Chronology

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1. Antebellum and Civil War · 1800–1865

2. 1845
   Founding or opening · Chapel Hill Samuel F. Phillips opens a law practice in Chapel Hill

   Phillips, who had grown up in Chapel Hill after his family moved there in 1826, studied law under President David L. Swain and in the new university law school, then began practising in Chapel Hill when he came of age in 1845.

3. 1847
   Founding or opening · Phillips Law Office, 401 East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill A boys' preparatory school meets in Samuel Phillips's law office

   Samuel Phillips's small stuccoed law office on East Franklin Street reportedly housed a preparatory school for boys in 1847. Later in the century William Horn Battle taught law classes in the same building.

4. 1851
   Life event · Chapel Hill Zebulon Vance studies law at Chapel Hill

   Vance entered the University of North Carolina early in 1851 and spent the rest of the year at Chapel Hill studying law under Judge William H. Battle and Samuel F. Phillips. He obtained his law licence in December 1851 and set up an office at Asheville early in 1852.

5. 1854 to 1859
   Appointment, election or service · Chapel Hill Samuel F. Phillips teaches in the university law school

   From 1854 to 1859 Phillips taught in the university law school at Chapel Hill.

6. 1856 to 1865
   Appointment, election or service · Orange County Samuel F. Phillips represents Orange County in the House of Commons

   A Whig, Phillips was elected to the House of Commons in 1856 and 1858 and again in 1864 and 1865, representing Orange, and was chosen speaker in 1865. He moved to Raleigh in 1867.

7. 1859
   Closing or ending · Phillips law office, East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill Samuel F. Phillips closes his law school and shares the office with Judge Battle

   Phillips, who had taught law in his Franklin Street office since 1854, closed the school, went back to practice, and shared the building with Judge William Horn Battle.

8. Reconstruction and the New South · 1866–1899

9. 1869
   Property or economic transaction · Samuel Phillips house, East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill Samuel F. Phillips sells his East Franklin Street house to Henry J. Hogan

   Samuel Phillips sold his East Franklin Street house and lot to Henry J. Hogan, who moved to Tennessee right away and left the place to his father, William J. Hogan. The sale sent Phillips's mother and his sister Cornelia Phillips Spencer to live in Charles Phillips's house.

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Compiled and maintained by the Friends of the Orange County Public Library from county records, the sources named on each card, and the index’s event pages. Last updated October 2, 2026.