DJD-3.3-Nathaniel-3

LINE OF DEACON JOHN DUNHAM OF PLYMOUTH

THIRD GENERATION IN AMERICA

3.3 NATHANIEL-3 DUNHAM, (Thomas-2, John-1); b. probably in Sheepscott, Lincoln, ME, abt. 1666; d. Hebron, Tolland, CT, 12 May 1751, age 85; m. Wrentham, Norfolk, MA by 1689 Mary Unknown.[3] She was b. abt 1669; d. Hebron, 5 Feb 1756/7. They are both buried in Gilead Cemetery, Hebron, CT, Find a Grave Memorial 7524368, photo and 7524395, photo.

His father, Mr. Thomas Dunham, was witness to a deed which was recorded 24 May 1666 for the sale of land in Sheepscott, Maine. Thus it is likely that Nathaniel was born there and that he was living with his family in Sheepscott prior to King Philip’s War in 1675. Nathaniel would have been about 11 years old during that horrible time. In 1677 Thomas Dunham was in Rye where he became the first settled minister of that community. Nathaniel would still have been living with the family and would have been about 12 years old. We can surmise that Nathaniel lived in Rye until at least 1684 when his father moved to Bedford. Thus Nathaniel would have been age 19 years in 1684. We do not know if Nathaniel moved to Bedford with his parents but it is likely that he remained in Rye. In 1689 he inherited a “Plain lot” and also a 12 acre lot and a meadow lot in Rye.

As a young man, aged about 24 years, who owned property Nathaniel would have been ready to find a wife. We know that he married a woman named Mary, but we do not know her surname. It would be logical to look for her among the early families of Rye, but she could have come from one of the neighboring communities of Fairfield, Stamford or Bedford. It is also intriguing to learn why Nathaniel and Mary settled in the newly formed town of Wrentham, Massachusetts. Wrentham was formed from Dedham, Massachusetts and suffered greatly during King Philip’s War. By the early 1680s families were beginning to move back into Wrentham. Nathaniel and Mary Dunham must have moved there by early 1690.

He was living 22 Feb. 1723/4 in Connecticut, as his brother Isaac’s bequest of £90 was to be paid in money of that colony.

Children of Nathaniel-3 Dunham and Mary (unknown):

i. Mary-4 Dunham b. Wrentham, Norfolk, MA, 3 Aug 1690;[5] d. unmarried after 5 June 1753 when she signed a receipt for her share of her father’s estate

ii. Nathaniel-4 Dunham, b. Wrentham, 10 Jul 1693; d.y.

iii. Mehitable-4 Dunham, b. say 1694-5

iv. Thomas-4 Dunham, b. Wrentham, 28 Apr 1697, m. Sarah Wight in Wrentham on May 8, 1721

v. Nathaniel-4 Dunham (again), b. Wrentham, 17 Jan 1699/1700

vi. Obadiah-4 Dunham, b. Wrentham, 14 Oct 1701

3.3/4.7 JABEZ-4 DUNHAM, bp. Wrentham, 18 Jun 1704

viii. Isaac-4 Dunham, b. ca. 1711-12

References;

1.

2.

3. Torrey's New England Marriages to 1700, p. 481; NEHGS

4.

5. Vital Records of Wrentham, MA, 1620-1850, p. 64,65; NEHGS