THE BEALL AND DUNAGAN FAMILY CONNECTION

William Bradley Dunagan

My DNA results have matched with distant cousins out there I didn't know I had until recently. Thanks to the hard work of Darline Dunagan Scruggs and the DNA matches we have been able to document our relationship with the Beall family, originally from Scotland and early planters in the American colony of Maryland.  My 3^rd great grandmother was Lucinda Beall of this family.

My fifth great grandfather (maternal)

Col. Thaddeus Beall (pronounced Bell) fought in the Revolutionary War. Col. Thaddeus commanded a battalion of the Maryland line in the army of General Washington. He was born in Frederick County, MD and died in Franklin County, GA. He was the son of Josiah Beall and Millicent Bradley. He married Jane Amelia Beall in 1767.

Thaddeus lived in what is now Montgomery County Maryland. On July 3, 1776 he was first commissioned 2nd Lieut. in the Frederick County Militia. On August 7th, he was in Captain Burgess' Company, Lower District of Frederick County. In September he was Brigade Major for General Rezin Beall (a distant cousin) at Flying Camp, Maryland. Thaddeus was listed on October 2nd as 2nd Lieut. Montgomery County Militia, and was shown as 1st Lieut. in the 29th Battalion on January 21, 1777. He was Captain, Lower Battalion, Maryland Line on September 12th. Thaddeus moved to Guilford County, North Carolina, where on 18 Aug 1784 he purchased 400 acres from Henry C Davis for 100 pounds, which he sold on 23 Aug 1785 to Thomas Land for 100 pounds after obtaining 800 acres of land grants. These land grants were given at the rate of 50 shillings per 100 acres. Thaddeus received the following Grants: 8 Nov 1784 Grant #1078 for 500 acres and #962 for 300 acres; 6 May 1787 Grant # 1415 for 300 acres; and 16 May 1787 Grants #1234, 1267, and 1315 for 300 acres each. He sold 243 acres of this land on 10 March 1788 and sold the remaining land in five transactions beginning 12 July 1791, and ending 21 November 1791, after which he must have made his move to Georgia. The 1790 Census showed him in Guilford County with a family of 1 man, 4 boys, 6 females, and 12 slaves. Thaddeus served on a Guilford County jury during the May 29, 1787 court session. Thaddeus's sons Frederick, Thaddeus, and William settled in Franklin County, Georgia, where Frederick was Clerk of Ordinary (Probate) Judge from 24 July 1799 through 1825. But it appears that Thaddeus settled in Warren County. A three page inventory of his estate dated 5 July 1808, with a total worth of $4989.42 1/2 was found in the court house in Warrenton, GA. He is also listed on a DAR Plaque at the court house, naming the Rev. soldiers buried in Warren County. The DAR lists his death as 1815, which must be incorrect in view of the inventory of his estate. REFERENCE: Walter V. Beall GEDCOM file

Thaddeus Beall's name is listed in the 1st column on left, 10th name down.

My fourth great grandfather (maternal)

Frederick Beall (son of Thaddeus Beall and Amelia Jane Beall) was born October 20, 1776 in Prince Georges County, MD, and died June 13, 1847 in Campbell County, GA. He married Martha Peyton Beall on 1792, daughter of Daniel Beall and Martha Peyton Whiting. Notes for Frederick Beall: He is buried 4 miles west of Carrollton, Georgia. NOTES FROM WALTER BEALL OF WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA "Frederick was in Franklin County, Georgia as early as 1797 when he started serving two years as Clerk of Inferior Court. He was Clerk of Ordinary (Probate) Judge from 24 July 1799 to 1825, and Justice of the Peace from 1799 to 1812. He was a Commissioner of Franklin County Academy and was appointed County Commissioner by the act of November 29, 1806, to erect Public Buildings in Carnesville. Frederick, Daniel, and Horace Beall all drew lots in the 1805 Land Lottery or land in Baldwin, Wilkinson, and Wayne Counties. Of the three, only Horace had a winning draw. Frederick was a Major in the 2nd Battalion, Franklin County from 1801 to 1818, and was Brig. General of the 2nd Brigade, Georgia Militia from 1810 to 1829. He fought in the War of 1812 from 1812 to 1814.

General Fredrick Beall’s daughter, Lucinda Beall, married my 3^rd. great grandfather Joseph Ellis Dunagan of Hall County, Georgia, who was also a veteran of the Creek Indian War and the War of 1812. Joseph Ellis Dunagan’s brother, Col. Benjamin Black Dunagan also served in the militia as well. Joseph Ellis Dunagan and Lucinda Beall, whom they called “Lucy,” had the following children:

Frederick Dunagan 1824 – 1907

Lydia Dunagan 1826 – 1891

Ezekiel Dunagan 1829 – 1906

Martha Dunagan 1830 – 1903

John Franklin Dunagan 1832 – 1890 (My 2^nd great grandfather)

Alpheus Benton Dunagan 1835 – 1892

Mary Dunagan 1837 – 1903

Elizabeth Dunagan 1845 – 1937

Sources: Ancestry.com

ANCESTRY DNA

William Bradley Dunagan   06-12-2013

Ancestry DNA Analysis via Ancestry.com

Genetic Ethnicity

Scandinavian 59%     British Isles 34%     Uncertain 7%

Your genetic ethnicity reveals where your ancestors lived hundreds—perhaps even thousands—of years ago. This may update over time as new genetic signatures are discovered.

Comparing your genetic ethnicity to the known birth locations in your tree can help fill in gaps, find potential relatives and offer clues on places to look.

My Scandinavian Ethnicity 59%

Modern Day Location

Norway, Sweden, Denmark

Did You Know?

In the northern latitudes, the sun rarely dips below the horizon in the summer, meaning very long days and very short nights. However, the tables are turned the rest of the year, with almost no daylight at all in the middle winter months.

About Your Region

Looks like you may have some Viking blood in you. Your genetic ethnicity ties you to Scandinavia, which includes the modern-day nations of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. While the Vikings were feared by the coastal towns of medieval Europe as seaborne raiders and violent pillagers, they were also well-travelled merchants and ambitious explorers. They raided the Mediterranean coast of Africa, settled areas as far south as the Black Sea, and traded with the Byzantine Empire. And it was a Norse sailor, Leif Ericson, who is credited with being the first European to travel to North America—500 years before Columbus.

And it wasn't just the Vikings who had an irrepressible urge for adventure. In the days of the mighty Roman Empire, the Goths, originally from Sweden, wandered south and settled in what is now eastern Germany. In the year 410, they invaded and sacked Rome, setting the stage for the decline and fall of the Western Roman Empire.

In the more recent past, the Scandinavian nations have embraced a new identity. Considering their neutrality during the World Wars, high quality of life, and relatively egalitarian societies, they are known more for their peaceful ways than their ancient Viking lineage might suggest.

Migrations into this region

As the glaciers retreated from Northern Europe, roaming groups of hunter-gatherers from Southern Europe followed reindeer herds inland and marine resources along the Scandinavian coast. Neolithic farmers eventually settled the region beginning about 6,000 years ago. However, the tradition of hunting and reindeer-herding remains among the Sami people of northern Scandinavia. The Sami formerly occupied much of northern Scandinavia and Russia, and likely had connections with the Volga-Ural region (where there are other languages similar to Finnish and Sami).

Migrations from this region

The rise of the Viking culture spread Scandinavian ancestry far throughout Europe. Their earliest coastal voyages took them to Scotland, northeastern England and established the settlement of Dublin, Ireland. As their power continued to grow, the Vikings spread farther afield, down the Volga River in Russia, to the coast of France and Spain. But perhaps their most famous accomplishments were the oceanic voyages across the Atlantic, establishing villages in Iceland and Greenland and exploring the northern coast of Canada. Few, if any of the early Scandinavian settlers, are thought to have survived in the Americas. However, Iceland remains a flourishing post of Scandinavian language and culture.

My British Isles Ethnicity 34%

Modern Day Location

England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales

Did You Know?

The English language, predominantly spoken in this region, is descended from German settlers.

About Your Region

You're from North-Western Europe, an area including the modern-day United Kingdom and Ireland. It is a group of islands separated from France and the rest of continental Europe by the narrow English Channel. It is the rolling, emerald-green hills of Ireland, the craggy, weathered peaks of Wales, the rich history of the city on the Thames, and the deep, mysterious lochs of Scotland.

This is where Shakespeare wrote his plays and poems. It's home to the legends of King Arthur and Robin Hood. It's produced some of the world's most adventurous explorers and greatest political and military figures—George Mallory, Winston Churchill, Admiral Horatio Nelson. Brilliant scientific minds such as Sir Isaac Newton and James Clerk Maxwell laid the foundations of modern physics. And it's the place where a rainbow can lead to a pot of gold. Maybe.

The history of the region is one of periodic invasions and settlements by various groups including the Angles and Saxons from Germany, the Jutes from Denmark, the Vikings, the Normans from northern France and, of course, the Romans. English, a Germanic language brought by the Angles, is obviously the primary language spoken. But a few of the older languages spoken by the ancient Celts still exist—a rarity in post-Roman Europe.

The people of the region have been witness to sweeping political changes and amazing technological progress through the centuries, from the Glorious Revolution to the Industrial Revolution. But despite their penchant for reform and progress, they have always found a way to preserve the past. From royal families to prime ministers, ancient languages to international diversity, from thousand-year-old cathedrals to glass skyscrapers, their culture is a fascinating blend of old and new.

Migrations into this region

Despite being a cluster of islands separated from continental Europe, Great Britain and Ireland haven’t been insulated from outsiders. Although they weren’t the first, the Celts from central Europe spread throughout the Northwest Isles about 2500 years ago. Then, as with everywhere else, the Romans came. After the Romans withdrew from the area, tribes from northern Germany and Denmark (the Angles, Saxons and Jutes) came to conquer much of what is now England. About this same time, the mighty Vikings also left their imprint, particularly in southern Scotland, Ireland and western England.

Migrations from this region

Religious and political upheaval in 17th and 18th century England played a critical role in establishing and defining early American history. Called the Great Migration, religious dissidents including the Pilgrims, Quakers, and Puritans left England seeking religious freedom and a new way of life. Although the migration was not large in overall numbers, it laid the foundation for American culture, including the concepts of church-state separation and religious tolerance.

The Great Irish Famine, also called the Potato Famine, was triggered by an outbreak of potato blight, which destroyed potato crops across Europe in the mid 1800s. Already enduring widespread poverty and massive unemployment, Ireland was hit harder than any other nation by the disaster since potatoes were a dietary staple. Ireland lost nearly a quarter of its population. Those who could leave, fled mostly to England, Australia, Canada, and the United States, creating a world-wide Irish diaspora.

Unknown Ethnicity 7%

Daughters Of The American Revolution

Darline Dunagan Scruggs


For the granddaughters of Joseph Ellis Dunagan and Lucinda Beall Dunagan: I finally succeeded in establishing Frederick Dunagan as the father of Lucinda. The DAR genealogist was not the smartest cookie on the block so it took an exhaustive year to prove the parentage. We finally appealed and the head genealogist accepted it with no hitches. It is now official. So all of you that have been waiting patiently with me, now is the time to get your documents together. Sending them to the Longstreet Chapter here in Gainesville will be the quickest way to get your national number. You will use my national number to get in so you will not have any difficulties. You can then transfer to any chapter of your choosing. 



http://www.dar.org/natsociety/chapters.cfm?State=GA

Donnegan’s Station 1793, Georgia

by Darline Dunagan Scruggs
http://mydunaganrootsandbranches.wordpress.com/


As was stated in “Following Joseph”, we know that Joseph Dunagan (1740-1808) came into Georgia in or around 1790 and settled in Georgia’s original Franklin County. His land was near the Curahee Mountain on the upper North Fork of the Broad River. Posted is a map showing the location of Joseph Dunagan’s land. It is referred to as Donnegan’s Station on the map. Also posted is a letter from the settler’s to the Governor, notice that Joseph’s signature shows that he spelled his name as Dunagin. You will also see documents referring to the building of a blockade on Donnagan’s Plantation and general orders given to build the blockade. Also note on the map that Donnegan’s Station was located ten miles from Fort Mathews and 2 miles from Wofford’s Settlement.

2013 Ezekiel Dunagan (1771-1836) Family Reunion

Average Life Expectancy of 6 Generations of Dunagan Men

My 4th Great Grandfather Ezekiel Dunagan 1771-1836,  died at age 65 (After fathering 19 children with two wives, I imagine that he was tired)
My 3rd Great Grandfather Joseph Ellis Dunagan 1793-1861, died at age 68 (After his third trip to the west to prospect for gold, he took the "fever" when returning from Pikes Peak to Georgia in 1861. He probably died of pneumonia. He was buried somewhere in Illinois.)
My 2nd Great Grandfather John Franklin Dunagan 1832-1890, died at age 58 (He served in the Confederacy, numerous battles, captured at Vicksburg, spent time as a POW at Ft. Delaware. The Georgia Infantry unit he served with was so decimated that they had to be merged with a TN Regiment. Not sure if he was wounded but probably suffered from malnutrition and dysentery during the war.)
My Great Grandfather Jeter Andrew Dunagan 1856-1923, died at age 67 (Died from injuries suffered when he fell off of a house he was building.)
My Grandfather William Andrew Dunagan 1880-1939, died at age 59 (Suffered from heart disease and complications from diabetes.)
My Father George Jeter Dunagan 1913-2006, died at age 93 (Lived a long and productive life, ultimately died from kidney failure.)

Going back 6 generations on my father's side, the average life expectancy of Dunagan men in my direct line was 68 years and 3 months. Of course, my father, George Jeter Dunagan, lived the longest, to age 93, which probably throws off the numbers on average. If I take George Dunagan out of the total average, then the average life expectancy for Dunagan men would drop to 63 years and 4 months.

I am turning 60 years old in a few weeks and this little exercise has helped remind me of my own mortality and just how short life really is.

“Thar’s Gold in Them Thar Georgia Hills”

by Darline Dunagan Scruggs

Source:   http://mydunaganrootsandbranches.wordpress.com

I am a third great granddaughter of Joseph Ellis Dunagan and Lucinda Beall Dunagan. I was born and raised in Hall County Georgia where I grew up hearing the stories of my ancestors. One such story was of Joseph’s elusive buried gold. The following is an account of Joseph’s buried treasure in Hall County Georgia.

Joseph Ellis Dunagan was a man of prominence during his time. He was the son of Ezekiel Dunagan who came here in 1798 with his brother Isaiah, leading in the second group of white settlers into the Indian Territory where present day east Hall County, Georgia is located. Ezekiel followed his father, Joseph and Joseph’s brother Joshua Dunagan (transcribed in some records as Joshua Darnigan) who led the first group to that area. They were all part of the original Wofford settlement.

Joe grew up in a time when men had to work hard to sustain life and that he did with great success. He married the prominent Frederick Beall’s daughter, Lucinda, and bought land by the Chattahoochee River about three miles north of downtown Gainesville, Georgia. There is where he and Lucinda raised a family of eight. I think that Lucinda had to do much of the raising alone with her husband spending a considerable amount of his time traveling to the capital city of Milledgeville, where he served as the state senator representing Hall County, and this he did for 23 years. When not serving his county as a judge of the Inferior Court or as a state senator, he was traveling west. “Old Constitution”, as he was fondly nicknamed, found himself with the contagious ‘gold fever’. He would travel with his family members out west to pan for gold. These travels kept him away from home for long periods of time, and I know that at least once he was away from home for two years.

The story begins when Joe decided to make a trip back to Pike’s Peak to retrieve some gold dust that he had left buried there. It was in the spring of 1861 when Joe packed up and left on his quest. His trip to Pike’s Peak was successful but the retrieval of his buried dust was not. It seems Joe was to return empty-handed. So Joe began his trip back to his family and home. He traveled as far as Illinois when he became ill. He was alone and he knew no one, but the times were friendlier then and he was given aid by strangers. They took him into their home and cared for him but Joe did not recover from his malady. He died there amongst strangers and was buried there also. Unfortunately, for us today, we do not know the whereabouts of his burial.

My second great grandfather, John Franklin Dunagan, told of his treasure hunting experience with his father. He said: “I panned out the first gold that was found after we got to Colorado”. He also stated the following, “Joseph Dunagan was my father. He went to the Rocky Mountains in March, 1860, and came back in the fall and my recollection is that he brought back about $3200.00 in gold dust. He carried it to Dahlonega and got it coined. I saw the dust, I was with him and helped him dig it out…”

Joseph Ellis Dunagan was known to be somewhat eccentric and with no banks available to him in Gainesville, buried his gold coins in the grounds of his land. The location of his buried to treasure was unbeknown to anyone other than himself. Here begins the tale of the unearthing of the buried treasure of Joseph Ellis Dunagan.

After Joseph’s death, his family searched for the buried treasure but it was not to reveal its secret hiding place to anyone at that time. Years passed and the land changed hands. The land where Dunagan had lived in 1860 was purchased by Mr. S.C. Dunlap Sr. Mr. Dunlap had a farmer by the name of Isaac Bales farming the land that had been owned by the late Joe Dunagan. In the early spring of 1887, fifteen year old Cicero ‘Jack’ Bales, the son of Isaac, was bedding cotton rows when he discovered a gold coin. Taking a closer look he discovered quite a few more gold coins, 288 was the number reported. Jack took the gold to his father who in turn, believing the gold to belong rightfully to Dunlap, took the gold to Mr. Dunlap. According to a newspaper article, as told by S. C. Dunlap Jr., his father, Dunlap Sr., held out his derby hat and the gold coins were thus emptied and counted. S.C Dunlap Jr. stated, ”We counted the money and there was $1190.00 in $5 dollar gold pieces –all coined in Dahlonega, Ga. in the year 1860. This gold was bright and new, as if it had just come from the mint.” Continuing, S. C. Dunlap said that Mr. Bales was insistent that the money belonged to Dunlap, but Dunlap said “that he had never had enough money to use in his business, much less to bury any, and stood the position that the gold belonged to Jack, the finder.”

Now keep in mind that John said his father returned in March of 1860 and took the dust to Dahlonega for minting. Then Dunlap Jr. states in his own words that the gold coins, all minted in Dahlonega in 1860, were “bright and new, as if they had just come from the mint”. The gold minted in 1860, buried on Dunagan’s land, the Dunlap’s testifying that it was not their gold, and the well known fact that Joseph Dunagan, who owned the land prior to Dunlap, was a miner who had become quite wealthy from his endeavors, leads me to believe that the gold coins did indeed belong to the Dunagan estate. Now I find it interesting that Bales was more than willing to relinquish his son’s find to Dunlap, who claimed no rights to it, but refused to accept the logical explantion that the gold was indeed that lost buried treasure of Joe Dunagan.

The Bales, thrilled with their found treasure, took the gold to Banks Brother’s Bank where it was counted and deposited to their credit. As you can imagine the news of the Jack’s discovery was spreading throughout the community and the talk was high. When John F. Dunagan and his brother Ezekiel, heirs and administrators to Joseph Dunagan’s estate, heard of the unearthing of the gold coins, they knew immediately that it was their father’s gold. John set out to tell Mr. Bales that the gold belonged to the Dunagan’s but Bales, of course, would not accept the Dunagan’s claim to their ‘gold fortune’. A suit was filed against Bales by the Dunagan’s in the Hall County Georgia Supreme Court.
On March 29, 1887, Bales was duly served and required to give a bond of $2380.00 for the forthcoming property. The first trial thus proceeded and was declared a mistrial.
Again, in November 1888, the case was called and the trial continued. This time the jury found in favor of the plaintiffs. This was not the outcome that Bales neither wanted nor expected, so a motion for a new trial was made. This motion was overruled so the case went to the Supreme Court on a writ of error for the October term. However, this never came to light because both parties were tired of the long drawn out court proceedings and decided to divide the money equally after attorney and court fees were paid.

Now you would think this was the end of the story but it is not. I am not certain to the circumstances as to why the monies were not distributed amongst all the heirs of Joseph Dunagan but obviously they were not. The Dunagan’s found themselves in court again. A Petition and Citation for settlement was filled in Hall County Court by Martha Dunagan Highfield, Fred Dunagan, Mary Dunagan Short, and Elizabeth Dunagan Webster, surviving children of Joseph Dunagan and siblings of John F. Dunagan and Ezekiel Dunagan. A W.P. Smith is named also showing that he is interested as distributee in the Estate of Joseph E. Dunagan for which John and Ezekiel were legal administrators.

The following is an account taken from Reports of Cases Decided in the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia, Volume 93
By Georgia. Supreme Court, John Erskine:
DUNAGAN v. WEBSTER et al.

Where one qualifies as administrator of a deceased person it is an undertaking by the administrator equivalent to a contract to duly administer the estate according to the law, for the benefit of the heirs and creditors. If such qualification took place prior to the passage of the homestead act of 1868, a homestead set apart to the wife of the administrator in 1873, out of his land, is subject to a judgment rendered against him by the court of ordinary in favor of the heirs upon a citation for a settlement of his accounts, although the judgment was based upon a failure by the administrator to pay over money belonging to the estate which did not come into his hands until 1887. January 27, 1894
Levy and claim. Before Judge Wellborn. Hall superior court. July term, 1893.
S.C. Dunlap and W.L. Telford, for plaintiff in error. George K. Looper, contra.
Joseph Dunagan died in 1861, and in the same year J.F. and Ezekiel Dunagan qualified as administrators of his estate. In 1887 certain money which had been buried by the deceased was found and went into the hands of the administrators. They were cited by the heirs to a settlement before the ordinary, and a judgment was rendered against them in favor of the heirs. An execution founded upon this judgment was levied on certain land as the property of Ezekiel Dunagan, and his wife interposed a claim to the property as having been set apart to her and her children as a homestead and exemption on March 29th, 1873. It appeared that he had never sold or otherwise disposed of the land. Upon the agreed facts the question whether the land was subject to the execution was submitted to the judge without a jury; and he found that it was, and to this ruling the claimant excepted.
Where one qualifies as administrator, it is and undertaking equivalent to a contract on his part to duly administer the estate according to law for the benefit of heirs and creditors. In the present case the claim of the creditor was based upon this contract on the part of the administrator; and the contract, as we have seen, antedated the constitution of 1868, under which the homestead was set apart. The Supreme Court of the United States, in the case of Gunn v Barry, 15 Wall.610, reversing the decision of this court, held that the homestead right could not prevail against a contract created prior to the constitution-that as to such contracts the homestead is a nullity; and that ruling has since been followed in several decisions of this court. It has also been held that, as between the homestead right and the claim of a creditor founded upon such a contract, the date of the contract and not of the breach of it governs in determining the question of priority.
Van Dyke v. Kilgo, 54 Ga. 551; Drinkwater v. Moreman 61 Ga. 395; Hunt v. Juhan, 63 Ga. 162; Douglass v. Boylston, 69 Ga. 186; Willis v. Thornton, 73 Ga. 128.
It follows that the court below did not err in holding the property subject. Judgment affirmed.
So it seems that the monies from the gold were never distributed amongst Joseph’s surviving children. The Dunagan’s share,prior to court and attorney fees, would have been $590.00 after the division with the Isaac Bales. The 1887 dollar value of $590.00 would be $14,390.24 today. The amount is calculated strictly on an inflation rate of the dollar value not the gold value. Since the money was in $5.00 gold pieces the value could be higher.

As previously stated, in 1893 when the suit was filed, Joseph’s remaining children, excluding Ezekiel, were Martha, Mary, Elizabeth and Frederick. John died in 1890 leaving Ezekiel the only surviving administrator of the estate. This is why John is not mentioned in the above document. I am curious as to what happened to Ezekiel’s land and how it was distributed after the court finding. I am assuming it would have been sold and the profits divided. More research is needed to determine this.

This is all that I have been able to ‘dig up’ on the gold of Old Joe Dunagan. I will keep digging in hopes of finding even more clues to the lost fortune of the Honorable Joseph Dunagan.

Reference to the lost gold of Joseph Ellis Dunagan: The Gainesville Times, March 2, 1932.

(Click on image to enlarge)