Learn More about John William Dunjee, Freedom Seeker and Activist
John William Dunjee (Dungy or Dungee) (1833-April 19, 1903) was an African American educator, Baptist minister, publisher, and founder of Baptist churches across the United States.[1] Born enslaved to the Terrill family in New Kent County, Virginia, he escaped captivity aboard the steamship Pennsylvania until he reached Philadelphia. In Philadelphia, Dunjee met abolitionist William Still, one of the Underground Railroad's most significant figures, who helped Dunjee escape to Canada.[2] Dunjee returned to the United States after the Civil War and studied at Bates College in Maine, Oberlin College in Ohio, was ordained a Baptist minister, and worked with the Baptist Home Missionary Society. During Dunjee's time withthe Baptist Home Missionary Society he traveled across the United States to help establish Baptist churches. Dunjee was an important figure in the founding of Storer College in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.[3] He also established the Harpers Ferry Messenger in 1882, spoke at numerous Emancipation Day celebrations, and participated in political functions which promoted equality.
Notes:
[1] John William Dunjee, July 1, 2022, findagrave.com; John William Dunjee (1833-1903), The Historical Marker Database, March 2, 2021, https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=167843.
[2] William Still. The Underground Railroad (Philadelphia: Porter and Coates, 1872), 541-547.
[3] Ibid., 544-545.
[4] Shepherdstown Register (Shepherdstown, WV), April 16, 1870; The Cincinnati Enquirer, September 5, 1876; Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) April 21, 1891; Harrisburg Telegraph, December 30, 1879.
* Contributed by Steven Stabler