Entered Polytechnic (Class of 1882) at age 15; “…the brightest and most beloved of all the C.E.M. boys”¹

Buried on Dec. 2, 1879 in a plot purchased by Yung Wing at Spring Grove Cemetery in Hartford.  (Information supplied by Ms. Irene McHugh, former historian at Cedar Hill Cemetery, where Yung Wing was buried.)

The Troy Times, Nov. 29, 1879, gave a poignant account of his death.  It reported that Paun died of consumption, which he had contracted "while camping out at the sea-shore during the last Summer vacation. Ambitious to keep up with his class, the young student refused to discontinue his attendance at the institute until two weeks ago, when he was first confined to his room.  He died professing the Christian faith, and his last words were those of the Lord's Prayer, the "Amen" being spoken with his expiring breath...He was an exceedingly bright student, and gave promise of ranking among the first in his class.  The deceased was converted to Christianity under the ministrations of the Rev. Dr. Clark, of the Second-Street Presbyterian Church.  He was very much averse to returning to China, and a few days before he died, wrote the following suggestive verse:

"Dr. Clark has saved my heart,
Where I lie there let me die,
Where'er I be, there bury me."

 (Carried by the New York Times, Dec. 1, 1879).

1. Yung Shang Him (10/1939), 243, Yung Shang Him (1939), 19.