John Peters was an opportunistic. Wheatley had to marry him after her Master and Mistress died in 1778. Having been sheltered all of her life, she naively believed that getting married to a free Black man as a newly freed Black woman would grant her future successes in her career. That was not true,and could not be, the case. His business ventures failed and they soon had literally no money. Phillis tried to write to get another book published, but The Revolutionary War was roaring, her fair weather friends were gone and no one cared to assist her. Ironically, the "slavery" status she had under her caring Anglo-American family gave her far more support, honor and creative freedom than anything her married life did with her selfish, no good, denigrating Black husband. Two children were born and died in infancy. In 1784, Peters was imprisoned because of debts he owed in his failed grocery store business, and just like many Black women after her, she was left abandoned by her own man. Destitute, she resorted to scullery maid's work in a cold boarding house at the edge of Boston. She was not used to such physical work, as she was a skilled artistic writer with a delicate body build. It must have broken her heart to realize what slavery really was all about; what most Black women endured every day. Pregnant with her third child, her health failed her, and by December's cold, she had developed pneumonia. She gave birth in difficulty in that cold room with no one around who loved her- and due to postnatal infections, she died the same day the baby (a girl) was born. It was December 5th, 1784. Three and a half hours later, the baby died too. Three days later they were buried together in an unmarked grave. After Peters was released from jail, he continued thinking of no one except himself. He sold all of his wife's written manuscripts in order to pay off his debts. It was the best thing he ever did for his wife- since the collector involved was able to protect her works for posterity. However, the poems she struggled to assemble for her planned second book, were never found. This doesn't mean that they no longer exist. It just means that the collectors are keeping their mouths shut about their whereabouts. Peters eventually died, somewhere- either in jail, or in a hospital, or done in by angry townspeople for dissipating their money. He remained a lowlife. His grave sight has never been sighted, either. So be it. Of all the expected elements that could have destroyed an exceptional 17th Century Black girl from Senegal, not slavery, or the Wheatley Family- or anybody White- were ever responsible. Ironically, it was the abandonment that came with the death of her owners, a paper that legalistically proclaimed her "Freedom", and the misdeeds of the ultimate nemesis of the Black woman, the Black man, himself.
no
Yes to john peters
yes they are married to each other.
Phillis Wheatley married John Peters. He was a free slave. They had three children. Their names were lost because two of the children died early and the third child died along with Phillis Wheatley in the middle of child birth.
Phillis Wheatley was a slave to Susannah and John Wheatley. John Wheatley bought her at a slave sale on the Boston wharf.
she married John Peters who was a free black grocer.
no
Yes to john peters
Phillis Wheatley and John Peters had three children, who all died at infancy.
yes- to john peters
yes they are married to each other.
Phillis Wheatley married a free slave who managed a small general stoar. His names was John Peters.
No. John Wheatley bought phillis at a slave auction
Phillis Wheatley married John Peters. He was a free slave. They had three children. Their names were lost because two of the children died early and the third child died along with Phillis Wheatley in the middle of child birth.
Phillis Wheatley was a slave to Susannah and John Wheatley. John Wheatley bought her at a slave sale on the Boston wharf.
Phillis Wheatley's children's name are not listed anywhere. All three of her children died in infancy. She was married to John Peters.
Phillis Wheatley did not buy John Wheatley. John Wheatley bought Sasha Gamboa at a slave auction in Boston, Massachusetts 1761....... John named her Phillis after the slave ship she rode in from Senegal, West Africa.