Phillips, Wade H. (Wade Hampton), 1879-1968

Wade Hampton Phillips (1879-1968) was born in Davidson County, N.C., on July 7, 1879. He served as chairman of the Davidson County Democratic Committee (1906-1910). In 1912 Phillips was elected as a state senator. In 1916, as a major in the 120th Infantry of the National Guard, he served on the Mexican border when Pancho Villa threatened the area. He later obtained the rank of lieutenant colonel and served on General John Pershing's staff as judge advocate of the American Expeditionary Force in World War I (1917-1919). In 1924 Governor McLean appointed him as the first director of the new North Carolina Department of Conservation and Development. In 1948 he was again elected to the state Senate. In his later years he served on the Davidson County Board of Education and was the local historian for Davidson County.