Thomas Dunn, of Jamestown

Not a known child of Thomas Dunn, of Knightwick with Doddenham & not a known husband of Ann Dunn. Seen as father of William Dunn, Sr., of Essex County. (Probably) not the same as Thomas Dunn.

Biography

Last updated 12 January 2025

Thomas Dunn came to James City, VA in 1620 on the Temperance from London. He was noted as age 14 years and a servant to Sir George Yeardley, Knight and Governor and Capt. Gen of VA on the muster of January 1624/5.

On 16 February 1623/4, he appears on the list of the living in Virginia and those who had died since April 1623. Thomas was living at that time at Flourdieu Hundred, the plantation of Sir George Yeardley.

On 24 January 1624/5, Thomas appears as a 14-year-old servant of Sir George Yeardley in the Virginia muster for James City.

"Flower Dieu Hundred" was located on the south side of James River, being a part of Weyanoke Plantation, the home of Gov. Yeardlay, situated on border of Charles City Co., later Surry Co., VA. In 1655, most of the territory within Weyanoke Plantation, including Flower Dieu Hundred, was made a part of Martin Brandon Parish in Charles City Co. Charles City County later became Surry or Sussex County.

A Thomas Dunne was granted 448 acres in Essex Co. VA for transporting persons to the Colony in 1699. It could have been a retroactive patent granted for an actual tranport date much earlier. (Note: "Originally part of Old Rappahannock County, Essex County was formed in 1692 and named for either the English County or the Earl of Essex." < "About Essex County" >)

Disputed dates

The Muster (or roll-call) of the inhabitants of James City on 24 January 1624/5 showed the age of the inhabitants at the time of the muster. Thomas Dunn was 14 at the time of the muster of Sir George Yearley's [sic] household, not 14 when he travelled on the Temperance in 1620; at the time of the voyage he would have been aged 9 or 10, so born about 1610.

It seems unrealistic for a man born 1610 to be living in 1699. When was the headright?

Possibly: "returned to England with Yeardley in 1625." What is a death date of 1655 based on?

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Notes

Captain John Smith, founded the first English Colony at Jamestown Virginia in 1607. The following are some (1,033) Early Virginia Pioneers. Indexed by last name, first name from 1624 records.

By 1619, the Virginia Company of London had granted Sir George Yeardley a 1,000 acre tract 25 miles upriver from Jamestown. At that point of land, previously cleared by American Indians, Yeardley established a plantation and named it Flowerdew Hundred in honor of his wife's family. The settlement at Flowerdew Hundred was organized for the production and exportation of tobacco.

"During that time in England it was a law that all boys were to become an apprentice at age 14. Becoming a servant to George Yeardley in the VA colony was a part of this apprentice program." (source for citation?)

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Disputed relationships

Note: Donne / Dunn / Donne was a common surname in England in the early 1600s.

• Parents: Thomas Dunn, of Brandesburton in Yorkshire and Ann Greene (m. 3 Sept 1620, London) (or spouse)
• Spouse:
  • Ann Greene (m. 3 Sept 1620, London (same record as possible parents)
  • Ann Burgess (m. 1639, Massachusetts)
  • Anne Lenard (b. 1604) (m. 11 November 1624, Ribbesford, Worcestershire) https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/GT5P-QN6 < Digital Image >
• Children:
  • Thomas Dunn, b. 1684, Essex County, VA, d. 16 Jan 1772, Surry County, VA. [Essex Co. formed 1692]
  • William Dunn, Sr., b. 1665, Charles City County, VA., d. 1731, South Farnham Parish, Essex Co. VA..
  • John Dunn, Sr., b. 1645, Charles City, VA, d. 15 Jul 1702, Norfolk Co. VA.

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Research notes

See the discussion at https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/collaborate/K8K1-F2Y

Baptism reports

• Thomas Dunn Baptized August 24, 1606 Chosen Gloss, Yorkshire, England.
• Thomas Donne Baptized 16 July 1605, Knightwick with Doddenham, Worcestershire, England, Thomas Donne to Henry Donne and Frauncis.
• A search of the FamilySearch database "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975" yields a list of at least 15 different boys named Thomas Dunn/Dunne/Dun/Donne baptized in England between 1600-1610.

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References

1. < Virtual Jamestown > 24 January 1624/5 George Sr Kt. &ct. Yearlley’s Muster. Thomas Dunn Yearley George Sr Kt &ct. Status: servant Location: James Citty Corporation: James Citty Age: 14 Ship: Temporance Date arrived: 1620 Muster date: 24 January 1624/5
2. McCartney, M.W. (2007). Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers, 1607-1635: A Biographical Dictionary, p.269. Partial preview, Google Books. This entry relies upon Coldham, Complete Book of Emigrants, pps. 37 & 54. < GoogleBooks > The original Coldham source is cited in the Biography of this profile.
3. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Dunn-867
   1. Hotten, John Camden. "The Original Lists of Persons of Quality; Emigrants; Religious Exiles; Political Rebels; Serving Men Sold for a Term of Years; Apprentices; Children Stolen; Maidens Pressed; and Others Who Went From Great Britain to the American Plantations 1600-1700." (1874, Reprint, New York: Empire State Book Co., 1874), 222 < Archive.Org > (Thomas Dunn, age 14, came in the Temperannce 1620; servant in the household of Sr George Year[d]ley, muster dated 24 Jan 1624/5).
   2. Coldham, Peter Wilson. "The Complete Book of Emigrants 1607-1660" Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, Maryland 1987. Page 37.
   3. Coldham, Complete Book of Emigrants, at p. 54.
4. Austin, Davis. "The Georgians: Genealogies of Pioneer Settlers."  (1984) Page 103-106. < GoogleBooks >
5. Davis, Terry. "Dunn Genealogy: A Research Report." (15 October 2011) http://www.tedmrd.com/DUNN/DUNN.pdf pp. 4 & 51
6. https://www.genealogy.com/ftm/n/o/v/Sandra-J-Novak-Texas/WEBSITE-00...
7. “Biography of John Ross Dunn Esq: A Comprehensive Biographical Analysis“ (December 31, 2024). In Copyright. < dunnfamilyofvirginia.blogspot.com >
8. For research notes: "Indentured Servants in Colonial Virginia." < Encyclopedia Virginia > "Adults usually served for four to seven years and children sometimes for much longer, with most working in the colony’s tobacco fields."
9. Avery E. Kolb. “Early Passengers to Virginia: When Did They Really Arrive?” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 88, no. 4 (1980): 401–14. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4248428.