Alameda
County
Biographies
MARTIN M. DUNN
There are some men to whom the word California has
been the synonym o opportunity. When Mr.
Dunn landed in San Francisco in 1853, a stranger and friendless, with a total
capital of ten cents, the prospects did not look encouraging to him; but from
that humble beginning he has risen to a position among the property owners of
Oakland and has accumulated ample means for his declining years. To assist him in getting a start he had a
common-school education. An abundance of energy, untiring perseverance and
force of will. As a boy he had attended
school in his native county of Kilkenny, Ireland, and had aided his father,
Michael Dunn, in the work at home.
Believing that the United States offered greater opportunities than his
own country, at eighteen years of age he cr9ssed the ocean to New York City,
where he worked at the cabinetmaker’s trade for a year. For a similar period he also was employed at
ship-building. From the latter
occupation he drifted into a seafaring life, and I time rose to be
quartermaster of the steamship Prometheus, under Captain Churchill. Through this means he was enabled to reach
California without any expense for transportation, an item of the greatest
importance to him.
The first
employment secured by Mr. Dunn in California was as engineer for Haley &
Thompson. With the means thus secured,
in 1856 he made a partial payment on one hundred and sixty acres of land in
Piedmont, which he had purchased from Dr. Birdsall. Prior to the purchase the land had been
utilized only as a range for cattle, but he recognized it possibilities for general
farming-and turned the first furrows in the soil, planting such cereals as he
believed would be adapted to the soil and climate. A part of the property was used a pasturage
for his cattle, of which he often had large herds. Busily engaged in raising stock and general
farm products, he continued to make his home on the farm until 1890, and then
erected his present residence at No. 536 Twenty-fourth street, Oakland.
For years
before settling in Oakland, Mr. Dunn had invested in property there and made
considerable improvement on the same. He
believed Oakland would be a large city and made his investments
accordingly. As early as 1878 he built
the Dunn block on Washington street, a building that at the time was one of the
most substantial of its kind in the city.
Subsequent to this he improved the corner of Thirteenth and Washington
streets by the erection of six modern cottages.
Later he built thee houses and a store building on Twenty-fourth street
and Telegraph avenue. In addition, he
has bought and sold considerable real estate and has been connected with
numerous property transactions of an important nature. Some years ago he disposed of one-half of his
ranch, but still owns the balance, the value of which has enhanced by the
erection of a substantial set of buildings.
The ranch is now utilized as a dairy farm.
There are
few who appreciate the value of an education more than does Mr. Dunn. Could his ideas on the subject be carried
out, every child would be taught the three “R’s” at least ad illiteracy would
disappear from the world. In the
capacity of school trustee he has labored to promote the welfare of the schools
of his town and to increase their opportunities for uplifting humanity. By his marriage to Matilda Hampston, a native
of County Kerry, Ireland, he is the father of seven children, to whom they have
given the best educational advantages possible ad who are now an honor to their
parents. The eldest and third sons,
Martin and John, are engaged in the practice of dentistry. The second and
fourth sons, James and William, are physicians and surgeons, and the three
daughters are Margaret, Mary and Alice.
Transcribed by
Louise E. Shoemaker,
March 16, 2015.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages
438-439. The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2015 Louise E.
Shoemaker.
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