Key Facts

Snapshot:	farmer; Confederate
Parents:	120Peter E. Dunkin 121Edith Reid
Born:	circa 1837 Georgia
Died:	13 June 1903 Marshall County, Alabama
Buried:	unknown

60John R. Dunkin was born in Georgia circa 1837 to parents 120Peter E. Dunkin and 121Edith Reid. The 1850 and 1860 censuses show him with his family in Coweta and Carroll counties, respectively.1,2

1850: 60John's family in Coweta County, Georgia. Full page.1

1860: 60John's family in Carroll County, Georgia. Full page.2

The Civil War began the following year. On 15 May 1862 60John enlisted in Company P (soon renamed Company F), Cavalry Batallion, Phillips' Legion.3 Service records attest 60John's attendance:

Date	Attendance	Source Citation
15 May 1862	Enlisted in Newnan, Georgia by Captain Thomas	3
(The legion's muster rolls from September 1862 to November 1863 are lost.)
6 Dec. 1863 - 4 Jan. 1864	left on furlough to Carroll County, Georgia	4
26 January 1864	"absent at Infirmary camp for horses"	3
March and April 1864	present	5
March through August 1864	present	5, 6
20 Sept. 1864 through at least 8 Oct. 1864	"absent [...] in Ga. to procure fresh horse"	7
1 May 1865	present	8

Based on what is known about 60John's battalion and his attendance, one can infer that he probably fought at Gettysburg, among other battles. Richard Coffman's book Going Back the Way They Came: A History of the Phillips Georgia Legion Cavalry Battalion offers a synopsis of the battalion's activities. A later pension application reveals that 60John had measles during the war.9

About a year and a half after the war ended, 60John married his first wife Elizabeth Rowlands on 1 October 1866 in Carroll County.10

60John married Elizabeth Rowlands. Full page.10

By 1870 they had two children and were back in Coweta County.11 You may also be interested in his 1870 farm schedule listing: 13, 14;12 template.

1870: 60John's family in militia district 647 (map), Coweta County, Georgia. Full page.11

Elizabeth presumably died not long thereafter, since 60John re-married to his second wife 61Ailcy Garner on 27 January 1872 in Carroll County.13

60John's and 61Ailcy Garner's marriage record. Full page.13

60John next moved from Georgia to Alabama, where he seems to have remained for the rest of his life.

1880: 60John's family in Cleburne County, Alabama. Full page.14

1900: 60John's family in Marshall County, Alabama. Full page.15

In 1899, 60John signed a note consenting to the marriage of his son 30Barney. We can see 60John's actual handwriting:

This note was apparently written and signed by 60John. Full page.16

A 1902 voter registration shows that 60John resided in Arab, Marshall County, Alabama.17 60John died the following year, on 13 June 1903. His death was mentioned in a local newspaper:18

Fortunately for us, settling 60John's estate resulted in a legal dispute, and the resulting court documents provide additional information about his heirs and land. A witness deposed that his heirs (or would-be heirs) included children Sarah E. Solly (who had subsequently died), J. R. Duncan, 30B. B. Duncan, Lydia Warnick, Feeby McGuire; and a grandchild John Gaynes. The witness also described 60John's land and house: "There is between thirty and thirty five acres [out of 40 total] of cleared land on this place. There is a framed dwelling house on the place, four roomed house, [...]" 19

Using information from the estate records, I marked the location of 60John's property on the master map. As of 2021, almost all of the land is part of Twin Lakes Golf Club.

Sources Cited:

1: 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Coweta County, Georgia. Page 292B, dwelling 133, family 133, Peter E. Duncan household. NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 66. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-65XX-K7?i=19&cc=1401638&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMZY2-XNM>, accessed 25 April 2021.

2: 1860 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Carroll County, Georgia. Page 15, dwelling 95, family 95, Peter E. Duncan household. NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 113. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYBG-4MV?i=14&cc=1473181&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMZMH-RNZ>, accessed 25 April 2021.

3: Compiled Confederate service record of Private J. R. Duncan of Company F, Phillips' Legion, Georgia, page 3. NARA microfilm publication M266, roll 594. National Archives Catalog, <https://catalog.archives.gov/id/76594789>, accessed 16 May 2021. Hereafter abbreviated as "Service record."

4: ibid., page 9

5: ibid., page 5

6: ibid., page 6

7: ibid., page 7

8: ibid., page 10

9: Alabama Confederate pension applications, microfilm for W. H. Duke through N. Ozion Dunn, folder labeled "John R. Duncan," application dated 16 February 1898. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3SC-V3GD-9?i=780&cc=3029256>, accessed 17 May 2021.

10: Carroll County, Georgia. Marriage book D (1865-1887), page 10, marriage of John R. Duncan and Elizabeth Rowlands, dated 1 October 1866. Georgia Virtual Vault, <https://vault.georgiaarchives.org/digital/collection/countyfilm/id/126503>, accessed 16 May 2021.

11: 1870 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia district 647, Coweta County, Georgia. Page 252B, dwelling 44, family 44, John R. Dunkin household. NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 145. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DCWN-ZP?i=13&cc=1438024&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMCST-6HS>, accessed 15 May 2021.

12: 1870 U.S. Federal Census (Agriculture Schedule). 4th district, Coweta County, Georgia. Pages 13-14, line 19, John R. Dunkin farm. NARA microfilm publication T1137, roll 7. The NARA provides a helpful template.

13: Carroll County, Georgia. Marriage book K (1868-1877), page 181, marriage of John R. Dunkin and Ailcy Garner, dated 27 January 1872. Georgia Virtual Vault, <https://vault.georgiaarchives.org/digital/collection/countyfilm/id/128915/rec/137>, accessed 15 May 2021.

14: 1880 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Beat 10, Cleburne County, Alabama. Enumeration district 46, page 12 and sheet 223D, dwelling 96 family 96, J. R. Dunkin household. NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 8. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYYJ-QFY?i=4&cc=1417683&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AM4JH-1YZ>, accessed 15 May 2021.

15: 1900 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Precinct #21 (Cranford), Marshall County, Alabama. Enumeration district 96, sheets 12B and 13A, dwelling 212, family 212, John R. Dunkin household. NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 30. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-691Q-6FD?i=23&cc=1325221&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AM9DX-PJ4> et seq., accessed 15 May 2021.

16: Marshall County, Alabama. Marriage records and index books for the years 1836-1950, reel for Wm. H. Duncan through Jasper Lee Ellenburg, folder for the marriage of Barney B. Dunkin and Francis L. Brown, note (labeled "#10) dated 9 January 1899 from Arab, Alabama signed by J. R. Dunkin. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-G15T-9MRQ?i=24&cc=1743384&cat=25072>, accessed 27 September 2021.

17: Marshall County, Georgia. Board of Registrars. List of Registered Voters, circa 1902 to circa 1946, D section, entry for J.R. Dunkin (age 66, address Arab). Alabama Archives box location LGM068, reel R10, order S1991.2768. See a copy of the page here.

18: "Eddy," The Guntersville Democrat (Marshall County, Alabama), Thursday 25 June 1903, page 3, column 2, near the bottom of the page. Copied from microfilm at the Alabama Archives on 10 March 2012.

19: Marshall County, Alabama. Estate record folders, on the microfilm reel for James C. Duke through Jody Warren Edwards, folder labeled "Dunkin, J. R. SR. 1904," image 32 of 35. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRRV-CQQ?i=1033&cc=1978117&cat=1197372> et seq., accessed 16 May 2021.