Person:James Dunn (83)

James Dunn, the son of Jeremiah Dunn, was born circa 1765, most likely in the area of Frederick county, Virginia. James grew up in Southwestern Pennsylvania and Ohio county, Virginia. About the year 1786, James moved down the Ohio river with his father and family to the Kentucky District. They settled first in the village of Washington in Bourbon County then a short time later removed to the South Fork of Licking River in Fayette County. The Kentucky District became a state in 1792, and soon thereafter Harrison County was created in December 1793. In 1795, James Dunn was reported on the tax lists of Harrison County next to his father on Flatt Run in the area of Indian Creek.

Following his marriage on 28 July 1796 in Harrison County, Kentucky, James and his bride Keziah Harrison lived for a few years in Harrison county, then moved northward into the Fayette County area of Ohio Territory. In 1799 the Ohio Territory was organized from the Northwest Territory, and about the year 1800 nearly four and a quarter million acres were set aside in the Ohio Territory between the Scioto River and the Little Miami River for settlement by Virginians and Kentuckians. All of James Dunn's brothers and sisters, together with Robert, William and James Harrison (brothers of Keziah) and their families, moved into Ohio. A few years later they all moved westward into Indiana.

In 1820 James and Keziah and family were reported in the Delaware region of Indiana. Their oldest daughter, Lucinda, had married Thomas Blair Clark, who lived near by.

James Dunn and his family were listed in the court records of Hendricks County, Indiana soon after it was organized in 1823. In the years between 1826, Alvin Dunn, Buriah Dunn, Jeremiah Dunn, John Dunn, Joseph Dunn, and Samuel M. Dunn also appear in the county records.

In April 1837 James and Keziah sold their eight acre tract of land in Hendricks County and moved south with their family to Van Buren County, Arkansas, where they appear in the 1838 and 1839 tax records and the 1840 census record of Sugar Loaf Township. Living near by were the families of son-in-law Thomas Blair Clark, son Alvin Dunn, and son-in-law Buriah Dunn.

It appears that that James and Keziah passed away in Van Buren County. Unfortunately, the Van Buren County court house including all its records was burned during the Civil War. Consequently, all court records of the Dunn family in Van Buren County prior to 1865 no longer exist.

James Dunn, 1 male 11-15 [Alvin], 1 male over 45 [James], 1 female 11-15 [Hannah], 2 females 17-25 [Mary? or?, Elizabeth], 1 female over 25 [Keziah], 1 person in agriculture
Thomas B. Clark and family on adjacent line

p. 42 - First settlements made in spring of 1820 on White Lick Creek a few miles south of Plainfield by Bartholomew Ramsey, Samuel Herriman, Harris Bray, John W., Bryant, James Dunn, George Dunn and Ezekiel Moore. These men cut a trail through the woods to the Wabash River, and called it the Terre Haute trail
p. 75 - Guildford Township was the first to be entered by white settlers, in 1820. This included James Dunn on the White Lick, south of Plainfield, near the Morgan county line. He and 5 others set up cabins, cleared ground and raised a few small crops of corn and potatoes. Many of the early settlers were Friends.

A history of Hendricks County, Indiana, contains the statement that the first settlement was made in the spring of 1820, on White Lick Creek by . . . James Dunn, George Dunn, . . . and Ezekiel Moore. The same history, on a different page, furnishes the information that the site of the first settlement was a few miles South of Plainfield, giving the same list of settlers, with the omission of George Dunn and the inclusion of George Moore instead of Ezekiel Moore. A statement from an unverified source, is to the effect that George Dunn was a son of James Dunn. Ezekiel Moore was an early settler as verified by government records. Consequently, the first list has been accepted as correct.
[The article goes on to explain the search for descendants of the first settlers, but no descendants of the Dunns or Moores are included among those they did find.]

Early History of Washington Township [Hendricks County, Indiana]
The first settlement in Washington Township [Hendricks County, Indiana] was near Shiloh Church in the northeast corner of the township . . . . in 1822. In 1823, the western part of the township was settled by James Dunn, John Givens and Abner Dunn, for whom Abner's Creek was named.

Dunn James November 27, 1824 A smooth crop off the left ear
Dunn Abner, John, Joseph 18 January 1825; Buriah Dunn 26 Jan 1825; Alvin Dunn 18 Feb 1825; John Dunn 27 May 1825

James Dunn of Hendricks County, Indiana, filed on 20 April 1826, Crawfordsville
Accession No.: IN0930__.494, Document No.: 3554
E1/2 SW Sec 5/ Township 15-N Range 1-E, Hendricks County, Indiana

1830 US Census, Hendricks, Indiana
James Dunn, 1 male 10-15, 1 male 60-70, 1 female 20-30, 1 female 30-40, 1 female 60-70
Buriah Dunn on same page

Dunn, James, Center Township, 2 Aug 1830

24 April 1837
from James Dunn [and Kiziah Dunn his wife] of Hendricks County, Indiana
to Isham Thompson of Marion County, Indiana,who paid $500 for
the W1/2 of the S1/2 of the SW1/4 of Sec 5, T15N, R1E
containing 40 acres more or less, Signed James x his mark Dunn, Kiziah x her mark Dunn
Witness David Vestal JP, Lewis Glidwell
recorded 8 June 1837
24 April 1837
from James Dunn of Hendricks County, Indiana [and Kiziah Dunn his wife]
to James Talbert who paid $500
for E1/2 of the E1/2 of the SW1/4 of Sec 5, T15N, R1E, Hendricks County
Signed James x his mark Dunn, Kiziah x her mark Dunn
Witness David Vestal JP, Lewis Glidwell
Recorded 8 June 1837

1841 - Dun, James - SE 30 10 9
1842 - Dunn, Alvin 160 SE 1/4 30 10N 9W
1843 - Dunn, Alvan 160 - SE 1/4 30 10N 9W
"A List of Persons and Property Assessed for Taxation in Van Buren County in the State of Arkansas for the Year AD 1841"
Dunn?, Auin
Dunn?, James * [owns land]
Dunn?, Buriah

Dunn, James 160 SE 36 10N 9W [Present Day Cleburn County]

James Dunn, 1 male 20-30, 1 male 70-80, 1 female 20-30, 1 female 40-50, [1 female 70-80? - covered in note in photocopy and not re-scanned without note]
Others on page inc. sons-in-law Thomas B. Clark and [B]Uriah Dunn and son Alvin Dunn

ordered that William Hagood Admin of Estate of Zephaniah Dunn dec’d loan to the heirs of James Dunn dec’d the amount remaining in his hands and due said heirs for 12 months from this date.