It is interesting, perhaps only to me, that James and his family lived most of their lives in Canada, with only a short period of time in the United States, specifically, Missouri. James was born on December 27, 1829 in Lennoxville, Estrie Region, Quebec Province, Canada, and he was baptized on January 17, 1830. He was the son of John Dundin and Sarah Griffith. Both John and Sarah were from Ireland, and they had moved to Canada before James was born. James was the oldest of ten children, with four sisters and five brothers.
On February 21, 1860, James married Mary Jane Duggan in Quebec, Canada. The 1851 Census shows she was born in Canada in about 1837. She was the daughter of James Duggan and Eliza Wilson, both of whom were born in Ireland.
Although it is unclear why they moved from Canada, by July of 1860, James and Mary were living in Shoal Township, Clinton Co., Missouri and he was a carpenter. On December 4, 1860, their first child was christened at Saint Columban Catholic Church, in Chillicothe, Missouri. This church had dedicated its first permanent church building on May 17, 1860.
On February 27, 1862, James enrolled and was mustered into Capt. Clark’s company of Missouri State Militia Cavalry, in Cameron, Missouri, as a 1st Lieutenant. The period of time he was to serve was “During the war in Mo.”. This organization subsequently became Company A, 6th Missouri State Militia Cavalry. James was five feet nine inches tall, with blue eyes, light hair and a light complexion, who listed his occupation as a joiner. He told the mustering officer, E. C. Catherwood, that he was born in Vermont. It was not the last time he told his commander a falsehood.
Based on an election by the men in Company A, James was elected captain of the company to replace Capt. Joseph H. Clark who resigned effective May 18, 1862. On about July 24, 1862, he mustered out as a 1st Lieutenant so he could accept the promotion to Captain of Company A. This promotion was effective July 25, 1862.
In late May or early June, their daughter, Mary Agatha, was born. On June 10, 1862, she, like her earlier sibling, was christened in the Saint Columban Catholic Church.
On August 16, 1862, James was part of the contingent that fought at Lone Jack, and he was severely wounded in the chest and lung while leading a charge. He was brought back to Lexington and left there in the hospital. On the November-December 1862 Muster Roll, he was listed as on detached service at Lexington. Thereafter, he was listed as “Present”, except for one period in which it was not stated, until he resigned in 1864.
Also within his records was Special Order No. 156, dated September 10, 1862, stating that James Dundin “having been found incompetent by a Military Examining Board, his commission is hereby vacated from this date.” Since he continued to serve as Captain of Company A until he resigned in 1864, this order was not applied. There was no other reference to it.
In December of 1863 James was brought up on a charge of “Making a false Return” with the specification that he allowed several of his men “to absent themselves from their Command and the Service of the United States without proper authority he continuing to Officially report them to his superior Officer as with their Command and for duty when he well knew such report was a false report….” The charge was brought by his commanding officer, Col. E. C. Catherwood. On December 17, 1863, James wrote to the District Judge Advocate in Springfield, Missouri asking that several officers and enlisted men be subpoenaed to appear on his behalf.
On December 22, 1863, Special Order 273 was issued stating that “Captain James Dundin is hereby released from arrest and will return to duty with the assurance that there will be no further proceedings in his case.” The order went on to state that “it would seem unnecessary to remind an officer of his age and experience of his duty…. No such misconduct as the forgoing will be again pardoned, and this is granted solely on the grounds of gallant service heretofore rendered.”
On May 20, 1864, James submitted his resignation on the basis of ill health. A surgeon’s letter was submitted giving the doctor’s report of his examination. The wound to the left lung, incurred at Lone Jack, was the primary reason provided by the doctor, and he indicated that James could not continue “without great detriment to his health if not loss of life.” The degree of disability was listed as one third.
Shortly after James resigned, the family moved back to Canada. Given his health at that time, James probably reasoned that it was better to move back to where his parents and other family members were living, especially since he had a wife and two children and another one on the way. On September 10, 1864, another daughter was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. In 1866, a son was born into the family and on September 14, 1868 another son arrived. James’ father, John Dundin, died on March 20, 1870.
The Canadian Census for 1871 showed the family was living in Sherbrooke: James, age 40; Mary, age 33; Anna, age 11; Mary, age 9; Edwin, age 5; and James, age 2. They were living next door to James’ mother and two of his brothers. After the census was taken, another son was born into the family in 1871.
Mary Jane died on January 1, 1872 and James remarried on January 18, 1872. The new bride was Mary Ann Smith. She was born April 26, 1840 in Scotland and immigrated to Canada in 1843. They were married in the Methodist Church in Cookshire, Quebec Province. On November 11, 1879, James filed for a Veteran’s Pension and he was issued Certificate no. 193438.
According to the 1881 Census, James, age 51; Mary, age 41; Anna, age 20; Mary, age 18; Carrie, age 16; Edwin, age 14; James, age 12; Frederick, age 10, Agnes, age 6; Francis, age 2; and Elizabeth, age 9/12 were living in District 55 Sherbrooke, in the Province of Quebec. James listed himself as a farmer, was Catholic, and listed his origin or ethnicity as Irish. Mary was born in Scotland and listed her ethnicity as Scotch and was Catholic. All nine of their children listed their origin as Irish, even though the mother of the youngest three was Mary Ann, and she was Scotch. All the children were listed as Catholic. They lived next door to James’ brother, William, and his family.
In 1891 the family was living in District 188, Sub District E. Division No. 2 in the Province of Quebec. James, Mary, Mary A, Carrie, Edwin, James, Frederick, Agnes, Francis, and Elizabeth all lived in the same household. James was still a farmer and they were still next door to James’ brother. On March 10, 1892, Sarah Griffith Dundin, James’ mother, passed away.
By 1901, little had changed for the Dundin family. James was age 70, still listed himself as a farmer, Mary was age 60, Fred was age 29, Agnes was age 26, Francis was age 22, and Elizabeth was age 20. All were living together in the same home.
According to the 1911 Census, James was still age 70 (this was clearly an error by the census taker as the census shows a year of birth of 1830) and Mary was now age 71. The other members of the household included Agnes, Frederick, Elizabeth, Thomas and Mary’s sister Christie. James was still a farmer. While the rest were Roman Catholic, Mary now listed herself as Presbyterian as did her sister.
On December 23, 1911, Mary Ann died and is buried in the Malvern Cemetery in Lennoxville. James followed a couple of years later, dying on March 28, 1913. He was age 82 years, 3 months and 5 days. James is buried in the Saint Antoine Cemetery in Lennoxville. The two cemeteries border each other.