Phillis Wheatley

Dates: 1753 - December 5, 1784

Occupation: poet

Kidnapped from Africa and sold to a Boston family to work as a servant, Phillis Wheatley’s intellect left a profound impression on her owners. Instead of training her to be a servant, they educated her. By the time that she was twenty, she published a book of poems which received international notoriety.

Phillis Wheatley’s Early Life in Bondage

When Phillis Wheatley was seven, she was kidnapped from West Africa and brought to Boston in 1761. She was purchased by John Wheatley to work as his wife’s personal servant. The Wheatley’s quickly noticed that Phillis was unusually gifted intellectually. Although she was a servant, they encouraged her to learn to read and write, which she mastered in less than two years. She also read the Bible and learned Greek and Latin.

Phillis Wheatley Finds Success with Her Poetry

Phillis’ educational endeavors lead to new opportunities for her. In 1767, she published her first poem, Mercury,in the Newport, Rhode Island. In 1773, after traveling to London with the Wheatley’s son, her book Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, was published. Phillis received significant international notoriety.

After promoting her book throughout London, Phillis returned to Boston because Mrs. Wheatley was ill. Shortly thereafter, both Mr. and Mrs. Wheatley died, and Phillis was freed.

Phillis Wheatley Dies in Poverty

In 1778, she married John Peters, a free black living in Boston. Peters was unsuccessful at supporting Phillis, and eventually left her. She spent the remainder of her life living in poverty and working as a servant. On December 5, 1784, she died before her second book of poetry was published. Two books, Memoir and Poems of Phillis Wheatley (1834) and Letters of Phillis Wheatley, the Negro Slave-Poet of Boston (1864), were published posthumously.