. It has him at 51 years old and born in Poland. So, the two sisters, their mother and their families had ended up in Lafayette together.
Note that Fanny's brother Samuel is living in New Orleans with his wife Isabelle and their children Sara, S.G. Jr., and M.M.
1881 - The Phillips family moved back to New Orleans.
1882 - Henry was born in N.O. Sept 1
1883 - Sydney V. was born at home at 356 St. Mary Street, New Orleans.
Info on Sydney's birth certificate states that Emanuel's occupation was "traveler" and that he was "a native of Jamaica", and Fanny was "a native of Germany"
The New Orleans City Directories show Emanuel at:
1884 - Agent at P. Pfeiffer and Co. at 3 Chartres Street
1885 and 1886 - Agent, living at 356 St. Mary Street
1886 - Emma Kreeger, Fanny's mother, died at her home at the corner of Carondelet and Constantinople streets, N.O., October, 24.
1887 - Times Picayune, Jan. 20, page 4:
"PHILLIPS - On Wednesday, Jan 19, 1887, at 12:15 o'clock a.m., Emanuel Phillips, aged 45 years, a native of Kingston, Jamaica. The funeral from his residence: 356 St. Mary Street this morning." He was a member of the Ivanhoe Lodge No. 22, K of P. , who met at the Castle Hall, corner of Natchez and Camp Streets for the funeral.
So, Fanny was left with her nine children: Grace, 17; David, 15; George, 13; Elinor, 12; Silvia, 10; Madeleine, 8; Mercedes, 6; Henry, 4; and Sydney, 3 years old.
Grace didn't leave to marry James Kaiser until five years later (Oct, 1892) at the age of 23; he was 31 years old. Jim died in 1902 of pneumonia. She later married Henry Agat, from South Africa, January, 1915.
Further, in this same year, 1887, Isabella, Fanny's sister-in-law, died Sept 26. She was living at the corner of Peniston and Perrier St.
1890 - Fanny K. Phillips is living at 356 St. Mary Street
Samuel Kreeger married Katherine Andrews (b. New York)
1897 - Fanny no is at 4621 Prytania Street
1898 - David, at age 26, married Viola White, and lived in New Orleans until he died, August 8, 1936.
1900 - Census, New Orleans, taken June 5, shows the "Fannie K Phillips" household at 4621 Prytania Street.
Living in her house were Grace E. and James N. Kaiser, David E., George K., Eleanor, Sylvia, Madeleine, Mercedes, Henry, Sidney V., and Lina Liberman (Fanny's older sister), and Ernest A. White, Viola's older brother.
This report States that Lina (one "n") had nine children of which 7 are presently living; born in Russia Oct, 1836; she immigrated to the US 1855; and that she is Fanny's sister. It also states that Fanny had ten children, of which nine are now living; born in Russia, Nov. 1844; and that she immigrated to the US in 1851, and that she owned her home, and had been married 32 yrs.
This Census shows the "David E. Phillips" household at 4828 Prytania Street, where he and Viola lived with daughter Sara Madeleine and Viola's little brother Bertrand.
The same Census report shows at 5005 Prytania Street, the household of "Michael Ber," where his wife Irene, daughters Leonie and Emma, son Leon, mother in law Sophia Phillips Aarons, brothers-in-law Soloman Levi and Elias Aarons, etc.
Note: Elinor married Simon Gonsenheim, Dec. 18.
Finally, also in 1900, Samuel and his second wife Katherine lived @ 490 Audubon St. in N.O., with his son Frank (19 yrs. old) and uncle Morris.
1902 - Jim Kaiser Died of Pneumonia. Sylvia married Jonas Weil, Sept. 9.
1903 - Mercedes married Morris B. Sontheimer, of New Orleans, April 28.
1904 - Elinor died February 5, at age 29, leaving her husband Simon and little Harold, who later changed his surname to Phillips
.
1907 - Madeleine married I. H. Rubenstein April 30, and they settled in Baton Rouge. These are my wife's grandparents.
1908 - Samuel Kreeger moved from New Orleans to Hastings-on-Hudson, NY (just north of NYC)
1910 - Fed Census, Orleans Parish, shows Fanny, 65, living at 1203 Valence Street, with her son, David, 39, and wife Viola, 32; Sara, 10; Emanuel H., 7; and Dr. E.A. White, 36. . . David's brother-in-law, born in La, & parents born "Jamaica." The report states that Fanny was born "Russia/Germany" & her parents "same."
It also shows the family of Michael Ber; it says he and Irene have been married 23 years, and live at 5066 Prytania Street: Emanuelıs sister Sophia Aarons is 75, and living with them with her daughter-in-law, and her grand-daughter Leonie and her husband M. David Haspel.
1915 - Grace married the South African (from Johannasburg) Henry Agat in January.
1916 - Sophia Aarons, Emanuel's sister, died @ 5005 Prytania Street, Michael Ber's house, December 19. The newspaper account says that she was the "widow of Henry Aarons, native of Kingston, Jamaica, died of Mitrial insufficiency general arterial sclerosis" at age "82 and 3 months". New Orleans certificate is vol. 167, number 1100.
1923 - Samuel Kreeger died in Hastings-on-Hudson, May 5, and is buried in N.O.
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Please send your comments to: Dan Henderson at henderson@intersurf.com