Nathaniel Dunham I (abt. 1662 - aft. 1734)

Born about 1662 in Plympton, Plymouth Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Tilson) Dunham — married 21 Jan 1691 (to 1714) in Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]

Husband of Elisabeth (Prat) Dunham — married 6 Dec 1714 in Norton, Bristol, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died after 1734 after about age 72 in Easton, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Deborah Snyder [send private message], Bruce Hamilton [send private message], Mark Dunham [send private message], and Rosalind Alley [send private message]

NOTICE: Two Nathaniel Dunham Families in 1690s Massachusetts: This one headed by Nathaniel and Mary (Tilson) Dunham in Plymouth; the second headed by Nathaniel and Mary (LNUnk) Dunham of Wrentham, Massachusetts and later in Hebron, Connecticut.

• • • please do not reassign spouses ***

To maintain sanity:

- Nathaniel I, II and III refer to descendants of Joseph Dunham (1637-1703)

and

- Nathaniel Sr and Nathaniel Jr refer to the family in Wrentham and Hebron whose earlier ancestry is uncertain, possible the Province of Maine.

- Nathaniel Dunham (1698-1779) son of (Samuel 3-2, John 1) [TAG 62:9]

- So there we have it, three men named Nathaniel Dunham living in 1692 and 1700 in Plymouth and Wrentham, Massachusetts Bay Colony. [TAG 62:1]

Biography

Nathaniel, son of Joseph and Mercy (Morton) Dunham, was born in Plymouth, Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America in 1662; He married Mary, daughter of Ephaim and Elizabeth (Hoskins) Tilson, there on 21 Jan 1691; He married second Elizabeth Pratt, ancestry unknown, in Norton, Bristol, Massachusetts on 8 December 1714; Nathaniel3 Dunham (Joseph2, John1) Dunham died after 1734 probably in Norton, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay Colony.

There are other Nathaniel Dunham families in Massachusetts Bay Colony in this period. Because of this, the children and wifes have been the subject of much discussion and many changes. The topic has been addessed in scholarly papers, see the Research Notes section below. If in doubt please pause, give it a think, write and ask the community before making reassignments.

The second and last discovered document in Nathaniel’s marriage to Elizabrth Pratt is in 1734 when she joined the church. This church record implies both were living then. Records for their passing have not been not been discovered. Was Elizabeth’s marriage to Nathaniel her first? Was Elizabeth a resident in Norton prior to their 1714 marriage? If so did someone named Pratt die prior to 1814 in Norton? And if so, could he have been the husband of this Elizabeth Pratt? There are many unanswered questins concerning the lif of the Elizabeth Pratt who married in 1814 Norton.

Nathaniel and Mary (Tilson) of Plymouth had 10 known children in Plymouth and Middleborough. [1]

Children

1. Nathaniel II (ca 1692-1765); m. 1729 Marcy Whitcomb; m. 1756 Sarah Lane
2. Ephraim (cal 1694-
3. Mercy (ca. 1697-
4. Icabod (ca.1699-
5. Rebecca (ca. 1701-
6. Lydia (ca. 1703-
7. Lemuel (1705- ca 1784), m. 1735 Elizabethh Tinkham
8. Mary (ca. 1706-
9. Isaac (ca. 1708-
10. Manasseh (ca. 1711-

Timeline

• 1662 - birth for Nathaniel Dunham
• 1691/92 - 21 Jan - married Mary Tilson in Plympton, Plymouth Colony. ^[1]
• 1692 to 1706 - births of 10 known children at Plymouth and Middleborough ^[2]
• 1693 - birth of son Nathaniel Dunham II, in Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay Colony, their second child.
• 1705 - birth of son Lemuel (unsourced)
• 1714 - death of first spouse Mary (Tilson) Dunham in Norton.
• 1714, 8 Dec - Nathaniel marries second Elizabeth Pratt at Norton, they had no known children ^[3]
• 1734 - "Elizabeth, wife of Nathaniel Dunham" joined church in Norton, record does not indicate Elizabeth is a widow only 'wife of'.
• 1734, after - deaths of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Pratt) Dunham, vital records remain undiscovered.

Research Notes

• the untangling of the ancestry of the multiple Nathaniel Dunhams is addressed in the following scholary articles published in 'The American Genealogist' (these articles are online at NEHGS).

• - TAG 29:22, see Nathaniel Dunham in "Notes on Nathaniel Dunham of Wrentham and Hebron" by Donald Lines Jacobus, 1953. ^[4]
• - TAG 30:143-155. see "Notes on the Dunham Family of Plymouth, Mass." by Mrs. John E. Barclay, 1954 ^[5]
• - TAG 62:5-18 see "Six Nathaniel Dunhams of Plymouth and Bristol Counties Massachusetts" by RoseMari Finter, pub 1987 ^[6]
• - TAG 62:19-20 "Nathaniel Dunham of Wrentham, Massachusetts and Hebron, Connecticut” by Kendall P. Hayward, 1987 revisits Natham Dunham of Wrentham and Hebron. ^[7]

• Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700 has entries for two Dunham / Donham marriages.b.1689 in Wrentham; 21 Jan 1691/2 in Plymton
• Dunham Genealogy Research Society, LINE OF DEACON JOHN DUNHAM OF PLYMOUTH THIRD GENERATION IN AMERICA at ^[8]

• Nathaniel Dunham was born about 1662 in Wrentham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Dunham (1907) gives his birth year as 1665. He was the son of Joseph Dunham and Mercy Morton.
• On 21 January 1691/92 Nathaniel, married Mary Tilson, daughter of Ephraim Tilson and Elizabeth Hoskins, in Plymouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Dunham (1907) gives their marriage year as 1689.
• Nathaniel Dunham served on 1 March 1713/14 in Plymouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, as He was chosen again in 1720 On 8 December 1714
• Nathaniel, married Elizabeth Pratt, in Norton, Bristol County, Massachusetts.
• 2,3 Nathaniel Dunham served on 1 March 1722/23 in Plymouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, as a Highway Surveyor.2
• On 31 March 1727, Nathaniel purchased land in Norton from his nephew, Elisha, son of Eleazer Dunham. The land was located to the east of Winnecunnet Pond, near the farm of William Wetherell.

Note of Controversy in Identification

There is a controversy regarding this identification. The Nathaniel of Wrentham is probably not the Nathaniel of Plymouth and Norton. Both have wives named Mary. The father of Nathaniel of Wrentham is said to be Rev, Thomas Dunham, who is not believed to be a descendant of John Dunham of Plymouth. Adams-21565 07:19, 31 October 2016 (EDT)

Thomas Dunham was a contemporary of Joseph Dunham, in fact it is likely Joseph and Thomas were brothers (macduff40, 25 Feb 2022)

• Dunham, Isaac Watson. Dunham Genealogy, English and American Branches of the Dunham Family. Norwich, Connecticut: Bulletin Print, 1907.
• Finter, RoseMari. "Six Nathaniel Dunhams of Plymouth and Bristol Counties, Massachusetts", The American Genealogist volume LXII (1987).
• Mahony, Gratia Dunham. Dunham Line for Rob Roy. Dayton, Ohio: manuscript, October 2008.
• Messinger, G.W.. "Early Records of Wrentham, Ms. - Births Recorded in the Town of Wrentham, from 1668-1696", The New England Historical and Genealogical Register volume IV (1850).
• Connecticut Town and Death Records pre-1870
• Connecticut Deaths and Burials Index
• Connecticut Hale Cemetery Inscriptions
• Massachusetts Marriages
• Massachusetts Town and Vital Records
• North America Family History 1500-2000
• US New England Marriages prior to 1700
• Profile with DNA confirmation chart: https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/59058341/person/110038707656/facts
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7524368
• Nathaniel was born in 1662. He passed away in 1734.

Sources

1. ↑ 1691 Marriage for Nathaniel Dunham and Mary Tilson in "Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910, 1921-1924", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHL9-Z9Z : 29 July 2021), Nathaniel Dunham, 1691.
2. ↑ The Children of Nathaniel and Mary (Tilson) Dunham in "Dunham Genealogy Research Association," webpage, (http://www.dunham-singletary.org/mw/index.php/DJD-46-Nathaniel-3)
3. ↑ 1714 Marriage for Nathaniel Dunham and Elizabeth Pratt in Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910, 1921-1924", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHLW-JYN : 28 July 2021), Nathaniell Dunham, 1714.
4. ↑ Nathaniel Dunham in "The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) [subscription] [https://www.americanancestors.org/DB283/i/11855/22/0 TAG 29:22:
5. ↑ Nathaniel Dunham on pg. 154 in "The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) [subscription] [TAG 30:143-155
6. ↑ Nathaniel Dunham in "The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-,". (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - ," [subscription] TAG 62:5-18
7. ↑ Nathaniel Dunham in "The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) [subscription] TAG 62:19-20
8. ↑ Nathaniel Dunhan in "Dunham Genealogy Research Association," database online (http://www.dunham-singletary.org/mw/index.php/DJD-46-Nathaniel-3

Acknowledgements

• www.Dunham-Singetary.org Newsletter