July 22 - Farewell to a Friend

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On July 22, 1905, a newspaper reported that Paul Laurence Dunbar made a public appearance at an African American women's conference that took place in Dayton.  Paul was very ill at the time and months away from death.

Dayton, O. - The fifth annual session of the Ohio Federation of Afro-American Women's clubs was held here last week.  The 42 club members of the federation were represented by over 100 delegates.  Among those introduced to the federation was the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, who spoke briefly in praise of women and their work.  The most notable addresses of the meeting were those of Mrs. Mary Church Terrell, of Washington, D. C.;  Miss Hallie Q. Brown, of Wilberforce;  and Mrs. Sarah G. Jones, of Cincinnati.
 

"Dunbar Speaks!  Our Women's Federation of Clubs and Mite Missionary Society Annual Meets."  The Cleveland Gazette (Cleveland, Ohio).  July 22, 1905.  Page 1.

Mary Church Terrell, a prominent activist for the rights of Black women, had been Paul's neighbor when he lived in Washington, D. C.  She was highly educated and came from one of the wealthiest African American families in the south.  Her husband Robert was an educator, a lawyer, and ultimately a judge in Washington.

As a preliminary feature of the two days' convention of the Ohio Federation of Colored Women's clubs which opens in Dayton Thursday, there will be a lecture by Mary Church Terrell, traveler and author, Wednesday night.
 

"Two Days' Convention."  Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio).  July 4, 1905.  Page 12.

In two separate accounts, Terrell described her final visit with Paul while she was in Dayton for the conference.

The Ohio State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs invited me to deliver an address when it met in Dayton.  Paul had been critically ill for a long time, but when he heard I was coming he wrote me a letter inviting me to stop with him.  Knowing that his mother had the burden of the house resting on her shoulders in addition to the mental and physical strain of nursing her son, I declined.  Almost by return mail Paul wrote again, urging me to stop with his mother and himself, saying it would do him so much good to talk over the good old times.  I could not resist that and I went to his house.
 

A Colored Woman in a White World, by Mary Church Terrell.  Randsell, Inc. (Washington, D. C.).  1940.  Page 112.

Last July Mr. Dunbar extended me a cordial invitation to be the guest of himself and his mother while I was attending the convention of the Ohio Federation of Colored Women's clubs which was held at Dayton, and which I had been asked to address.  I accepted and spent several days at his home.  I am glad I did, for I am sure I learned more about the character of the man and the genius of the poet during the short visit with him in Dayton than it would have been possible for me to ascertain in any other way, although I saw him frequently when he lived in Washington.  When I saw Paul Dunbar last summer, he was shut in, wasted and worn by disease, coughing his young and precious life away, yet full of cheer, when not actually racked with pain, and perfectly resigned to his fate.
 

"Paul Laurence Dunbar - An Appreciation," by Mary Church Terrell.  The Voice of the Negro (Atlanta, Georgia).  April 1906, pages 276.

During Terrell's visit to the Dunbars' home, Paul was inactive due to his illness, but he joked that he was "loafing."  Paul later wrote a brief verse for her in a copy of his book Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadow, referring to Terrell by her nickname Mollie, and mentioning her husband the "Jedge."

Look hyeah, Mollie, ain't it jolly
Jes' a loafin' roun?
Tell the Jedge not to hedge
For I am still in town.

 

"To Mary Church Terrell," by Paul Laurence Dunbar.  Published in A Colored Woman in a White World, by Mary Church Terrell.  Randsell, Inc. (Washington, D. C.).  1940.  Page 148.