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.