11. JOHN 3 DUNHAM (John 2 Joseph 1 Dunham) b. say 1757-9; died in Williamson County, Tennessee between 28 Sept. 1817, (date of will) and 4 April, 1818 (date of inventory.) [1] He married in Davidson County, Tennessee 2 November 1793 MARY (POLLY) WALLER, daughter of Joseph and Susan (unknown) Waller. She was born about 1778; [2] died in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri 2 December 1859. Joseph Waller, the father of Mary (Polly) Waller was an early founder of Cape Girardeau, (now Decatur, Missouri). He secured a grant on the Mississippi River about twelve miles above Cape Girardeau, where he established a ferry, long known as “Waller’s Ferry.” [3]
John 3 Dunham left a will dated 28 September 1817 in which he named his wife and children. His inventory was taken 4 April 1818 and showed that John 3 Dunham had prospered. The estate included four negroes, six head of horses, twelve head of cattle, forty-five head of hogs, six head of sheep, and furnishings for a well appointed home.
On 12 April 1819 Polly (Waller) Dunham purchased 284 acres on the South Fork of Flora Creek in Cape Girardeau County.
Mary Dunham appears on the 1830 census in St. Francis, Missouri.
Mary Dunham appears on the 1840 census in Randol, Cape Girardeau Co., MO.
Her son Henry M. Dunham also appears in Randol, Cape Giardeau Co., MO 3 lines above Mary Dunham.
Mary Dunham appears on the 1850 census in District No. 14, Cape Girardeau Co., MO, in the family of her daughter Mary Davison. The next family in the 1850 census is that of Hardy Brooks who married Susan/Susannah Dunham, and the following family is that of Henry M. Dunham.
Descendant Bill Dunham supplied the obituary of Mary Dunham. From the St. Louis Christian Advocate, December 1859: “Mrs. Mary Dunham died 2 December 1859 at the residence of her daughter Mary Davidson in Cape Girardeau, Missouri in the 81st year of her age. She was the daughter of Joseph and Susan Waller, who, for many years, have slumbered in the silent graves. She was married to John Dunham in the 15th year of her age, while living in the forts with her parents. They were among the first settlers of Tennessee. She united with the Methodist church in 1802 in Davidson County, Tennessee, and remained a pious and devoted member until the death of her husband which was more than 40 years since. She then, with her children, immigrated to Missouri and settled near to where the Walnut Grove Church now stands. For many years, her house was the minister’s home, of every denomination. She endeavored to instill into the hearts of her children her Christian spirit.”
Children of John 3 and Polly (Waller) Dunham: [4]
31. i. WILLIAM 4 DUNHAM, b. about 1794
ii. BETSEY 4 DUNHAM, b. n.f.r.
32. iii. SUSAN/SUSANNAH 4 DUNHAM, b. 7 or 9 November 1798 in Williamson Co., TN
iv. JENNY 4 DUNHAM, b. n.f.r.
33. v. DEBORAH 4 DUNHAM, b. 27 April 1802 in Williamson Co., TN
34. vi. MARY (POLLY) 4 DUNHAM, b. 1805 in TN
35. vii. ANNA 4 DUNHAM, b. say 1807
36. viii. JOHN E. 4 DUNHAM, b. say 1801
37. ix. HENRY McKINNEY 4 DUNHAM, b. 5 March 1813 Nashville, TN
38. x. RICHARD LEONARD 4 DUNHAM, b. 1815-16
39. xi. JOSEPH WALLER 4 DUNHAM, b. about 1819 in TN
References:
1. John Dunham left a will filed in Nashville.
2. Calculated from age given on the 1850 census.
3. A History of Missouri, Vol. 2, Chapter 15, p. 190.
4. Named in the will of John 3 Dunham.
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