Phillis Wheatley

Poet

Birthplace: Africa    (1753-1784)

In 1761 a young African was snatched up from her sleep and took to an awaiting ship.  This young girl was only eight years old and was chained to other slaves to be in the dirty, damp, dark hole of a ship bound for America.  This young girl was later to be known as Phillis Wheatly.

After arriving in America she was sold as a slave to John and Susannah Wheatley, who were kind to her.  They taught her to speak English and to read and write, and gave her the name Phillis.

Phillis began writing poems at the age of 12, and was often asked to recite them ot the rich friends of the Wheatleys.

Phillis became a well-known poet both in England and in the colonial United States.  She once wrote and dedicated a poem to George Washington who invited her to visit him at his headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

in 1778, philis was forced to leave her home because of the death of Mr. Wheatley.  She married and had 3 children and died in childbirth at the age of 30/  During her marriage she worked as a servant and wrote few poems.  She had already become the first African American Poet.