Sacramento County
Biographies
CHAUNCEY HOMER DUNN
High on the roll of prominent professional men who have
achieved wide reputation for honesty of principle, integrity of purpose and
exceptional force of will, Chauncey Homer Dunn, now senior member of the
well-known law firm of Dunn, Cowan & Brand, whose offices are located in
Sacramento, but whose clientele embraces a large area of the surrounding
country. Inheriting the brilliant
proclivities of his honored father, who though following a different walk in
the professsional life, left an indelible impress
upon his locality as a kindly, generous and unselfish character, full of
thoughtful acts and charitable undertakings.
Chauncey H. Dunn grew to manhood, giving close attention to his studies,
being very observing and possessing a retentive memory. Of studious nature, he attained rare mental
achievement, which, added to a naturally strong personality and a
self-possessed, cool attitude, enabled him to become the brilliant, keensighted and unusually successful lawyer he is
today. Among his fellow workers he is
recognized as an unerring, alert and accurate thinker, his active mind and
intuitive power being valuable attributes in his professsional
make-up, to say nothing of his clever delivery and forceful manner of bringing
his subjects to the attention of his hearers, who are compelled by his very
presence to feel his influence. He is
most conscientious in the handling of all cases and his reputation is that of a
most generous, kind-hearted and charitable gentleman, whose manner of giving is
unostentatious and quiet, and many who have felt the aid of his helping hand
have reason to hold him in the high respect he receives today.
The father of Chauncey H. Dunn was the Rev. Thomas S.
Dunn, who with his wife, Freelove M. (Conkling) Dunn, came from Ohio
to California in 1860, via the Isthmus
of Panama. At San
Jose, Cal., Rev. Dunn became
pastor of a Methodist church, in which he labored among the poor and needy for
many years, giving of his time and means wherever needed with an unselfish hand, and his memory is revered in many parts of the country
where his benevolence and un-tiring perseverance were felt. The Rev. Dunn was a member of the California
Methodist Episcopal conference from 1860 until his death, in February, 1899,
since which time his widow has made her home with her daughter in San
Jose.
Chauncey L. Dunn was born September 25, 1856, at Laurel, Cler-mont
county, Ohio,
where his father was pastor of the Methodist
Church. When he was four years old he was brought by
his parents to San Jose, Cal., where he received his elementary education,
supple-menting attendance at the public schools there
with a course at Napa College and at the University of the Pacific near San
Jose, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1878 with the
degree of A. B. His legal training was
obtained in the Hastings Law School of San Francisco, and since becoming a
member of the bar he has continued in active practice in Sacramento,
May 1, 1912, being the
thirtieth anniversary of the beginning of his professional career. He is now senior member of the law firm of
Dunn, Cowan & Brand, in which capacity he has accomplished many splendid
actions in court and elsewhere, and he is retained by various firms and
corporations in Sacramento, his practice being extensive and most
gratifying. Mr. Dunn organized Reclamation district No. 537,
known as the Lovdal district, above the town of
Washington, Yolo county, and represents it as its attorney; in Sutter county he also improved a farm
from the tules until it was brought to a high state
of cultivation, when he dis-posed of it and is now
building one of the largest modern apartment houses in Sacramento. He is a director of the Chamber of Com-merce of Sacramento, of which he is a very active member,
and his interest in his adopted city is such that he is ever ready to
contribute of his time, means and influence for the betterment of conditions
there and the upbuilding and development of its
resources.
For twenty years, almost without interruption, Mr. Dunn
was the president of the Sacramento Young Men’s Christian Association, and he
has been a member of its board of directors for twenty-seven years. A loyal worker in the First Methodist Episcopal
Church at Sacra-mento, he has filled the position of
Sunday-school superintendent for twenty years.
When the Law and Order League organized he was its president for two
years, and since it has been known as the Municipal League he has served in
that capacity for a like period, proving a most valued official. Mr. Dunn is a public-spirited in the fullest
sense of the word, and all interests for the welfare of his community receives his hearty co-operation.
The marriage of Mr. Dunn occurred in 1884, when he was
united with Miss Merrium V. Blasdel,
of Oakland, Cal.,
niece of the Hon. Henry
G. Blasdel, who was the first governor of Nevada. Mrs. Dunn is a member of the Tuesday club and
of the Women’s Council, a fed-erated club of all the
women’s clubs of the city of Sacramento; is vice-president
and director of the California Civic League, a new organization whose mission
is the instruction of women as to their political rights, and she is also an
active suffragist. Mr.
and Mrs. Dunn are the parents of
three children: Winifred Blasdel, born in 1890, is a student at Mills
College; Carroll Conkling,
born in 1892, is attending Belmont
school; and Chauncey Homer Jr., born in
1897, is a student in the Sacramento
high school.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Willis, William
L., History of Sacramento
County, California, Pages 484-488. Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA. 1913.
© 2005 Sally Kaleta.