The actress: Mary Duncan

Among the many colorful characters in the Dungan family, Mary Dungan (Duncan) Sanford was a shining star -- literally.  Born in 1895 in Luttrellville, Northumberland County, Virginia, Mary left the Northern Neck to become an actress, first on Broadway and, later, in silent films.

In 1933, she married Stephen "Laddie" Sanford, a professional polo player and heir to a carpet fortune, and retired from acting.  Mary spent the rest of her life in Palm Beach, Florida, where she was active in social and charitable events.  A friend and neighbor of Rose Kennedy, she entertained, among others, the King and Queen of Jordan, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.  She was known as the "queen of Palm Beach society", a title she disliked.  As quoted in the Palm Beach Daily News, "If you say I'm the Queen of Palm Beach, every woman in Palm Beach will be mad at me.  There are lots of queens in Palm Beach -- and I don't mean that kind of queen, even though there are some of those.  They're nice, too."

Born Mary Annie Dungan, she was the sixth of eight children.  At some point, she changed her surname from Dungan to Duncan, perhaps to make it more "stage-friendly".  So Mary Duncan became her professional name, and all published references I have found refer to her by that name or by her married name.

Mary's childhood home.

Mary, along with five brothers and two sisters, was born and raised on her parents' farm in Northumberland County.  Like her father, most of the Northern Neck Dungans earned a living as farmers or sailors.  So it is remarkable that Mary attended Cornell University. At that time, it was relatively uncommon for Northern Neck residents, especially females, to attend college, particularly one as far away as Ithaca, New York.  Mary may have been one of the first Northern Neck Dungans to attend college.

The Dungan family, about 1905.  Pictured are parents Bill and Ada Dungan with children Fletcher, Alice, Ann, Earl, Mary, Joe, and Moody.  Brother William Perry died before this picture was taken.




After one year at Cornell, Mary became a successful Broadway actress, playing the lead role in "Shanghai Gesture" -- a scandalous play at the time -- before moving to Hollywood.  Regarding that role, Mary remarked, "I played the first nymphomaniac on Broadway, and I was a virgin at the time."

Columnist Louella Parsons described her in 1931 as "Exotic and a capable actress, she has been much in demand as a screen siren."  Mary appeared in sixteen films over a six-year span, including "Very Confidential" in 1927; "Soft Living" and "Four Devils" in 1928; "Romance of the Rio Grande" and "The River" in 1929; "City Girl," "Kismet" and "The Boudoir Diplomat" in 1930; "Men Call It Love", "Five and Ten" and "The Age for Love" in 1931; "State's Attorney", "Thirteen Women" and "The Phantom of Crestwood" in 1932; and "Morning Glory" in 1933 -- for which Katherine Hepburn won her first Academy award.

With Charles Farrell in "City Girl", part of the Murnau, Borzage and Fox DVD box set.

Interest in Mary's films was recently renewed with the release of a Fox DVD box set featuring directors F. W. Murnau and Frank Borzage.  Mary acted in several of their films, including "City Girl", "The River", and "4 Devils".  These first two films are included in the DVD box set.  "4 Devils", however, has been lost.  As reported by the Palm Beach Daily News, around 1948, Mary acquired a copy to show her friends.  After viewing the film, she noticed a vinegar smell -- and knew what it meant.  The nitrite used in film of that era was chemically volatile and, once it started to turn, could explode without warning.  So, not wanting to take any chances, Mary had one of her servants throw the film into the Atlantic Ocean -- not knowing it was the last "4 Devils" print in existence.

In 1933, Mary retired from acting, married the wealthy Sanford, and moved to Palm Beach.  She was known to Palm Beach society by her married name, Mary Sanford, and for sixty years, seldom discussed her acting career.  Many of her friends knew little of her background.  She died in 1993 at the age of 98.

Even the horses are posing!

Mary and husband, Laddie Sanford.

      














Although Mary left the Northern Neck as a young woman, she did not forget her Virginia roots.  Family friend Bobby Davis recalls a time when a tornado blew the roof off a church near Mary's childhood home.  Mary, having achieved financial success by that time, sent a sizeable check to the church to pay for a new roof.  The church, however, returned the check with a note explaining that they could not accept "the Devil's money" -- an apparent reference to Mary's chosen career.

In another instance, Mary swept into town for a niece's wedding -- decked out in a short red skirt and large red hat -- then promptly returned to Richmond for the flight back to Palm Beach.  She was in her seventies or eighties at the time, and still carried herself like the movie star she was.

Mary was the great-great granddaughter of David Dungan, the first Dungan to settle in the Northern Neck.

Dungan Family Cemetery

The Dungan Family Cemetery is located in Northumberland County, near Callao.  The cemetery is situated in a grove of trees, adjacent to farmland.  It is a quite, peaceful setting.  The last Dungans to have owned this property were Christopher and Juliet Dungan, who are buried at Henderson United Methodist Church in Hyacinth, near Callao.

Four headstones remain.  However, it has been determined that approximately seventy graves occupy the cemetery.  It is likely that the unmarked graves were originally marked with wooden markers, which have long since decayed.  Those buried there are believed to be the descendants of David and Nancy Dungan, perhaps including David and Nancy themselves, since no other record of their burial site seem to exist.

The five known to be buried there are Joseph White Dungan and his wife Elizabeth H. Winstead Dungan, Fernando C. Dungan, son of Joe White and Elizabeth Dungan, Garrett Parkerson Dungan, and his wife Nancy Winstead Dungan.

Both Joe White and his brother, Garrett Parkerson, were grandsons of David Dungan.   Their wives, Elizabeth and Nancy, were sisters, daughters of Septimus William Winstead and Lucy Fulks.  Interestingly, a third Dungan brother, John David, married a third Winstead sister, Rebecca.  She, however, was the daughter of Septimus Winstead's second wife, Chloe.  It is possible that they, too, are buried in this cemetery.

The headstones themselves are quite ornate and beautiful.  The inscriptions read as follows.



In Memory of Joseph W. Dungan                          

Born Jan. 20, 1832
Died Feb. 12, 1902

"Peaceful be thy silent Slumber
Peaceful in the grave so low
Thou no more will Join our number
Thou no more our sorrows know.
Yet again we hope to meet thee
when the day of life is fled,
and in heaven with joy to greet thee
where no farewell tears are shed."




Mrs. E. H. Beloved
Wife of
J. W. Dungan
March 26, 1838 (?)
Nov. 18, 1913

"In the way of righteousness
is life and in the pathway
thereof there is no death."






Fernando C. G. Dungan
Son of
Joseph and Elizabeth Dungan
Born Dec. 19, 1860
Died Sept. 14, 1878 (?)

"For he shall give his angels
Charge over thee to keep thee
in all thy ways."



Garrett and Nancy Dungan share a headstone, inscribed simply with their names and their birth and death dates.  Garrett served in the Confederate Virginia Militia, 37th Regiment, Company E, with the rank of Private.






The Dungan Family Cemetery is cared for and maintained by George Bernard Dungan, Jr., a 3rd great-grandson of David and Nancy Dungan.  He resides in Montross, Westmoreland County, Virginia.


Photos are courtesy of Bernard Dungan and Marsha Benya.

David Dungan: the first Northern Neck Dungan

The first Dungan to have settled in the Northern Neck is believed to have been David Dungan, son of Garrett Vansant  Dungan and Sophia Bennett Dungan, of Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  David was a 5th generation American, the Dungans having emigrated to America from Ireland by way of England in the mid-1600's.  (More on this in a future post.)

David Dungan was born around 1762 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  Some sources refer to him as a physician in the Revolutionary War.  Medical schools as we know them did not exist during Colonial times.  In some cases, an aspiring doctor would gain a medical education by serving an apprenticeship under a practicing physician, particularly in New England.  Indeed, the first formal medical school in the Colonies, the College of Philadelphia, was organized in the 1760's.  Perhaps David Dungan received his medical training there.  Regardless, the first known record establishing David as a physician is a Virginia Revolutionary War State Pension Record, dated 18 August 1792, stating that Dr. David Dungan examined a Robert Fergusson in Westmoreland County, Virginia.  This is also the first record placing him in Virginia.

Lancaster County, Virginia, records show that David married Nancy Branham (or Bramham) Demeritt on 19 July 1793. They were married by Reverend Henry Toler, who at that time was pastor of Nomini Baptist Church near Montross, Virginia.  Nancy was the daughter of John and Alice Branham Demeritt of Lancaster and Richmond Counties. (More on Nancy in a future post.)

David and Nancy Dungan settled in Northumberland County, near Callao, and had seven children:  Ann B. Dungan, Joseph B. Dungan, William V. Dungan, James T. Dungan,  Elizabeth B. Dungan, John F. Dungan, and Austin W. Dungan.  All seven children apparently survived and were living at the time of David's death.  The children's middle names were likely family surnames, following the customs of that time.  The "B" could have stood for Branham, Nancy's maiden name, or Bennett, David's mother's maiden name.  "V" perhaps represented Vansant, a Dungan family name.

Not much is known about David's life.  It is not known why he left Pennsylvania and settled in the Northern Neck sometime before 1792.  His father, Garrett Vansant Dungan, outlived David.  In his will, Garrett divided his estate among his three daughters, and the children of his deceased son David, "first deducting 20 pounds, to be paid to the heirs of Eleazer Doan, deceased, which Eleazer stood bound for when David left Pennsylvania".  So David apparently left Pennsylvania owing money to Mr. Doan, and his father deducted that money from David's share of the estate.  Whether or not this debt played a role in David's leaving Pennsylvania is unknown.

(An interesting footnote:  two of David's three sisters, Elizabeth and Charity, are listed in their father's will as having the surname Swan.  My paternal grandmother, Annie Swann, married David's great-great-grandson, Captain George B. Dungan, Sr.  I will try to find out if the Northumberland Swanns are related to these Pennsylvania Swans.)

At the time David moved from Pennsylvania, the Northern Neck, being a long peninsula situated between three sizeable bodies of water, was not the most accessible of regions.  It is possible that he first settled in southern Maryland, then crossed the Potomac River or followed the Chesapeake Bay to Northumberland County as so many others did, but there are no known records to this effect; it is pure speculation.  Other Dungans of the Bucks County family settled in Smythe County, Virginia, in the mid-1700's, but they would likely have followed the Shenendoah Valley to Smythe County, which is located in the far southwest corner of Virginia, about 300 miles from the Northern Neck.  So what led David to the Northern Neck is unknown.

We do know that David was a practicing physician up to the time of his death, and practicing medicine in the counties of Northumberland, Westmoreland, and Richmond.  Records indicate that the family was not without financial means.  However, at some point, David apparently encountered financial difficulties.  In 1807, David purchased 75 acres of land in Northumberland County, then deeded the land to a Thomas Plummer of nearby Westmoreland County, to be held in trust for Nancy.  This practice, common at the time for persons in financial difficulty, ensured that the property would return to David's family should David become insolvent.  Other court records mention several transactions of land, slaves, livestock, and household belongings between David and his mother-in-law, Alice Demeritt, and to a Vincent Branham, likely another family member, perhaps for the same reason.  Apparently, David was putting his affairs in order.

In early 1810, David was arrested for insolvency, and placed in debtor's prison.  The practice at the time was that, if a person could not pay his debts, he would be placed in the county debtor's prison.  The court would then try to collect any debts that were owed to him.  David died shortly thereafter.  It is unclear whether he died still in debtor's prison.

David died around 1810 in Northumberland County at the relatively young age of about 48, leaving his widow, Nancy, and seven children, five of whom were under the age of ten.   It has been noted that the records for Northumberland County around 1810, especially for births and deaths, are almost entirely lacking; hence, the vagueness concerning the date of David's death.

Several years later, David's father, Garrett, died.  Northumberland County records show that, in 1831, Nancy appeared in court to claim David's portion of his father's estate, to be divided among David and Nancy's five surviving children (William and James died prior to 1831).

The Dungan family cemetery, located near Callao, is believed to be the location of David's grave.  Of the seventy-odd graves in the cemetery, only five names are marked.  Among them are two of David's grandsons and their wives.  The many unmarked graves were likely marked originally with wooden markers.  Family legend suggests that David is buried here, along with his children and grandchildren.  (More on the Dungan cemetery in the following post.)  A search of local church cemeteries shows no indication of these early Dungans' having been buried elsewhere.

Much of this information was compiled by and generously provided by Frances Gillions Smith, a descendant of David Dungan, and Carolyn H. Jett.

Why I began researching the Dungans

As a member of the Dungan family, I have always been interested in family history and ancestry.  I was fortunate enough to grow up in the Northern Neck of Virginia, an area rich in early American history.  Many family members still lived in the area, especially Northumberland County, and we often visited them, particularly the older generations.  These wonderful people were generous in sharing their stories, and provided a glimpse into a way of life that has largely receded into the mists of history.  These loved ones have long since passed, and the older generation now consists my father, Bernard Dungan, his sister, May Hale, and their late cousin's wife, Pauline Turner.  They are among the last generation that can give a first-hand account of the earlier ways, and can share not only their stories, but those passed down to them.

There is a Dungan family cemetery near Callao, in Northumberland County, in which the earliest Dungans of Northumberland County are buried.  There are only five marked graves, but as many as seventy unmarked graves, with the last burials believed to have taken place in the early 1900's.  In recent years, my father has undertaken the task of maintaining and preserving the family cemetery, and has devoted countless hours to its preservation.  His efforts renewed my interest in the family history, and in helping him preserve that history for the younger generations.

And so, a few months before his 75th birthday, I began the task of researching the family history, intending to present him with the results as a birthday gift.  Specifically, I hoped to identify the names of those buried in the unmarked graves. I joined Ancestry.com for a three-month period, thinking that would be plenty of time to complete the project.  And I was able to learn quite a bit in time for his birthday.  However that was over a year ago, and I am still researching.

Researching the Dungans led quite naturally to his mother's family, the Swanns, then to his grandparents' families, and so on.  The journey has led to so many Northern Neck families -- Kent, Hall, Winstead, Curren, French, Clarke, Fulks, Haynie, Landsell, Pierce, Dodson, Carter . . .  as many as eight generations on this side of the Atlantic, many more on the other, and at least one Native American family.

 In most cases I have been able to trace each Dungan and Swann ancestor back to their arrival in America, and it has been a fascinating journey.  In almost every case, the first immigrants settled immediately in Virginia, with, ironically, the Dungans being an exception -- they were relative latecomers to the Northern Neck, arriving from Pennsylvania in the late 1700's.  Virtually everyone else settled in the Northern Neck before the Revolutionary War, and many of their descendants remain there today.  It is, after all, known as "the land of pleasant living"!

So this blog is an attempt to share some of their stories.  It began as the Dungan's story, but has evolved in something much larger.  It even led to researching my mother's family history, the Bradshaws of Nelson County, Virginia.  And much to my delight, her family's story leads back to -- where else? -- the Northern Neck!