• skip to main content
  • skip to main links
  • Family Home
    • Surname Index
      • (--?--) — to — Franks
      • Franz — to — Neave
      • Neff — to — Willard
      • Willcockson — to — Zuern
    • Persons Index
      • (--?--)—to—William Delray Alley
      • James Allinder—to—James Beall
      • James Beall—to—Claudia June Bremser
      • Clive John Bremser—to—Daniel Bushnell
      • Ebenezer Bushnell—to—Baby Claggett
      • Benjamin Franklin Claggett—to—James K Crofut
      • Asa Cromeans—to—Levi Jerome Dustin
      • Lydia Althea (Althia) Dustin—to—Bildad Fowler
      • Catherine Fowler—to—Frederick Eugene Gross I
      • Frederick Eugene Gross II—to—Nathan Alexander Hoover
      • Philip Richard Hoover—to—Thomas Kilbourne
      • Dora Kilby—to—Anson Cassim Loveland
      • Asa Loveland—to—Edward Christian McNett
      • Edward Clinton McNett—to—Shawn Newland
      • Judy Carol Newsom—to—(--?--) Phelps
      • (--?--) Phelps—to—John Phelps
      • John Phelps—to—Timothy Phelps
      • Timothy Phelps—to—(Widow) Ridgley
      • Johann Jakob Rieger—to—Betha of Savoy
      • Thomas I Count Savoy—to—Alice Spencer
      • Ann Spencer—to—John Thompson
      • John Thompson—to—Anne Webster
      • Annis Webster—to—Johann Jakob Zuern
    • Four Generations Tree
  • History of the Phelps Surname
    • Possible Origins of the Family in Germany and Italy
    • Spelling and Origin of the Name
    • Welf and Guelph, Possible Ancestors to the Phelps
    • House of Welf vs. the House of Hohenstaufen
    • Origins in Wales
  • William Phelps 1630 Origins
    • William Phelps First Generations
    • William Phelps of Crewkerne, England
    • William Phelps of Tewkesbury, England
    • William Phelps of Dorchester, Colony of Massachusetts
    • William Phelps 1672 Will
  • George Phelps 1634 Origins
    • George Phelps First Generations
    • The Identity of George Parkhurst
    • George Phelps in New England 1634
    • George Phelps 1687 Will
  • Richard Phelps 1633 Origins
  • James Phelps 1786 Origins
  • Phelps Origins in Europe
    • Phelps Origins in Nether Tyne, Checkley, England
    • Decendants of James Phelps of Nether Tyne, England
    • Decendants of James Phelps of Tewkesbury, England
  • Phelps Towns & Villages
    • Tewkesbury, England
    • Crewkerne, England
    • Checkley, England
    • Simsbury, Connecticut
    • Windsor, Connecticut
  • Colonial Voyages to Connecticut
    • Researching the Mary and John
    • Warrent and Order Detaining Phelps' Ships
    • About the Ship Mary and John
    • Voyage of the Mary and John 1630
    • Voyage of the Mary and John in 1633/34
    • Voyage of the Hercules in 1633/34
    • Voyage of the Recovery in 1633/34
  • Phelps Arrival in America
    • Nathaniel Phelps of Dorchester, Connecticut
    • William Phelps of Northampton, Massachusetts
    • Elnathian Phelps b. c1734
    • First Phelps Family Ancestors
    • The Great Migration to the Colonies
      • King Charles Persecutes Puritans
      • John Phelps Regicide to Charles I
      • Phelps Entries in the Great Migration Begins
  • Phelps of Simsbury and Windsor
    • William Phelps and the First Local Government
    • Founders of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut
    • Estimated Population of American Colonies 1620 to 1780
    • Crime and Punishment in Simsbury
    • Organization of the Church in Windsor
    • The Phelps Homestead in Simsbury
  • Phelps Family Letters
    • Isaac Ensign and Cornelia Phelps
    • Ensign Letters from Simsbury to Forsyth
    • Correspondance of Oliver Roswell Phelps and Georgia Phelps
    • Ensign Family Letters
  • Phelps from New York to Illinois
    • Nehemiah West Leads the Settlers West
    • Hoosiers vs. Yankees: A Slave State or Not?
    • The (Ill-fated) Boat Party
    • Pioneer Architecture: From Log Cabins to Homes
    • Galesburg Grows Amidst the Jackson Panic
    • Founding of the Knox Manual Labor College
    • Household Skills in Pioneer Galesberg
    • Commerce is Established With Colton's Store
    • Food and Clothing in Early Galesburg
  • Family Origins in Illinois
    • Noble Phelps Moves West to Illinois
    • Knox County Pioneer Noble Phelps
    • Noble Phelps' Prize Farm
    • Premium for Phelps Best Farm
    • Seraphina Princess Phelps and George Avery
    • Ronald Aaron Noble Phelps 1881 Bio
    • Avery Company History
  • Phelps Family in California
    • Bart Phelps, Navy Telegrapher Radioman
    • Bart Phelps, Yerba Buena 1916 Radio Operations
    • Bart Phelps, Wailupe 1921 Radio Operations
    • Bart Phelps, Alaska 1924 Radio Operations
    • Annabeth Beasley Phelps
    • Harold Bartle "Bud" Phelps III
    • A Generation Passes
  • Bartle Family
    • Bartle Family Genealogy
    • The Daily Journal of Births and Deaths
    • Bartle First American Ancestors
    • Henry Hart Bartle Obituary
    • Henry Hart Bartle 1858-1929 Biograpahy
    • Nathanial Sanburn 1723, Kingston New Hampshire
    • Francis G. Sanburn 1899, of Knoxville, Illinois
    • William Toy Bartle Ministry
    • Nathanial Sanborn, 1814, of Canandaigua, New York
  • Beasley Family
    • Beasley Family Genealogy
    • First Known American Ancestors
    • The Price of Slaves 1850
    • Luther S. Beasley 1925 Obituary
    • John T. Beasley 1883-1950
    • John Beasley and Lizzie Bremser Marriage
    • John T. Beasley 1950 Obituary
    • Jane Beasley Raph Professional Life
    • Jane Beasley Raph 2001 Obituary
    • Annabeth Beasley Phelps, Mother and Provider
    • Annabeth Beasley Phelps 2001 Obituary
    • Brandy Station in the Civil War
    • T/5 Myron K. Ricketts, WWII Veteran
    • A Hero in Our Midst—Mac Butler's "Battlin' Blue Bastards"
    • Ephraim Beazley 1797 Deeds and Records
    • William Beazley 1824 Court Records and Will
  • Bremser Family
    • Bremser Family Genealogy
    • Finding Heinrich Gottlieb Bremser
    • The Family History
    • Coming to America
    • The Search for Henry Bremser
    • Henry Bremser 1864-1848 Bio
    • Henry Bremser 1864-1948 Obituary
    • Elizabeth Bremser 1888-1952 Biograhy
    • Elizabeth Bremser Marriage Letter Home
    • Bremsers Origins in Germany
    • Bremser-Familiengeschichte (Deutch)
  • Christy Family
    • Guy Christy Horseshoes Collection
    • Christy Family First American Ancestors
    • Guy H Christy, Kentucky to California
    • 27th Illinois Infantry Regimental History
    • The Mystery of Harry Haskell
      • The Civil War Medal
      • A Short Biography
      • Harry's Gettysburg Report
      • 125th New York Volunteers Regimental History
      • Harry's Enlistment Record
      • Harry Haskell Obituaries
      • Mystery Revealed
  • Claggett Family
    • Claggett Family Genealogy
    • Claggett First Ancestors in America
    • Robert Clagget 1490 in England
    • Edward Clagett 1670 Emigration to America
    • Thomas Claggett 1703 of London and Maryland
    • Thomas Clagett 1732 Will
    • Samuel Claggett 1821, Revolutionary War Surgeon
    • Samuel Claggett 1846 of Virginia
    • Samuel Claggett and Julia F. Sanford Marriage Contract
    • Bernard Johnson Claggett 1919 Bio
    • The Price of Slaves 1850
    • Julia {Sanford} Claggett 1876 Civil War Claims
      • Deposition of Columbia Claggett
      • Commision Standard Interrogitories
      • Deposition of Sgt. Ereastus Weaver
      • Deposition of Lt.Frank Foot
      • Deposition of Julia Claggett
      • Deposition of Thomas Claggett
      • Testimony of Craven King
      • Testimony of William Francis
      • Testimony of Erastus Weaver
      • Map of Clagget Farm
      • Claim Exhibits
      • Battle of Bull Run
      • Battle of Brandy Station
      • 121st NY Volunteers
      • Complete Commission Transcript
    • Claggett Family Move to Illinois from Virginia
    • Sanford Ramey Claggett 1895 Obituary
    • Ann Claggett Beasley 1898 Obituary
    • Rev. Thomas John Claggett 1816, First American Episcopal Bishop
    • Thomas J. Claggett 1901 Obituary
    • Columbia Claggett 1904 Obituary
    • Brice Clagett, Family Genealogist
    • Claggett Coat of Arms
  • Diuguid Family
    • Diuguid Family Genealogy
    • George Christian Diuguid of Kentucky
    • The English Royal Connection
    • Harriet Diuguid's Letter About Her Ancestry
    • Diuguid Origins in America
    • Origin of the Diuguid Name
  • Klein Family
    • Klein Family Genealogy
    • Klein Origins in Germany
    • Klein Visit to 1922 Germany
  • Morgan Family
    • Morgan Family Genealogy
    • Utah Pioneer John Morgan
  • Loveland Family
    • Loveland Family Since 1556
  • Notable Family Members
    • 1600-1699
      • John Phelps, Court Clerk at the Trial of King Charles I
      • Anson Green Phelps, Merchant and Philanthropist
    • 1700-1799
      • Richard Phelps, Bell-founder for English Churches
      • Dr. Francis Phelps, Representative and Senator
      • Judge John Phelps, Publisher, Judge, Merchant, and Entrepreneur
      • Noah Phelps, A Spy at Ticonderoga, A Patriot of 1776
      • Oliver Phelps, Land Speculator, Judge, Congressman
      • William Wines Phelps, Judge, Mormon Publisher and Writer
      • William Wines Phelps Letters to Wife
      • William Wines Phelps Revelation Given
      • William Wines Phelps in Church History
      • William Wines Phelps Letter from Liberty Jail 1834
      • Samuel Shethar Phelps, Jurist, Congressman, and Senator
      • Nathanial Sanborn, Pioneer Settler of Canandaigua, New York
    • 1800-1849 A-M
      • Alfred Aaron Phelps, Wild West Show Rider
      • Austin Phelps, Congregational Minister, Educator
      • Charles Edward Phelps, Congressman, Judge, Author
      • Delos Porter Phelps, Lawyer, U.S. Assistant Treasurer
      • Edward John Phelps, American Lawyer, Diplomat
      • George M. Phelps, Master Telegraph Instrument Maker, Inventor
      • Dr. Guy Rowland Phelps, Founder, Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company
      • Judge James Phelps, Judge, Congressman
      • Judge John Jay Phelps, Publisher, Judge, Merchant, Entrepreneur
      • John Smith Phelps, Lawyer, Legislator
      • John Wolcott Phelps, Brigadier General, United States Volunteers
      • Mary Phelps Rich, Pioneer Saint in Tazewell County, Illinois
      • Francis G. Sanburn, Pioneer Resident of Knoxville, Illinois
    • 1800-1849 N-Z
      • Mary Anne Phelps Rich, Mormon Pioneer
      • Rev. Philip Phelps, Founder, First President, Western Theological Seminary
      • John Wesley Phelps, Deputy Sheriff of Hartford County, Connecticut
      • Stephen Sumner Phelps, Illinois Pioneer
      • Thomas Stowell Phelps, Civil War Naval Officer
      • William Walter Phelps, Congressman, Ambassador, Judge
    • 1850-1899
      • Mary Phelps Jacob, Inventor, Publisher
      • William Lyon Phelps, Educator, Literary Critic, Author
    • 1900-2020
      • Chance Russel Phelps, Private, USMC
  • Phelps Family Arms & Crest
    • About Coats of Arms
    • Arms of the Tewkesbury Phelps
    • Arms of Henry Phelps of London
    • Arms of the American Phelps
    • Arms of the Irish Phelps
    • Heraldic Glossary
  • Selected Family Wills
    • Thomas and Katherine Phylypp Wills 1556, Over Teyne, Checkeley, England
    • William Phelps 1672 Will, Windsor, Connecticut
    • Anthony Phillipps 1648 Will, Nether Teane, England
    • Francis Phylyppe 1648 Will, Checkley, England
    • Thomas Phylypp 1556 Will, Over Teyne, England
    • George Phelps 1687 Will, Westfield, Massachusetts
    • Timothy Phelps 1639 Will, Windsor, Connecticut
    • Natnaniel Phelps 1702 Will, Northampton, Massachusetts
    • Thomas Clagett 1708 Will, Calvert, Maryland
    • Thomas Clagett 1732 Will, Prince Georges, Maryland
    • Julia F Sanford 1727 Marriage Indenture
    • Ephraim Beazley 1797 Wills & Deeds, Spotsylvania, Virginia
    • Ephraim Beasley 1797 Deed Spotsylvania, Virginia
    • Ephraim Beasley 1798 to Elizabeth Beazley
    • Ephraim Beasley 1798 Will, Spotsylvania County, Virginia
    • Henry Beazley 1804 Indenture, Spotsylvania, Virginia
    • William Beazley 1828 Will, Culpeper, Virginia
    • William Beazley 1824 Court Records and Will
    • William Beazley 1852 Will, Culpeper, Virginia
    • Cornelius Beazley 1834 Will
    • Ephraim Beazley 1833 Mortgage
    • John Loveland 1649 Will
    • Ephraim Beazley 1798 Henry Beazley 1815 Indenture
    • James Phelps of North Caroline 1786 Estate
    • Robert Valentine Phelps 1905 Australia
  • About this Site
    • What's New in 2021
    • Contact Us
    • Why This Site
    • Kissing Cousins and Other Inbreeding
    • Major Contributors
    • Most Common Surnames
    • Legal Disclaimer
  • Order "Phelps Family in America" Genealogy
    • Updated Index to "Phelps Family in America" Book
    • Excerpts from the Book—European History
      • Spelling and Origin of the Phelps Name
      • James Phelps of Nether Tyne
      • Descendants of Francis Phylyppe
      • Reverend Elnathan Phelps and Eleanor Bridgman
      • John Phelps, Court Clerk at the Trial of King Charles I
    • Excerpts from the Book—American History
      • Introduction to the American Genealogy
      • William Phelps, First Local Government in America
      • Willaim Phelps, Magistrate in Simsbury
      • Organization of the Church in Windsor
      • Early Massacoh (later Simsbury), Connecticut
      • Early Dorchester (later Windsor), Connecticut
      • Oliver Seymour Phelps, Genealogist and Author
      • Noah Phelps, Spy at Ticonderoga, A Patriot of 1776
      • Maps of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut
    • Excerpts from the Book—American Family Histories
      • Introduction to the American Genealogy
      • William Phelps First Generations in New England
      • Descendants of George Phelps and Phillury Randall
      • Deacon Nathaniel Phelps
      • Will or Settlement Deed of William Phelps
      • Last Will and Testament of Timothy Phelps of Windsor, Connecticut
      • The Will of Immigrant George Phelps of Westfield, Massachusetts
Phelps & Servin Phelps Family in America reprints now available
Save $201. Archival Quality Reprints of the 1899 Phelps Family in America family history are now available.
Phelps Family on Facebook

Notable Phelps Family Members

Edward John Phelps, American Lawyer and Diplomat

PHELPS, EDWARD JOHN (1822-1900), American lawyer and diplomat, was born on the 9th of July 1822 at Middlebury, Vermont. He graduated from Middlebury College in 1840, was a schoolmaster for a year in Virginia, and was admitted to the bar in 1843. He began practice at Middlebury, but in 1845 removed to Burlington, Vermont.

The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything. — Edward John Phelps

From 1851 to 1853 he was second comptroller of the United States Treasury, and then practised law in New York City until 1857, when he returned to Burlington. Becoming a Democrat after the Whig party had ceased to exist, he was debarred from a political career in his own state, where his party was in the minority, but he served in the state constitutional convention in 1870, and in 1880 was the Democratic candidate for governor of his state.

He was one of the founders of the American Bar Association, and was its president in 1880-1881. From 1881 until his death he was Kent Professor of Law in Yale University. He was minister to Great Britain from 1885 to 1889, and in 1893 served as senior counsel for the United States before the international tribunal at Paris to adjust the Bering Sea controversy. His closing argument, requiring eleven days for its delivery, was an exhaustive review of the case.

Phelps lectured on medical jurisprudence at the University of Vermont in 1881-1883, and on constitutional law at Boston University in 1882-1883, and delivered numerous addresses, among them that on "The United States Supreme Court and the Sovereignty of the People" at the centennial celebration of the Federal Judiciary in 1890 and an oration at the dedication of the Bennington Battle Monument, unveiled in 1891 at the centennial of Vermont's admission to the Union.

In politics Phelps was always Conservative, opposing the anti-slavery movement before 1860, the free-silver movement in 1896, when he supported the Republican presidential ticket, and after 1898 becoming an ardent " anti-expansionist." He died at New Haven, Connecticut, on the 9th of March 1900.

Men of Vermont: Illustrated Biographical History of Vermonters & Sons of Vermont"

Edward John Phelps (1822-1900), of Burlington [Chittenden County, Vermont], was born 11 July 1822 in Middlebury [Addison County, Vermont], son of Hon. Samuel S. Phelps. He received his education at Middlebury college, graduating in 1840, and studied law at the law school of Yale University, and in the office of Hon. Horatio Seymour in Middlebury.

He was admitted to the bar in Addison County in December 1843, and after something more than a year of practice in Middlebury, established himself as a lawyer in Burlington. In 1851 the office of second comptroller in the treasury was unexpectedly offered to Mr. Phelps by President Fillmore. As its duties would not require a cessation of professional practice, he accepted the office, and held it through Mr. Fillmore's administration. He represented Burlington in the Constitutional Convention of 1870, and was made president of the American Bar Association in 1881. Has been for more than twenty years a trustee of the Vermont State Library. Was appointed professor of law in Yale College in the same year, and gave a short course of lectures before the law school of Boston University upon constitutional law.

Mr. Phelps was a Whig while that party continued organized and active; since it ceased to be he has regarded himself as an independent in politics; in the main, however, he has voted for Democratic nominees. In 1880 was a candidate of the Democratic party of Vermont for Governor, and received the largest vote ever cast in Vermont for a Democratic aspirant to that office. He has never cast his fortune or plumed his ambition in the line of politics. In 1885 was appointed by President CLEVELAND United States Minister to the Court of St. James. Was leading counsel for the United States before the Behring Sea Board of Arbitration, which held its sessions in Paris in 1893. Although the public performance of this most high professional engagement was in the second Cleveland administration, his employment and preparatory work in this great international lawsuit was in the time of the Harrison administration.

The faculties and qualities by which he is chiefly known and regarded have been as a lawyer. Yet not only in his arguments to courts and juries, but also in his occasional addresses and his professional lectures, show him extensively conversant, from scholarly study and extensive reading, with a wide range of learning outside of the law, and deeply imbued with the text and spirit of the best classics, and familiar with the current literature of the day; one of the most cultivated and accomplished public speakers; [has given addresses on] Chief Justice Marshall at Saratoga before the American Bar Association in 1880; on American Legislation in 1882; and on Judge Prentiss before the Vermont Historical Society in 1882. Was president of the Bennington Battle Centennial in 1877. In August 1846 Mr. [Edward John] Phelps was married to Mary, daughter of Hon. Stephen Haight, of Burlington [Chittenden County, Vermont]. Of this marriage there are surviving two sons and one daughter: Edward; Mary, Mrs. Horatio Loomis, of Burlington [Vermont]; and Charles Pierpoint.

Obiturary from Harpers Weekly

The Late E. J. Phelps

EDWARD JOHN PHELPS, who died on March 9, at New Haven, came of exceptionally vigorous and effective American stock. The founder of the family in this country was William Phelps , colonist, Puritan, and justice of the first court held in Connecticut, who came from England in 1630, and founded the town of Windsor in Connecticut. The list of his descendants who turned out to be men of distinction is long and notable. One of them, Edward, was a member of the General Court of Connecticut in 1744-5, and a large landholder. His son John, a Revolutionary soldier, was the father of Samuel S. Phelps, jurist, member of Congress, and United States Senator from Vermont. He in turn was the father of Mr. Phelps who has just died.

Edward J. Phelps, born in Middlebury, Vermont, in 1822, was graduated at Middlebury College in 1840, spent a year at the Yale Law School, continued his law studies with Horatio Seymour, and was admitted to the bar in 1843. In 1845 he moved to Burlington, where he practised his profession. For about three years, until 1854, during President Fillmore's administration, he was the second Comptroller of the Currency. From that time until 1885, though active in public life as an orator and a lawyer, he held no public office, but devoted himself to law, and to services more or less closely allied to that profession. In 1880 he lectured on medical jurisprudence in the University of Vermont. In that year, too, he was president of the American Bar Association, and the unsuccessful candidate of the Vermont Democrats for Governor. In 1881 he became Kent Professor of Law at Yale.

Though a man of proved capacity and scholarship, and of wide and istinguished reputation as a lawyer, when President Cleveland, in 1885, appointed him minister to Great Britain he was not widely known outside of his profession, so that the appointment occasioned surprise. Its wisdom was amply justified. He proved an exceedingly competent, acceptable, and successful representative of the United States, and as a minister was very popular abroad, and sincerely respected by the more discriminating of his own countrymen. He, and his wife as well, during their stay in London, contributed in a very important degree to the work in which Mr. Lowell had preceded him, and which Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Bayard continued, of bringing the British and the American peoples into more cordial and sympathetic relations. It is on the marked success of his career in London that Mr. Phelps 's reputation as a public man chiefly rests. That success was attained by very solid qualities, of learning and character, joined to attractive personal traits, sound judgment as to men and the merits of disputed questions, and social gifts of unusual charm.

When he came back from London, Mr. Phelps resumed work at Yale, where, in 1887, a professorship of law was established for him by Mr. J. S. Morgan. He continued to perform its duties up to the time of the illness which ended his life, finding leisure also for various important writings on constitutional and governmental subjects, and for the expression of his views from time to time on pressing matters of public policy. In 1893 he was appointed senior counsel of the United States in the Bering Sea controversy, and made the closing argument for the American side before the Court of Arbitration in Paris. Later, as a distinguished American, his good offices were engaged to assist the settlement of the dispute which arose with Lord Dunraven over his attempt to capture the America's cup.

Mr. Phelps lived part of the year at New Haven, but never gave up his residence in Vermont. He strongly disliked wars, condemned Mr. Cleveland's Venezuela message, and opposed the war with Spain and the expansion policy which followed it. To the free-silver mania and the candidacy of Bryan he was also unalterably opposed from the start, so that the closing years of his life found him one of the considerable number of Democrats who were strongly disaffected to all existing political conditions.


(1) From 1911 Encyclopedia.com See the Orations and Essays of Edward John Phelps, edited by J. G. McCullough, with a Memoir by John W. Stewart (New York, 1901); and " Life and Public Services of the Hon. Edward J. Phelps," by Matthew H. Buckham, in Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society (Burlington, Vt., 1901).

(2) Men of Vermont: Illustrated Biographical History of Vermonters & Sons of Vermont. Ullery. Brattleboro: Transcript Publishing Company, 1894, pp 308-310. From the Vermont Biographies Project (October 2003)

(3) From Harper's Weekly March 24, 1900

Copyright © 1998— Brian Phelps | Disclaimer | Contact Us