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Phillis Wheatley Phillis Wheatley was one of many famous poets in Early America. She was born around 1753 in Senegal, West Africa. Around the age of seven or eight she was kidnapped and sold into slavery. She was too young to be sold in the West Indies or the southern colonies. John Wheatley, Prominent Boston tailor, bought her. John Wheatley recognized her talents for learning and encouraged her learning. Although she was originally bought to be a servant and an attendant to Mrs. Wheatley, Phillis was soon accepted as a member of the family, and was raised with the Wheatley’s two other children. She was given the privileges to learn to read and write. Phillis learned English with remarkable speed, and, although she never attended a formal school, she also learned Greek and Latin. Around age twelve she was reading Greek and Latin classics; also reading passages from the Bible. Phillis was soon on her way to writing