Some time around 1868, or perhaps a little earlier, Benjamin married and settled in Randolph County, Arkansas. Apparently he was known as Frank Phillips, and I shall use this name to refer to him hereafter, but he should not be confused with his younger brother, Frank. But to move on, details of the early part of Frank’s life in Randolph County are somewhat sketchy. Burial records of children of Frank indicate that Frank’s first wife was Molly Ellen Seagraves. There is a license for the marriage of a William Phillips to Molly Ellen Seagraves. The age for Frank is correct, and it has been suggested that Frank’s full name was William Benjamin Franklin Phillips. There is a Randolph County marriage licensee of William Phillips and Ellen Graves. There are some indications that the name of this Graves family was actually Seagraves. The story has it that because Mr. Seagraves did not know how to write, he was listed as C. Graves, and thereafter, his part of the family became known as Graves. The other members, brothers and sisters, confinuted to be known by the proper name Seagraves. I am indebted to Dave Davis for this information.

Regardless, Frank and his first wife married some time around 1867 and their first son William Henry Phillips was born on December 12, 1868. They then had three other children. James F., b: 1871, Missouri, b: March 9, 1874, and Catherine, b: 1878.

Where Frank’s family lived up to the death of Frank’s father is unclear, but records indicate that Frank bought his father’s land when his father died. So, it is reasonable to assume that they later moved to his father’s place.

Apparently, Frank’s first wife died shortly after Catherine was born, or perhaps during childbirth, because Frank married Mary C. McNeese on November 19, 1879. Mary was the daughter of George Washington and Elizabeth McNeese. Benjamin F. and Mary are listed in the 1880 US Census for Randolph County, Columbia Township, along with Ben’s four children by his first wife.

As far as the writer has been able to determine, Mary and Frank had no children. They lived together for some time, but on October 4, 1893, Frank married Mary I. Robinson, daughter of John and Seulita Robinson from Hardin County, Kentucky. Whether Mary died or they were divorced has not been determined by the writer. Frank and Mary Robinson had one child, Armstrong Phillips, born in September 1894. Benjamin died in Randolph County in January 1897.