Samuel Phillips Jr. was an American merchant, manufacturer, politician.
Background
He was born on February 5, 1752 in North Andover, Massachussets, United States, the sixth child of Samuel and Elizabeth (Barnard) Phillips, and the sixth in direct descent from the Rev. George Phillips, 1593-1644, the first clergyman of Watertown.
Education
At thirteen he entered Dummer Academy at South Byfield, Massachussets, where he studied under the gifted but eccentric Master William Moody. At Harvard College, where he graduated in 1771, he was faithful and painstaking rather than brilliant, with a tendency toward morbid introspection.
Career
Settling in North Andover, Phillips was elected in 1775 as delegate to the Provincial Congress. At the outbreak of the Revolution he hastily constructed a powder-mill on the Shawsheen River and after some prolonged experimentation was able to supply the American armies with ammunition. In 1777 he moved to the South Parish of Andover, where, in 1782, he erected an imposing mansion, which was his home until his death.
He was a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1779-80 and served in the state Senate, with the exception of one year, from 1780 until 1801. In 1785 he was chosen to succeed Samuel Adams as president of the Senate.
In 1776, Phillips began to plan for a new type of school and induced his father, whose fortune he did not inherit until 1790, and his uncle, John Phillips, of Exeter, to be his financial backers. In 1777 he purchased in their names a sufficient tract of land and after consultation with his friend, Eliphalet Pearson, he drafted a "deed of gift, " or constitution, which was one of the significant documents in the history of American education.
Phillips Academy was opened, April 30, 1778, with thirteen pupils, under Eliphalet Pearson as principal. Phillips was a member of the original board of trustees and later, in 1796, became its president, devoting much of his time to its affairs. He had previously enjoyed the friendship of George Washington, who visited him at Andover in 1789 and who sent to Phillips Academy one nephew and eight grand-nephews.
Afflicted with asthma in his later years, he sought to improve his health by travel, but in vain. He was elected in 1801 as lieutenant-governor of Massachusetts on the Federalist ticket but died shortly after his inauguration.
Achievements
Religion
He himself was strongly Calvinistic in his theology.
Views
He was a stanch supporter of the church and a liberal donor to benevolent projects.
Membership
He was a charter member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1780.
Personality
Phillips was tall and dignified, and rather unbending in his manner. Extraordinarily industrious, he begrudged every moment not spent in work and took as his motto, "Be more covetous of your hours than misers are of gold. " Although he was even-tempered, he had little sense of humor and permitted himself few diversions.
Connections
He was married, on July 6, 1773, to Phoebe Foxcroft, youngest daughter of the Hon. Francis Foxcroft, of Cambridge, by whom he had two children, only one of whom - John Phillips (1776 - 1820) - survived his father.