A native of Charleston, West Virginia, Phillis Wheatley Waters was born on April 15, 1898. She was the daughter of Phil Waters (1871-1917), a leading figure in African-American society in West Virginia. A lawyer who graduated from Howard University and the University of Michigan School of Law, where he earned a varsity letter in baseball, he served as chief deputy clerk of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.[2][3][4]