Matilda Jane Dunbar

Mother of a Poet 

Native of Kentucky, Matilda Jane Dunbar, wife of Joshua Dunbar, was a remarkable woman. Her beloved son, Paul Laurence Dunbar, was born on June 27, 1872, in Dayton, Ohio, and died in her arms on February 9, 1906. She was a devoted mother and a great influence on her son

When Paul was two years old, Matilda Jane and Joshua separated in 1874. Very little is known of Joshua.

Paul had a younger sister, Elizabeth, who died in infancy. His mother was left on her own, making a living as a "colored washerwoman. Among her customers was the Wright family. 

Born in slavery, Matilda learned poetry by listening to her slave-master read poetry to his family in the evenings, and she was determined that Paul receive an education and inspired him in the writing of poetry.

While growing up, Paul helped his mother by delivering her laundry bundles and working part-time in hotels. Upon graduation he aspired to a career in law but was financially unable to continue his studies. He was rejected for jobs by many Dayton businesses, including newspapers, because of his race. He took a job as an elevator boy in the Callahan Building on Main Street. While employed as an elevator boy, he produced articles, short stories and poems that later earned him fame.

Born into slavery in Fayette County, Kentucky, near Shelbyville, Matilda Jane Dunbar died in Dayton on February 24, 1943. She came to Dayton following the Civil War after marrying Joshua Dunbar, also born a slave. By a previous marriage to Wilson W. Murphy of Louisville, Kentucky, she had two children, William and Robert, about whom very little is known.