E D I T O R I A L:
SOME OF THE REASONS WHY IT IS GOOD TO BE A DUNHAM
undoubtedly due to the fascination of the quest (like a detective story without the need for a prceeding crime) & the fascination of the old stories themselves as they can be brought into a degree of focus through old documents, old pictures, old letters, & word-of-mouth history.
But genealogy, I believe, can be more than the quest, more than the stories, & more than pride of ancestry. It is a finding of self as well as a finding of ancestors. By getting to know them & piecing together what we can of their lives, we can get a clearer sight of the fabric & dimensions of our own potential. Except in the broadest outlines, their problems were not our problems, no ours theirs, but in learning how they confronted the problems they met, & conquered or endured, we can learn what inner resources we have to call upon and to work with. We are who we are only because they were who they were. Their strength is waiting within us. We are made of the same stuff.
Mary Cornelia Dunham (1854—1932), daughter of Francis S. & Anna Handy Dunham, was known to most of us as “Aunt Nee.” Throughout her life she was the kind of aunt who moved in when the kids got sick, in order to take care of them---a vanished breed. Her 3 brothers (& this is a direct quote) "were the best men in the world," & since she never found anyone else who could compare with them, she never married. Nee, Nelia, or Neelie, always had a very low opinion of her own appearance, so photos of her are a rarity. This picture, taken with her friend Sarah on the left & Neelie on the right, dates from the Civil War era. Sarah was the sweetheart of Nee’s brother Ralph Dunham. Sarah died of consumption shortly before she & Ralph were to have been married. After her death, Ralph spent much of his free time assisting Sarah’s wIdowed mother.
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