I've managed to trace our very own Dunn family back to John "Jack" Dunn, https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/2H29-W4Q/john-%22jack%22-dunn..., who was captured by the indians, along with Daniel Boone, and I managed to connect the Dunn families of Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland, and trace them all, back to Devon, England, but there remains a missing link.
There is sufficient historical, physical, circumstantial, and DNA evidence, to propose a theory, but FamilySearch won't let me publish my theory on the Mormon website. Here is the only place you'll be able to examine the evidence for yourselves.
John Ross Dunn, Esq. was a land surveyor, Crown Attorney, court clerk, Justice of the Peace, sailor, and "deeply religious" man. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LRSB-X4J/john-dunn-esq.-1696-...
Until 2016, he was known, simply, as Irish John Dunn the immigrant, and his wife was known, simply, as Frances. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/GD5L-PH8/frances-
There were no sources attached, and genealogists were perfectly content to leave it that way. But, in the new, Information Age, when it became easier to search, and find, relevant data to attach to these profiles, things began to take on a different appearance.
This is my personal theory, of which I am absolutely convinced, and to date, none of my claims have been disproven.
John Ross Dunn was born in 1697, in Charles Parish, York, Virginia, the son of Thomas Dunn and Elizabeth Gray.
In his youth, he met a young French girl, named Frances Peronneau,
from Quebec, Canada. I believe she is descended from this family. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LV7V-4SD/francois-perron-1615..., and here is possible proof. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/2WNV-NM3/fran%C3%A3%C2%A7oise.... You can see that that family migrated from Quebec, Canada, to Charleston, South Carolina. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LZK6-6K9
In 1714, they married, and remained married, for 30 years. They parented, at least, ten children, and resided in Currituck County, Albemarle Sound, Bath County, and the Cape Fear River Valley, in North Carolina.
Here is the part of my theory which is heavily contested. In 1726, I believe they had a daughter, Priscilla, born in South Carolina, where Francis' ancestors lived. While in Charleston, I believe Francis went by the name Catherine Peronneau, https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/K84F-SBR/catherine-peronneau-... , and after most of their children in North Carolina were grown, from 1736, to 1739, and perhaps under the guise of surveyor, for William Rumsey, John and Frances went on, what I would refer to, as an assignment, to Charleston. I believe their intentions were to sow seeds of dissention, in South Carolina.
In 1736, Catherine gave birth, in Charleston, to John, Jr., and soon after, in 1737, John took him up the Great Pee Dee River, to Virginia, while surveying, and surveilling, along the way and back, and then, reported him deceased, in 1738, in Charleston.
Then, in 1738, John wrote a Will, in Charleston. He needed someone to believe that he would be incapacitated, or otherwise, absent, so they would not expect to see him, nor come calling on him, when he was not there, and in 1739, I believe he faked his own death, and the death of his newborn son, William, and under that same ruse, all three, escaped to Maryland.
Whether John was working for William Rumsey, or for British Parliament, or for a third party, is up for speculation, but Rumsey was Captain of the Navy, and that might very well be how they all got out of Charleston. During that time, in South Carolina, the Patriots were trying to wrestle power away from the Lords Proprietors. Also at that time, natives were attacking, Regulators were rampaging, and the slaves were getting ready to revolt. Before the British over ran Charleston, John was terrified of the Tories, and didn't want them to know he was ever there, so he erased all the evidence. Someone knew about that chapter in his past, as those years account for the brief time, referred to, in the source material.
In 1739, son, William was brought to Maryland. William Rumsey had to finalize the division of Goochland, and John Ross Dunn was with him, at that time, and the next year, in 1740, John abruptly joined the Cecil County, MD, Colonial Militia. Quite smart, if you don't want to be found in the Carolinas, nor in your home state of Virginia. John advanced quickly, through the ranks, and had a brilliant military career.
Catherine stayed with newborn, William, at Bohemia Manor, in Maryland, until Rumsey died, in 1743. John took four year old William, to North Carolina, and married Betsy Howard, while Catherine returned to Charleston, claiming to be a widow, and in 1746, remarried, to a man named Moody.
In 1746, John's family set up the Dunn's Creek Friends [Quaker] Meeting. In 1747, John bought land, around the area he had surveyed, which would become Salisbury, Rowan, North Carolina, and around 1751, married Mary Reid, and settled on Reid's Creek, a tributary of the Yadkin River, where he fathered five more children.
Anson was formed, in 1750, from Bladen. Orange County was formed, in 1752 from parts of Bladen. Rowan was formed, in 1753, from the northern part of Anson.
John, Jr. (Jack) grew up in Virginia, where he worked as a planter. In 1758, he got married to Sarah Cross, in Rowan, NC, at the invitation of his father, and then fathered a son, John "Jack" Dunn, Jr., in 1758, in Albemarle, Virginia. John, Jr., later, accompanied Daniel Boone, to Kentucky, where he was one of the salt makers who were captured, along with Daniel Boone, on February 8, 1778 at the Blue Licks salt lick springs.
From about 1760, to 1768, John Ross Dunn, Esq was married to Mary Reid, and that chapter is already in the books, but his son, William, married Olive Reid, which is another very important piece of this puzzle.
Mecklenburg was formed, in 1762, from the western part of Anson. Guilford and Alamance sprung out of Rowan.
When Moody died, in 1770, Catherine apparently faked her own death, in Charleston. In Charleston, she was known as Catherine, but I believe she went by her given name, Frances, while in North Carolina. I also believe she changed her last name to Petty, a shortened form of Peronneau and Moody, when she returned to John, in Salisbury, Rowan, North Carolina, and in 1775, just before he was ordered back to Charleston, John Ross Dunn, Esq., at the age of 78, (re-)married his first wife.
The rest of this story is factually proven.
When John died, in 1783, his mountain, and land were inherited by John and Charles, as John was the eldest son of Frances, and Charles was the eldest son of Mary.
The earliest known Dunn's to immigrate to America, were the Donne family who were investors in the Virginia Company of 1620. They were the family of Sir Daniel Donne and his brother, William, both, sons of Robert Donne, citizen and draper of London.
Thomas Donne, 14 y/o immigrant to Jamestown, came in 1620, and when that colony failed, and the Virginia Company lost the Charter in 1625, Thomas returned to England, married Anne, and fathered Thomas, Jr., b.1626, Robert, b.1627, and several other children.
Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army began killing all Catholics in England, and in 1650, when Charles I was beheaded, Thomas, Jr., and Robert escaped to America.
Thomas settled in Northumberland, Virginia, and his descendants would become the Dunn family of Essex, Virginia, and Robert's descendants would become the Dunn family of Kent, Maryland.
George Calvert obtained the new Charter to Virginia, and his son, Cecil Calvert became Lord Proprietor for the Carolinas. Cecil Calvert granted the Dunn family, land in North Carolina, which passed down from one brother to the next, until John Dunn, Esq. secured it, and established his town, of Salisbury, Rowan, North Carolina.
I traced this Donne family back to Devon, England, and London, https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/99MR-NGM/sir-angell-donne-147..., and it is probable that they originated in Wales.
They were not Irish, nor Scottish.
