William Phips - Early Life

Early Life

Phips was born the son of James and Mary Phips, in a frontier settlement at Nequasset (present-day Woolwich, Maine), near the mouth of the Kennebec River. His father died when he was six years old, and his mother married a neighbor and business partner, John White. Although Cotton Mather in his biography of Phips claimed that he was one of 26 children, this number is likely an exaggeration. His mother is known to have had six children by Phips, and eight by White, although there may have been more children that did not survive infancy. His father's ancestry was country gentry in Nottinghamshire, and Phips was a cousin of Sir Constantine Henry Phipps, Lord Chancellor of Ireland. According to Mather he was a shepherd until the age of 18, after which he began a four-year apprenticeship as a ship's carpenter. He received no formal schooling, although he did learn to read and write. Thus his literacy skills were rudimentary, and once he achieved wealth and fame he often relied on his personal secretary for assistance.

After his apprenticeship ended in 1673, Phips traveled to Boston where he continued to employ his shipmaking and carpentry skills. About a year later he married Mary Spencer Hull, widow to John Hull (unrelated to Massachusetts mintmaster John Hull). Mary's father, Daniel Spencer, was a merchant and landowner with interests in Maine, and Phips may have known her from an early age. By all accounts, the couple exhibited "genuine affection" for one another, and there is no evidence Phips was unfaithful during his long absences from home.

Phips established a shipyard on the Sheepscot River at Merrymeeting Bay in Maine in 1675. The shipyard was successful, turning out a large number of small boats. Phips, however, had grander ideas, and constructed his first large merchant ship in 1676. As he was preparing for its maiden voyage in August 1676, planning to deliver a load of lumber to Boston, a band of Indians descended on the area. Rather than take on his cargo, he took on board as many of the local settlers as he could. Although he was financially ruined (the Indians destroyed the shipyard and his intended cargo), he was seen as a hero in Boston.

He then established a shipyard in Boston, supported by investors who knew his skills. His mother and stepfather returned to Maine, rebuilding their settlement, where they lived until his stepfather died. His mother then returned to Boston, where she stayed with Phips' financial support.