The Life of Phyllis Wheatley

On July 11 in 1753, a baby girl was born to a poor African-American couple in Gambia, Africa. Their brand new baby girl was only days old when they decided to pack their belongings and head for America. They sailed on a ship names "Phillis", thus her parents decided she shall be named Phillis, as a symbol of their new beginning.

Little did her parents know that at age eight, their daughter would be kidnapped and sold at auction to be a slave. A wealthy merchant from Boston named John Wheatley purchased the young girl for his wife Susanna, who wanted a young maid to serve her in her old age.

Shortly after she had moved to Boston with the Wheatley's, Phillis became friends with their daughter, Mary. The Wheatley's saw that Phillis had great potential and gave her privileges that were not typical for a slave, allowing her to learn to read and write. Susanna and Mary would help Phillis with her reading and writing, and also helped her become fluent in Latin.

After living with the Wheatley's for a few years, Phillis was treated more like a family member then a slave. She was given her own private room which was heated, and a lamp to use at night. Phillis was also assigned to light housekeeping so she could spend more time with her studies.

When Phillis was just twelve years old, her first poem "On Messrs. Hussey and Coffin." was published. Soon after her first poem was published, the countess of Huntingdon, Selina Hastings, who was a friend of the Wheatley's, encouraged Phillis to write more, and offered to finance the publication of her book of poetry.

When Phillis was fourteen she was sadden by death. George Whitefield, a Methodist Minister, also Phillis's mentor had passed. In her case, death had meant success. Phillis wrote an epic on the minister's life called "Niobe in Distress" and it was a complete success.