The Short Life of Edward John Dunn (1876 - 1908)




John Dunn circa 1901
Edward John Dunn is Granddad Dunn’s father. John was born September 2, 1876 in West Nissouri Township near London, Ontario. He was the first son and second child of William and Janet Dunn (nee Bryce). John lived most of his life in Muskoka. His family was quite poor and his father was given a free land grant in Muskoka with all administrative fees waived.  Long before Muskoka became cottage country the Ontario government decided to increase immigration to the north. The Free Grant and Homesteads Act of the 1860’s gave anyone over the age of 18 200 acres of land with the conditions that they built a house, clear land, live there for 6 months of the year and after 5 years the land was theirs. I’m not sure what kind of land William Dunn received but most of the land in Muskoka is Canadian Shield which is rock and muskeg, much like Fort Frances. It wasn’t the best land for farming. But the family survived there.
 
Picture of Teenie for Jack, September 1900





In 1900 John decides to try another career in the “force”. In a reference letter written by neighbour Thomas L. Snow he describes the family as having good moral repute, a trait highly prized in the early 20th century. As well as being kind and generous, John has plenty of pluck and dash, and is active and handy. In fact he is the perfect husband and on October 18, 1901 he marries Christiana (Teenie) Mary Clayton in Hamilton, Ontario. How he met Teenie in Hamilton is unclear. It’s possible he went there looking for a new job. On the marriage registration his occupation is farmer and in the 1901 census he is back farming with his family.



Baptism of Walter Aug 1906; Clayton, Walter, and Jessie
Three children are born in the next 5 years;  Jessie Elizabeth on October 26, 1902 in Hudson Township; William John Clayton also in Hudson on May 16, 1904; and David Walter (Granddad) on June 18, 1906 in Hamilton.

Aunt Jessie remembers moving a lot in the early years. As a child she lived at
“Hudson farm on the 4th concession
back at the Slate Rock
back to cottage at Dave’s farm (daddy was prospecting)
moved to log house at Uno Park
moved to Proctor BC
moved to cottage at lumber mill
back to cottage near hotel at Proctor”
 
 In the early 1900’s Proctor, British Columbia is a prosperous town with sawmills and hotels. It appears John went out west with his family in 1907 probably following his sister Bessie and her husband Harry Penson.  Then on April 25, 1908 John and Harry were returning home by canoe from Nelson when the canoe tipped and John drowned. I imagine the young mother, Teenie, was devastated. She and her 3 children moved in with her in-laws in an unfinished frame house on the other side of the Kootenay Lake and then back with her mother, sister, and brother-in-law in Hamilton. The family was broken up then with Teenie and her 2 sons living in Hamilton and Jessie living with her relatives in Hudson. When Jessie was ready for high school she moved to Hamilton and Clayton went to Hudson.

Teenie was a religious woman and in a book written in 1936 for her children (each child was given the same book) she talks about how John must have asked God to look out for them because of the help and money people gave her. She also tells of a time when she prayed that someone would bring Jessie home from school in New Liskeard and it turned out that Mr and Mrs Bumstead were going to town and offered to bring her home.

Teenie Dunn was widowed 10 years when she married a widower James Richardson from Hudson Township on April 10, 1918. It looks like the boys moved in with them because Clayton and Walter are living with them in the 1921 census. In 1921 Jessie was teaching in Dymond Township and living with her relatives there. I`m not sure when Teenie Richardson died but someone told me it was in Nahma or Cochrane, Ontario in 1943 to 1945.

left to right:  Walter, Clayton, Christianna, Neva, Austin, Jessie
 
We of course know that Aunt Jessie married Uncle Austin (Austin Davie Walker); Walter married Gwen Harrison (Searles) and Clayton married Neva Davis (Robinson) although he died early possibly in 1950.









Bibliography of Sources

-1901 Canada Census; William Dunn Household; Medora and Wood, Simcoe East; District 113; Subdistrict D-2; Microfilm T6495; Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario.
-1911 Canada Census; Emily Clayton Household; Hamilton, Ontario; District 78 West Hamilton; Subdistrict 14, Ward 4; page 13; Microfilm T20376; Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
-1911 Canada Census; David Dunn Household; Hudson and Lundy, Ontario; District 99; Subdistrict 65; page 5; Microfilm T-20386; Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario.
- 1921 Canada Census; James Richardson Household; Hudson, Temiskaming, Ontario; District 129; Subdistrict 24; www.ancestry.com; http://interactive.ancestry.ca/8991/1921; accessed October 1, 2013.
-Family Tree of D. Roger Timms; Temiskaming Speaker Newspaper; May 8, 1908, page 1; http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gibsondunn/news/dunnmisc.html; accessed 1 October 2013
-Family Tree of D. Roger Timms; New Liskeard Speaker Newspaper; July 21, 1921, page 8; http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gibsondunn/news/dunnmisc.html; accessed 1 October 2013
- Jessie Walker Collection; hand written family history information received from Aunt Jessie; privately held by Tara Shymanski, Calgary, Alberta.
-Life on the Edge, Stories from Muskoka’s Past; Ontario Visual Heritage Project; www.visualheritage.ca/muskoka/; viewed September 25, 2012.
-Ontario Birth Registrations; 1876; Nissouri West, Middlesex; # 20721; Archives of Ontario, Toronto, Canada; FHL Microfilm #1,845,207; Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
-Ontario Birth Registrations; 1902; Hudson, Nipissing; #30285; Microfilm MS929 Reel 159; Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Canada.
-Ontario Birth Registrations; 1904; Hudson, Nipissing; #31681; LDS Microfilm 2210572; Salt Lake City, Utah; Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Canada.
Ontario Birth Registrations; 1906; Hamilton, Wentworth; # 46631; Microfilm MS 929 Reel 182; Archives of Ontario, Toronto, Canada.
-Ontario Land Records Index; Microfiche ; Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Canada; FHC, Calgary Alberta.
-Ontario Marriage Registrations; 1901; Hamilton, Wentworth; Microfilm MS932 Reel 104; Archives of Ontario, Toronto, Canada.
-Walter Dunn Collection; miscellaneous documents and photos;  privately held by Tara Shymanski, Calgary, Alberta; I am not sure if the ``force` refers to a police force or the army;
- Walter Dunn Collection; a red popular daily diary that Teenie gave to each of her children containing scriptures and some memories; privately held by Tara Shymanski, Calgary, Alberta
-West Kootenay Visitors Guide; http://www.gokootenays.com/articles/harrop-and-procter/harrop-and-procter; accessed 1 October 2013.

Popular posts from this blog

Henry Alexander Miller 1876-1948

Image
Henry Miller Henry Alexander Miller is my father's grandfather. His obituary calls him Harry but since every other record refers to him as Henry that’s what I’ll call him . He was born to Thomas and Catherine Miller (nee Young) on April 9, 1876 in Kinloss, Bruce County, Ontario . Henry was the 10th of 12 children. One wonders if his mother had much energy left to raise him after having so many children. In fact Thomas and Catherine were so busy with their farm and kids that they sent a neighbour to register Henry’s birth. He registered the name incorrectly, telling the registrar the baby’s name was Alexander instead of Henry Alexander. He got the parents' names right so I was able to identify him. By the time Henry was born Bruce County, Ontario was settled and had many amenities like a grist mill and store to make life easier. As a child Henry would have had many farm chores to do so working hard was instilled in him at an early age.  When he was ready to move
Read more

Henry Alexander Miller and Margaret Ann McCall

Image
Harry and Maggie Miller and their Children Country dances were a social event in rural Canada. People would gather at someone's home, in a barn, or in later years at a hall to socialize, dance and drink, even bringing their children. One person I talked to told the story of how a couple of men who liked to play practical jokes switched the blankets covering all the infants. When it was time to go home the mothers grabbed the baby with the right blanket only to discover later it wasn't her child. I gather it took a while to sort it all out. Music was provided by anyone in the community who could play, a fiddler or two, possibly a piano or harmonica. Dances included the schottische, waltzes, polkas and of course square dancing.  When I asked Dad if he ever attended a country dance he enthusiastically responded, "Did I?". By the 1950's dances were held regularly but they still had live music. And of course   drinking and with that came fighting. I recall one of
Read more

Giving Up a Dream

Image
My Great Grandad Jerry had a goal. He wanted to be a farmer on his own land. His grandfather, William Jerry and his wife Hannah, moved from Norfolk, England to Pickering, Ontario, Canada in the 1830s. They moved to a country where they could afford to purchase land rather than working as an agricultural labourer. Herbert Jerry (holding gun) with parents and 3 brothers   Grandad Jerry’s proper name was James Herbert Jerry, but everyone called him Herb. He grew up in a family that was very poor. They needed money so badly, that according to the story that my grandmother told me, when he turned 11 he was hired out to work on the farm of Mr. James Ballard. On his first day of work Mr. Ballard sent him home and told him not to return until his ripped and torn pants were replaced. The sight of Grandad in is ragged clothes had brought blushes to Mr. Ballard's daughters. The family was so desperate for money that his mother and sisters stayed up all night hand sewing him a new pair of pa
Read more