Peter Phillips (August 11, 1731 – December 12, 1807) was a justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court from May 1780 to May 1786. Born in

North Kingstown, Rhode Island North Kingstown is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, and is part of the Providence metropolitan area. The population was 27,732 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. North Kingstow ...

, Phillips was the son of Christopher and grandson of Samuel Phillips.J.R. Cole, ''History of Washington and Kent counties, Rhode Island'' (1889), p. 384. He was baptized on August 28, 1731, "being dangerously sick", but survived.Wilkins Updike,

James MacSparran James MacSparran (10 September 1693 – 5 December 1757) was an Irish-born Anglican clergyman, writer, diarist, and slaveowner. Biography Early life James MacSparran was born at Dungiven, co. Deny, and received his education at the Univers ...

, Daniel Goodwin, ''A History of the Episcopal Church in Narragansett, Rhode Island'', Volume 1 (1907), p. 129. In the American Revolution he "was an inflexible Whig, and rendered important service to his country during the war". He represented North Kingstown in the Rhode Island General Assembly, and subsequently, in 1775 was promoted to the Rhode Island Senate. In May of that year, he was elected commissary of the Army of Observation, a body of fifteen hundred men raised by the state, of which Nathanael Greene was elected brigadier-general. Phillips was reelected state senator for 1776, 1777, 1778 and 1779. In 1780 the legislature appointed Phillips one of the judges of the supreme court of the state, a position which he held until 1785, when he was one of four delegates elected by the people to represent Rhode Island in the

Congress of the Confederation The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Mar ...

, though did not take his seat in that body. In 1786, he declined re-appointment on the bench of the supreme court, and in 1795, the legislature, "desirous of retaining Phillips in public service", elected him as chief justice of the court of common pleas. However, he soon resigned all public honors and retired to private life. Phillips was a man of considerable property, owning "a handsome estate in Wickford". He "died Dec. 12, 1807 at about ¼ past 11 o'clock in the morning", at the age of 76."Notes and Queries", ''Newport Mercury'' (September 6, 1902), p. 8.

References

1731 births 1807 deaths People from North Kingstown, Rhode Island Members of the Rhode Island General Assembly Rhode Island state senators Justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court {{RhodeIsland-state-judge-stub