Beeks line: Jonathan Dunham died 1724

 I have postponed writing this blog post many times, because I am not sure of much of the supposed "information" I'll be using, in writing of Jonathan's life.  I have two completely different and apparently well researched family histories, that each say Jonathan belongs in their family.  They cannot both be accurate, and as is often the case, I suspect that there were two men of the same name and their records have been conflated since early times.  So, I'll give the broad outlines of the two most likely possibilities and hope someday, someone can figure this out.  

The most common story is that Jonathan is the son of Richard Singletary and Susanna Cook Dunham.  Under this theory, Richard used both Singletary and Dunham as his last name at various times, and he is indeed an interesting character.  They did have a son named Jonathan, who was born in 1640 and died shortly after, but I've not found documentation for a second son by that name.  (That in itself is not so unusual, as sometimes later born children with the same name as a deceased child are not noted in the records, or the family historian has decided the second listing was a "mistake".)   Supposedly this Jonathan named a child Richard Singletary Dunham, but the birth date for this child, even using a 1640 birthdate for Jonathan (the date for the first Jonathan born to Richard and Susanna), the father would have been just 17 when he was born.  It doesn't seem likely.  This line says that Jonathan married Mary Bloomfield in 1660 in Haverhill, Massachusetts. 

But there are problems with the alternate theory, also.  Thomas and Martha Knott are said to be the parents of Jonathan, who was born according to this story in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1646.  According to this theory, Jonathan married Mary Bloomfield in 1669 in Hartford, Connecticut.  Torrey's New England Marriages before 1700 shows that Jonathan Singletery alias Dunham married Mary Bloomfield by 1661 in Salisbury, and that Jonathan Dunham married Mary Bloomfield by 1667 in Hartford.  Sigh.

So if Jonathan was the Massachusetts guy, he was pretty much a scoundrel, in court for various misdemeanors and not well respected.  He also helped found and lived in Woodbridge, New Jersey, and was respected there, but went to Massachusetts frequently where he apparently let off some steam.  If he was the Connecticut guy, then he may have been a Quaker or at least Quaker friendly, and spent some time on Long Island before moving to become a founder of Woodbridge, New Jersey.  So I will leave these speculations here, and move to what I think is firmer ground, regarding his life in New Jersey.  

Jonathan is not regarded as an early proprietor, yet we know he was in Woodbridge by 1670, when he built and was operating a grist mill.  He received 30 pounds from the town, and use of sod from the meadow to help with the damming.  He operated the grist mill for many years and it was regarded as one of the best mills known.  He received 1/16 of what he ground as a "toll", which is less than that of some of the other millers I've researched.  He had a grant of 213 acres of land in 1672 and was a freeholder of the town. 

Jonathan was quite active in the life of the town, particularly in the 1670s and 1680s,  At various times he was a ratemaker (assessor for taxes), an overseer of the highways, clerk of the court, and juryman.  He helped lay out lots for a town division in 1685 and was on some sort of vigilance committee in 1686.  In 1701, he was on a committee to ask Mr. Shepard to move to Woodbridge and be ordained as their full time pastor (apparently either a Presbyterian or an Anglican church), but he declined because his wife was not happy there.  

Meanwhile, Jonathan and Mary were busy raising their family, They had perhaps six children, although some lists show as many as 12.  I think that again, records for two men by the same name were mixed.  

I've not located anything showing Jonathan as a participant in any of the military wars of the era.  Maray died in 1705 and Jonathan on September 6, 1724, when he was a few years either side of 80.  He is buried at what is now the Trinity Episcopal Cemetery in Woodbridge.  I haven't located a will, although I've seen a transcription of a document in which Jonathan and Mary sell property to a Mary Ross, relationship if any not identified.  This was dated in 1689.

We may never know who Jonathan Dunham really was.  Was he a Singletary and a vagabond, or was he the son of Thomas and a well regarded citizen who is getting a bad rap by being confused with Jonathan Singletary?  What do you think? It's a fun mystery to round out the year!

The line of descent is

Jonathan Dunham-Mary Bloomfield

Benjamin Dunham-Mary Rolph

Jonathan Dunham-Mary Smith

Samuel Dunham-Hannah possibly Ruble

Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight

Samuel G Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese

Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge

Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks

Mary Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger

Their descendants