William T Phillips Obituary

SPOKANE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW, July 22, 1937, p. 13

His home was at W828 Glass. He was a member of
Oriental Lodge No. 74 F & A. M and Scottish Rite
bodies. He was a consulting engineer. Husband of
Gertrude, at the home, father of William Richard
Phillips of Spokane. Funeral Thurs., July 22, at
7:30 p.m. from the Alwin Chapel at the Hazen &
Jaeger Funeral Home. Cremation will follow. 

William Thadeus Phillips was born in Sandusky,
Sanilac Co., Michigan on June 22, 1865 to Celia
Mudge and Laddie J. Phillips per his marriage
certificate. Gertrude Phillips, his widow,
stated that "both she and her late husband had
known Butch Cassidy, but that William T.
Phillips was not the famous outlaw from Utah.
Instead, she wrote, Phillips had been born and
raised in an eastern state until he reached the
age of 14 years, at which time (owing to dime
novel influence) he ran away and headed for the
Black Hills [along the South Dakota/Wyoming
state line]. She wrote that Phillips had met
Butch Cassidy at the time of the Johnson County
War [1892 in Johnson County, Wyoming where the
Hole-in-the-Wall hang-out for the robbers is
located]. He thought he knew Cassidy very, very
well ....." (Meadows, pages 115 &123) 

"Bob Phillips of Sandusky, Michigan said that
his great grandfather, William J. Phillips
reared (and may even have sired the imposter. He
said his great grandparents lived across the
street from Celia Mudge's family. Upon noticing
that thirteen year old Celia was unable to
provide proper care for her illegitimate son,
Mr. and Mrs. Phillips - who had 15 children of
their own - volunteered to take the baby in and
give him a name (as well as the nickname
"Butch") The boy lived with his adoptive family
until he was fourteen, then went north to work
in logging camps. After throwing an axe at a man
during a fight, "Butch" Phillips lit out for the
West, and his family never saw him again."
(Meadows, pages 126 & 127) 

Actually, Robert LeRoy Parker, better known as
Butch Cassidy, was part of an infamous group of
train and bank robbers, called the Wild Bunch. 

William Mudge or Phillips, which would have been
the son of Celia, born in 1865, has not been
found in the 1870-1930 Michigan Census.