Ezra Dunn, born March 15, 1821 in Mercer County, came to Matawan in 1845 and worked at the establishment Reid & Craig as a carriage painter. There he met Josiah Van Schoick (see separate family writeup) and the two established the partnership Van Schoick & Dunn in 1852 specializing in the manufacturing of pottery. They purchased property on the corner of what is now Washington and Jackson Streets near the clay deposits at Aberdeen Creek and built kilns and buildings to produce earthen and stone ware and eventually added tile to their product line.
Ezra married Hermoin Dunlop (1827-1900) in New York City. The Dunlops were an old Matawan family and they, too, have a separate writeup on this site. The couple eventually had eight (8) children from Margaret in 1851 to Violet in 1874. The family is documented in Ezra’s Descendant Chart here: Descendants of Ezra A Dunn
Both Ezra and his partner Josiah were charter members of the International Order of Odd Fellows Knickerbocker Lodge in Matawan, joining the day of its inception on March 30, 1847.
Ezra’s brother-in-law William Dunlop joined the firm in 1873. Ezra stayed active at the company up to the time of his death on October 12, 1898 in Matawan – Van Schoick passed away earlier that July.
Dunn and many of his family members are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Matawan.
NO COMMENTS