Arms of Sir Richard Dunham aka Singletary?

[Roger Connor]

According to my genealogical research, I am one of the (many)
descendants of a Richard Dunham who was forced to change his name to
Singletary when fleeing to the USA from Lincolnshire, England. He was
born abt 1540, married in Massachusetts abt 1556, and died abt 1570. He
was supposedly heir to Dunham castle, and fled for his life upon the
death of his father.

My question in this forum is, can anyone tell me what arms the Dunhams
bore?

And secondarily, does anyone know of a published genealogy of the family
prior to 1540?

Thanks,
Roger

[StephenP]

Roger

The BGA has:

Dunham (co.Lincoln); Arms: Azure a chief indented Or. Credt: A martin
passant Or between two spears erect.

Yours aye

Stephen

[Nathaniel Taylor]

In article <Hr9qh.9476$pQ3....@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net>,
Roger Connor <night-...@earthlink.net> wrote:

Stephen has already replied with a Dunham of Lincs. entry for Burke's
_General Armoury_, but be aware that the colorful tradition of origin of
Richard (?Dunham alias) Singletary of Essex County, Massachusetts
(according to Savage, at Salem by 1637; died 1687) has all the earmarks
of a naive genealogical fiction of recent vintage, and has not been
substantiated by any documentary evidence. If I understand things
aright:

Richard Singletary's surname was simply 'Singletary'.
He was not a knight.
His origins (presumably in England) are unknown.
He is not known to have had any arms, legitimate or assumed.

His son Jonathan (apparently an unsavory character) and some of
Jonathan's immediate family sometimes went by "Dunham alias Singletary"
after leaving the Boston / Plymouth colony area; the reason for this is
not explicitly known but it seems quite likely that he did so to avoid
recognition following criminal actions against him in the Mass. Bay
Colony.

See Diane Rapaport: "Tales from the Courthouse: The Strange Case of Mary
Rosse and Her 'Enthusiastical Power'," New England Ancestors 6.5
(Holiday 2005), page 17 et seq., and sources she cites on Singletary.
Mary Rosse (in the title of the article) was one of Jonathan
Singletary's (apparently several) girlfriends.

Nat Taylor
http://www.nltaylor.net

[Roger Connor]

I am aware of the cautions of accepting undocumented and suspect
information. However, a SC branch of the family (my relatives) included
the middle name Dunham as one of their sons ca 1900, and his grandfather
was also carried the middle name Dunham in 1814. Circumstantial-
absolutely, but interesting, none the less.

Thank you for the additional reference material in any case!
Regards,
Roger

[Roger Connor]

Thank you.
Roger

[Nathaniel Taylor]

In article <vWbqh.10610$w91....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net>,
Roger Connor <night-...@earthlink.net> wrote:

> I am aware of the cautions of accepting undocumented and suspect
> information. However, a SC branch of the family (my relatives) included
> the middle name Dunham as one of their sons ca 1900, and his grandfather
> was also carried the middle name Dunham in 1814. Circumstantial-
> absolutely, but interesting, none the less.

Interesting, but it does not provide any independent support for the
story. No one disputes that Jonathan Singletary (son of the immigrant)
adopted the surname Dunham after leaving Massachusetts, and he and his
family members (including descendants) used both surnames in different
ways. But 'Dunham' was not used by his father and there is no evidence
to suggest any kinship of any kind with any specific Dunhams (armigerous
or not). The tradition has the folkloric earmarks of an explanatory
legend which evolved to give context to a phenomenon whose real context
was not known.

Nat Taylor
http://www.nltaylor.net

[Charles Drake]

> According to my genealogical research, I am one of the (many)
> descendants of a Richard Dunham who was forced to change his name to
> Singletary when fleeing to the USA from Lincolnshire, England. He was
> born abt 1540, married in Massachusetts abt 1556, and died abt 1570. He
> was supposedly heir to Dunham castle, and fled for his life upon the
> death of his father.

Surely some mistake, since this is anachronistic.

/Charles E. F. Drake

[Nathaniel Taylor]

In article <1168839749.1...@v45g2000cwv.googlegroups.com>,
"Charles Drake" <cdra...@aol.com> wrote:

Yes, of course. This Richard Singletary was at Salem, Mass., by 1637,
and died 1687. Son Jonathan Singletary (who at times did go by the
surname Dunham) was born at Salem 17 January 1639/40. Don't know where
the OP got the dates. The story is oft-repeated fiction.

Nat Taylor
http://www.nltaylor.net

[Roger Connor]

After checking the basic historical dates for settlement of
Jamestown,VA, (1607) Williamsburg,VA,(~1612) and Plymouth, MA -(1620),
I'm sure that the "married in MA in 1556" is completely wrong, which
casts great doubt on the rest of the source.

Thanks again to Stephen for the arms, and to the rest of you who pointed
out the problems with the source story.
Roger

[catherin...@gmail.com]

I am at the record of Johathan Singletary Dunham. In a listing of New England marriages attached to his profile, he is listed as Singletary, (Alias Dunham) being married to Mary Bloomfield, then again as Dunham (Alias Singletary) with the spouse listed as (?). From his son Benjamin and all descendants after that, they used the name Dunham.
This whole discussion relates to the fact that if you follow the tree, S. Ann Dunham, mother of Barack Obama is at the end of one line of Dunhams. It may be true that this is the heritage of Ann Dunham. On the other hand the sudden change to from Singletary to Dunham is strange.
However, in my family tree (and the President's it seems) the ancestor that we share in common is Hans-Michael Goodnight who changed his name from the German Gutknecht. Name changes were the norm for Germans and other nationalities, but Dunham was an Irish name.
I would certainly love to know the truth in this debate.
Thanks for pointing out the discrepancy.
Catherine

[catherin...@gmail.com]

I just found this story in Johathan's profile. Maybe this will explain when and why he changed his name:

JONATHAN SINGLETARY by Audrey (Shields) Hancock April, 2000
Jonathan DUNHAM of Woodbridge, Middlesex Co., NJ started out life as Jonathan SINGLETARY, eldest son of Richard SINGLETARY and possibly a son of a first wife known as "Goodwife Singletary" or his mother could have been Susanna COOKE of Haverhill, Massachusetts. He was no relation to the "Mayflower" DUNHAM Family of Plymouth, Massachusetts, even though attempts to connect him have been made at times. Previous books and genealogies often allude to this connection, and plant him among the descendants of Deacon John DUNHAM. Our Jonathan ended life as Jonathan DUNHAM (alias SINGLETARY). He appears to have had a dual personality having led a stormy life in Haverhill, Massachusetts...perhaps a scoundrel, a notorious vagabond, an antagonizer of the Puritan leaders, etc..., or perhaps the victim of religious and political unrest among the Quakers, Puritans, and other religious groups of that time period.
Jonathan SINGLETARY, s/o Richard SINGLETARY and either "Goodwife SINGLETARY" who died or Susanna COOKE, was born 1639/40 at Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts (or Salibury, Essex County, Massachusetts, where he appears to have been living at the time of his marriage). Jonathan married about 1660-1661 to Mary BLOOMFIELD, daughter of Thomas and Mary BLOOMFIELD.
At about age 23 in 1662, Jonathan got into court trouble with John GODFREY, accusing John of witchcraft. In return, John GODFREY sued Jonathan for defamation and slander. This was followed by Jonathan being found guilty and having to pay a fine or having to make a public apology.
Jonathan SINGLETARY, appears to have been placed in prison for his erring ways. He evidently had disputes with the Plymouth government for some sort of rebellion. In government records he was described as being a "ranter" and "disseminating corrupt religious principles among his neighbors."
Also, in 1662, Richard and Susanna SINGLETARY conveyed to 150 acres of land in Haverhill to Mary, wife of Jonathan SINGLETARY...not to Jonathan. Perhaps this reflected the fact that Jonathan was not yet settled due to his erring ways, and his parents felt it best to place the land in the hands of his wife, Mary.
Then around 1665/1666, Jonathan and Mary removed to Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey with the BLOOMFIELD family. With the move came a surname change to DUNHAM, perhaps for anonymity and a different way of life. Perhaps it was to re-establish or reclaim the DUNHAM surname of his ancestors. However, even after marriage he appears to have continued to lead a separate life at times when he returned to Massachusetts temporarily. Yet, it appears that he continued to be recognized among the population of the day as Jonathan Dunham, alias Singletary.
In New Jersey, Jonathan erected a grain mill in 1670, and here he appears to have led a respectable life. His brick home is said to have been built in 1671 which after some renovation now [2000] continues to serve as a church rectory. His home and a millstone can be see at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~grannyapple/NJCh-Cem/MiddlesexCoNJWoodbridgeHOME/TrinityEpi scopalChHOME.html .
Stephen Kent, Jr. of Woodbridge deeded on 20 Jul 1673 to Jonathan DUNHAM "alias SINGLETARY of the same place, for part of his house-lot meadows of Papyack Creek, adjoining grantee, S. of the road to grantee's mill etc." Again, we note that Jonathan is referred to as being "alias SINGLETARY," and records of him in New Jersey appear to always indicate an alias.
According to Kenneth Royal DUNHAM in his "DUNHAM-SINGLETARY GENEALOGY," Jonathan was not just an "ordinary miller," but one of the founders of Woodbridge, a New Jersey legislature representative, and a community and church leader. However, with his infamous background his respectably lies in question by some researchers. Perhaps as time elapsed Jonathon mellowed in his attitudes and behaviors, and became a man of respectability.
On 16 April 1702, Jonathan was given Power of Attorney by his wife and children to dispose of lands held in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It appears that this was land given to them by Jonathan's parents, Richard & Susannah SINGLETARY, as they are mentioned in the Power of Attorney letter. All sons and one daughter signed "DONHAM alias SINGLETARY" and one daughter signed "Mary ELLISON."
There seems to be overwhelming evidence that for whatever reason, Jonathan SINGLETARY of Massachusetts, was, in fact, the one and same Jonathan DUNHAM of Woodbridge, Middlesex Co., NJ.
May have been born 17 Jan. 1640. He moved to Woodbridge about 1665. It was about that time that he changed his name to Dunham. He was listed in Plymouth court records in July 1683 as "Jonathan DUNHAM alias SINGLETARY". Essex County, Massachusetts Records of Deeds 16 April, 1702 lists the names of his 5 living children, Jonathan, David, Nathaniel, Benjamin, and Mrs. Mary ELLISON, all natives of Woodbridge, Middlesex, New Jersey. It identify's his parents as Richard and Susanna SINGLETARY.
A large group of people from the Newbury, MA area left there with the Rev. John Woodbridge and settled in Middlesex County, New Jersey. The town of Woodbridge was named after him.
The term "alias" as used at the time could mean that: He assumed his mother's maiden name (possibly for reasons of inheritance); or there May have been other circumstances which caused his father to use the name SINGLETARY, and he May have wanted to revert to the name Dunham. All of his descendants used the name Dunham. See: Ancestry.com website by Audrey Shields HANCOCK.
Ancestry Rick Waggener Family File A document dated April 24, 1724 in which his son Jonathan noted that his father Jonathan Dunham had lately deceased. So many of his relatives settled in the north of the Kirk Green that the neighborhood was known as Dunhamtown for many years.

[catherin...@gmail.com]

One further note from me: I looked back about 3 generations and the name Dunham was used by Sir John Dunham and his ancestors. I cannot find out why Singletary became used by his descendants. But his son went by Richard Dunham Singletary. The name was then used only for two more generations until Jonathan used it again. Very strange.

[catherin...@gmail.com]

> One further note from me: I looked back about 3 generations and the name Dunham was used by Sir John Dunham and his ancestors. I cannot find out why Singletary became used by his descendants. But his son went by Richard Dunham Singletary. The name was then used only for two more generations until Jonathan used it Dunham again. Very strange.
Catherine