“Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,
Taught my benighted soul to understand
That there's a God, that there's a Saviour too:
Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.
Some view our sable race with scornful eye,
"Their colour* is a diabolic dye."
Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain,
May be refin'd**, and join th'*** angelic train.”
-Phillis Wheatley
*color **refined ***the
Although we do not Know for sure researchers think Mrs. Phillis Wheatley was born in 1753 in West Africa’s present day Gambia or Senegal. When Phillis was 8 she was traded with about 107 other slaves and 15 or 16 specially requested “prime boy slaves” for 2, 640 gallons of rum and other provisions.
Phillis was then taken on the slave ship The Phillis to boston whereupon she was bought by the tailor John Wheatley to be a servant for his wife. Her first name was given to her in recognition of the ship that brought her to America, and, as tradition said, she was given the last name of her master, Wheatley.
Phillis was sick when she became Mr. Wheatley's slave, although, through the fog of ailment, her intelligence was still evident. Therefore, when John gave Phillis to his wife Susanna, she did not train her to be a servant, rather, she trained her to be a scholar.
Phillis received lessons from the Wheatley's eighteen-year-old daughter, Mary, in theology, English, Latin and Greek. She also received some teachings in Ancient History, Mythology, and Literature, although those were from other family members.
These teachings were by no means ordinary for an enslaved person, and even for a women of any race at that time period and sometimes even still today!
By twelve, Phillis was reading passages from the bible, and by 14 she wrote her first poem, which was dedicated to the University of Cambridge, in New England, which is displayed above.
Phillis continued to write poetry until she died on December 5, 1784, at age 31, although not all her work was published. Some of her none works include:
On Imagination
An**** Hymn To The Morning
An**** Hymn To Humanity
Ode To Neptune
One Being Brought From Africa To America
On The Death Of A Young Lady Of Five Years Of Age
****A
These are all part of her “Poems on various subjects” which was her one published book of poems.
After Phillis’s master had freed her, she married John Peters, free black grocer. They toiled in poor conditions and grieved at the death of two babies. As said above she died on December 5, 1784, at age 31 and her 3rd baby died three and a half hours later.
Taught my benighted soul to understand
That there's a God, that there's a Saviour too:
Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.
Some view our sable race with scornful eye,
"Their colour* is a diabolic dye."
Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain,
May be refin'd**, and join th'*** angelic train.”
-Phillis Wheatley
An**** Hymn To The Morning
An**** Hymn To Humanity
Ode To Neptune
One Being Brought From Africa To America
On The Death Of A Young Lady Of Five Years Of Age