Remembering Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 to February 9, 1906)

Living here in Warren County, we our fortunate to be between the two larger cities of Dayton and Cincinnati, allowing us to not only share in both of these city's accomplishments but in their residents, who helped shape our country and our world. And believe it or not, one way of learning about the people who helped shape our history can often be found in one of the  historical cemeteries located in southwest Ohio. Montgomery County's Dayton, Ohio's Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum, which is one of the oldest garden cemeteries in the United States, is filled with history. And, this being the month of February, which is month that we celebrate Black History, the WarrenCountyPost.com has been given the privilege to publish a piece from Woodland about Paul Laurence Dunbar, an internationally renowned poet, novelist and short story writer. 

Paul Laurence Dunbar 

Paul Laurence Dunbar was born in Dayton, Ohio, to Joshua Dunbar & Matilda Burton Murphy. Before the Civil War, both had been enslaved in Kentucky. Growing up with few opportunities for formal education, as an adult Matilda Dunbar enrolled in night classes at the school on Zieger Street. She Taught Paul, her youngest son, the basics of reading and impressed upon him the importance of education.

Paul Laurence Dunbar began writing stories and verse when he was a child, publishing his first poems in a Dayton newspaper at the age of just 16. He became the president of the Literary Society at Dayton Central High School and was the editor of the school paper. In 1890, after graduation, Paul Laurence Dunbar collaborated with Orville Wright; a former classmate, to publish the Dayton Tattler, a Black neighborhood newspaper.

A positive review by William Dean Howells, editor at Harper’s Weekly, increased Dunbar’s popularity practically overnight. One of the first Black American poets to establish an international reputation; Paul Laurence Dunbar traveled to England in 1897 for a literary tour, giving readings on the London circuit.

During his lifetime, much of Dunbar’s most popular poetry was written in a “Negro dialect” style associated with the antebellum South, though he also wrote poems using a “Midwestern regional dialect” popularized by James Whitcomb Riley.

Paul Laurence Dunbar died of tuberculosis on February 9, 1906, at the age of 33. Over his tragically short lifetime, Paul Laurence Dunbar produced an impressive body of work including novels & short stories, essays, plays, newspaper articles, and over 600 poems.  

Paul Laurence Dunbar is buried in the same section as the Wright family  in the Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum, located at 118 Woodland Avenue, Dayton, Ohio.

*Photo: Paul Laurence Dunbar & his mother, Matilda Burton Murphy Dunbar, ca. 1900. Courtesy of the Nation Parks Service.

To Learn More:

1. Paul Laurence Dunbar - Wikipedia Page
2. The Dunbar Family History - National Parks Service/Dayton Aviation Heritage
3. Paul Laurence Dunbar Exhibit - Wright State University Library
4. Paul Laurence Dunbar Resource Guide - Library of Congress

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