Dunn Family Cemetery - Trevilians, Va.

Dunn Family Cemetery, Trevilians, Virginia

By: Wayne Dunn 2022

(Scroll down to see pictures!)

Near Trevilians, Virginia, on a hill just behind a stand of walnut trees, where the original house once stood, is the Dunn Family Cemetery. There are six known graves, with the possibility of at least three more. The only markers are pieces of fieldstone and what were originally boxwood bushes. However, as the cows grazed on the boxwoods, they grew upwards and became 'trees'! The known graves are:

Jane Bennett Salmon b. abt 1811, d. 6 Oct. 1863 First wife of Thomas Rivers Dunn; dau. of Thomas Salmon & Elizabeth Carr [Source: Letter at VHS}
Thomas Rivers Dunn b. abt 1813 d. 12 Oct 1888 Son of Martin Dunn and Martha Terry
Martha Patsey Terry b. abt 1773 d. 21 Apr 1858 Second wife of Martin Dunn; dau. of David Terry and Eleanor Bigger [Source: Letter at VHS}
Robert Emory Dunn b. 16 Oct 1841 d. 12 May 1864 Son of Thomas & Jane Salmon; killed at Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse [Source: Letter at VHS}.
Hardenia F. Tisdale b. May 1832 d. 01 Dec 1919 Sister of Emily Tisdale [Source: Thomas M. Dunn}
Emily E. 'Rose' Tisdale b. Aug 1828 d. 28 May 1908 Second wife of Thomas; daughter of David Tisdale and Maria Trevillian.

Possible additional graves are:

Martin Dunn Sr. b. Abt. Mar 1763 d. 21 Dec 1846 Son of John Dunn & Anna Marion Martin
Mary 'Molly' Anderson Hughes b. 1765, d. 03 Jan 1793 First wife of Martin; dau. of Wm. Hughes & Ruth Hester.
Susan Frances 'Suckey' Dunn b. abt. 1792, d. 07 Jun 1865 Dau. of Martin and Mary Hughes.

Around 1999, uncle Frank Jr., at the age of 87 and fearing the cemetery would become overgrown and forgotten, hired someone to build a fence around the graveyard, enclosing an area about 20 feet by 60 feet. Since Frank was in poor health and unable to travel, I put together and sent an album of pictures showing the before and after, plus other places of interest.

The old house, built in the early 1800's, was last occupied by my grandfather, Frank Lumpkin Dunn, Sr., his wife Annie Delvaux Dunn, and four of what would later become 13 children: Marie, Emily, Frank Jr., and Tom (my father, was the last born there). Around 1914, the 'new' house was built about 1/2 mile to the west.

Below is a picture of the cemetery a few years before the fence was built. See how the boxwoods have become 'trees' from the cows grazing as high as they could reach?

Another view before the fence was built.

In 2003, after the fence was built and I cut all of the briars.

2003: Note the fieldstone markers. Also, I cut and removed three trees.

2003: After trimming the grass, I found this stone about one foot outside of the fence. After probing a few inches to examine it, I finally realized the stone was in perfect alignment with all the other 'headstones' -- and the spacing was the same as for the other graves. I felt this was possibly a grave marker and decided to enlarge the fenced area to encompass this stone. (you can see the gate was at the left corner, whereas later pictures will show the added fencing)

2003: Dr. John Thornton Dunn, UVA Professor, 3rd cousin 1X removed. He passed away the next year..

2006: Note the added fencing to the left of the gate.

2008: Placing a marker for the grave of Robert Emory Dunn, killed at the battle of Spottsylvania Courthouse, May 1864. L-R: Wayne Dunn, Jerry Harlow, Ed Crebbs.

May 2009: Dedication of marker for Robert Emory Dunn, conducted by Trevilians Station Battlefield Foundation. Aunt Jean Dunn Peake, and uncle James 'Jimmy' Stewart Dunn