Phelan was born in approximately 1811 in Derry, Ireland[1] and later became, along with John Hays and William Evans, one of the first settlers of Saint Paul.
Many locations in Saint Paul, Minnesota are named after Phelan as a result of his early land claims.
[1] A military report described him as having, "gray eyes, brown hair, fair complexion and was six feet two and one-half inches high".
(1.89 m)[1] When Phelan and Evans were discharged from Fort Snelling they both decided to make land claims in what is now Saint Paul.
[5] Phelan selected a claim in what is now Downtown Saint Paul and built a log house to spend the winter in while he waited for Hays to be discharged.
[6] Phelan started a little opposition to Pierre Parrant or Pig's Eye, the first person to settle in Saint Paul.
[8][9] In September, Hays's body was found murdered in the Mississippi River near Carver's Cave by a friendly Indian.
[9][11] Justice of the Peace, Henry Hastings Sibley, issued a warrant and Phelan was held at Fort Snelling under charges of murder in the first degree.
[12] When the next steam boat arrived, Phelan was sent down to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Territory which was the county that the crime was committed in.
[24][25] John Fletcher Williams, a local historian, wrote in 1876 "It is a disgrace, that the name of this brutal murderer has been affixed to one of our most beautiful lakes - one that supplies our households with water.