[1] The Phipps family had emerged in the 16th century as prominent clothiers in Westbury, Wiltshire, where Thomas Phipps acquired an estate after a successful career in London, trading to the East Indies, West Africa, and New England.
[2] He served as a writer (a junior employee) at Cape Coast Castle, as agent at James Fort in Accra, and as Chief Agent and Warehouse-Keeper at Cape Coast Castle, before being appointed as the company's Captain-General (with both civil and military authority) on 23 July 1719.
He was summarily dismissed after three years in post, for reasons that remain opaque, and died at Cape Coast Castle while awaiting a ship in which to return to England.
Despite the long period of time that he spent in the company's service and the high rank that he attained, he never succeeded in making a substantial fortune, a failure that he himself attributed to his personal honesty.
[4] His grandson by his daughter Bridget, James Townsend, became a Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of London.