While Phillips was a Puritan, he expressed a greater tolerance and acceptance for differing Protestant thought. While critical of the Church of England, he was not an advocate of full separation. In fact, he signed a document entitled "The Humble Request" on the Arbella, explicitly denouncing a desire for separation. He was a supporter of Infant baptism and was tolerant of Baptist religious views, much to the consternation of John Winthrop. Phillips drafted signed and filed with the State House a petition to pardon a man who had been fined for possessing a Baptist tract. Arguably Phillips, in deviating from the strictness of Winthrop on the other side of the Charles in Boston, helped to lay the groundwork for the more inclusive spirit of today's Congregational churches. Cotton Mather once said of Phillips that he was "better acquainted with the true congregational church-discipline than most of the ministers who came with him to this country." Phillips served on the committee of the Massachusetts General Court in the formulation of what became called the "Body of Liberties" issues in 1641. In 1642 Phillips was appointed to the Board of Overseers of the newly formed Harvard College in Cambridge. Phillips had children by two wives. His first wife died soon after arriving in New England. Their children were:   By his second wife Elizabeth, Phillips had the following children:   Phillips died in Watertown on July 1, 1644 and was buried the subsequent day in what is now called the Arlington Street Cemetery. Upon his death John Winthrop wrote "He was...a Godly man, specially gifted, and very peaceful in his place, much lamented of his own people and others." Phillips' descendants became prominent members of Boston, Massachusetts life and are considered part of what were known as the Boston Brahmins. They include New England and national leaders in religion, academia, government, business and social justice. They include:   In 1855 a group of orthodox Trinitarian Christians founded a new church in Watertown, naming it the Philips Congregational Church in honor of Rev. Phillips. This church later merged with another Congregational Church, Payson Park United Church of Christ. The building is now owned by Redeemer Fellowship Church. Phillips is specifically mentioned in a 1948 marker at the edge of the Charles River which honors him and Saltonstall at what is called Sir Richard's Landing. The text on the monument is as follows:  "Here Reverend George Phillips protest in 1632 against taxation without representation struck the first note of civil liberty heard in this wilderness."