On October 24, 1896, Paul Laurence Dunbar was visiting Washington, D. C., where he wrote a letter to a showgirl named Maud Wilkinson in New York City. Paul expressed his love for Maud and begged her to marry him, although at the time he was also courting his future wife Alice Ruth Moore.
Darling, I love you. All my dreams of the future hold you. I feel that I could be happy to go through life at your side, but without you, I don't want to think of it. Dear Maud, with which of Isham's Co.'s do you intend to go on? Don't do it, for my sake. I love you and poor as I am, if you will take me I will marry you now and take from you this harrowing care of self-support. I want you to think of me darling as your protector, even more than your lover. Know that I wish to shield you from all the severities of life, and take you into the warm shelter of my heart of hearts. I want you to tell me all about your plans, when you mean to go on the stage, where and what you are to do. I shall not rest until I have heard from you. I cannot conceive of coming back to New York and not finding you there. You are my hope. You are my all.
Paul Laurence Dunbar to M. Maud Wilkinson, October 24, 1896. Paul Laurence Dunbar collection, New York Public Library, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (Microfilm edition, Roll 3).
Paul mentioned a traveling company of performers managed by the African American entertainment promoter John W. Isham. The word "octoroon," an offensive term today, referred to a person who had both Black and white ancestors.
One of the best and cleanest variety attractions that it will be Scranton's pleasure to witness this season is "John Isham's Octoroons," which delighted a full house at the Academy of Music last night and will give two performances today. Isham has gathered together what seems to be the cream of octoroon talent. Much of it, the costuming and stage settings, bordered on the artistic, and the work of the artists was thoroughly in keeping with their surroundings.
"John Isham's Octoroons." The Scranton Tribune (Scranton, Pennsylvania). November 14, 1896. Page 3.
The genuine Negro element in vaudeville, as distinguished from the old-time minstrelsy of white men with blackened faces, has developed conspicuously in the past season. Isham's company of Octoroon singers, now at Hammerstein's Olympia roof-garden, consists of more than a score of well-trained singers, including some phenomenal voices and a number of perfect types of dusky feminine beauty. In Southern ballads and Negro songs the individual stars of the organization shine their brightest.
"In Darkest Vaudeville." Leslie's Weekly (New York, New York), no date [c. 1897]. Page 52.
Sixty years after it was written, Paul's letter to Maud was still in the possession of her relatives in Newark, New Jersey. A family member said that even after Maud got married and moved to California, she still felt an attachment to Paul.
Paul Laurence Dunbar met her in New York where she became interested in him. Maud was true to her husband, but in a moment of weakness once confessed that Paul would always remain in her blood. Since then, to us, the name of Dunbar meant a woman jilted, although later we found out differently. She never talked much, but every once in a while, she'd let loose with a fond memory.
James Covington to Jean Blackwell, June 11, 1956. Paul Laurence Dunbar collection, New York Public Library, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (Microfilm edition, Roll 3).