Phillis Wheatley - Later Life

Later Life

In 1773, the family had Phillis accompany their son Nathaniel Wheatley to London, in part for her health. She had an audience with the Lord Mayor of London (an audience with George III was arranged, but Phillis returned home beforehand), as well as with other significant members of British society. A collection of her poetry was published in London during this visit.

After her mistress, Mrs. Wheatley, died on October 18, 1773, Phillis was relieved of any domestic chores, but was not emancipated. In 1775, Phillis Wheatley published a poem celebrating George Washington, entitled, “To His Excellency, George Washington.” In 1776, Washington invited Wheatley to his home as thanks for the poem, and Thomas Paine republished the poem in the Pennsylvania Gazette after their meeting. Wheatley supported the American Revolution, but the war years saw a decline in publishing of poetry.

In 1778, Wheatley was legally freed from the bonds of slavery by her master's will. His daughter Mary Wheatley died soon afterward. Three months later, Phillis Wheatley married John Peters, a free black grocer. They struggled with poor living conditions and the deaths of two infant children.

Wheatley wrote another volume of poetry but was unable to publish it because of her financial circumstances, the loss of patrons after her emancipation (often publication of books was based on gaining subscriptions for guaranteed sales beforehand), and the competition from the Revolutionary War. However, some of her poems that were to be published in that volume, were later published in pamphlets and newspapers.

Her husband John Peters was imprisoned for debt in 1784, leaving an impoverished Wheatley with a sickly infant son. She went to work as a scullery maid at a boarding house to support them. Life had forced her into a kind of domestic labor that she had been free of while enslaved. Wheatley died on December 5, 1784, at age 31. Her infant son died three and a half hours after her death.