In the winter of 1853, a baby boy named Alfred (my great-grandfather) was born to Robert and Sarah Anne Phillips. The family lived in Weston Supermare, a small village on the Bristol Channel (that would eventually become a seaside resort). Robert was a boot maker and his children, William, David, Ellen, Alfred and Sarah were scholars. It is evident that Will immigrated to the United States as a young man and worked as a baker in Detroit, Michigan. Alfred probably yearned to join his brother in the New World and his mother must have wanted a better life for him as well. (It would have been difficult for a mother to send a young son alone, across an ocean to a big unknown country - either the boys were very convincing or life in the village was without promise - maybe it was a combination of both.) Anyway, Will and his new wife were ready to accept Alf in their home.
However, as the photo commentary explains, the wife and her baby died, so Alf stayed with a farm family until he took up his own trade, shoe making, following in his father's footsteps. In time, the rest of the family came to America and all were united under one roof until Will married again and Alf found his own bride - a pert, pretty Irish girl named Nellie Long.
