It is certain that Thomas W Phillips and George W Johnson knew each other and were involved jointly in several civic projects.The New Castle, Pa. public library historical room has minutes from meetings of the founding boards of the YWCA and the YMCA of New Castle and both men were members of those boards.Both founded competing banks one city block from each other in the late 1800's when the city of New Castle was in a dynamic growth mode...Phillips founded the Citizens Bank and Johnson founded the Lawrence Savings and Trust.
Both men were deeply involved in the religious community of New Castle. Phillips paid for the construction of the First Christian Church and donated it to the congregation in New Castle.The church stands today adjacent to the post office in the area of New Castle known as the "Diamond". Johnson was an Elder of the Methodist church and an important leader in that congregation.
When looking at the map, which is included with the time line these men were never more than 20 miles from each other from birth to death and spent the last 22 years of their lives in the city of New Castle, Pa.. As time passed, both men grew to prominent positions in a relatively small geographic area.
The family is now spread across the United States, but we all share in the fruits of the labor of these men.
