Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/810

764 ciate Reformed theological seminary in Xew York city, and then in the Theological seminary of the Reformed Dutch church in New Brunswick, N. J. He was ordained pastor of the Pearl street Presby- terian cluirch in New York city in 1818, and re- mained there until 1826, when he was transferred to the congregation that was then worshipping in Wall street. He continued with this church after its removal to Fifth avenue, and was its pastor un- til his death. In 1826 he received the degree of S. T. D. from Columbia, and he was a trustee both of Princeton and the University of the city of New York. He became a director in 1825, and a trustee in 1829 of the theological seminary in Princeton, and was president of the board of directors in 1861-'5. On its organization in 1837 he was made chairman of the executive committee of the board of foreign missions, and during the last years of his life he was its president. He was often a mem- ber of the general assembly, and in 1835 its mod- erator. Dr. Phillips likewise held other trustee- ships to important institutions, including the Leake and Watts orphan asylum and the Sailors' Snug Harbor. Chiefly through the liberality of his friend, James Lenox, the Phillips memorial church was erected in Madison avenue. New York.

PHIN, John, publisher, b. in Melrose, Scotland, 9 Sept., 1832. He was educated in Edinburgh as a civil engineer, and in 1851 came to the United States. In 1864 he was called to the chair of chemistry in the People's college at Havana, N. Y., and in 1866 was professor of agriculture in Penn- sylvania agricultural college. Subsequently he came to New York, where he has edited and pub- lished various technical journals, such as the " Manufacturer and Builder," " Technologist," " American Journal of Microscopy," and " The Young Scientist." He has published " Open Air Grape Culture " (New York. 1862) ; " Chemical History of the Creation " (1872) ; " Practical Treatise on Lightning-Rods " (1872) ; and " How to Use the Microscope " (1875), of which six edi- tions have been called for.

PHIPS, or PHIPPS, Sir William, governor of Massachusetts, b. in Pemmaquid, now Bristol, Me., 2 Feb., 1651; d. in London, England, 18 Feb., 1695. He was the son of a gunsmith in humble circumstances, and was one of a family of twenty -six chil- dren, of whom twen- ty-one were boys. At first he was a shep- herd, but when he reached the age of eighteen he bound himself to a ship-car- penter, and on the expiration of his time went to Boston, where he learned to read and write. He then built himself a vessel and engaged in com- merce, also seeking for treasures that had been lost in wrecked vessels. In 1684 he went to England to procure means to recover valu- ables from a wrecked Spanish ship near the Baha- mas. The first search, in a vessel that was furnished by the government, proved unsuccessful, but in 1687 a second attempt was made under the patron- age of the Duke of Albemarle, when he recovered bullion, coin, and plate that amounted to £300,000 sterling. Such was his honesty, and so liberal was he to the seamen, that his own share amounted only to £16,000. His success gained for him the honor of knighthood, and James II. appointed him sheriff of New England ; but he found it impossible to dis- charge the duties of his office while Sir Edmund Andros was governor. In 1690 he commanded an expedition against Port Royal, which he captured, and later in the same year, when the English colo- nists formed the intention of capturing Canada from the French, he had command of the naval forces, consisting of thirty-four vessels manned by 1,500 sailors, and carrying 1,300 militia under the com- mand of Maj. John Walley. These forces appeared before Quebec on 5 Oct., 1790, and demanded the surrender of that city, in the name of King William III., from the Count de Frontenac, then governor of Canada. The latter replied : " I do not acknowl- edge King William, and I well know that the Prince of Orange is an usurper, who has violated the most sacred rights of blood and religion. I will answer your master by the mouth of my can- non." After a siege of several days the fire from the French batteries proved so injurious to the English fleet that the enterprise was abandoned. Subsequently nine of Phips's vessels were wrecked during a storm, and he returned to Boston, consid- erably distressed at his defeat. He then visited England for the purpose of inducing the govern- ment to send another expedition to Canada, and while there, through the influence of Increase Mather, agent of the colony in England, he was ap- pointed in 1692 captain-general and governor-in- chief of Massachusetts. In 1690 he had professed repentance for his sins, and was admitted to mem- bership in the North church, of which Cotton Mather was pastor. He arrived in Boston on 14 May, 1692, and soon put a stop to the prosecutions for witchcraft by organizing a special court of oyer and terminer, or commission of seven magis- trates, for the consideration of their cases. In August, 1692. he sailed with about 450 men to Pemmaquid, where he built a fort. In 1694, in a dis- pute with the collector of the port, an official from England, he was so carried away by the passion of the moment as to have recourse to blows to settle the controversy. He also came into difficulty with the captain of an English war vessel, whose head he is said to have broken with his cane. In 1694 he was summoned to England to answer complaints that had been brought against him. He received assurances of his restoration to his place, but died suddenly of malignant fever. He was regarded as a man of uncommon enterprise and industry, of an excellent disposition, and of perfect honesty and integrity. See " Life of Sir William Phips," by Francis Bowen, in Sparks's " American Biography " (Boston, 1834-'7). — His nephew, Spencer, b. in Rowley, Mass., 6 June, 1685 ; d. in Boston, Mass., 4 April, 1757, was the son of Dr. David Bennet, of Rowley, and, on being adopted by Sir William Phips, took lay statute the latter name. He was graduated at Harvard in 1703, and became a coun- cillor in 1722. From 1731 till 1757 he was lieuten- ant-governor, administering the government in 1749-53, and again in ]756-'7.

PHŒBUS, William, clergyman, b. in Somerset county, Md.. in August, 1754: d. in New York city, 9 Nov., 1831. He early united with the Methodist church, and in 1753 was admitted on trial into the travelling ministry, with an appointment to the Frederick circuit. In 1784 he was appointed to East Jersey, and was a member of the Christmas conference of that year, when the church was organized under the superintendence of