The second of Naphtali and RachelSeixas Phillips’s eleven children, Aaron was born inPhiladelphia and brought up in New York. Among his siblings was IsaacPhillips. His father became thefirst American born parnas ofMikveh Israel, launched the NationalAdvocate, a Democratic newspaper that he edited for many years,and later served as a clerk in the New York Customs Office.

Naphtalithen Passed down in family lore, recorded by Aaron’s nephew, N.Taylor Phillips, came a story that paints Aaron as a rathermischievous child. At Sheairth Israel’sMill Street synagogue, beneath each seat was a space for storingbooks and a tallit, accessed bylifting the seat. It seems Aaron’s favorite target was an oldermember of the congregation, and one day Aaron arrived early and placea black cat in the storage area beneath this gentleman’s seat. Whenhe arrived and raised the seat, the cat escaped, ran around thesynagogue and caused quite a stir.

Naphtali never married. Like his father and his brother Jonas, heworked n the New York Customs House.