MORGAN L. DUNN was born on Ruff creek, Morgan township, Greene county, Penn., a son of Joseph and Jane Dunn. His paternal grandfather, Isaac Dunn, was born in eastern Virginia, and his boyhood days were passed in the place of his birth; but in early manhood he moved to Washington county, Penn., which then included the territory that is now Green county. He settled on Castile run, near the dividing line between Washington and Green counties, and he lived there and died. When he first came to Washington county he was offered land, now one of the finest farms in Green county, in exchange for a horse. He was one of the pioneers of Washington county, and was respected and esteemed by all who knew him, for his integrity, enterprise an thrift. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and his gallantry and bravery are already historical. Mr. Dunn’s long life was one of hardship and toil. Labor was to him more a pleasure than a necessity, so accustomed had he become to it. He made many trips to Winchester, Va., trading farm products for salt, which was “racked” across the mountains in pack saddles., made of cooked roots and limbs of trees. His method of life, however, did not seem to affect his health, for he was one of the best preserved men in recorded within these pages. At the age of ninety-two years he bound wheat, and kept up with two cradles. He died at the advanced age of ninety-seven. Joseph Dunn, the father of the subject, was born in Greene county, Penn. In his early days he attended the subscription schools, but the principal part of his education was received under his father’s personal supervision in learning the successful management of the farm. He married Jane, a daughter of James Martin, who emigrated from new Jersey to Washington county in its early days, the trip being made in wagons. During the journey they passed many a tract of beautiful land, which might have become theirs for the asking; but the continued their way to the glorious West, the land of which they had heard so much, but had never seen. According to rumor, this land, which was called “Red Stone,” was a veritable paradise; and they were immeasurably disappointed and disheartened to find, instead of this imaginary “Eden,” nothing but dense woods. Reluctantly they went to work, clearing off they eland on which the had located. As there was no clearance in which to place the timber and underbrush cut down, they were obliged to burn great stretches of oaks. During the closing part of Martin’s life he was obliged for several years, to sleep in his chair, being unable to rest in the natural position. The family of Joseph and Jane Dunn consisted of the following children: Washington, James M. (he went to California during the first gold excitement, and is living in that State to-day with his family), Morgan L., Joseph (a prominent merchant of Millsborough, East Bethlehem township), William (who, after serving in the Civil war under Capt. Crea, died soon after his return home, of disease contracted in the service; his widow, who survives him, receives a pension secured her by the uniting efforts of our subject), John and Ann, both of whom were never married (they live in Washington township, Greene Co., Penn., John being there engaged in the nursery business). Morgan Dunn was born in 1824, and his boyhood was spent in much the same manner as that of his father. The little education he received was obtained at the subscription schools, almost the only kind the period afforded. At the breaking out of the war of the rebellion Mr. Dunn raised over $3,000 by subscription for substitutes in Washington and Greene counties. He has been married three times: his first wife was Phoebe Anne, a daughter of Mr. Taylor, whose father was a drummer in the Revolutionary was; to this union were born five children: Jane, Mary, George W., Dorcas, and Phoebe A. Jane is the wife of Milton Bigler, a Baptist minister, and resides in West Bethlehem township, this county; George W. lives in West Bethlehem township (he was married to Maria Hoover June 15, 1876, and three children have been born to them, vis: Winston, Sherman, and Elsie); Mary is the wife of George Hufford, and resides in Ten Mile, Washington county; Phoebe A. married Addison Swihart, and the reside in Washington township, Greene Co., Penn. (none of the three married daughters had any children born to them). Mr. Dunn’s second wife was Eliza Corwin, a daughter of William Corwin and a granddaughter of Stephen Corwin, prominent resident of Washington county. This wife bore him the following children: William, a resident of Lone Pine, Amwell township, married Cora Gray, and two children have been born to them: Rerie and Murral; Flora, the wife of James Huffman, residing in Washington (they have three children: Frank, Willie and Lulu); Walter, a prominent farmer of West Bethlehem township, married Maggie Yoders, and they had two children: one that died in infancy, and Myrtle, still living; Richard, who lives in East Liberty, married Nannie Huffman, daughter of George Huffman, and Loualin, who resides at home with is father. The departure of Mrs. Dunn from this life was mourned not only by her husband and children, but by her numerous friends. Mr. Dunn married for his third wife Emma Curry, a daughter of Philip Curry, and to this union have been born two children: Arthur Extell and Earl Guy. Mr. Dunn is one of the best-known and most successful agriculturists in West Bethlehem township He is also extensively engaged in stock raising--coach and Clydesdale horses and Merino sheep being his specialties. Politically he is a stanch Democrat. When a young man he was possessed of a splendid physique. He thought nothing of making 200 rails in one day, mowing three acres with a scythe and cradling 200 dozen of wheat.

Text taken from page 836 of: Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893). Transcribed January 1997 by Mary M. Tokarcik of Gloucester, MA as part of the Beers Project. Published January 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.

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