Nathaniel Dunn (1790-185x) and Sarah Adams (1796-1882) were my fourth great grandparents. This branch lived in Burlington County, New Jersey, including portions that became Mercer County in 1838.
While exploring the lineage of Sarah's parents, Ezra Adams (1768-1824) and Hannah Haines (1771-1824), I uncovered some more facts about the lives of Nathaniel and Sarah.
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| Some descendants of Ezra Adams (1768-1824) and Hannah Haines (1771-1824) of New Jersey |
Revising the Date of Death of Nathaniel Dunn
Previously I thought that Nathaniel's date of death was in the 1840s. Why? Because he was in the 1840 census but not the 1850 census. I did not have any record to document his actual death, but this is not unusual in the 1840s in New Jersey.
"Nathan" appeared in the 1840 federal census in Northampton, Burlington County, New Jersey. In the 1850 federal census, his wife, Sarah, was enumerated without a husband in nearby Trenton with the couple's youngest children, Sarah and David. I will note that it is possible that Nathan Dunn is not the same person as Nathaniel Dunn.
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| 1840 United States Federal Census, New Jersey, Burlington County, Northampton Township Household of Nathan Dunn 1 male 15-20 years old. 1 male 20-30 years old. 1 male 50-60 years old. 1 female 10-15 years old. 3 females 40-50 years old. |
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| 1850 United States Federal Census, New Jersey, Mercer County, Trenton Sarah Dunn, age 52. Sarah Dunn Jr, age 18. David T Dunn, age 14. All born in New Jersey. |
Centralized recording of deaths started in 1848 in New Jersey in the form of ledger books. I found no good match in the index for 1848-1850. Compliance was poor, so an absence of someone from these ledger books does not mean that they did not die in the reviewed time period.
A record of his death could have been recorded in a newspaper, surrogate court proceeding, or cemetery- but no good match was found in these sources either. These records could provide names of parents, birthplace, and place of burial, leading to uncovering the family of origin. Nathan's parents remained a mystery.
On September 22, 2023 I visited Mercer Cemetery in Trenton, where Sarah was buried in 1882. No record of Nathaniel. Actually no family was buried with Sarah. No stone marks her burial spot. Two of her daughters are also buried in Mercer Cemetery, just not with their mother. Lucy (1822-1910) was buried with her husbands, George Pearson Sweet (1820-1861) and John Seal (1822-18xx). Sarah (1833-1916) was buried with her husband, James Burroughs Keller (1830-1864).
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| Mercer Cemetery, Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey Sarah Adams, wife of Nathaniel Dunn, was buried in an unmarked grave in this spot. |
Sarah's daughter Sarah was the only one mentioned in her death notice.
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| Death notice of Sarah Dunn Daily True American newspaper, Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey January 20, 1882 |
As mentioned, I was looking at the Adams and Haines families. They owned several parcels of land throughout the decades in Burlington County.
Upon Ezra Adams' death in 1824, Sarah and her siblings inherited lots partitioned from Ezra's larger 248 acres in Nottingham. I think that this land is now in Hamilton, Mercer County. Ezra's name turned up in searches as Sarah sold her land in the 1840s and 1850s.
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| Diagram of the partition of Ezra Dunn's land in Nottingham, Burlington County, New Jersey in 1825. |
Thanks to deeds from the 1850s concerning Sarah's portion of her father's lands, we can adjust Nathan's date of death to after 1850.
In 1850, Nathaniel Dunn was alive and residing in South Brunswick, Middlesex County, separate from his wife, Sarah. In this deed from 1850, Nathaniel and Sarah conveyed land in Hamilton to Andrew K Rowan. Andrew seems to have been a person who purchased and sold a lot of land in this time period. This deed referenced a prior transfer of this land to Jonathan Pullen in 1829. Sarah Adams had a sister, Susan Adams (1799-1874). Susan married Jonathan Pullen (1791-1880).
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| Deed transferring land from Nathaniel H Dunn and wife Sarah to Andrew K Rowan in Hamilton, Mercer County, New Jersey in 1850. |
Relevant text:
Nathaniel H Dunn and Wife to Andrew K Rowan (Deeds. Mercer County, New Jersey. Volume T. Pages 8-10.) March 11, 1850. Nathaniel H Dunn of the township of South Brunswick, County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey and Sarah Dunn, his wife, of the City of Trenton, County of Mercer, State of New Jersey. Land in the township of Hamilton, Mercer County, being a part of the share which was assigned and set off by . . . the Orphans Court of the County of Burlington to divide the real estate of Ezra Adams, deceased, to said Sarah Dunn, late Sarah Adams, and also part of the real estate which said Nathaniel H Dunn and Sarah Dunn conveyed to Jonathan Pullen by deed dated 21st day of October 1829 . . . Recorded April 1, 1850.
Yet I don't find Nathaniel in the 1850 census in South Brunswick or anywhere.
Nathaniel Dunn died after the above transfer of land in 1850 but before January of 1852 when Sarah, described as his widow, transferred more land to Andrew K Rowan.
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| Deed transferring land from Sarah Dunn and Jonathan Pullen, trustee, to Andrew K Rowan in Hamilton, Mercer County, New Jersey in 1852. |
Sarah Dunn and Jonathan Pullen, Trustee to Andrew K Rowan. (Deeds. Mercer County, New Jersey. Volume V. Pages 348-349.) January 3, 1852. Sarah Dunn of the City of Trenton, County of Mercer, State of New Jersey, widow of Nathaniel H Dunn, deceased, and Jonathan Pullen of the township of Hamilton, County of Mercer . . . Containing twelve acres and twenty three hundredths of an acre of land being a part of the share of land which was assigned and set off by Orphans Court of the county of Burlington to divide the real estate of Ezra Adams, deceased, to said Sarah Dunn, late Sarah Adams. Recorded January 9, 1852.
With this new target date, I still do not see a record of death in the ledgers created at the state level. I have not found an obituary or burial that matches Nathaniel.
The Tumultuous Relationship of Nathaniel and Sarah
Nathaniel and Sarah had problems. How do I know? She attempted to divorce him in 1839. The divorce action did not success with the New Jersey State House of Assembly because Sarah's documents did not support her claims. We cannot tell from the newspaper articles why she was claiming her right to divorce.
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| Legislative House of Assembly March 4, 1839 Reports. By Mr Cassedy that the application of Caroline Canfield for a divorce was within the jurisdiction of the chancellor; and that in Sarah's Dunn's case, no documents had been presented to substantiate the petition. Published in the Bridgeton Chronicle |
Mention of the divorce petition was found in several newspapers as it progressed through the Assembly, though Nathaniel was not named. Proceedings of the Assembly confirmed that Nathaniel was Sarah's husband and that this was indeed the target couple. (Minutes of the Proceedings are mostly digitized online; however, 1838-1839 is not online. The images were provided courtesy of the New Jersey State Library.)
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| The failed divorce action of Sarah Dunn against Nathaniel H Dunn, 1839. Votes and Proceedings of the Sixty-Third General Assembly of the State of New Jersey. |
The year after this attempted divorce, in 1841, the sheriff sold Nathaniel Dunn's land in Mansfield, Burlington County to William Leatherbury (1805-1883) to satisfy a judgment in a lawsuit by William Leatherbury against Nathaniel and Sarah. William was a son-in-law of Nathaniel and Sarah. He was married to their daughter, Hannah Dunn (1818-1889). What the underlying legal action was, I do not know yet. William's mother was Mary Dunn. I do not know if Mary Dunn was related to Nathaniel Dunn.
Hannah was discovered thanks to a DNA match.
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| Deed transferring land from Isaac Hilliard, Sheriff, to William Leatherbury in Mansfield, Burlington County, New Jersey in 1841. |
Relevant text:
Isaac Hilliard, Sheriff, to William Leatherbury (Deeds. Burlington County, New Jersey. Volume Z3. Pages 21-23.) March 1, 1841. William Leatherbury township of Mansfield, Burlington County, New Jersey. Decree of Court of Chancery dated November 1, 1840: William Leatherbury was complainant and Nathaniel Dunn and Sarah Dunn, his wife, were defendants. House and lot of land in the township of Mansfield, town of Fieldsburgh, County of Burlington, and known as Lot number 137 in Jonathan Rhea's town plot, containing one quarter of an acre. Nathaniel Dunn purchased of Thomas Stanmire by deed bearing the date of January 16, 1836. Recorded March 6, 1841.
Now it makes sense why Sarah's was enumerated in 1850 without her husband and why they lived apart as mentioned in the deed from 1850.
Sarah Remarried
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| Ledger entry for the marriage of Wm Marseilles and Sarah Dunn. Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey Viewable at Ancestry |
Sarah did not use the surname Marseilles. She was Sarah Dunn in the census from 1860, 1870, and 1880. She was Sarah Dunn on her death certificate, obituary, and burial record. I had no idea that she took another husband after Nathaniel died. She was not mentioned in his obituary and he was not mentioned in hers.
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| Death certificate of Sarah Dunn Died January 19, 1882 in Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey Available through New Jersey State Archives (not online) |
Further Questions and Research
Who and what caused Sarah and Nathaniel's legal troubles? Did William Leatherbury sue Sarah and Nathan to protect their land and money from forfeiture? Or did William have legitimate legal issues with Nathaniel?
At the New Jersey State Archives I plan to check the Chancery Court dockets for these lawsuits and maybe a divorce.
