Jeremiah Phillips

Jeremiah Phillips (1812–1879) was an American Baptist missionary to the Santals under the Free Baptist Missionary Society in India.

He is credited for opening up the first educational facility for the Santals and a farming colony for the Christian Santals at Jellasore, Odisha(formerly Orissa). He also reduced the language of Santals to writing and introduced a written system of clerical administration and missionary work among Santal tribals—laying the foundation of the Bengal–Orissa Baptist Mission among the Bengali people, Odia people, and Santals.

He married Hannah M. Cummings, third wife and daughter of Thomas Cummings and Hannah Webster, on 12 February 1841—Hannah Cummings arrived in India on 12 September 1840 and was appointed as a missionary to India at the age of 20 - they had ten children, where eight of them were born at Jellasore, Orissa. He along with his wife served at Cuttack, Sambalpur, Balasore, Jellasore, and later at Midnapore.