John Phillips : Short Biography

Hello

I am searching for any information that may help me find out more about my great-great-great-grandfather, John Phillips, who came from County Clare, Ireland. I have his life in the USA well documented, but I'm struggling to find information about him or his family in Ireland. Any ideas of where to look or possible leads are greatly appreciated.

John Phillips was born roughly around 1830, with some documents saying 1826 or 1828. Documentation and interviews with him say he's from County Clare, Ireland. Both of his parents died in the same week when he was a child. When he was around 10 years old, he made his way to Innis, England to scuttle coal. In 1845 or so, he made his way to America, landing in Louisiana. From there he travelled and worked in a few different states in the USA before settling in Simpson county, Mississippi. There he met and married an orphan girl by the name of Sarah Turner. Sarah died in 1866. They had 3 children - Martha, Mary, and George. John remarried shortly after Sarah's death. He married Flora Colquhoun who had lost her first husband (John Sinclair) in 1854. John Phillips and Flora had 5 children together - George Matthew, Margaret, John Laughlin, Catharine, and Harriet Sarintha. John was a farmer and according to the local paper was well respected in the community. He passed away suddenly while chopping wood on the 29th of March, 1900.

The little I can find about his family and his life in Ireland: 

- He had an older sister and an older brother.

- His brother was in the Crimean War and died in the Battle of Balakava in 1854.

- Family legend says his sister lived in England and that's why he went to England in the fist place. But the article that interviewed him says his sister lived in Ireland.

- Documentation only places John as born in County Clare, but no mention of a particular parish or town.

I'll attach copies of the newspaper articles I have about him.