Review of my trip yesterday

According to the Phillipsdnaproject.com, the next grandfather on my Phillips line is a William Phillips who either married a Sarah Hays or Sarah Burleson. I'm not quite sure why there is a debate, since no one can produce a marriage license for either woman! Still, I'm very sure that he is the right person to look for, so most of my research is done to find him. Here's the story that Debra Cochran and I have been looking at:
William was born most likely in Georgia, possibly in one of the Carolinas. It appears that he moved to Tennessee, which is evidenced by one of his children noting they had been born in Tennessee in 1809 (John Phillips who married Dorcas Crawford). We believe he moved to White County, or Warren County, Tennessee. According to records, he was elected as Sheriff of White county, Tennessee. Then, according to this story on pages 2-3, he apparently murdered William Quarles, then escaped from jail in Nashville. This happened in 1814/1815, and then we believe he left for Alabama, which was at that time part of Mississippi territory. Alabama became a territory in 1817, then a state in 1819. Alabama would have been a great place to live in hiding, not many people lived here at the time, and no one would know about what you had done in another state. The real question is if this William Phillips is the same one I'm looking for. William appears to be in Shelby County in 1820, which goes along with my story so far. The question is: Where are the first records with William Phillips in the state of Alabama? When we find that, we will be able to ascertain if this is the same William Phillips.
While he is living in Alabama, he is found in St. Clair, Alabama in 1830 and 1840, then in Blount county in 1860, then St. Clair again in 1860. Thanks to findagrave.com, we now know that William and Sara left for Warren County, Tennessee before they died. Why did they do this? The community may have forgiven, or more likely forgotten, the murder. It doesn't appear to be a choice most people would make, but perhaps Sarah was homesick? We will likely never know that answer, but if you have an idea, let me know!