William Phillips Sr. (1722–1804) was a

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

merchant, politician, and a major benefactor of

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...

Biography

He was a son of Samuel Phillips, pastor of the South Church in

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia * Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Ando ...

, and was a descendant of George Phillips of

Watertown Watertown may refer to: Places in China In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways. Places in the United States *Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town **Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...

, the progenitor of the New England Phillips family in America. Unlike his brothers, Phillips did not attend

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

, instead embarking on a career in the merchant trade, working in the warehouse of merchant Edward Bromfield. He eventually became Bromfield's business partner, and married his daughter Abigail in 1744. In the 1760s Phillips became active in Boston politics, serving as a town selectman from 1767. He was active on committees established to organize opposition to unpopular British policies, including one to organize agreement and enforcement of a ban in the importation of goods from Britain subject to taxes imposed by the

Townshend Acts The Townshend Acts () or Townshend Duties, were a series of British acts of Parliament passed during 1767 and 1768 introducing a series of taxes and regulations to fund administration of the British colonies in America. They are named after the ...

. He was on a committee headed by

Samuel Adams Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and ...

and

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the ...

to deal with the aftermath of the Boston Massacre in 1770. In 1772 he was elected to the provincial assembly along with Adams, Hancock, and Thomas Cushing. Governor

Thomas Gage General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/192 April 1787) was a British Army general officer and colonial official best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as British commander-in-chief in the early days of the ...

rejected his election to the governor's council in 1774. That same year he sat on a committee established to determine who would need assistance when the Port of Boston was closed by Gage's implementation of the

Boston Port Act The Boston Port Act, also called the Trade Act 1774, was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which became law on March 31, 1774, and took effect on June 1, 1774. It was one of five measures (variously called the ''Intolerable Acts'', the ...

. When the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

broke out in 1775, Phillips relocated his family from occupied Boston to

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) (also called "The Rose of New England") is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River flows south to Long ...

, where they occupied the childhood home of

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

. He sat in the convention of 1779-80 that drafted the Massachusetts State Constitution, and also in the state convention that ratified the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

. He served during the 1780s as a state representative and senator. He became interested in the project of an academy at Andover as outlined by his nephew Samuel Phillips. He gave the academy an amount equal to that contributed by his brother Samuel. He succeeded his brother as president of the academy's board of trustees, but only served a few years before age and infirmity compelled his retirement. He was father to

William Phillips Jr. William Phillips Jr. (April 10, 1750 – May 26, 1827) was a Boston merchant, politician and philanthropist. Phillips was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of William Phillips Sr. He joined his father in business and became wealthy. He was ...

, father-in-law to

Josiah Quincy II Josiah Quincy II (; February 23, 1744April 26, 1775) was an American lawyer and patriot. He was a principal spokesman for the Sons of Liberty in Boston prior to the Revolution and was John Adams' co-counsel during the trials of Captain Thomas ...

, who married his daughter, Abigail Phillips, and grandfather to

Josiah Quincy III Josiah Quincy III (; February 4, 1772 – July 1, 1864) was an American educator and political figure. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives (1805–1813), mayor of Boston (1823–1828), an ...

.Massachusetts Historical Society: Quincy, Wendell, Holmes, and Upham Family Papers, 1633–1910
/ref> and great grandfather of

Samuel H. Walley Samuel Hurd Walley (August 31, 1805 – August 27, 1877) was a Massachusetts businessman and politician who served as Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and as a member of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. ...

Notes and references

"William Phillips and William Phillips", ''New England Historical and Genealogical Register''

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, William Sr. 1722 births 1804 deaths American businesspeople American philanthropists Members of the colonial Massachusetts House of Representatives Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Massachusetts state senators Phillips family (New England) 18th-century philanthropists