Western Dunagan Family Reunion

Brad here is a picture of some of the Western Dunagans taken in Silver City, New Mexico this summer, 2012. Direct descendants of Stephan Reid Dunagan, son of Ezekiel Dunagan and Margaret "Peggy" Wallace Dunagan.  The white haired gentleman with the mustache is the grandson of Alvin Dungan and Elizabeth (Bessie) Spaw.  My grandmother was Callie Kate Spaw, married to Stephen Wallace Dunagan.  The lady in the middle is Carol Smith she has written a book about life in Animas, N.M. and being rasied there and she has offered to take my sister Maudie to the Dunagan ranch and show us around as soon as the weather cools off some, I can't wait!

 

Peggy Dunagan Mcbride

photo by Bill Marlowe

Martha Louise Dunagan Ferguson, 96

From Darryl Dunagan:


Brad,she was the last of my fathers siblings. She was born in Gainesville and
lived there until her late teens. The daughter of Hubert O'Neal Dunagan and Martha Jane Apple
Dunagan/Ezekiel Parks Dunagan/James Reid Dunagan/Ezekiel Dunagan and Lydia Ann Brown.


Name:
Martha Dunagan Ferguson

Dates:
Birth date: October 1, 1915
Death date: July 18, 2012 

Obituary:

Reidsville, NC – Martha Dunagan Ferguson, 96, of Brian Center of Eden, went home to be with her Heavenly Father, Wednesday, July 18, 2012 at Rockingham County Hospice Home.

Funeral services will be held 10:00 A.M., Saturday, July 22, 2012, at Wilkerson Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Clay Spivey officiating. Interment will follow in Greenview Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Keith Chapman, Jason Chapman, Donny Childress, Brian Mabe, Brian Loye and Michael McFadden.

Mrs. Ferguson was born in Gainsville, Ga. to the late Hubert O’Neal and Martha Jane Apple Dunagan. She was a retiree of Chase Bag Company with over 30 years service and a member of College Park Baptist Church. She had lived the longest of any of her family members and was known by her grandchildren as Maw Maw or Mo Mo. Martha loved to quote scripture to family and friends, was an avid shopper and enjoyed eating at Reid’s House Restaurant. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husbands, Houston Barham, Leonard Barker and Harry Ferguson; daughters, Betty Lou Chapman and Marie Knowles; grandson, Eddie Knowles; brothers, O’Neal and Parks Dunagan; sisters, Edith Barham ,Elsie Dunagan , Mildred Donati and Thelma McCoy.

Survivors include her grandchildren, Terri Childress and husband, Wayne, Cindy Everett and husband, Philip, LuAnne Loye and husband, Gary, Keith Chapman and wife, Susan and Ricky Knowles who gave her so much joy and comfort in her last days; 8 great grandchildren; 12 great great grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

John Dempsey Dunagan, 86

L-R Dunagan brothers, George J. Dunagan and J. Dempsey Dunagan

Obituary Date

July 12, 2012

Location

Memorial Park, Gainesville, GA

Obituary

July 12, 2012

John Dempsey Dunagan, age 86 of Gainesville, passed away on Thursday Morning, July 12, 2012 at Northeast Georgia Medical Center following an extended illness.

            

Funeral services are scheduled for Saturday, July 14, 2012 at 2:30 pm in the Chapel of Memorial Park Funeral Home with interment to follow in Memorial Park Cemetery.  Reverend Drewery Loggins will officiate.  The family will receive friends on Friday, July 13, 2012 from 7 – 9 pm at the funeral home.

            

Mr. Dunagan was born November 30, 1925 in Gainesville, Georgia to the late Andrew Dunagan and Mellie Cochran Dunagan.  He was retired from Gilford Mill as a Textile Mechanic.  Dempsey was a member of Corinth Baptist Church and a member of Murrayville Masonic Lodge. 

            

Mr. Dunagan is survived by his wife of 62 years, Bonnie Dunagan of Gainesville, son, Randall Dunagan of Gainesville, daughter, Elaine Archer of Gainesville, daughters & sons-in-laws, Marilyn & Randy Steadman of Kingsport, Tennessee and Patricia & Ricky Moore of Belton, South Carolina, grandchildren, Jamie & Casey Dyer, Shane Free, John Armour and Leeza Summers, great-grandchildren, Savanna Dyer, Hanna Dyer, Braden Armour, Mason Free and Luke Free. 

(John Dempsey Dunagan is the youngest brother of my father, George J. Dunagan and the last of the siblings to pass, descended from William Andrew Dunagan/Jeter Andrew Dunagan/John Franklin Dunagan/Joseph Ellis Dunagan/Ezekiel Dunagan and Lydia Ann Brown.)

Two Governors From One Family

Nathan Deal was elected Governor of the great state of Georgia in 2010. Nathan is married to Sandra Dunagan Deal, daughter of George Jeter Dunagan, descended from William Andrew Dunagan/Jeter Andrew Dunagan/John Franklin Dunagan/Joseph Ellis Dunagan/Ezekiel Dunagan and Lydia Ann Brown. Nathan has had a long distinguished career, serving in the Georgia State Senate for many years, as did Joseph Ellis Dunagan,from 1825 to 1848. Nathan also served in the U. S. Congress, House of Representatives, from 1992 to 2010, resigning to run for governor.

L-R Mary Dunagan, Governor Nathan Deal, First Lady Sandra Dunagan Deal, Brad Dunagan

It turns out that there is one other Governor of Georgia from the Ezekiel Dunagan family lineage, former Governor Zell Miller. He is the great grandson of Lydia Dunagan Miller and James Miller. Lydia Dunagan was the daughter of Joseph Ellis Dunagan, the oldest son of Ezekiel Dunagan and Lydia Ann Brown. Zell is the author of several books and also served in the U. S. Senate before retiring to his home town of Young Harris, GA.

James Miller b. 10 Dec 1816, Hall County, GA, d. 27 Apr 1896, buried in Mossy Creek, White Co., GA.He married Lydia Dunagan b. 17 Feb 1827, Hall County, GA, d. 7 Apr 1891, also buried at Mossy Creek, White County, GA. I am not certain of who the parents of James Miller were but Lydia Dunagan was the oldest daughter of my 3rd. great grandparents, Joseph Ellis Dunagan and Lucinda Beall. Lucinda Beall was the daughter of Frederick Beall, a Brig General in the War of 1812. Lydia was named after her grandmother, Lydia Ann (Brown)Dunagan.

James and Lydia had several children but Zell Miller is descended from their child, William Jasper "Bud" Miller b. 7 Feb 1847, White County, GA. He married Jane Malinda Collins and they had a son, Stephen Grady Miller, the father of Zell Bryan Miller.

Stephen Grady Miller was married to Birdie Bryan. Zell Miller was born 24 Feb 1932, the same year his father died. Birdie never remarried and raised Zell and his siblings as a single mother.

Zell Miller

Miller served as Lieutenant Governor from 1975 to 1991, 79th Governor of Georgia from 1991 to 1999, and as United States Senator from 2000 to 2005. As Governor, he established the Hope Scholarship Program.

Family Bible Notes - Ezekiel Dunagan

Below are Family Bible notes found in a Bible owned by Mrs. Mary Dunagan Sheats of Winder, GA. (The youngest child of James Reed Dunagan), Nora Dunagan 

Ezekiel was born on Toms Creek, near what is now Augusta GA. Toms Creek was named after his grandfather, Thomas. In the 1820's, Ezekial drew a land allotment. He was a resident in Pendledon Dist, SC.,in 1794 and 1795, when he was witness to two land transactions. He had settled in GA. by September 13, 1798, when he and Joseph Dunagin, signed a petition to the Governor. He is reported in 'DUNAGAN'S OF DIXIE' as being born May 16, 1774/5

In 1804, a report of Colonel Wofford to the Cherokee agent, Jonathan Meigs, included the number of settlers living in and near Wofford Settlement on the frontier of Georgia and the Cherokees - lying between the Currahee Mountain and the headwaters of the Ocone(?) River. The Indians had complained that the white man was intruding on their property which was found to be true; therefore, Georgia bought a ten-mile strip from the Indians so these white men could continue to live in their homes.

Darnigan's New Settlers included Ezekiel Dunagan, (the name is spelled Darnigan and Dunagan) Joseph Wilson, Isiah Dunagan, John Peak, and Solomon Peak (Tenant) The Dunagans came to Hall County, or were settled there in the strip purchased from the Cherokees. Ezekiel Dunagan is buried in Hall County.

Ezekiel Dunagan was a Justice of the Peace, District 251, Jackson GA in 1807. - Hist Notes Jackson Co GA, Frary Elrod, pg 72 - J Robison copy

Ezekiel Dunnegin is listed on the Jackson Co., GA Tax digest of 1809, page 21.

During the 1820 Hall Co., GA. Census, pg 128:

Ezekiel, and his family, were residents and listed as follows; two male children under age 10 (Ezekiel Jackson and Andrew F.), one male child between age 10 and 16 (Isiah), three male children between age 16 and 26 (Abner, Benjamin and John) with Ezekiel being over age 45, along with his wife, Lydia Ann, being between age 26 and 45, two female children under age 10 (Louisa B. and Elizabeth), two female children between age 10 and 16 (Delilahand Anna) and 4 slaves.

In 1830, they were residents in Hall Co., GA., Census, pg 73:

Two males under age 5 (Stephen Ray and unidentified son), one male child between age 5 and 10 (James Reid), two male children between age 15 and 20 (Andrew F. and Ezekiel Jackson) with Ezekeil listed as between age 60 and 70 years, along with one female under age 5 (Sophis), two females between age 10 and 15 (Louisa B. and Elizabeth C.), with wife Margaret 'Peggy' Wallace being listed as being between age 30 and 40, and four slaves.

Ezekial passed away in 1837.

The 1840 Hall County, GA Census, pg 182:

Margaret Dunagan, Head of family; 2 males 5-10, 2 males 10-15, 4 males 20-30, 1 female 5-10, 1 female 15=20, 1 female 20-30, 1 female 40-50, 3 slaves.

Sources:

Dunagan Bible; National Pub Co; In poss of Mrs. Sheats, Winder GA, acc to book citation; record deposited GA State Archives.

This 'n' That: History of Hall co GA, vol 1; Sybil Wood McRay, 1973; pp 40-41; Chattanooga-Hamilton co TN Library.

The Political Life Of Joseph Dunagan In 1840

Joseph Ellis Dunagan was first elected State Senator in Georgia in 1825 representing Gainesville-Hall County district in Georgia, meeting in the State Legislature when the state capitol was Millegeville, Georgia. He was elected 23 consecutive years for this office. He also served at different times during this period as a Superior Court Judge.

Historical Overview:

After the debacle of the one-party presidential campaign of 1824, a new two-party system began to emerge. Strong public reaction to perceived corruption in the vote in the House of Representatives, as well as the popularity of Andrew Jackson, allowed Martin Van Buren to organize a Democratic Party that resurrected a Jeffersonian philosophy of minimalism in the federal government. This new party opposed the tendencies of National Republicans such as John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay to invest more power in the federal government. Van Buren built a political machine to support Jackson in the 1828 election. Van Buren's skills helped give the Democrats a head start on modern-style campaigning and a clear advantage in organization. The Democrats and Jackson defeated the National Republicans in 1828 and 1832 and maintained their hold on the presidency when they bested the Whigs—a union of former National Republicans, Antimasons, and some states' rights advocates—in 1836. But a major economic depression in 1837 finally gave the Whigs their best chance to occupy the White House. They faced Andrew Jackson's political organizer, vice president, and handpicked successor, President Martin Van Buren, vying for a second term in the midst of hard times.

As they prepared for the election of 1840, both Democrats and Whigs were organized for campaigning on a national scale. Joseph Dunagan in 1840 strongly opposed the election of the Whig candidate, William Henry Harrison, and became Chairman of the Democratic Party of Hall. At a meeting of delegates in 1840 he drafted a position paper on the election and attacked Harrison for standing for the old, worn out Federalist ideas such as the Bank of the United States and internal improvements, and placed himself and the other delegates at the meeting squarely in the Jeffersonian mold of strict construction of the Constitution. Joseph Ellils Dunagan was known as a strict Constitutional Conservative.

Below is the position paper he wrote and signed as Chairman of the party:

It being an unalienable right, as well as the duty of the citizens of this Republic, to assemble and consult in relation to any matters, affecting their general or local interests, and freely to express their views on men and measures--the correct policy of the Government in conformity to the Convention thereof; and as the "price of liberty is eternal vigilance," and as Republicans devoted to the principles illustrated in the life and writings of Thomas Jefferson. And viewing with indignation and surprise, the attempt now being made to hasten upon the country, the Federal doctrines of the "black cockade" administration of the elder Adams, the blue light doctrines of the younger Adams, the Jacobinical doctrines of Slade, Garrison, Tappan and other doctrines equally subversive of the Constitution, are dangerous to the peace and equality of our citizens.

Be it therfore Resolved, That we are in support of a strict construction of the Constitution of the United States--that the assumption or exercise by Congress, or any other Department of government, of any power or authority not expressly granted, is a high-handed...usurpation, dangerous to the liberties of the people.

Resolved, That the chartering of the United States Bank--the fanatical interference with domestic institutions of slavery--the appropriation of money for works of internal government--a tariff for protection--the assumption of State debts by the general government--appropriating the public revenue for the purpose of emancipation--may be legitimately listed (?) among the many federal sins of past and present times, alike violative, of the Constitution--destructive to the tranquility of our citizens--and endangering the perpetuity of our institutions.

Resolved, As the deliberate sense of this gathering, that William Henry Harrison, as well as a large majority of his supporters have held and do now maintain, most if not all of the heretical opinions and principles above enumerated.

Resolved, That William Henry Harrision, by refusing to answer questions propounded to him by his fellow citizens, involving their vital interest, has added one more federal sin to the already long black catalogue--and the keepers of his conscience and opinions, have for the first time in this country, openly proclaimed the Monarchial doctrine, "that the king can do no wrong."

Resolved, That the high, chivalrous and independent stand taken, and the pure republican principles advocated by those of our present delegation in Congress, Messrs. Black, Cooper and Colquitt, entitle them to the confidence and support of every friend of the present Administration throughout the State.

Resolved, That___________ be and they are hereby appointed delegates to represent this County in Milledgeville, on the 4th July next, and that in the reorganization of the Congressional and Electoral tickets, they sacrifice all former differences of opinion--all sectional, minor, and selfish consideration, thereby presenting an unbroken front--with an eye single to the successful maintenance of the great conservative principles of rational liberty.

When on motion it was Resolved, That the blank on the last Resolution be filled with the following names, viz: R. Sanford, J. Roberts, J.D. Hardage, Jos. Dunagan, F. Bradford, A. Matthews, T. C. Hackett, J. G. Lott, W. Sittons, E. M. Johnson, J. J. Hollingsworth, H. Davenport, J. Barrett, J. Barrett, D. Whelchel,Sr., R. F. Mays, R. Lawrence, R. Banks, B. F. Porter, D. H. McClesky, M. Brian, W. Jourdan, G. G. Thompson, M. Keith, S. Clark, R. Young, A. Blake, W. E. Wilson, and Capt. J. Saye.

The meeting then proceeded by ballot, to nominate Candidates to represent this County in the next Legislature--when the following persons were nominated, viz:

For Senate,

JOSEPH DUNAGAN.

For Representatives

JESSE D. HARDAGE

JAMES ROBERTS

GUILFORD G. THOMPSON

On motion, it was Resolved, That the proceedings be signed by the Chairman and Secretary, and published.

Signed: JOSEPH DUNAGAN, Ch'n.

Francis Luck, Sec'y38

The highlight of the political season in the summer of 1840 was the grand July 4th celebration. The large group assembled at the Courthouse and walked to the Academy Spring, where they listened to a reading of the Declaration of Independence by Joseph Dunagan, and an oration by T. C. Hackett. They partook of a "sumptuous meal" prepared by Wiley Sledge and heard a number of prepared "toasts" to such eternal verities as "The Union; It can only be preserved by a strict adherence to its Constitution;" "The heroes of '76," and "The fair sex; Let us love and protect them."

Col. Benjamin Black Dunagan

Benjamin Black Dunagan was born March 22 or 28, 1795, and he is my 4th great uncle, a brother to Joseph Ellis Dunagan, and was the 2nd child born to Ezekiel and Lydia Ann Brown Dunagan. Not much is known about Benjamin other than he had a distinguished military career rising to the rank of Colonel in the Georgia Militia. My dad would tell stories about Benjamin Dunagan and the many military campaigns he fought in around the state of Georgia and northern Florida mostly putting down Indian uprisings and various skirmishes with the Indians around the state. He was elected sheriff of Hall County, Georgia in 1838 and served two terms, 1838-1839 and 1842-1843. In 1868 Benjamin Dunnegan of Hall County was appointed notary public, nominated and recommended by the Freedman's Bureau representative in the area because he was a trusted unionist. He later formed the first Republican Party of Hall County in 1870, at age 75, and was elected Vice-President of the local GOP chapter at the organization meeting. As a side note, General James Longstreet, General Lee's second in command of the Army of Northern Virginia, CSA, and Georgia's most famous Republican, moved to Gainesville in 1875, not too long after after the GOP chapter was formed. Below are the minutes recorded when the organization meeting took place on September 23, 1870, in Gainesville, Georgia:

At a meeting of the Republican party of Hall county, held in the Court House in Gainesville, on the 23d September, for the purpose of organizing a Republican Club, G. W. Johnson, Esq., was elected President, Col. Benj. Dunagan, Vice President, and M. P. Caldwell, Sec'y.

It was resolved that every true Republican in the county be respectfully invited and urged to co-operate with the State and National Republican organizations in the coming campaign, and that we pledge ourselves to use due diligence to disseminate the great principles of said organizations and secure the election of our candidates, and earnestly and respectfully ask conservative voters of all parties to unite with us. Col. Benj. Dunagan and Maj. M.P. Caldwell were appointed delegates to the Congressional Convention at Gainesville, on the 12th of October, and G. W. Johnson Esq., and A. P. Prater alternates.

The Club adjoined, earnestly asking every Republican in the county to meet at the court house in Gainesville, on the 12th Oct., to agree upon a candidate to represent the county in the Legislature. We hope every district in the county will be represented.

signed: M. P. Caldwell, Sec'y42

Below is a copy of an original letter signed by Col. Benjamin Dunagan, 44th Regiment of the Georgia Militia, which ordered the muster of the militia in 1838 to aid the Federal Government in the removal of the Cherokee Indians from Georgia. This was known as the "Trail of Tears." The march west began October, 1838, and ended March, 1839. Many Cherokee died on the trip west. Dad told me that Benjamin did not participate in the actual rounding up and the forced march to the Indian territories out west due to his local responsibilities as sheriff of Hall County at the time but he did organize the militia for the task.

(click on to enlarge)

Benjamin Dunagan was a bachelor most of his life but I remember my dad telling me that he married later in life after he fathered a child with a local woman he had known for many years but never gave the child his name. If any of you know anymore about this Benjamin Black Dunagan please leave me a post.