Bildad Phillips, the 1st son & 5th child of Pvt. Spencer Phillips (who served in the Revolutionary War) & the widow Dorcas Flower, was born in Ashfield, in what then was Hampshire county, Massachusetts, and was married in Sempronius, Onondaga county, New York, his wife Jane Allen's home.

In 1830, with their three children (Ruth, Mary Ann, & Pitts), they made their way via Brockport, the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes to Detroit, from whence they at once removed to Troy township, Oakland county. One year later they moved to Independence township, Mr. Phillips entering the land in section 23. During the first year the family had little or no capital to work on, and Bildad Phillips went to work at the carpenter trade, making fanning mills in order to secure money with which to purchase necessities. Later he cleared fifty acres of timber land, burning all the valuable timber that was not used in building his necessary farm buildings, the farmers at that time being ignorant of the fact that this wood was to be of great value in only a few short years. Progressive and enterprising in all things, he was the first to introduce wool growing as an occupation in Oakland county, and so successful was he in this line that he continued to keep sheep on his farm throughout his life and at the time of his death left a large flock of valuable animals. He taught the first regular term of school in Independence township, on Sashabaw Plains, although a year before a Miss Holden had taught a short term in a temporary cabin, and some years later he also acted as educator in his home district, some of his own children being his pupils. A staunch Whig in politics, he was an influential figure in local matters, was chosen to name the various townships, and helped to organize Independence township, which was so named because each of the organizers favored a different name and all were independent. He also acted as one of the first board of supervisors, served his community in various capacities for some years, and when his death occurred, October 11, 1856, at the age of fifty-nine years, his county lost one of its most able and public-spirited citizens.

His wife, Jane Ann (Allen) Phillips, passed away at the age of eighty-two, having survived him a number of years. They had a family of ten children.

Their children were:

Ruth R. (b.1826; Mrs. Henry West),

Mary Ann (b.1829; Mrs. Nicholas B. Smith),

Pitts (b.1830),

James R. (b.1833),

Chas. Edward (b.1834),

Theodore S. (b.1836),

Lydia Ann (b.1841; Mrs. John Meyerhoff),

Sylvester V. (b.1844),

Laura S. (b.1847),

Jane Sarah (b.1850; Mrs. Jerome Vliet)