New York Dunns Make Contact On Facebook

New York Dunns Make Contact On Facebook

A woman in America has contacted me via Facebook telling me she is the great grand daughter of Simon Dunn's half brother, Charles Jacob Dunn. For many of us Simon Dunn was either our Grandfather or Great Grandfather.

Erin Dunn-Franklin, originally of Austin, Texas, now living in Boston Massachusetts, got in touch on Friday, leaving a message on the page of the Facebook group, 'Descendants of Emanuel Don', " I found this page through your blog - Charles J Dunn was my great-grandfather".
Charles married Rose Batchker, and the couple had just one child, Arnold, pictured below who married Patrica. Erin's father is Thomas Edward Dunn, and she has a brother, Charles Edward Dunn.

Arnold Dunn, Erin Dunn-Franklin's grandfather with his wife Patrica

She has sent over a few photo's of her great grandfather, and his brother Harry, as well as of her dad Thomas with Charles as an old man. He lived to be 99.

Her father has two brothers, Robert (Bob) and James (Jimmy).
Her family are still in touch with the family of Charles and Simon's other brother, Harry E Dunn, who also came to New York at the turn of the 20th Century.

There was another brother, David, who had three sons and a daughter, These were Lou, Wolfe and Morry, and Debbie.
There was also another sister, in addition to Rose who we already know about. Ada Dunn. She married Alfred Epstein, they had two children, Florence and Milton (Melton). These are listed on the Will of Rose Dunn, from 1956. They lived in the Bronx and New Jersey.
http://thedunnsaga.blogspot.co.uk/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=19
So there we have it, another Chapter of the Dunn Saga begins to unravel..

Charles Jacob Dunn as a young man

circa 1905.

Charles' wife, Rose Dunn (nee Batchker)

Charlie and Harry Dunn, circa 1905.

Charlie Dunn with his son Arnold, circa 1930s.

Charles Dunn in old age with his grandson, Thomas Dunn, Erin's father.

 Bobby Dunn Ltd, Whitechapel, East London.
 Voluntary Liquidation, London Gazette, Spring 1938



Source: http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/34494/pages/1882/page.pdf

Source: http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/34497/pages/2107/page.pdf

Source: http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/34499/pages/2281/page.pdf

These photo's have been kindly shared by Frances Street, nee Dunn, who is one of the two daughters of Robert and Gertie Dunn. Her sister is Rosalind Small. Robert ran a clothing shop in Whitechapel, in London's East End during the 1930s and early 1940s.

His customer base was boys and young men, or 'youths', particularly those about to have their Barmitzvah's, who needed a smart, new suit for the occasion.

Sadly, when the blitz occurred in the area,  between September 1940 and May 1941,  his client base had been evacuated away from London, to more rural places like Amersham in Buckinghamshire. As a direct result of this, his business soon folded, and he had to struggle to earn his living some other way. He was left with a shop full of individually tailored clothes, and to add further bad luck, the shop was broken into and  most of his stock was stolen.

After this he owned a metal polishing factory in Hackney, until he caught his hand in a machine which chopped off some of his fingers. He sold the factory and brought a launderette in Enfield, which he ran until his premature death in 1964.

Bobby Dunn: For The Modern Boy and Youth. Robert Dunn's bespoke tailors
and boys outfitters shop in Whitechapel, East End of London, circa early 1940s.

Robert 'Bobby' Dunn in the door-way of his boys outfitters shop, with his colleague.

Robert Dunn in his mid life, circa 1940s

Robert Dunn as a young man

Gertie Kleiman, who would go on to marry Robert Dunn.

Kleiman children, with Gertie on the right, in the Edwardian Era, circa 1910

Frances Street nee Dunn as a baby, aged about 18 months




All photographs courtesy of Frances Street, one of Gertie and Robert Dunn's two daughter's, with the other been Rosalind Small.

Dad with his dad, possibly East Ham, East End of London circa summer 1942

Dad (Raymond Dunn) & Grandad (David Dunn) 1942

Fairfield Road, Edgeware, circa 1959

(Dad) Raymond Dunn, Fairfield Avenue, Edgeware, London, circa 1959.

First Cousins: Dunns, Grays & Comens,

December 1997, North London

The Dunn Family, a century ago in Chile

   The Dunn Family, Chile, circa 1910.  
 
This picture was very kindly donated to me by Henry Poirier, the grandson of the Henry Poirier who set up a trading post in Punta Arenas in the late 19th Century. It was given to me on the occasion of the Dunn-Romanofsky-Poirier family reunion which I organised in 2011, which was held at the West London Synagogue, near Marble Arch on Sunday 24th July, 2011.

The parents are: Simon, Rebecca, my Great Grandparents. The children are (L-R) Robert, Sophie, Mary and Millie. Note the Hebrew script on the back of the photograph.

Millie was the oldest, born in London in 1898. She had a sister Bella, (perhaps Isabel) who died in infancy in 1901. The first boy to be born was Robert (Roberto), born 1902, in Punta Arenas. Next up was Sophie (Sofia), born in 1905, followed by two more sisters, Mary (Ana Maria) born 1906 and Frances born 1908, also known as Fanny (Francesca). The baby of the family was David, born 1911, my Grandfather.

This summary is copied from the excellently put together Pat Brit (British in Patagonia) site of researcher and historian Duncan Campbell, who lives somewhere out there, and has made it his passion to document the presence of the British in this remote region of the world.

I got in touch with Duncan in the April of 2011, and he created this page on his site for our families.

Source: http://patbrit.org/bil/supp/c0304.htmhttp://patbrit.org/bil/supp/c0304.htm

Simon DUNN (originally DON); b. c1875, Vilnius district, Lithuania into Jewish family; c1895 to Britain; 1901 Whitechapel, London; tailor; c1902 family emigrated from London (Whitechapel) to Punta Arenas; shopkeeper, furrier, trading in Indian goods; 1913 family returned on the Orita to Britain; settled in East Ham, London
m. c1895 Vilnius, Lithuania
Rebecca ("Rivella") ROMANOFSKY, sister of Sarah (below) and Golda (below); b. c1876 Vilnius(?), Lithuania into Jewish family; c1895 to Britain; c1902 with family to Punta Arenas; 1913 returned with family to Britain
Children:
1. Millie (Mabel Emilia); b. c1898 London; m. 1916 St. Austell to Norman H (Max) MAY
2. Bella; b. c1900; d. 1901 Whitechapel
3. Robert; b. c1902 Punta Arenas; m. 1922 Kingston to Gertrude F WHITE (Kliman/Kleiman/Clayman)
4. Sophie (Sofia); b. c1905 Punta Arenas; m. 1928 Poplar to Alexander KRITZ
5. Mary (Ana María); b. c1906 Punta Arenas; m. Maurice HORN
6. Frances (Fanny); b. c1908 Punta Arenas; m 1932 London to Maurice JACOBS
7. David; b. 1911 Punta Arenas; m. 1938 Clapton Synagogue, East London to Yetta HURST (Herscovitch/Herskovitch)

 

The Curio Shop in Chile

These two pictures were kindly emailed from California by Helen Brenner-Sabo of San Diego. She is a great Granddaughter of Joseph 'Jose' Leszerovich Levy the Bootmaker and Fur Trader and his wife, my great, great aunt, Golda Levy nee Romanofsky, from Punta Arenas Tierra Del Fuego, Chile...

The Levy's left Chile for New York in around 1917. From there, they made their way to California, where the Dunn's would have gone to from London, if it hadn't been for the outbreak of the First World War.

This photo shows Henry Poirier's Curiosity Shop 'Peleteria Magallanes' - Magellan Furstore which was run by our ancestors Simon and Rebecca Dunn, and 'Rivella's (as she was known) two sisters Golda and Sara, with their respective husbands, Joseph 'Jose' Leszervich Levy and Henry Poirier, formerly known as Herman Birnbaum. 

They lived in Punta Arenas Tierre Del Fuego in Chile over 100 years ago. The sign at the bottom reads 'Speciality Seals, Otterlions and Fox Skins etc..

The passage below was brought to my attention by historian Duncan Campbell of www.patbrit.org It seems to be describing the curio shop owned by Henry poirier, and run by Simon and Joseph and their families.

1913 Excerpt from "To hell and back; my trip to South America", G J Morrill, Chicago, 1914

"The electric lights of the city lured our launch through the shipping to the pier and we made a hurried hike by warehouses and dingy broad ways to the Plaza. The band concert was over, but the South wind-instruments blew music. The church was closed and the only person around was a statue. The "Sarah Brown" mansion was dark. Like moths we were attracted by the light of a curio store. As we entered a little lady left the supper table and came to meet us. She spoke English and when we did with an American accent she tried to sell us a sample of every souvenir she had in stock. The place was packed with vicuna, guanaco, otter and silver fox skins and stuffed pigeons, penguins, albatross and armadillos. Two traders came in with a big rawhide bundle of skins. The natives catch the game with a boleta. It is a long leather thong with a stone at each end, a kind of sling or lariat, which they throw at the feet of the animal. I picked one up, but it was over an English pound and I threw it at her feet, and bought a long bone spearhead which some Tierra del Fuegian used to catch a fish or to crack a bonehead enemy's skull. I use this savage weapon to cut the leaves of magazines and newspaper articles written by ossified and thick-skulled editors. I paid for this and the postcards with my last Chilean pesos."

The above photo is of Helen's great grandparents Joseph 'Jose' Levy (b. 1871, d 1944) and wife Golda (nee Romanofsky, *B.M.D. info not known).  They are with their 3 of their 5 daughters, Bertha (b. 1896, d. 1975) Rebecca (b.1898, d. 1898, whose twin sister Mary died in infancy) and Mary (b. 1899, d.1967 named for her sister). The other sisters not born at the time this photograph was taken around 1909, are Anita (b. 1910, d. 1967) and Helen (b. 1913, d.1961) .

 The summary below is copied from the excellently put together Pat Brit (British in Patagonia) site of researcher and historian Duncan Campbell, who lives somewhere out there, and has made it his passion to document the presence of the British in this remote region of the world.

I got in touch with Duncan in the April of 2011, and he created this page on his site for our families.

Source: http://patbrit.org/bil/supp/c0304.htmhttp://patbrit.org/bil/supp/c0304.htm

LEVY—ROMANOFSKY

Joseph ("Jose") Leszerovich LEVY; b. 1871 "Russia" into Jewish family; to Britain; bootmaker; 1907 emigrated with family to Punta Arenas; shopkeeper; 1917 family moved to New York, USA; d. 1944

m. 1895 Mile End, London

Golda ROMANOFSKY, sister of Rebecca (above) and Sarah (above); b. c1869 "Russia" into Jewish family; to Britain; 1907 emigrated with husband to Punta Arenas; 1917 with family to New York, USA

Children:

1. Bertha; b. 1896 London; d. 1975

2. Rebecca; b. 1898 London

3. Mary; b. 1899 Barkington (Essex?); d. 1967

4. Anna ("Anita"); b.  1910 Punta Arenas; d. 1967

5. Elena ("Helen"); b. 1913 Punta Arenas; d. 1961