Rebecca Phillips Moses

Rebecca Phillips was born somewhere in the Caribbean, possibly aboard her father’s cargo ship as it sailed for Saint Eustatius. The Phillips family—merchants and traders—maintained strong ties to New York, Newport, Jamaica, Curacao and Martinique. Her great-grandfather served as an early parnas of Shearith Israel. Her Father, the English-born Jacob Phillips, fought with the South Carolina militia during the Revolutionary War.

At fifteen she married Polish emigrant Isaiah Moses. They lived in Charleston where he ran a store on King Street. As Isaiah grew increasingly successful, he was able, in 1813, to purchase a plantation—the Oaks—and to situate himself and Rebecca among the southern planter class.

In what must have been an upsetting turn of events, after more than two decades, financial pressures forced Isaiah to sell his property. Rebecca, who had been mistress of the Oaks for so many years, was now listed in the city directory as running a dry goods store.

Rebecca Phillips Moses

1843