Beeks line: The family of Samuel G Dunham 1830-1907

 Samuel Goodnight Dunham was born Sept 27, 1830, in Berkeley County, in what is now West Virginia, the son of Jacob and Catherine Goodnight Dunham.  He married Eliza Matilda Reese, daughter of Owen Traveler and Margaret Moon Reese, on May 3, 1855 in Tipton County, Indiana.  By that time, he had been in Indiana at least 5 years, per the 1850 census, and probably at least two years longer than that. I'm not sure when the move actually took place, and there are indications that the family may have been in Ohio in 1840, but I'm not sure of that.  

However, we do know that the Dunhams lived their entire married life in or near Kempton. until Matilda died in 1900.  The following year, Samuel married Julia Ann Sackman Mace, who was three years younger than Samuel, and a widow.  They were married about 6 years when Samuel died on June 12, 1907.  

Samuel and Matilda had four known children, with the youngest, Jane, dying at the age of 5 in 1869.  

William Riley was born in 1856 and died in 1921.  His wife was Lousia Belle Allen, the daughter of Samuel and Harriet Allen, and their children were Wilfer, Grover, and Bonnie.  He was a member of the state legislature from 1913-1915, and was very well known in his district.  It is the home that he built that is known as "The Dunham House" near Kempton.

Margaret Catherine was the second child.  She was born in 1858 (I have two birth dates and am not sure which is correct).  She married Harvey Aldridge, the son of Darlington and Leah Folsom Aldridge, and they had seven children:  Samuel, Frank, Lula Bertha, Della, Dorothy, Gretta Cleo, and Roy.  I will write of this family on another day.  

Owen Jacob was born in 1862 and married Antoinette Redd, daughter of George and Elizabeth Legarde Read.  Their children were George, Everett, Vernie, Irene, Goldie, Cecil, Elizabeth, Edna, and Hubert.  

Jane, previously mentioned, died in 1869 and the couple had no more known children.  

The Dunhams had a large extended family, both numerically and geographically.  The children of Samuel and Matilda would have known a large number of cousins, and there were family reunions for years that kept the families close.  One of those reunions was fairly recent, when then Senator Barack Obama briefly visited the old family farm.  

This is the last post I plan to write about specific Dunham families.  We started in early Massachusetts and went through New Jersey, (West) Virginia, possibly Ohio, and ended up in Tipton County, Indiana.  The Dunhams had a small part in a large amount of our history, and it's been interesting to learn about them.

Beeks line: The family of Jacob Dunham 1794-1865

 Some of the families I write about have hidden or conflicting stories, leaving me with a lot of questions, and with the hopes that I've written correct information.  Because of Jacob Dunham's somewhat famous descendant, his family is well-researched.  This post will not include much information that can't be easily found elsewhere, but for some who may not have yet found the information, I hope this will be helpful.

Jacob Dunham was born August 1, 1794, likely in Back Valley, Berkeley County, (West) Virginia, the youngest son of Samuel and Hannah (probably Ruble) Dunham.  He married Catherine Goodnight, the daughter of Samuel and Magdalena Berkheimer Goodnight in August of 1819.  The couple stayed in (West) Virginia until about 1835, and the first five of their six known children were born there.   They seem to have come through Ohio and possibly into Wayne County, Indiana, before settling in Tipton County, Indiana by 1850, where both Jacob and Catherine are buried.

Their children are:

Catherine, born July 5, 1821, who married Christian Feather, the son of Jacob and Mary Connoly Feather..  Their children were Adam, Mary Jane, Jacob, James, Sarah, John, Amos, Isaac, and Martha.  Catherine and Christian died in Preston County, (West) Virginia.  

Jacob Mackey was their next child, born May 7, 1824.  He and his wife, Louisa Elizabeth Stroup, are the ancestors (as are Jacob and Catherine) of former president Barack Obama.  She is the daughter of John and Eliza or Elizabeth Clemmons Stroup.  They also were the parents of several children:  David, Jeptha, Catherine, Jacob, Joseph, Samuel (or possibly Lemuel), and Mary May.  They went to Kansas by 1880 and to Oklahoma by 1890, where Jacob Mackey Dunham died.  

Amos Dunham was born about 1830 and died a young man, October 25, 1856.  He married Margaret Ellen Reese, who was the daughter of Owen and Margaret Moon Reese.  This couple had only two children, Margaret and James.  

Samuel Goodnight Dunham was born September 27, 1830.  He married Eliza Matilda Reese, who was also a daughter of Owen and Margaret Moon Reese (brothers married sisters)..  They had four children together-William, Margaret Catherine, Owen, and Jane.  After Eliza Matilda died in 1900, Samuel then married Julia Ann Sackman Mace in 1901.  

Mary Ellen was born July 28, 1834 and married David Tudor or Tuder.  His parents were John and Mary Epperson Tuder, and the older family spelled their name as Tuder.  Mary Ellen died at the age of 29, on October 5, 1863. Their only known son, David, was born in 1863 so Mary Ellen may well have died from complications of childbirth.  They had married in 1851 so it's possible that their were other children who perhaps did not survive.

Their last child was another son, David, who married August Lavinia Bonecutter, the daughter of George and Nancy Conner Bonecutter.  He is reported to have been born in Fayette County, Ohio on August 24, 1836, and died in Kansas in 1909.  Their children were Emma, Nancy, Sherman, Sina, Hattie, Margaret, Charles, Albert, Maude, and Roy.

I wish I could tell you whether any of these men served in the Civil War.  The Jacob M Dunham who is listed as having served in the 46th Indiana infantry is younger by about 20 years than Jacob Mackey.  Also shown as having served in the Civil War from Indiana are a Samuel G Dunham and a David Dunham.  I haven't been able to determine whether these might be the men outlined above, or not, but there is that possibility.  

Whether or not Jacob and Catherine had sons who served in the Civil War, they did have 33 grandchildren who helped America expand into the west.  These children and grandchildren deserve to be recognized.

Beeks line: The family of Samuel Dunham 1742-1824

 I've written previously about Samuel's life, but before I write about his family, I'd like to clear up one point and muddy the waters on another.  First, there are some claims out there that Samuel was a Loyalist.  I have found no evidence to support that.  There were other Samuel Dunhams in New Jersey by the time of the Revolutionary War, and it is possible that the two or more Samuels were conflated.  

The other item that I'm wondering about is his marriage.  When Mary Smith Dunham wrote her will in 1784 (not probated until 1791), she left a bequest to her son Samuel (subject of this post), if he returned, and if he did not return, to go to his son Jacob when Jacob turned 21.  So Samuel had a son Jacob born before 1784, and the Jacob that was born in 1794 in Berkeley County, now West Virginia, was the second son he named Jacob.  We don't know if Samuel had married before his marriage to Hannah probably Ruble in West Virginia, but it appears that he at least had an earlier relationship.  I'd sure like to know more about this!  

What we do know is that Samuel Dunham, the son of Benjamin and Mary Smith Dunham, left New Jersey and settled in Back Creek Valley, Virginia by 1778.  We don't know why his son didn't go with him, but perhaps Samuel had intended to send for him at some point.  He settled in Berkeley County, and married Hannah, who was likely the daughter of David and Sarah Malin Ruble.  The birth dates for the children are not specified, and the location I've seen, showing them all born in Virginia, may not be correct, but the names, general order of birth, and subsequent information about each seem to be pretty well documented.  

The first child, born in New Jersey, was probably Jacob.  Nothing further is known of him and he may have died young.

Mary Sarah Dunham was born possibly about 1773.  She married Jacob Gossett, son of Matthias and Mary Littler Gossett.  Their children were Samuel, Hannah, Matthias, Mary, Jacob, John, and Luke.

Samuel was born about 1773 and married Elizabeth Pickerill, whose parents are not known.  They had at least two children, John and Elizabeth, and may have had a second daughter named Rebecca.

Next born was David, about 1776, who married Catherine Buckhamer/Buckhammer/possibly Berkheimer.  Her parents may have been Henry and Anna Rosina Schwenk Berkheimer, but I think the just is still out on that.  David and Catherine had Samuel, Hannah, Amos, Mary, David, Benjamin, and possibly another daughter, Emma, Mary Sarah and Rosanna. (The last four are not certain, but certainly possible.)

Hannah was born about 1779 and married William Watson, possibly the son of David and Mary Jane Hamilton Watson.  Their children were Sarah or Sallie, Sina, Lydia, Hannah, Rachel, Samuel, Andrew Jackson, Mary, and William.

Amos was born June 14, 1781 and married Sarah or Sallie Colliver, daughter of Joseph and Sarah Duncan Colliver.  Their children were George Washington, Elijah, Samuel, Frances, and Margaret.  

Aaron was born about 1782 and married Mary Gano, daughter of James and Rebecca Noland Thatcher. It was her second marriage, and she apparently brought children to the marriage. The children of Aaron and Mary are listed as Samuel and Naomi. 

Sina was born about 1784 and married Matthew Garard, son of David and Margaret Last (?) Gerrard.  Their children were David, Maria, Sarah Jane, Margaret, Sina Ellen, David, Matthew, and Mary Isabella.  

Benjamin Washington was born about 1785 and married Elizabeth Manor, daughter of Benjamin and Martha Holmes Manor.  Their children were William, Catherine, Hannah, Margaret, Martha, Samuel, Amelia, Benjamin, Hester, Mary Elizabeth, and another daughter Hannah.  

Then there is a gap of about 9 years, and one wonders what happened.  Are some of the above birth years "off"?  Were there other preganancies and children who may have died young?  Was Jacob, born August 1, 1794, when his mother was about 41 years old a welcome "surprise"?  I'd sure like to know what story we are missing here!

Jacob married Catherine Goodnight, daughter of Samuel and Magdalena Berkheimer Goodmight.  They had an unknown daughter, then Jacob Mackey, Anna, Samuel Goodnight, Mary Ellen, and David.

There families ended up in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, but at least some stayed in West Virginia, where 9 generations of Dunhams have lived on part of Samuel Dunham's farm. I have undoubtedly missed some of the children, because Samuel is supposed to have had 82 grandchildren.  By my count, this list accounts for 61 of them.  I hope someone can help with additional information!

 

Beeks line: The family of Jonathan Dunham 1709-1748

 Facts about the family of Jonathan Dunham are hard to come by, at least on line.  I do have a resource at the county library I can check, but presumably the information in that record has been relied on by the creators of trees that I've looked at.  I hope I've chosen the most accurate information, and if you disagree or have additional information, I'd sure love to hear from you.  

Jonathan Dunham (sometimes seen as "Rev. Jonathan Dunham" was born January 7, 1709/10 in Woodbridge, New Jersey, to Benjamin and Mary (possibly Rolph) Dunham.  He spent his life in Woodbridge and died there December 31, 1748, a relatively young man.  He married Mary Smith, daughter of Shubael and Prudence Fitzrandolph (Fitz Randolph) Smith, apparently about 1737 but I would certainly like to find a marriage record for them, to confirm the date. 

Several children are attributed to Jonathan on some sites, who are very unlikely to be the children of Jonathan and Mary.  Mary was born in 1717  so Daniel, Ephraim, and Experience, who were born from 1730-1734, were not Mary's children.  I have found children of those names attributed to Jonathan's brother, Daniel, and this is more likely.  Joseph was born in 1736 and he may or may not be the child of Jonathan and Mary.  Since Joseph is not a family name in either line, I am guessing he also belongs to another Dunham family.  There were certainly enough Dunhams in Woodbridge to confuse anyone trying to sort these families.

The children believed to be Jonathan and Mary's are as follows:

Benjamin, born November 17, 1738.  I show death dates for him of 1765 and 1766, but am unable to confirm that.  At least one of the Benjamin Dunham's that died during that time period died in Windham, Connecticut, with a widow named Hannah.  I have also seen Mary Heath listed as his wife.  The fact is we don't know whether he survived long enough to marry.  

Elizabeth Dunham was born December 21, 1739.  She is reported to have married a man with the surname Alston, but it's possible that her information has been confused with that of her sister, Hannah, who did in fact marry an Alston.  Or perhaps there were two Alston men, but I've not identified a second one.

Samuel Dunham was next, born May 11, 1742.  He married Hannah, most likely Hannah Ruble, and they had several children:  Samuel, Mary, David, Hannah (called "Minty", Amos, Dinah or Sinah, Benjamin, Aaron, Jacob, Ruth, and Sarah.  He died in Berkeley County, what is now West Virginia, in 1824, and I will write more of this family in my next blog post.  

Asher Dunham was born July 15, 1744 and may have married Susannah Pike.  He served in the French and Indian War on the side of the British, but stayed on the side of the British during the Revolutionary War.  He was part of a prisoner exchange in 1778, and was seemingly a resident of New Brunswick by then, although he died in Nova Scotia.  His children were Christina, Joseph, Phoebe, William, Daniel, James, John, Deborah, Nancy, and Mary.  It would be interesting to trace these children to determine whether they all stayed in Canada, or whether they returned to New Jersey.  

William Smith Dunham was born November 24, 1746.  He may have married Elizabeth Tyler, daughter of Benjamin and Naomi Dunn Tyler, or she may have been Elizabeth Hedges.  Their children were John, William, Elizabeth, David, and Job.  He died in 1799 in Woodbridge.

Hannah was their last child, born October 5, 1748.  She married John Alston, who died in 1771, and had one child with him, Mary Ann.  She later married William Wright, and had William, John, Elizabeth, and Martha.  This also may have been a Loyalist family.

So if this information is both correct and complete, Jonathan and Mary were grandparents to 31 grandchildren.  With some of them staying in the Woodbridge area, the Dunhams added their share of confusion to the many Dunhams in town.  I would love to hear from someone who has researched any of these names! 

Beeks line: The family of Benjamin Dunham (1681-1715)

 In researching this post, I realized that what I thought I knew about Benjamin Dunham is probably not correct.  I have his wife shown as Mary Rolfe, the daughter of John and Mary Scullard Rolfe.  That is likely not correct, as there is no daughter Mary born late enough to be the daughter of this couple.  Also, there is apparently a record of Benjamin and Mary's marriage in New York, New York on August 18, 1699.  I have not found a record that gives her maiden name.  

Benjamin's parents are given as Jonathan (Singletary) and Mary Bloomfield Dunham, and that seems at this writing to be correct.  He was born in Woodbridge, New Jersey on August 22, 1681.  At this point, I should say that there are a lot of Dunhams in the area and it is possible that the line traces back differently, but this it the current belief.

Benjamin and Mary were married in 1699 but there first known child, Richard, was not born until May 12, 1707. It is possible that there were unsuccessful pregnancies, or that children were born elsewhere and have not been documented. Richard apparently died young, although I've not found a record. 

Jonathan was born January 7, 1710 and married Mary Smith, the daughter of Shubael and Prudence Fitzrandolph (Fitz Randolph) Smith.  This couple apparently provided Benjamin and Mary with their only grandchildren: David, Ephraim, Experience, Joseph, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Samuel, Asher, William, and Hannah.  I will follow these children in a future post. 

Katherine was their only daughter.  She was born March 12, 1712, and I've found no records of a marriage for her.  I did see an undocumented death date of 1764 but I don't know whether that is accurate, or whether she died young.

Benjamin was born  December 4, 1712, according to the transcript.  (This was slightly less than 9 months after Katherine, so I'm wondering whether Katherine's birth date was possibly 1711.) Benjamin apparently died in 1748, but again, I've found no record of a marriage or of children.

Benjamin, the father of these four children, died December 15, 1715.  At the time, he was a member of Col. Thomas Farmer's regiment in the militia, but there is no indication of whether or not this was a military-related death.  His brother had died earlier in the year, apparently of natural causes.  

This record of Benjamin and Mary's family shows that their life was not easy.  When Benjamin died in 1715, Mary had at least two and possibly three children to raise.  I have found no record of a re-marriage, nor have I found a death date.  This part of the story is yet to be written, but not until we know what happened to her.