Beeks line: The famly of Jonathan Dunham 1639-1724

 Jonathan Dunham is the son of Richard Singletary and possibly Lydia Dunham or variant spelling.  I've written a post earlier about him and some of the mysteries that still aren't proven/documented/explained.  But we do know he used both surnames, Singletary and Dunham, depending on where he was at the time.  I've seen Singletary given as the surnames of some of his children also, but the children themselves seem to have used the Dunham surname.  So having thoroughly confused everyone, including myself, here is the family of Jonathan.

He was born January 17, 1639, in Newburyport Massachusetts and married Mary Bloomfield, the daughter of Thomas and Mary (Waters or Withers) Bloomfield about 1660.  They lived in possibly Haverhill or Newbury, in Essex County, Massachusetts and had four children there: 

Richard Singletary Dunham, born about October 16, 1657.  He is elusive and although I've seen a potential death date for him of 1711, I've not seen documentation.  He may have died young. As far as I've been able to tell, he didn't marry and had no children.

Esther, born in 1659, married Samuel Smith, the daughter of Rev. John and Susannah Hinckley Smith.  They had at least four children together: Elizabeth, Samuel, Benjamin and Elinor.  She died in 1690.

Mary was born December 29, 1661 and died as an infant.  

Sarah was their next child.  She married William Ellison, whose parents I've not identified.  There children were Enoch and Emme.  She died sometime after 1707.  Some sites refer to her as "Sarah Mary".

The Dunhams then moved to Killingly, Connecticut for about two years.  Ruth was born in 1666 and died in 1750.  No records have been found to indicate she ever married.

Eunice was born in 1668 and died December 5, 1684.  No records have been found to show that she married, but it's not totally impossible.  She would have been about 16 at the time of her death.

The family then moved to Woodbridge, New Jersey and stayed there for the rest of Jonathan's life (except for some mystery trips he may have made).  6 children were born at Woodbridge:

Jonathan was born in 1672 and married Esther Rolfe, the daughter of John and Mary Scullard Rolfe.  Their children were Samuel, Eunice, and Mary.  They had two daughters named Eunice, so likely one died in infancy or early childhood.

David was born in 1674 and died in 1753.  He married Mary Ilsley, the daughter of John and Ann Gowan Ilsley.  Their children were Jonathan, David, and Daniel.

Daughter Joanna was born in 1675 and died about 1703.  Again, I've found no record of a marriage for her.  

Son Nathaniel was born on February 8, 1677 and died in 1678.

A second Nathaniel was born in 1679 and died in 1727.  He married Joanna Thornell, the daughter of Israel and Hannah Gannett Thornell and they had nine or possibly ten children: David, John, Nathaniel, Andrew, John, Elizabeth, Joanna, Jerusha, Ephraim, and possibly Jehu.  

Their last known child was Benjamin, who was born in 1681 and died as a young father, in 1715.  He married Mary Rolfe, who is usually shown as a daughter of John and Mary Scullard Rolfe.  There may be some question about this, but so far I've not found anything really definitive one way or the other.  Benjamin and Jonathan (junior) may have married sisters, which would not be unusual for this time and place.  Benjamin's children were Richard, Jonathan, Katherine, and Benjamin.  

This gives a total of 26 grandchildren for Jonathan and Mary, although some died young.  Most stayed in or near Woodbridge, and it must have been a blessing to have so much family near.  Jonathan and Mary are the ancestors of Barack Obama.