Born in Philadelphia, Esther was among the youngest of the children born to Rebecca Mendes Machado and Jonas Phillips, an amazing sixteen of whom survived to maturity, including Manuel Phillips, Rachel, Naphtali, Aaron, and Zalegman. Her father, an immigrant from the Rhineland, aligned himself early with the patriot cause and served as a leader of Philadelphia’s Jewish community after an itinerant period bringing him to Charleston, Albany, and New York City.

In 1803, Esther married Myer Moses II, son of Rachel Andrews and Myer Moses, and brother of Isaac Clifton of Charleston. The following year their first son, Franklin, was born in Philadelphia, and soon after, the family moved to Charleston. Four more children followed.

Myer reached the rank of major, serving in the War of 1812. Franklin would become a justice of the state Supreme Court, while his son, Franklin, Jr., would serve as governor of South Carolina during Reconstruction, detested by many white South Carolinians and plagued for years by political scandal.