After marrying John Peters in 1778, Phillis Wheatley faced significant hardships. Her husband, John Peters was imprisoned for debt, leaving Phillis to struggle with financial instability and the challenges of being a woman of color during the revolution and during the first few years of a brand new nation. Despite these difficulties, she continued to write and sought to support herself and her growing family through poetry. Overall, Wheatley’s life and success as a poet, was overshadowed by the struggles of poverty and illness until her death in 1784

Sources:

National Women’s History Museum: Phillis Wheatley: https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/phillis-wheatley

Wikipedia: Phillis Wheatley: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillis_Wheatley

Britannica: Phillis Wheatley: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Phillis-Wheatley

Biography.com: Phillis Wheatley: https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/phillis-wheatley

Wheatley’s Boston: John Peters’ Home (Court Street): https://wheatleysboston.org/2016/04/11/john-peters-home/

Wikipedia: Obour Tanner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obour_Tanner.

OUPblog: Was Phillis Wheatley’s husband a crook or a dreamer? https://blog.oup.com/2017/02/john-peters-phillis-wheatley/

MIT Press Direct: The New England Quarterly: Lost Years Recovered John Peters and Phillis Wheatley Peters in Middleton: https://direct.mit.edu/tneq/article-abstract/94/3/309/107199/Lost-Years-Recovered-John-Peters-and-Phillis?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Boston Public Library: Tracing the Life of Phillis Wheatley Peters: https://www.bpl.org/blogs/post/tracing-the-life-of-phillis-wheatley-peters/

Wikipedia: Scullery Maid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scullery_maid