Moses Dresser Phillips: The early years

     Moses Dresser Phillips is born in Charlton, Massachusetts on May 15, 1813.  He grows up on a farm with his father, Daniel, his mother, Abigail, and several siblings.  After his mother passes away when Moses is a young boy, his father marries Lucy Harwood of Charlton.  Although his mother has passed, Moses is surrounded by her family, the Dressers, some of whom are businessmen who offer Moses different lessons from those he is learning from his father on the farm.  Most likely, as his younger brother, Austin Towne Phillips, does, Moses attends nearby Nichols Academy.