| 2. |  William DUNN was born in 1774 (son of William DUNN and Sarah); died on 17 Sep 1839. Notes:
From: "TOM DUNN"
Subject: [Dunn] WILLIAM DUNN 1774 SCOTLAND
Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 07:47:30 +0200
> Hi All
> I have the following info:
> William Dunn was *1774 Scotland + 17 September1839 Port Beaufort RSA. He
> had 4 children from his 1 x unknown marriage.
> 1. John Gambold Dunn * 1808 London + 9 November 1868 Port Beaufort RSA
> 2. Sarah Frances Dunn *1810 London + 28 July 1894 Port Beaufort RSA
> 3.George Barclay Dunn *1814 London + Unknown RSA
> 4. Mary Emma Dunn *1815 London + 05 September 1903 Port Beaufort RSA
> From this we know that William worked/ stayed in London at least since
> 1808 before he came to RSA.
> (Port Beaufort is sometimes also called St. Sebastiaans Bay or Witsand/
> Whitesand.)
>
> He moved to South Africa in 1820 and became the first Port Captain and
> Pilot in Algoa Bay (now Port Elizabeth RSA)
>
> He 2 x to Sarah Frances Pearson * abt 1784 London d.o. Thomas and Frances
> Pearson. It is not clear as to when did he got married to her- before
> moving to RSA or after his arrival RSA in 1820. Some sources indicates
> that he came to RSA together with her and the 4 children from his first
> marriage. I do not have a wedding date for them. If I look at the birth
> dates of the children from the second marriage then my guess is that they
> got married here in RSA.
>
> 1.James Alexander Dunn * 1822
> 2.Anne Thomasin Dunn * 02 July 1824
> 3. Paul Dunn * 15 December 1826
> All born in Algoa Bay
>
> I would like to know the following:
>
> 1. Parents of William Dunn and his first wife.
> 2. His first wife's name and other particulars.
> 3. Where in Scotland was he born.
> 4. What work did he do in London before moving to RSA. (Possibly some kind
> of Government Service) He was 46 years old at the time.
> 5. His marriage date to Sarah Frances Pearson.
> 6.Any other interesting stuff you can come up.
>
> I bet you have all this info available right there with a touch of a
> button- just like that. (Ha- ha)
> If there is any more info that you think that you might need please let me
> know. I have everything (?) on this branch of the Dunn's here in RSA post-
> 1820 but I am running into a brick wall pre-1820 England/Scotland. You
> will make my day if you could come up with something- no mater how small.
> Kind regards.
> TOM T DUNN
> EMPANGENI
> KWA-ZULU NATAL
> SOUTH AFRICA
> TEL/FAX +2735 787 2120
> MOBILE +2782 771 3935
___________________________________
From: EVEREST ICE
To: Illia cook
Sent: Thursday, July 09, 2009 8:02 AM
Subject: Re: Your book
Hi Illia
No problem with the English. I am writing my book in English so that it can be available to a wider "audience".
Daar is heelwat navorsing wat ek in London moet doen en dan sou ek graag ook Skotland will besoek om te sien hoe dit daar lyk en om te gaan kyk waar my voorvaders vandaan kom. Ek is nog nie heeltemaal seker nie maar ek vermoed dat my mense in die omgewing van Inverness vandaan kom. Dan weet ek ook dat my voorvader (William Dunn) eiendom in Middlesex besit (freeholder) het wat blybaar nie meer bestaan nie en nou deel van Lodon is.
Daar is basies 'n paar belangrike dinge wat ek daar moet kom doen.
1. Ek will probeer vastel waar in Middelsex hy gewoon het. Moontlik sy adress opspoor as dit nog bestaan.
2. Hy was a "Liveryman of London" en lid van 'n "London Livery Company" Ek sou graag hierdie vroee lidmaatskap rekords (voor 1820) van die London Livery Companies" probeer opspoor en sy besonderhede opvolg.
3. Ek weet dat hy in die tweede helfde van 1820 in SA aangekom het. Ek sou graag die korrekete datum, hawe waar hy vandaan vertrek het en skip naam en die skip se passasiers lys wou opspoor. Dalk is daar rekords hiervan- skeeps passasiers lyste
4. Sy eerste vrou is daar (London) oorlede en het nie saam met hom gekom nie. Ek weet niks van haar nie en sou graag meer oor haar wil uitvind. Ek het al die name en geboortedatums van die kinders uit hulle huwelik as dit sal help.
5. En dan will ek probeer uitvind waar in Skotland kom hulle vandaan. My inligting is dat hy oorspronklik van Skotland afkomstig is en het later in sy lewe Lodon toe verhuis het. Sy eerste 5 kinders is almal in London gebore, so hy moes voor 1808, toe sy eerste kind in London gebore is verhuis het uit Skotland uit.
In terms of legwork on your side I would be over the moon if you could find the following:
1. Where can we get access to the old pre -1820 (Middlesex) property records and/or 1800-1820 Middlesex census records.
2. Where can we get access to the old pre- 1820 London Livery Company membership records.
3. Where can we get hold of the 1820 passenger lists and detail of the British Immigrants to SA. I know that they are kept but don't know where.
4. Death certificates pre-1813 that will tie in with what I have on his first wife. This going to be a difficult one but the census records might help here.
I know that this is a very tall order but if you could help me with this or some of the information then I would not have to waste time to find these archives once I'm there but go directly to them. Finding the information that I am looking for would be a mission on its own. At least I will be at the right place. I believe that the National Archives is at Kiev and don't know how much of this info might all with them. If you could find out what kind of info is available there it might just make things so much easier and it would help allot.
Love to all.
TOM T DUNN
EMPANGENI
KWA ZULU-NATAL
SOUTH AFRICA
TEL/FAX +2735 772 5985
MOBILE +2782 771 3935
___________________________
From: "Sue Mackay" < sue@sausalito.demon.co.uk >
Subject: [ZA-IB] Settler Correspondence (1825) - William DUNN
Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2007 15:26:56 -0000
Transcribed from CO48/74 at the National Archives in Kew, London
163
Custom House
Port Elizabeth
Cape of Good Hope
July 12th 1825
My Lord,
I have resided in this colony near five years during which time I
have not presumed to address your Lordship. I am the person who in 1818
proposed to make the Funded Property transferrable to Bearer; which plan Mr.VAN SITTERT declared in the House of Commons would have rendered our Banking System "as perfect as any thing of this nature could be made." The public distress occasioned the subject to be much discussed & my pamphlet was treated with very great respect in the {Antiquarian?] and two other
magazines. The principle I recommended was attended to by distant countries
& even the Cape Town Exchange was built by money raised on Bonds payable to
the Bearer. (Very distinguished statesmen received me with the greatest
courtesy - but I was told from authority that unless my plan was adopted I
could not expect a remuneration.
I had been despoiled of my property by placing undue confidence in a
relation. Lord SIDMOUTH advised my coming to the Cape of Good Hope and Mr.
CANNING furnished me with a letter of recommendation to the Colonial
Secretary. With a very little property, honorably bestowed upon me (which
Mr. CANNING, Mr. WILBERFORCE and Lord CALTHORPE kindly augmented) I
established myself at Cape Town as a Teacher of the English Language. I so
fully succeeded that my income increased to above two hundred Rix dollars a
month. A system of forgery being at this time discovered I was induced to
lay before the Government my plan for preventing forgery in the case of the
intended Funded Securities. The Colonial Receiver General at once entered
into my views & all the Rix Dollars issued after March 1821 were formed
agreeably to my instructions.
I will not trouble your Lordship with a detail of my minor services. I was sent for to the Colonial Office and as an acknowledgement of my services I was appointed Resident Custom House Officer of Port Elizabeth with a salary of 100 Rix dollars per month. I particularly expressed my hope that the appointment was intended as introductory to a higher rank & in a letter which I afterwards wrote to England & which the Colonial Secretary admired I stated that I considered myself as being "educated for office".
The real object of this letter is to solicit an appointment by which
I can procure for my family the necessaries of life. It was announced in the Cape Town Gazette that the Clerk of the Council was not yet named, and at the suggestion of a most respectable person who knew my habits & saw my
struggles (that I was unable to purchase the most homely cloathing) I wrote
as follows to His Excellency in Council. "as the advertisement advertising the non appointment of a clerk to your august body may possibly be intended as an invitation to candidates, I should ill fulfil the duty I owe to my very large family if I refused to enter into the ranks as an humble applicant - that I may at once be acquitted of the charge of being dissatisfied when possessing the conveniences of life, I beg leave to state that my present salaries amount to about 3Rds 4sh per diem. I would submit to the most rigid economist the following scale of my expenses.
Bread1Rd
Meat1Rd
[Vegetables?], milk }
[Obscured] & firewood} 1Rd
[Obscured] & candles}
Tea or coffee & sugar 4sh
Leaving nothing for cloathes for my large family
Nothing for servants wages
Nothing for wine
Nothing for linen
Nothing for furniture
Nothing for illnesses
Nothing for lyings in
Nothing for hospitality &c
I must therefore run in debt for all these necessaries. I have hitherto by
the peculiar providence of God [been] supported; but humanly speaking I see
nothing but Debt & its infallible consequences of impaired health for my
future years.
As a Public Functionary at Port Elizabeth His Majesty's Colonial
Council would censure me if I withheld from them on proper occasions a just
statement of my civil and political relations - in the case of the Brig
Venus, the Lady Flora, the St.Antonio and the George the Fourth I acted
contrary to my instructions and received the approbation of the head of my
department, and in the affair of the Stedcombe I gave general satisfaction."
I enumerated other services and made the usual professions of
attachment and fidelity. A friend has now informed me that the appointment
of the Clerk of the Council is reserved by the home Government, and I feel
no difficulty in addressing the Ministers of my beloved country as a
Freeholder of Middlesex & as a Liveryman of London. I voted for their
supporters and I have been in the Committee Room at a [constituency?]
election, when my life was in danger - a refusal therefore of my request
will bring with it the pleasure of a letter from home, and my application
will be treated with respect altho' it may be unsuccessful.
Mr. CANNING is so kind as to permit me occasion to forward through
him a letter to my son and I have felt an enjoyment in relating to him my
fondness for this country to which he in some measure introduced me: but I
have little hope that he can interest himself further on my behalf - it
appears to me he never had a patron & that he would be ashamed of those who
required one.
Referring to any attachment to this colony, your Lordship will
perhaps think I ought to say a few words in support of my opinions. The
improbability of my ever leaving the Cape of Good Hope may have induced an
attention to every supposed latent advantage, and I hope an acquiescence in
the appointment of Providence may have produced a degree of satisfaction -
yet I think this country absolutely good for rich and poor. Gentlemen of
small fortunes in England would rank as noblemen in the Cape of Good Hope
and industrious people are even more [obscured] than men of large estate. I
could employ ten thousand British labourers - [you?] can hardly get anyone
to wait upon you. His majesty has no subjects more loyal than the British
inhabitants of this colony and I think some plan might be thought of to
gratify our feelings in respect to our interests & being equally under the
safeguard of the [obscured] Estate with those of the remote islands of
Scotland. I wrote a paper some time since which I have enclosed. I do not
think the description of Algoa Bay too highly colored and this week's
Gazette announces that the returning India ships in general avoid Table Bay
in consequence of an additional premium of insurance being required. I have
therefore induced the inhabitants of Port Elizabeth to petition for a wharf
and I suppose the petition will be forwarded by this port.
I shall not disturb my peace by the slightest reference to Colonial
politics, and I ought to beg pardon for being carried beyond the original
object of this letter & for addressing your Lordship without a previous
copy. I shall conclude my present address by expressing my hope that the
same councils will continue to direct the affairs of the British Empire. I
think it would give your Lordship pleasure to witness the appetite with
which an Englishman in South Africa devours the contents of a London
newspaper and I feel as much alive to the Quarterly Statement of the Revenue as any frequentor of the [Cyder Cellar??]
This reduction of duties I may almost say is a criterion of the wisdom of
the age - may no unforeseen vicissitudes derange the wise design.
I am my Lord with the greatest respect, Your Lordship's much obliged and most humble servant.
William DUNN
Port Elizabeth Custom House
Algoa Bay
South Africa
_________________________________________
1. WILLIAM DUNN [1] was born 1774 in Scotland and died 17 September 1839 in Port Beaufort South Africa. He married 1st UNKNOWN [2] in Scotland. She was born in Scotland and died in Scotland. He married 2nd SARAH FRANCES PEARSON [7] in London England. She was born 1784 in London and died 01 September 1873 in Port Beaufort South Africa (Farm Rietfontein), daughter of THOMAS PEARSON [252] and SARAH [39].
Children of WILLIAM DUNN [1] and UNKNOWN [2]:
i.2.WILLIAM DUNN [433] was born 1806 in London England.
ii.3.JOHN GAMBOLD DUNN [3] was born 1808 in London and died 09 November 1868 in Port Beaufort South Africa.
iii.4.SARAH FRANCES DUNN [4] was born 1810 in London and died 28 July 1894 in Rietfontein Port Beaufort.
iv.5.GEORGE BARCLAY DUNN [6] was born 1814 in London.
v.6.MARY EMMA DUNN [5] was born December 1815 in London and died 05 September 1903 in Rietfontein Port Beaufort.
Children of WILLIAM DUNN [1] and SARAH FRANCES PEARSON [7]:
vi.7.JAMES GAMBOLD ALEXANDER DUNN [11] was born 1822 in Port Elizabeth South Africa.
vii.8.ANNE THOMASIN DUNN [9] was born 02 July 1824 in Port Elizabeth South Africa and died 22 January 1881 in Rietfontein Port Beaufort South Africa.
viii.9.PAUL DUNN [10] was born 15 December 1827 in Port Elizabeth South Africa and died 07 August 1901 in Swellendam.
Notes on WILLIAM DUNN [1]
WILLIAM DUNN was born in 1774 in Scotland. He came to the Cape Colony at the instigation of a Mr. Henry Nourse. Nourse was a merchant from Middlesex London and later applied his trade in Cape Town. William brought with him letters of introduction and recommendation to the Colonial Secretary in South Africa by Lord Sidmouth and a Mr. Canning. He and his family did not come to South Africa as part of a formally organized settler party.
William, his second wife Sarah Frances Pearson and his five children from his first marriage arrived in South Africa in the second halve of 1820 at the ripe age of 46 years. Sarah was 36 on their arrival. His three children from his second marriage were all born in South Africa from 1822 to1827 - the last when he was 53 and his wife 43 years old!
According to the research that was done on the life of William Dunn it appears that he, at least for the last part of his life and before moving to South Africa, has worked and lived in London. William Dunn states in a letter that he addressed back to England that he was a "Liveryman of London". What does it mean to be a Liveryman? Becoming a member of one of the City of London's many Livery Companies is a great privilege and honor. Being a Liveryman gives one the right to attend Common Hall meetings and to vote in the elections for the Sheriffs and the Lord Mayor of the City of London. The Lord Mayor, Sheriffs and Aldermen were all drawn from among the ranks of the Livery. William's membership to a Livery Company is also an indication that he must have practiced a profession of some kind, possibly in the financial sector. His wife Sarah describes him as a "pious character, a man of education, a financier and a contributor to most of the Colonial publications. He was a staunch advocate for the government and a good public servant". Elsewhere it has also been recorded that William had been brought up as a Country Auctioneer and appraiser of Land and Stock.
From this same letter, we also know that William was a freeholder of land in Middlesex County that now forms part of the greater present day London. His first five children were all born in London. It is not known where in Scotland, William was born and when he moved to London. The research on his life in Great Britain, prior to moving to South Africa is continued.
William Dunn's life unfolded as follows in South Africa. Shortly after his arrival in 1820, he established himself as a teacher of the English language in Cape Town. On 03 November 1820 William and his wife Sarah writes a letter to Sir Rufane Donkin, acting Governor of the Cape of Good Hope requesting permission to open a school in Cape Town "for the instruction of the youth of both sexes". He proposes that women would be taught useful and ornamental work, drawing, music, French, writing, arithmetic and an English education. Man would be taught Latin, French, writing, arithmetic and sciences. One would assume that he had enough pupils at his disposal with all the nationalities arriving in the Cape at the time. He was so successful with the school that his monthly income soon increased to more than 200 "Rix Dollars" per month. ("Riksdalers" the Dutch currency in use in the Cape at the time)
The relationship between William Dunn and Nourse continued after his arrival in the Cape and in 1821, he journeyed with Nourse to the town of Bathurst and remained there to represent Nourse in his business Endeavour's. William had in his possession effects and money to the effect of 5,000-00 Rix Dollars that he kept on behalf of Norse. Dunn must have been a trustworthy person for Nourse to leave so much capital in his care.
He remained with Nourse for some time until January 1822 when William was appointed as the Resident Custom House Officer at Port Elizabeth at a salary of only 100 Rix Dollars. To supplement this meager income he also undertook the duties as the first Post Master in Port Elizabeth until 31 December 1827 when he was transferred to Port Beaufort.
In a document published in 1962 by the Port Elizabeth Philatelic Society, the following is recorded: "Shortly after the arrival of the 1820 Settlers, Sir Rufane Donkin has founded the town of Algoa Bay and it was granted its own Post Office. The first Postmaster was one William Dunn, who held the post until 1828. The emoluments paid by the Government to the early Postmasters were not very great. William received the sum of £140.00 per annum for his services".
William struggled to support his large family on this small income that he received from the Colonial Government. He also had ambitions to be appointed in a more senior position and viewed his appointment as the Resident Custom House Officer of Port Elizabeth as introductory to higher office. He considered himself as being "educated for office". From the various letters and reports written by William Dunn, it is clear that he was indeed a man who read a great deal and was a well-educated man.
On 12 July 1825, William wrote a letter to the Government back in England in which he applied for the position as "Clerk of the Council" in Cape Town in His Majesty's Colonial Council. It is not clear why his application was not successful as William came highly recommended - possibly, because the officials had something else in mind for him.
It was in the next ten years of his life and during his stay at Port Beaufort that he made his mark as a pioneer on South African soil. William Dunn was transferred from Algoa Bay to Port Beaufort further south down the South African east coast.
He arrived on 01 January 1828 to take up his post as "Government Resident" in the Colonial Government Services. He took a few days to settle down and on 23 January 1828, William started with his duties. On his arrival, we get a glimpse of the character of this man who stated that he was "pleased with the opportunity of benefiting my adopted country by a Residency at the only navigable river in His Majesties Colony of Good Hope". Dunn remained Resident at Port Beaufort and continued with his duties for ten years until his death at the age of 65 years on 17 September 1839 in the Residency at Port Beaufort.
In the book OVERBERG OUTSPAN Chapter 9 THE BREEDE RIVER: LOST PORTS, Edmund H Burrows writes as follows: " On New Years Day 1828 William Dunn came to Port Beaufort as a Resident. In the previous year, the Governor had sanctioned the appointment of a permanent official at a salary of £150.00 per annum. His responsibilities were to keep a watching brief for the authorities at Port Beaufort. His multifarious duties included boarding all vessels entering the bay, preventing smuggling and assisting in mutinies. The post offered plenty of scope for adventure."
William had very specific orders about his duties and responsibilities at Port Beaufort. It was clear that he had to restore some kind of order in the daily activities, bearing in mind that this port was the hub for imports and exports in the area at the time. Smuggling was apparently a problem! From the time of his arrival, William labored at making Port Beaufort an official open port. He had great hopes for the future and prosperity of Port Beaufort as the principal harbor of the Colony. However, a source of constant worry to him was the lack of sufficient fresh water that hampered growth in the settlement.
In 1841, two years after his death, the efforts of William Dunn born fruit when the ships departing from this port were cleared for overseas voyages and the port officially declared an international port. From this date onwards, the export trade greatly increased bringing prosperity to the Breede River valley and the Overberg region.
William's role and dedication to the development of trade in the Overberg and the recognition of Port Beaufort as an international port is demonstrated in the various letters that he wrote to the Captains of visiting ships. His frequent and voluminous reports contain a wealth of information on Port Beaufort and reveal an optimistic outlook for its future, prosperity and development despite the lack of sufficient fresh water.
An original letter, dated 22 March 1837 written by William, reposes in the Swellendam Drosdy Museum, This letter was addressed to the Captain of an expected Steam Ship in Cape Town (Pic. 15A and 15B) In this letter he informs the Captain about the advantages of using the port at Port Beaufort as opposed to the port in Table Bay. He points out that the harbor in Port Beaufort has wharf facilities and that it would take less time to take in his supplies. Table Bay and Algoa Bay at that time did not have these facilities. He attempted to promote Port Beaufort as a port of choice and to promote general trade in the area. Port Beaufort was a booming harbor, bustling with ships transporting produce from the Overberg farmers to the markets in Cape Town and elsewhere in the world. A similar letter to the Captain of the steam ship "Atlanta" is also on record. This is the oldest document (170 years) in this collection on the life of William Dunn. A brass nameplate from a trunk bearing the engraving "WILLIAM DUNN LONDON" reposes in the Swellendam Drosdy Museum. This brass nameplate is the oldest item (188 years) that belonged to William Dunn.
(Pic.12)
Over time, William Dunn acquired land at Cape Infanta on the other side of the Breede River and in 1838, he and his family crossed the river and settled next to the Potteberg mountain range on the farm Rietfontein. The adjacent farm, Brakkefontein, had already been transferred to his name in 1837. He also acquired a huge tract of free land around Cape Infanta, on both sides of the Potteberg Mountain, which included the farm Elandspad, probably the most desolate part of the Overberg.
Mystery surrounds William Dunn. We know very little about him, of his origins or his life, or the motives that guided him to choose this inhospitable Infanta Coast as his last home. It was wild and isolated. Fragments of hear say evidence has it that his people back in England were wealthy and of good breading. Being a Liveryman of London meant that he moved in high social, political and financial circles.
Reliable persons have described the silver ware, plate and glassware that came from the house at Rietfontein as of the finest quality, and within living memory, his daughters received enormous boxes of clothes and jewellery from England. A South African High Commissioner in London, who knew the Overberg, met a woman at a banquet, who inquired of him after her South African cousins. He described her as an "eminent and highly distinguished woman".
Their children grew up on the Rietfontein estate. William's wife Sarah Frances Pearson, who, like her husband was well educated, trained her daughters as best she could, but the sons matured to the call of the sea and the veldt. After William died, the youngest two sons from the second marriage James and Paul and their mother Sarah, were in joint possession of the four farms, Papkuilsfontein, Rietfontein, Brakkefontein and Elandspad. The latter farm near the heads at Cape Infanta and behind the Potteberg Mountain was James's home and a favorite spot for shipwrecks. A Stinkwood beam washed up there in 1867 and it was sold for five shillings!
After the death of their mother Sarah, the three daughters Sarah, Mary and Anne remained at the Rietfontein homestead, which gradually fell into ruins about them. They never married. William's original house on the banks of the Breede River does not exist any more. It must have been in the close proximity to the holiday cottage that was built at the waters edge. The daughters' life was one of ever- increasing poverty, a pitiful cameo of a family that had fallen on bad days. In their isolated situation at Rietfontein with very little social contact or activity, they had no use for the finery that continued to arrive from England and indeed did not even know how to use it.
In his zeal to improve the Residency he too often sacrificed, the interests of his own family to what he deemed the public good. The Overberg has flourished but Port Beaufort had not become the city and port of Dunn's dreams. He had faithfully served the Government and honestly tried to improve the conditions of the people and the prosperity of the Colony by his endeavors to open the port. As one of the Justices of the Peace, he took an active interest in the welfare and affairs of the people in addition to his desire to open a school at Port Beaufort for the children of the farmers and holding church services every Sunday.
William Dunn, a man of many talents and occupations - Teacher, Financier, Harbor Master, Pilot, Postmaster, Customs House Officer, Clerk and Farmer was an early pioneer who together with his family and others played an active role in the development of this part of the country. He helped to tame this inhospitable eastern coast of South Africa and leaves the legacy of the fruits of his labor for all to see.
Mystery surrounds William Dunn even after his death. It is alleged that William and his three daughters were buried on the banks of the Breede River were it flows into the Indian Ocean. This could unfortunately not be confirmed. However, today a holiday cottage has been build, allegedly on top of the graves of William and his three daughters. It is tragic that most signs of the existence this man, even his mortal remains, have been destroyed.
TOM T DUNN
EMPANGENI
KWA ZULU-NATAL
SOUTH AFRICA
TEL/FAX +2735 772 5985
MOBILE +2782 771 3935
__________________________________________
William married Sarah Frances PEARSON. Sarah (daughter of Thomas PEARSON and Sarah) was born about 1784 in London; died on 1 Sep 1873 in Port Beaufort, Breda Rivier, SA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
|
1808 - 1868 (60 years)
