DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Matthew Dunn, out here in Nueces County. Now, every great Texas story has to start somewhere, and this one starts about as far from Texas as you can get — the green fields of Ireland. Matthew Dunn was a native of that island, and he was the first of five brothers to make the crossing to the United States.
Five brothers. Just sit with that a moment. Because what Matthew set in motion would shape South Texas for generations.
When Matthew arrived in this country, he didn't waste any time. He enlisted as a sutler — that's a handler of goods — with General Zachary Taylor. Taylor's army of occupation was stationed in New Orleans at the time, and they were bound for Texas.
In 1845, that army arrived in Corpus Christi, and Matthew Dunn came right along with it. Now here's where the story takes a turn. In Corpus Christi, Matthew met a man by the name of Colonel Henry Lawrence Kinney.
Kinney had already established a trading post out on this frontier, and he had a vision — he was actively encouraging settlement in the area. When he met Matthew Dunn, something clicked. Kinney told Matthew to send back to Ireland for his four brothers.
And Matthew did exactly that. Between 1849 and 1868, Thomas, Peter, John, and Patrick Dunn made their way across the ocean and settled in Corpus Christi. Four brothers, one by one, answering the call.
Kinney, for his part, held up his end of things. He deeded some of his acreage to Matthew — land that included the ground right around this very site. Matthew and his wife, Sarah Pritchett Dunn, and their three sons made their home out here.
They were livin' in the only house on the road between Corpus Christi and San Patricio. The only one. Miles of frontier, and there was the Dunn family, holding their ground.
Here's the part that gets you, though. No death date for Matthew Dunn has ever been found. No gravesite, either.
He arrived with an army, helped build a community, brought his whole family across an ocean — and then history simply loses track of him. The man who started it all slips out of the record quietly. But the descendants of those five Dunn brothers did not slip quietly into anything.
They went on to serve as business and civic leaders throughout South Texas, and they're still counted among the prominent families of this region today. Matthew Dunn may not have a grave marker anyone's ever found — but out here in Nueces County, he's got this one.
What the marker says
A native of Ireland, Matthew Dunn was the first of five brothers to immigrate to the United States and settle in Corpus Christi. Their descendants have served prominently as active business and civic leaders throughout South Texas. Upon his arrival in this country, Matthew Dunn enlisted as a sutler, or handler of goods, with Gen. Zachary Taylor. Taylor's army of occupation, at that time in New Orleans, was bound for Texas and arrived in Corpus Christi in 1845. Here Dunn met Col. Henry Lawrence Kinney who, having established a trading post, was encouraging settlement in the frontier town. Kinney encouraged Dunn to send to Ireland for his four brothers. Between 1849 and 1868, Thomas, Peter, John and Patrick Dunn migrated to Corpus Christi. In return, Kinney deeded some of his acreage, including the land around this site, to Matthew. He and his wife, Sarah (Pritchett), and three sons lived in the only house on the road between Corpus Christi and San Patricio. Although neither a death date nor gravesite for Matthew Dunn have been found, he is important to local history as the leader of the migration of his family to this part of Texas. (1985)