Katherine Dunham, Buried on the Family Ranch in Idaho

An article in the Kooskia Mountaineer of October 23, 1915 reported that Katherine Dunham had died at the home of her son Daniel Dunham, and she was buried at the family farm, at her request. Katherine Dunham was my third great-grandaunt. Her death certificate lists her date of death as October 22, 1915, and place of burial was given as the Dunham Ranch, near Kooskia, Idaho.
















As often is the case, there were a myriad of discrepancies connected with the records I found relating to Katherine Dunham. Katherine Cross(spelled Catherine in most early records) was born in Columbus, Ohio, to Charles Cross and Patience Manning on July 13, 1839. Her death certificate states that her mother's name was Catherine Cross, and was a native of Virginia. However, the death certificates of Katherine's brothers, James and Charles A. Cross, both list the wife of Charles Cross as Patience Manning, who was born in Kentucky. The newspaper article states that "Grandma" Dunham, as she was fondly known, was the last of a family of ten children, but I have not found evidence of nearly that many children.

Some other records, however, seem to be completely accurate. In 1850, Catherine Cross is listed as being 10 years of age, and residing in Portland Township of Erie County, Ohio, with her parents Charles and Matilda Cross, along with her five brothers and sisters. Erie County Probate Records list the date of marriage of Catherine Cross and Hezekiah Dunham as August 16, 1871. The birth record of Catherine's only son was found in Paulding County, Ohio. Though he later went by the name Daniel James Dunham, Daniel's birth record states that a James Daniel Dunham was born on December 6, 1875, in Benton, Paulding County, Ohio, to H. Dunham and Catherine Cross Dunham. Daniel's death certificate stated that he died on April 14, 1929, and he too was buried at the Dunham Ranch near Kooskia, Idaho. Abstracts of Daniel's birth and death record were obtained at Family Search Labs.

I have no idea why Katherine/Catherine and her husband Hezekiah Dunham moved to Idaho, County, Idaho in the late nineteenth century. Maybe someday I can travel to Idaho and try to locate the Dunham graves at their former family ranch! And even though all the records do not match up perfectly, I was delighted to receive the newspaper clipping which reported the death of Katherine Cross Dunham.