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Clara Elvira Dunn
(Front Left) DUNN FREDERICK PVT Maine October 23, 1918 SU
Frederick Dunn
Private, U.S. Army
302nd Field Artillery Regiment, 76th Infantry Division
Entered the Service from: Maine
Died: October 23, 1918
Buried at: Plot A Row 14 Grave 27
Suresnes American Cemetery
Suresnes, France
 Ray Dunn Ray was a potato farmer and dairyman in Ashland, Maine His farm was on the west bank of the Aroostook River just north of the bridge on the Portage Road. He I always enjoyed talking to him, he was a tough minded, bigoted, profane old codger, His wife Shirley was torn from the same cloth...
From: Jim Dunn Salisbury, North Carolina
Greetings from Salisbury, North Carolina,
The origin of the Scots surname Dunn is a puzzling one indeed. I think it will always be a mystery. Nomenclaturists are at a complete variance on the subject. One thing is for certain, and that it can be surely stated, that Dunn is a very ancient name in Scotland. The name was originally written as "Dun," and Yes, some say that it comes from the Celtic "dun" meaning dark or brown. Others disagree. My family has always contended that it comes from the Gaelic (both Scottish and Irish) word "dun" that means "hill" or "fortress." Early forts were constructed of earthworks and were visually similar to small hills or dunes. (Dun = dune.) Family tradition says that my early Ayrshire ancestors were "the keepers of the fort." As dun means fort, we suspect that we Duns used to keep the prison. We claim a crest that shows a clenched fist holding a key with the Latin motto "Mecum Habita" which means "Dwell With Me," a rather sinister suggestion I would say.
Barber in his "British Family Names" says: "The surname Dun is from Dun, a location in Forfarshire, Scotland." Guppy in his "Homes of Family Names"
says: "The surname Dunn occurs in the Lowlands of Scotland, south of the Firths of Fort and Clyde. It is found 16 times in every 10,000 persons in Ayrshire, where it appears more often than elsewhere." Loch Doon and River Doon (Bonnie Doone) are corrupted forms of "Dun," and are located in the same area. The Dunn family figured conspicuously in the Covenanter resistance to the established Church in Ayrshire and Galloway in the 1680s.
Several of them were put to death for their non-conformity and some were fugitives in the mountains or on the moors until after the Revolution in 1688. The families of James, Robert, and David Dun were all bitterly persecuted during the so-called "Killing Times."
Some other researchers believe that the Dunns originated in the Parish of Duns, in Berwickshire, Scotland, where John Scotus Duns, the great theologian was born. Others suggest that we came up to Scotland from Northumberland during the reign of Kenneth MacAlpin or subsequent thereto; still others point to Ireland for our beginning; still others say we are native to the heather. The name Dunn (sometimes spelled Dun, Dunne, Don or Donne) also occurs in England. It is entirely possible the name is of Saxon origin, coming from the word "dun" meaning in Middle English "a hill;" or so states Charles Waring Bardsley in his "A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames."
Wherever we Dunns originated from will probably always be an enigma.
Nevertheless, it's a great old name and one of which we are immeasurably proud. An old Gaelic proverb goes thusly: "Is fearr deagh ainm na moran beartais." ... A good name is better than much wealth.
I have learned a bit of history about Northern Maine and the Mooers and Dunn's. Many members of these families were Loyalist's and Pre-Loyalists (Just learned what that means)
From Dan Mooers:
As I understand it, "pre-loyalists" is a term used to describe the residents of the USA who, for various reasons, went to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and resettled there roughly in the 1750s period. They did not leave, for the most part, because of any political feelings but rather for land, fishing, etc. Sort or a "Go North, young man, Go North!" movement. In fact, during the American Revolution, many were sympathetic to the American cause, according to many authors (including at least some of the Mooers). "Loyalists", on the other hand, were those who left the colonies during or right after the Revolution because of their loyalty to the Crown (and to escape reprisals).
There were a number of families from the Newbury area, as well as other parts of Massachusetts, that went to New Brunswick as "pre-loyalists." For them, I am sure, they were just moving to another area of English North America. Additionally, if I recall my history correctly, the English government was encouraging English settlement in that area to combat the French (Arcadian) influence.
Many of these pre-loyalist families returned to the USA side of the border during a horrible economic down-turn in the early 1800. A great study of this period of migration back to the USA is documented in a book titled "Over the Portage". It contains a lot of information about the Mooers and other families who made the move back.
And some more History:
This is from Tina Dunn:
Pete,
............. Since there are so few documents of the Dunn's, I have been making a study of the historical events of that area to try to find clues to where the Dunn's came from and where they went. Maybe some of it will help you.
My Great Grandfather, Elmer Ellsworth Dunn, son of John C. Dunn, wrote a letter to Teddy Roosevelt in 1898 asking to be released from further military duty in the Spanish American War. His father was very ill, and Elmer needed to stay home to care for him and run his father's mining business.
In this letter, Elmer states "My family has served and defended this country for 400 years. Surely you will not miss me for a few months." The only surname from which Elmer is descended known to have been here that long is DUNN. Granted its a leap, but that would indicate that Elmer at least believed that he was in some way related to one of the very early 1600's English DUNN families. If that is the case, some of the Dunn's probably went to New Brunswick, Canada during the Loyalist migration in the 1780's. This is where a lot of problems crop up: 1)The New Brunswick government did not require births to be registered until the 1880's so many children never had birth certificates.
2)Spelling of names was very casual on documents, further complicated by the mix of English and French in that area. Frequently English colonists had French aliases and vice versa and readily answered to both. ie. My John C. Dunn might be listed on a document somewhere as "Jean C. Dionne." Some of the loyalist families who eventually re-entered the US kept the French spellings and others reverted to the English.
3)New Brunswick census taking at that time was very hit and miss. Also, counties and parishes were constantly being redefined in that area so folks may not appear on the same parish census 2xs in a row.
4)The boundary dispute. It seems that the area of land on both sides of the St. Johns River changed hands several time between Maine and New Brunswick. (Much like the land on either side of the Rhine has been alternately French and German) "The Aroostook War of 1839" was fought for control of the lands bordering the river. The dispute was not settled until the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842 redefined the boundaries giving each country the land on "their side" of the river. Thus in one pen stroke, many loyalist Canadians suddenly became residents of Aroostook county, Maine without moving an inch! I believe that this is how the Dunn's got to Maine.
It would go a long way to explain why there are so few documents on Dunn's from that time since land records etc for the land belonged to the government of Canada up until 1842 and are likely still located in some New Brunswick parish records room. Some folks probably had their land grants re-documented with the Aroostook county government at that time, but that leaves a huge gap in US documentation of about over 60 years if you count from the original land grants given to the Loyalists when they arrived in Canada. And of course those "new" Maine citizens had just missed the census.
Hope some of this is helpful to you. At least it might explain some of the lack of documentation on those thousands of acres of Dunn farmland. Thanks again for your reply. I'll let you know when I find anything. Tina
Sorry about the
genealogy below, it is a hodge-podge and needs to be edited, I will get to it
as soon as I can... most of the older generations are compiled from data on the
internet and with the help of some kind people I met in various forums.
To see the Genealogy click on the link in the banner, it can take almost two minutes to open so be patient
Please write to
me with your comments, corrections and additions. I honestly appreciate all the
input I can get.
Pete Daggett
padagge@potc.net
  
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