George Phillips

George Phillips (c. 1593 – July 1, 1644) was an English-born Puritan minister who led, along with Richard Saltonstall, a group of English settlers up the Charles River to settle in what is now Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1630. A Puritan who was part of the Great Migration from England to New England, Phillips was a contemporary of, and often shared differing views with, John Winthrop. He established the first Congregational Church in Watertown and was one of the early influencers of the Congregational Church in North America. His descendants number in the thousands and are well represented in American history in the clergy, local and national politics, business, and social justice arenas. Early life Phillips was born in Raynham, Norfolk. He earned a B.A. from Gonville and Caius College of the University of Cambridge in 1613, and subsequently earned an M.A. degree in 1617. There he was a classmate of John Allin. By 1630 Phillips was the village vicar of Boxted, Essex and was increasingly dissatisfied, as were many Puritans, with the continuance of Roman Catholic ritual and insufficient Calvinist influences on the Church of England. He and many of his parishioners chose to leave England and head for America. Phillips joined John Winthrop on the Winthrop Fleet to emigrate to America on the Arbella, whose passengers included Winthrop and his family, Anne Bradstreet, Captain John Underhill, Thomas Dudley, and Richard Saltonstall. The ship left England on April 20, 1630, and arrived in Salem on June 12.