William H. Duncan was born in Alabama in 1835, and attended Georgetown University as a young man. After graduating in 1853 he studied law, but in 1860 entered seminary with the goal of becoming a secular priest. He was ordained in 1862 and spent the next seven years working in Mobile, Ala. In 1869 he decided to become a Jesuit and entered the novitiate at Frederick, Md. Completing his studies rather quickly, presumably because of the education he had already received, he spent most of the rest of his life at St. Mary's residence in Boston, Mass. Only a year before his death in 1894 was he sent to Georgetown to serve as procurator.
From the description of The Rev. William H. Duncan, S.J., papers, 1855-1893. (Georgetown University). WorldCat record id: 123179970
