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September 20, 1773

Phillis Wheatley Peters (c. 1753 – 1784) was born in West Africa and captured by slave traders as a child, whereupon she was sold to John and Susanna Wheatley of Boston, Massachusetts. She was named after the slave ship on which she was transported to the Americas and the name of her enslavers, but her surname of Peters is that of the man she married in 1778—John Peters, a free man of color. The story of the discovery of her talent by the Wheatley family is oft told—they taught her to read and write, and by age fourteen, she had begun to write poetry that was soon published and circulated amongst the elites of late eighteenth-century America and Great Britain.
In June 1773, Wheatley Peters joined her enslaver John Wheatley for a trip to London to help with her chronic asthma and to meet a series of British and American dignitaries in celebration of the upcoming publication of her first and only volume of poetry, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, to be published later that year. This newspaper documents her return to Boston in September 1773. Also in this issue is a notice for another young enslaved woman, 22-year-old Nancy, who had escaped from her enslaver. The notice gives a physical description of Nancy and her dress, promises a reward for her return, and reminds readers of the fugitive slave laws that forbid aiding Nancy in her self-emancipation.
Under pressure from critics who saw the hypocrisy in praising Peters’ talent while keeping her enslaved, The Wheatleys manumitted Peters soon after her return to Boston and the publication of Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.

Issue number 1982 of the Boston Evening-Post from September 20, 1773. The newspaper is a single piece folded in half once, producing four pages. On page two, at the center of the second column directly under the heading [BOSTON, September 20, 1773], is an item that reads [In Capt. Calef, from London, came Passengers Capt. Hillhouse and Lady, Mr Aleing; also Phillis, the extraordinary poetical Genius, Negro Servant to Mr. John Wheatley, of this Town]. The second column on page three notes that [For LONDON, / The Ship LONDON, / ROBERT CALEF, Master, / Laying at the Long Wharf, and / will Absolutely sail by the First Day / of November, having Part of / her Cargo engaged.]
The last item in the paper, at bottom right of fourth page, is a notice that an enslaved woman named Nancy has run away from her enslaver: [Ran-away from me the Subscriber, / on Tuesday the 13th of May last, a NEGRO Woman SLAVE / named Nancy : She is a tall Woman, aged about 22 Years, and had / on when she went away, a blue and white loose Gown ; and did / about two Years ago belong to Mr. Samuel Willis of Bridgewater. / --Whosoever shall bring said Runaway to me the Subscriber / shall be well rewarded for their Trouble, by / Francis Perkins. / Bridgwater, Aug. 28 1773. / N.B. All Persons are forbid harbouring, concealing or carring / off said Slave, as they may depend upon being prosecuted / as the Law directs. / F. P.]
The first page of the newspaper has a letter to the publisher in the first column, with the second and third columns dedicated to ship notices and editorializing on the state of British hard currency. The remainder of the newspaper is filled with notices of ship arrivals and departures, sales, auctions, and musical performances.
There is a significant stain at the center of the newspaper that has bled through and is visible on all four pages. It is brittle, acidic, and yellowed overall. Residue and tearing along the left border indicate the paper was adhered to a larger volume.

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

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National Museum of African American History and Culture

2023.82.2

newspapers

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ink on newsprint

H x W (Closed): 14 9/16 × 9 5/16 in. (37 × 23.7 cm)

Title • Boston Evening-Post Numb. 1982

nmaahc_2023.82.2

NMAAHC

BOSTON EVENING-POST NUMB. 1982

National Museum of African American History and Culture

CC0

1770s

Wheatley Peters, Phillis • Fleet, John • Boston Evening-Post • Perkins, Francis • Fleet, Thomas

United States • Massachusetts • North and Central America • Suffolk County • Boston

Slavery • Women • Self-liberation • Fugitive enslaved • Poetry • Mass media

City • Boston • County • Suffolk County • State • Massachusetts • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America

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