#9 – Lewis “M” Dunbar

Lewis M. Dunbar, the ninth child of Lewis and Mary Ann “Polly” Powers Dunbar was born in Sugar Creek Township, residing in the area all his life. He fascinates me, well, his middle initial does anyway. I tried and tried to find his father’s middle name as he went by his first name and middle initial (Lewis M. Dunbar) as did his son, Lewis M. Nowhere could I discover the name just the initial then I went to FindAGrave for the son and it gives his middle name as Morton but no proof. In a Dunbar history I read, it says since he was Morton (again, I don’t see the proof) he was referred to as Jr. a few times (granted, I had noticed that as well in two newspaper articles but that could also just distinguish the younger from the older so people reading the paper would know it was the older Lewis’ farmhouse that burned). Male M names throughout the Dunbars also include Marion and Martin, thus just not convinced Lewis senior or junior are Morton so still fascinated with what their middle names really are, whether they are the same or different M names. Although rereading this article, I could have just called him by his nickname, Lute but that doesn’t sound like a minister to me and that he was and a very good one, too.

At any rate, Lewis M. Dunbar was born April 22, 1837 and grew up in the Sugar Creek Township area. He and neighbor, Christina Bowers were married Oct 19, 1856. The oldest of five children, she was the daughter of a prominent area couple, Abner Bowers and Charlotte Huffman, Abner being one of the early and long-time Dunkard ministers, coming to the Darlington area the year before the Dunbars arrived. His son-in-law, Lewis Dunbar followed in his footsteps as a Dunkard minister.

Christina and Lewis parented two daughters and four sons (by the way, a Silas M. and a Morton – now, that M. in Silas’ name wouldn’t I’d think stand for Morton if he already had a son Morton). One son, Albert S.W. Dunbar didn’t even see his second birthday (buried Union Cemetery at Clark’s Hill – thanks DD) born 7 Oct 1861 died 21 April 1863. Son Silas M. (born 17 Dec 1859) married Louisa Mae Cook and they were farmers (I think the original Dunbar property) until their last 21 years when they retired to Crawfordsville, making many friends in both places. They were devout members of the Church of Brethren (White Church) also referred to as Dunkards and parents to four children (Charles Lewis; Porter; Lucile and Earl – Morton of course). Silas’ death occurred after shoveling snow 17 Nov 1932, age 72 while Louisa lived almost 16 years more.

Charles Lewis (Charley) was born in Clinton County (near Colfax, although one of his marriages says born in Boone), grew up in Montgomery, was a teamster for a lumber company in Frankfort for some time, lived in Owen County and is buried in Morgan. He was also the first Dunbar I saw as being described as tall. He had black hair and blue eyes in his WWI draft description. Having married twice, Ida Dain and Blanche Anderson he was the father of three children: Lewis, Dwight and Mary Evelyn. His brother, Porter Everett had an interesting story, being shot in the eye at age 15 while target practicing with a friend. The bullet “entered Dunbar’s forehead between the eyes and lodged beneath the right ear. If Dunbar recovers, it is feared he will lose the sight of one eye.” That he did as in his WWI draft registration, it is noted that his right eye was glass. He was a furniture salesman later on, married in 1923 to Georgia Little and I believe passed away when he was 94 (in Mexico). Another brother, Earl M (I know this time it is indeed Morton), died at age 67 in Orlando, Florida where he had spent his retirement years with second wife, Hazel Johnson. He was a college graduate, worked as a chemist in New Jersey and lived for quite some time in Grand Rapids, Michigan with first wife, Opal Truitt and their children, Betty, Dorothy, and another daughter is mentioned in his obituary but do not know her name. Silas and Louisa had the one daughter, Lucile Jesse born in Bowers and passed away in Anderson at the age of 81. She married William Huntsinger who was a long-time manager at Stokley-VanCamp. Don’t believe they had children.

Speaking of names my favorite from the Dunbar family (at least so far) is Lewis and Christina (Bowers) Dunbar’s daughter, Janiza born one day past when I’d be born 92 years and a day later (16 Dec 1857) in MoCo. At age 20, Janiza Alice Dunbar married William E. Strain and they were parents of four children, two passing as babies (Austin & Earl), Florence and Homer Birdell who was a dentist in Linden for some years. Sadly, she passed (28 Aug 1890) when Homer was just nine years old and is buried in Bowers. Their only daughter was Florence (b 5 April 1879) who married William Merton Ticen. They lived in Clinton County where they farmed and had three daughters and a son (Geneva, Rovene, Mary Lois and William Norman). They are buried at Greenlawn in Darlington.

Oliver (Perry) Morton Dunbar was born April 10, 1864 and was a grocer (beginning with a huckster route) in Clinton County for quite a number of years. He married three times Mary Lane, Viola Holt, and Grace E Watson and fathered three sons Claude Lane, Alfred Parker and Carl. At one point, he was a laborer in a chair factory. Oliver Perry went by Morton all his life and passed away at age 76 (May 14, 1940) in Frankfort. He is buried at Plain View Cemetery. The above Carl was a Pennsylvania Railroad engineer and his son, Carl, Jr. was a crack rifle shot in Cos C, I, K&L and went to the Pan American Expo at Dallas, Texas. He saw action with the 28th Division in Germany during WWII and was the Illinois Recruiting officer for the Ill National Guard. He made it to the rank of Sgt. Major. Carl Sr’s brother, Claude Lane was a brakeman for the Big Four Railroad. Alfred Parker Dunbar graduated from PU, was a WWI vet and worked at the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. for many years. He and Gertrude Gery had one daughter, Mary Catherine, I believe.

Martha Esther Dunbar was born mid-July in 1866 and married George Thomas Burk at age 17, passing at 94 years old in Decatur, Indiana buried in the Decatur Cemetery with her husband who owned an elevator in Decatur for many years. Their two sons, Barr Avon and Simeon (having lost another son) were in the grain business with their father and they had three daughters as well, Winifred, Mary Alice and Vivian.

Now, Charles Birdell, youngest child of Lewis M. and Christina (Bowers) Dunbar has my heart as he was one of the superintendents of the Montgomery County Poor Farm. He and his family were there in the early 1900s for 15 or so years. In the ‘10 census it showed he was over 49 people, 31 males and 18 females, ranging from 24-91 years old, two others just into their 90s. He married Lillian Warren and they had two children, Frances and Fairy and he helped raise a stepdaughter. Fairy married Ernest Francis at age 18 and Frances married Arnold Houston in Darlington 3 June 1917 with her grandfather, Lewis Dunbar performing the marriage. Also, a grocery man, he operated one at Garfield for quite awhile, passing May 14, 1949 and is buried at Green Lawn.

Lewis M. loved talking about the early days in Sugar Creek Township and growing-up in the Darlington area. “He was a kind gentleman with full white beard and always dressed in the black of the Dunkard Community,” wrote his granddaughter Mary Dunbar Anderson. He spoke of ponds and when they were frozen in the winter they could travel quite a ways in the horse-drawn sleighs!” Snakes were plentiful as well as prairie chickens, wild geese, ducks and cranes. There was little time to go to school and the children were always busy helping their parents, planting, shearing sheep’s wool for clothes; whatever needed to be done. When they did attend school, they sat on a slab bench “made out of split logs with pegs for legs!” Along with the sheep, the Dunbars and others raised hogs and horses, corn and buckwheat. Horses in the area were quite prominent as there were several excellent horsemen.

Just a couple of years before the good Rev. Lewis passed away he desired to go visit son Silas and family at Crawfordsville. So, he started walking down the railroad from his home on Academy Street in Darlington toward their home, leaving at 1:23 arriving at his son’s at 20 minutes after 2:00, not tired or hot but feelin’ mighty fine and glad to see his family. At the time to return home, he was ready to do the same but at age 80, the family insisted they take him home. He also walked to his farm several times a week near Bower’s Station. His slogan was, “Keep busy and you need not get old!” Amen! He passed away a few days shy of his 83rd birthday and is buried in Green Lawn Cemetery at Darlington (thanks to Velma Dalton for the nice FindAGrave picture and memorial). So, here you have read #9 of the Dunbar Saga about a wonderful man with deep faith who helped others when he could and who passed good genes on to his family! Bless ya’ Lewis “M” Dunbar!!