JAMES DUNHAM, Jr., son of James Dunham, Sr. and his first wife, Anna Sands, was born 23 December 1834 in Miami County, Ohio. He appears to have been the third child of nine born to his parents. At adulthood, he was a carpenter and cooper by trade and is said to have been a hazel-eyed, dark-complexioned 5 ft. 8 in. man with dark hair.
Sketch Drawing:
JAMES DUNHAM, Jr.
January 2012, Courtesy of Deb Dunham
James Dunham and MARGARET ELIZABETH SLONAKER, daughter of Abdel/Abdiel Slonaker & Margaret Wilhelm, applied for a Marriage License on 10 November 1858 at Darke County, Ohio. They were married the next day on 11 November 1858 by Alexander Klefeker, M.G.
Courtesy of: Katha (Shields-Sullenberger) Kievit
Margaret gave birth to their first born, a son, Abdel Dunham, named for his maternal grandfather, Abdel/Abdiel Slonaker, on 7 December 1859.
1860 U. S. Federal Census James Dunham, 25, male, Carpenter, Personal Property $150, b Miami Co., OH
Darke County, Ohio
Adams Township
P.O. Gettysburg
21 July 1860
p. 201
#1431-1443
Margaret Dunham, 26, female, b PA
Abdel Dunham, 6/12, male, son, b Darke County, Ohio(Internet, Heritage Quest: Series: M653 Roll: 956 Page: 452 Image: 6)
Charles Franklin "Frank" Dunham was born 20 February 1861, and on 10 December 1862 James Dunham III joined the family.On 8 January 1864 the 44th Ohio Infantry was reorganized and became the 8th Ohio Cavalry. The 44th was the infantry in which James' father, also called James Dunham, had served in previous years. James (Jr.) enlisted as a Private on 27 January 1864 in Company G of the 44th Ohio Infantry according to the record below, yet it evidently quickly became Company M, 8th Regiment, of the Ohio Volunteer Cavalry. However, his initial enlistment papers show that he had been mustered into the 44th Ohio Infantry, Company G at Cincinnati, Ohio. Because both men were known as "James Dunham" only one has been recognized in many sources, when really James Dunham (Sr.) served as well as his sons, Henry Dunham and James Dunham (Jr.). The father returned home while both sons and a son-in-law were victims of the war. The records here clearly define that James Dunham (Jr.) was indeed a different individual from his father (James Dunham Sr.) the veteran. And...James, Jr.'s letters home to his wife clearly validate his service.
Courtesy of: Katha (Shields-Sullenberger) Kievit
These Company M, 8th Ohio Cavalry Company Description and Muster Roll papers clearly show that James Dunham (Jr.) was also a member of the 44th Ohio Infantry, Company G. Both units are named on these papers.
Courtesy of: Katha (Shields-Sullenberger) Kievit
By 7 April 1864 James, Jr. wrote a letter home to his wife in Darke County, Ohio indicating that he departed from Greenville for Cincinnati. On 19 April 1864 James found himself at Camp Denison in Ohio and by 3 May 1864 James was stationed at Charleston, West Virginia. One record says, "He was enlisted and was mustered at Cincinnati, Ohio on July [sic..."Jany" abbreviation for January, not July] 27, 1864."
Civil War Letters from James to Margaret In some records, it appears that James Dunham, Jr. was misidentified at times as being James Dunham, Sr. (his father), who served in Company G of the 44th Ohio Infantry from September 1861 to December 1862. Additional notes and comments were made on James, Jr.'s records to clarify the relationship and to indicate that there were two James Dunhams, one the father of Co. G Infantry and the other the son of Co. G Infantry (reorganized to Co. M Cavalry) at the time of James Jr.'s enlistment. Since records indicated that "James Dunham" served in Company G of the 44th OH Infantry 1861-1862 and again 1864, I believe it was assumed they were the one and same man, instead of father in 1861-1862 and son in 1864. This created difficulty in records for the father and son of the same name.
Courtesy of: Katha (Shields-Sullenberger) Kievit
James, Jr.'s service record was brief as he was missing in action following a battle at Liberty, Virginia on 19 June 1864. A letter from Headquarters to Mrs. Margaret Dunham indicated that James was wounded in that battle and ultimately assumed to have become a prisoner of war. That assumption soon turned to fact when another letter arrived dated the 4th of July 1864 from 2nd Lieutenant J. M. Foster of Company M, 8th Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Cavalry. This letter notified Margaret that her husband was wounded in the left arm during the Battle of Liberty, Virginia where he was taken prisoner of war.
September, 2001, Courtesy of: Wayne & Donna Hunt of New Lebanon, OH
and their son, Marshall Hunt, from the momentos of Don Miller of Indianapolis, IN ca 1998
Beverly, West Va
July 4th, 1864
Mrs. Dunham,
It is with the deepest regret that I am compelled to write you of the sad misfortune your husband met with at the battle of Liberty, VA. He was wounded in the left arm and taken prisoner. We sympathise with you and hope to see him again soon.
Very Respectfully,
J. M. Foster
2nd Lieut., Co. M, 8th OVC
Yet, a fellow P.O.W., Jonathan Friday, filed a Pension Affidavit in Darke County, Ohio, for Margaret Slonaker, which says that James Dunham was wounded in a thigh.The memorandum below clearly defines and confirms "James Dunham, Jr." as the prisoner of war.
Courtesy of: Katha (Shields-Sullenberger) Kievit
It is not known when Margaret eventually heard of the demise of her beloved James. He died according to prison records on 1 October 1864 at the infamous Andersonville Prison, Georgia. According to one record he was admitted to the hospital on 1 October 1864 having contracted typhoid pneumonia with severe diarrhea and left the hospital as a decease the same day. Yet, according to this Pension Affidavit filed in Darke County, Ohio by a fellow P.O.W. Jonathan Friday, a different story is told.
Margaret's War Dept. Letters, Notifications, Pension Records, etc.
Probably without ability, funds or means to have his body returned to Greenville, Darke County, Ohio, James Dunham (Jr.) was buried in a grave numbered 10189 of Section H at Andersonville National Cemetery in Georgia. He lies with many of his comrades who found the infamous prison and its grounds a death zone.
August, 2003, Courtesy of: Sandi Hollister
Conditions at Andersonville Prison
James Dunham Find-a-Grave Memorial at Andersonville, Sumter County, Georgia
8th Ohio Cavalry by Larry Stevens The young mother was now a very pregnant widow about to give birth to their fourth child. The birth of their daughter, Mary Jane Dunham, occurred on 21 October 1864, 20 days following her father's death. The years that followed would find Margaret caring for her four fatherless children, applying in April of 1865 for pension benefits for her husband's service and ultimate death, and living the next 28 years of her life in widowhood with memories of her beloved James enfolded in the pages of a few letters. And...over 100 years later these memories shared by other descendants come to this descendant, their great-great granddaughter.
Margaret's Pension Documents
MARGARET ELIZABETH (SLONAKER) DUNHAM
January 2012, Courtesy of Deb Dunham
Margaret died 28 May 1892 and was laid to rest at the East Zion Church Cemetery in Greenville Township, Darke County, Ohio.
Children of James Dunham Jr. & Margaret Elizabeth Slonaker:
1. Abdel Dunham
2. Charles Franklin Dunham
3. James Dunham III
4. Mary Jane Dunham
Mary Jane (Dunham) Creager and her Three Older Brothers
It is not known which brother is which.
Identification appreciated.
January 2012, Courtesy of Deb Dunham
Created: 02 November 2001
Revised: 06 February 2012
Tiny URL: http://tinyurl.com/2dupy3e
