Based on your experience studying the previous document, what do you notice here?
Much like Richard’s baptism, Phillis’s baptism at King’s Chapel stands out from others on the page. “Phillis, Negroe Serv. of Jeffry Bedgood” was baptized at King’s Chapel on October 30, 1754. As with Richard, we learn that Phillis was baptized as an adult, and was enslaved at the time of her baptism. Looking at a few entries above Phillis’s name, a note in the left margin shares that the first baptism in the new chapel, completed in stone in August 1754, was held on August 25, 1754. It can then be inferred that Phillis was the first Black person baptized in the stone chapel, as the children listed above her were not accompanied with a racial signifier as Phillis’s baptism was. Additionally, the record lists a baptismal sponsor, a church member named John Box, though Bedgood was not a member of King’s Chapel.
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While Phillis first appears in the same source of records at King’s Chapel as Richard, more details of her life have been uncovered through further research. Because Black women in colonial New England, especially those who were enslaved, tended to not know how to read or write, researchers often have to depend on writings from white men of some social standing to learn more about people who were enslaved. Knowing that Phillis was an adult woman living in Boston in 1754 and was enslaved by a man named Jeffrey Bedgood, we can attempt to learn more about her life through looking at primary sources related to Bedgood. An excellent source of information that often results in information about enslaved individuals in Boston are will and probate records of known enslavers. A probate inventory is an evaluation of someone’s personal property and real estate holdings at the time of their death, and since enslaved individuals were legally considered property in 18th century Boston, the names of people enslaved at the time of the enslaver’s death often appear in these records. In the case of Phillis, she is also discussed in Bedgood’s will.
In his 1758 will, Bedgood set specific instructions in his will regarding Phillis's life after his death: |
"I give unto my Negro Woman Fillis her Freedom, & do hereby immediately offer my decease, discharge, & sett her at Liberty, from all & every Person, & Persons whatsover - And I do hereby enjoin my Nephew Jeffrey Williams to procure & give such Security as by Law is require in the Manumission of Negroes before my Executor pays him."
In this entry, to ensure that his wishes were carried out, Bedgood added the stipulation that his nephew would not receive his inheritance until after he ensured Phillis's freedom. We know from Bedgood’s funeral expenses that before securing her freedom, Phillis attended Jeffrey Bedgood's funeral, but not by choice - she was still enslaved by the family until Bedgood's estate was settled. The funeral expenses included "making gown for Negro Woman & Shoes," indicating that Phillis wore a new outfit to what was hopefully her last obligation as an enslaved woman.
Unfortunately at this time, this is all we know about Phillis, as the archival resources dry up after the death of the man who enslaved her. This is again an issue researchers often come up against when researching enslaved people during this era. Given the marginalized status of Black women like Phillis during the mid-18th century, and low literacy rates among enslaved and free Black people in Boston, many times the only records we are able to locate are from the perspective of white oppressors. Ironically, racist language in archival records often helps researchers in their ability to dig into the histories of women like Phillis.
