Phillip Bishop Hickerson was born in 1845 at Cedar Creek, Tennessee.  His parents were Jefferson Hickerson and Nancy Ann Bishop who came from Kentucky and Indiana.  Other children in that family were: Nora C 1835, James J 1840, William J 1843, Martha 1849, Thomas 1850, and Susie Eliza.  The last four children were born in Tennessee.

In 1864 Phillip and his brother William Jack joined the 2nd Regiment of the Tennessee Mounted Infantry at Linden, Tennessee.  Phillip and his brother were in the Union Army and their first battle was at Centerville, Tennessee.  Mrs Morris had always thought her grandfather was in the Confederate Army and was surprised when she discovered he was in the Union Army.

One of the stories that Phillip later told his children was that he was captured behind the enemy line and sentenced to death as a spy.  He and two other prisoners stood before a six man firing squad and were told to start walking away.  Phillip did and then he began to run in a zigzag pattern and they missed him.  The other two were shot.  Phillip then had to swim across the Tennessee River to get back to his camp.  He took off his clothes and tied them to his head as he crossed the river.

Some time before he was discharged in 1865 at Nashville, Phillip was bitten by a spider.  This bite damaged one of his legs and caused internal problems with his heart and other organs.  This information was received from the Veterans Administration Reg. Office that contained his medical records.  Phillip Bishop Hickerson received a pension for his service in the Union Army because of the spider bite.

In 1870 Phillip Hickerson married his first wife Martha McClanahan in Decater County, Tennessee.  Martha's sister may have been the mother of Frank and Jesse James.  The story is told that Frank & Jesse James helped Phillip get out of Tennessee when he got in trouble there.

Phillip and Martha's first three children were born in Perryville, which is on the west bank of the Tennessee River in Decatur County, Tennessee.  In about 1879, Phillip cut a man at a dance.  The man eventually died and his family came after Phillip.  They had to sell the farm that Martha had inherited and buy two wagons and two pairs of oxen to got to Missouri.  The next two children were born in Kennett, Missouri.  The next child was born in Sharpe County, Arkansas at Evening Shade. Martha died when her sixth child was born in 1887 in Evening Shade, Arkansas.  Phillip's sister, Martha, who married James Martin, lived there and was able to help Phillip with his children when Martha Bishop Hickerson died.

The six children of Phillip and Martha Hickerson were:
 1. W J "Pat", 1873-1934, married Mattie Bell Fussell
 2. Josephine, 1876-1951, married John Davis Preston
 3. Mart, 1878-1914, married Jimmie Florine Fussell
 4. Phillip G, 1880-1940, married Sarah Ella Rathburn
 5. Charlie, 1882-1961, married Mary Hattie Perry
 6. Monroe, born and died in 1887

Phillip B Hickerson married his second wife, Amanda Catherine Gee in 1888 at Evening Shade, Arkansas.  She was the daughter of John Gee and Fannie Shipley.  They had thirteen children:
 1. John, 1889-1975, married Martha Maxie
 2. Lillie Mae, born at DeKalb, Bowie County, Texas, 1891-1985, married John Adair
 3. Willie Catherine, born at DeKalb, Bowie County, Texas, 1892-1966, married Jessie L Upchurch
 4. Mary Jane, born at Texarkana, 1894-1975, married J J Chalker
 5. Ellon Ola, 1896-1989, married Jim R Griffin
 6. Matilda Bell, 1898-1962, married Robert H Martin
 7. McKinley "Mack", married Fannie Mae Jorden
 8. Ben Oliver, 1902-1976, married Bertie Opel Rachel
 9. Joe Lee, 1906-?, married Ida B Maugrum
10. Frank Edd, 1908-1989, married Lottie M Bell
11. Jack Raymond, born 1910, married Bessie L Shaffer
12. Jimmy, 1913-1914
13. Susie Margaret, born 1915, married first Henry Ellis Murray, second Floyd W King

Phillip Hickerson and his wife Amanda had a farm of 150 acres about 5 miles south of Texarkana at Eylau.  They are buried at the Eylau Methodist Cemetery.  Phillip died in 1926 in his orchard of a heart attack.  Amanda Gee Hickerson, 1869-1944, was a tall, soft-spoken person that was loved by her five step children as well as her own.