Dudley Atkins Tyng was born on January 12, 1825, in Prince George’s County, Maryland. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1843, and then pursued studies in theology at the Alexandria seminary in Virginia. Tyng became an Episcopal minister in 1846, and went on to serve in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Tyng served as rector of the Church of the Epiphany in Philadelphia from 1854 until right before his death. He was forced to leave his parish over his opposition to slavery. He died as a result of an accident on April 19, 1858, in Brookfield, Pennsylvania.