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William Howard Day was an abolitionist, editor, publisher, printer, teacher, lecturer, civic leader and clergyman who devoted his life to improving the conditions of his fellow African-Americans.[1]
William Howard Day was born free in New York to John Day, a sail maker, and his wife Eliza Ann Dixon, an abolitionist and founding member of A.M.E. Zion Church. His father died when he was around four years old.
After excelling in a private school, J.P. Williston, an ink manufacturer, offered to take over his guardianship to provide him with a liberal education his mother could not offer, to which his mother reluctantly agreed.[2] [3] He was also taught printing skills, which led to his first job, working as a printer to pay his way through college. This soon led to a career, as he became the shop foreman after his graduation from Oberlin College in 1847.
Day became an editor of the Cleveland True Democrat newspaper in 1851 In 1852, he established the Aliened American,[4] one of the first weekly African-American newspapers.
Day married fellow abolitionist, and Oberlin College graduate Lucy Stanton on 25 Nov 1852 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.[5] They had one daughter:
Shortly after the birth of his daughter, Day abandoned his wife and child and moved to England, where he remained for the duration of the American Civil War.
The 1870 Census[6] shows him at age 41 with his future wife Georgie Bell in Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware. His occupation is "Prof of Languages".
His marriage to Lucy Stanton was legally dissolved in 1872, after which he married Georgia F Bell in 1873 in Delaware.[7]
Day spent his later years in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; where he became the first African-American to serve on the Harrisburg City School Board.
The 1880 Census[8] shows him at age 54 with his wife in the 8th Ward of Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. His occupation is "Professor of Classics."
The 1900 Census[9] shows him at age 71 with his wife in the 8th Ward of Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. His occupation is "Secy (Methodist church)". This census states that his wife is the mother of no children.
Day died in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on 3 Dec 1900,[10][11] at the age of 75, and is buried at the Lincoln Cemetery in Penbrook, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.[12] His occupation listed on his death record is orator.
Statue of William Howard Day |
There is a memorial on the grounds of the Capitol building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that consists of a pedestal inscribed with "one hundred names of change agents who pursued the power of suffrage and citizenship between 1870 and 1920." [13] Around the pedestal, there are statues of four great abolitionist orators. William Howard Day is one of these four.[14] See the 100 Voices Project.
See also:
Photo of statue, courtesy of the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission.
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Categories: USBH Notables, Needs More Sources | USBH Notables, Needs Connection | 100 Voices, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | Massachusetts, Free People of Color | Ohio, Free People of Color | New York, Free People of Color | Oberlin College | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | Abolitionists | African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church | Orators | Newspaper Editors | Lincoln Cemetery, Penbrook, Pennsylvania | US Black Heritage Project Managed Profiles | African-American Notables | Notables