John H. Paynter

Biography

John H. Paynter (1862–1947) was an African American writer of poetry and nonfiction who wrote the book Fugitives of the Pearl (1930), a popular history of the largest known mass escape attempt of enslaved people in the United States. The story was based on his own 1916 short story first published in The Journal of Negro History and then published as a serial in the Washington Tribune, written based on news accounts and oral histories from his own family. He was a descendant of the Edmonson sisters, three sisters who attempted to escape slavery on The Pearl, and a grandson of John and Elizabeth Edmonson Brent, who were born slaves and purchased their own freedom before founding the John Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church at 14th and Corcoran streets NW in Washington, D.C.

Explore Wikipedia contributors ↗