| |
|
Dunbar's
of Arizona
(Account
written by Monica Dunbar Smith
based upon public records and oral history)
|
|
Thomas
& John O. Dunbar of Arizona were early pioneers who arrived
in the Tres Alamos/Tombstone area circa 1876. Another
brother William settled in Prescott, AZ. Their parents were
Honora Evans & Michael Dunbar who originally came from
Ireland to New Brunswick, Canada then to Calais; and to
Bangor, Maine. Thomas (1841-1892) was the first of the line
born in the USA. Since he came from a family of lumbermen,
Thomas went west to Ft. Union, NM during the Civil War in
the 1860s where he served as the civilian foreman at the
fort’s lumberyard. While there, he met & married Agnes
Burgett (1850-1886) who was attending school at a convent
near Las Vegas, NM. |
|
Thomas & Agnes along with their firstborn son, Edward
William (1871-1915), arrived at Tres Alamos, Arizona
Territory along the San Pedro River where he selected his
cattle ranch. Later, he sent for his kid brother John
(1853-1923) to join him at the ranch. They were certainly
not fearful of frontier living for this was an area known as
the “graveyard of the San Pedro” due to the many vicious
Apache and military encounters. There, as the largest
rancher in the area, he was appointed Postmaster and Stage
Stop operator. This, and the boarding house they ran, was
later known as Dunbar’s Station. |
|
 |
|
|
|
(Right)-
Edward William Dunbar Snr. |
|
Thomas A.
Dunbar Jr. |
| |
|
|
|
In 1881, Thomas was elected to the House of Representatives
in the AZ Territorial Legislature, and referred to as the
“father of Cochise County” after he introduced a Bill to
establish a new county in the SE corner of the state. He
also took a particular interest in agriculture & mining &
was described as “an honest legislator and a man of
excellent Judgment,” who was pushing legislation to control
the “cowboy problem.” Thomas wanted to end rustling,
misbranding and other problems affecting the stockmen in
Southern Arizona. That same year, the political scrambling
for appointment of Sheriff, caused a rift between parties,
resulting in the Earp brothers animosity toward the new
Sheriff. Through Thomas Dunbar’s influence, John Behan was
named Sheriff and his brother, John O. Dunbar became
Treasurer of Cochise County. |
|
The infamous “gunfight at the OK
Corral” was for the purpose of gaining political favor on
the part of Wyatt Earp & his brothers in an effort to
influence public opinion that they were cleaning up the
cowboy element from the town of Tombstone. At this time, Tom
McLowery, who later was killed, was a ranch hand on the
Dunbar’s Tres Alamos ranch. He, his brother Frank and the
Clantons started out at the Dunbar Corral on Fremont
Street to saddle up their horses, but had to go across the
street toward Allen Street to retrieve some items, when Doc
Holliday and the Earps opened fire on them. They were not
armed, but had a rifle on the horse’s saddle which was not
within easy reach. As a result, three of them were killed on
the streets of Tombstone. There was a sham of a court
hearing by a justice of the peace who was a friend of the
Earps, who dismissed the murder charges against them.
Thereafter followed a bloody vendetta in which many of both
sides were murdered. The last one took place at the Tucson
Train station where Wyatt Earp killed Frank Stillwell. Now,
there are life-sized statues of Wyatt & Doc located at the
downtown Tucson train depot. |
|
Map of Tombstone 1880's
Click on Photo to enlarge |
Thomas had four sons with Agnes;
they were Edward, Thomas, John, & Andrew. Two years after he
became a widower, he married Catherine Hanley in 1888; and
had two more children, Helen and Ernest. Before Ernest was
born, Thomas died following surgery for a severe ear
infection in June 1892. The Arizona Daily Star on 6/18
claimed “a nobler man, a better husband, father or friend
never made a track on Arizona soil.”
|
 |
|
 |
|
Andrew Dunbar |
|
Helen A.
Dunbar |
|
His
brother, John Orlando Dunbar became a journalist who along
with colleagues developed the Arizona Press Association in
1890; he published several newspapers including the
Tombstone Epitaph (1886) & later the Phoenix Gazette and
Dunbar’s Weekly. He was quite outspoken and controversial
and ended up in court often due to his newspaper work.
|
| |
|
|
|
Thomas’s son Edward William grew up with many
Spanish-speaking ranch hands; therefore, was fluent in the
language which helped him court Delfina Soto whom he married
in 1900 at the Courthouse in Tombstone. They had 6 children,
Luisa, Inez, Edward, Anthony, Thomas, & Waldo, who were
raised at Tres Alamos ranch, then Ray, AZ; then, after their
father died in 1915 at age 44 from a ruptured appendix, the
family moved to Los Angeles, CA . |
|
Edward Dunbar |
Delfina Soto, Inez and Luisa |
|
| |
|
Thomas Dunbar was the great-grandfather of Edward William
Dunbar (D-9); Anthony William Dunbar (D-62); and Monica
Dunbar Smith, Membership Director, Clan Dunbar and their
siblings. D-9 & D-62 are cousins.
Account written by Monica Dunbar
Smith based upon public records and oral history.
Photos at Top: Carmen Vasquez Dunbar, Edward William Dunbar,
Delfina Soto, Inez and Luisa, Thomas A Dunbar Jr.
|
|
|
