Woodford Dunn

Woodford Dunn

KentuckyConfirmed

Father of Nannie E. Dunn, wife of Milton Waller Chenault · about 1825–1898

Sources

10

Research status

Research status: CONFIRMED as the father of Nannie E. Dunn (about 1854 – 5 August 1936), wife of Milton Waller Chenault. Her Tennessee death certificate, read from the image, names her father Woodford Dunn and her mother Mary Ford S2362. She is the Nancy E., 5, of his 1860 household in Warren County, Kentucky S1492, and the Nancy, 16, of his 1870 household in Sumner County, Tennessee S1050. Three of her brothers and sisters have records, read from the images, naming the same parents: George’s 1856 birth register S2288, Ermine Alice’s 1935 death certificate S2289 and Eliza’s 1940 death certificate S2350. Proof argument: milton-waller-chenault--wife-nannie-daughter-of-woodford-dunn-and-mary-ford (ACCEPTED). Husband of Mary Charlotte Ford.

Life in the order the records give it

Record2026

History of this card. 21 Oct 2026

card added from the records on Milton Waller Chenault's card (S2362, S1050, S1492, S2375, S2376, S2288, S2289, S2350); parent link Confirmed (verdict 272804014980-father). SWEEP-1021D.

Family parents, marriages, children, siblings

Children1849

He and Mary C. Ford gave bond to marry in Edmonson County, Kentucky, on 18 September 1849, with John D. Otter as surety S2375; their son Luther F. Dunn was born in March 1853, by the Warren County birth register S2376. In August 1860 he was 35, a farmer with $12,500 in land, in District No. 1, Warren County (P.O. Bowling Green) S1492; by August 1870 he was in the 2nd Civil District of Sumner County (P.O. Enon College), 45, a farmer born in Kentucky, written “Woodruff” S1050. His children in those households were William Henry, Luther, Nancy (Nannie), Leo, Eliza, George, Artemisia and Ermine Alice. Ermine Alice married James Monroe Chenault, a son of Colby Burris Chenault.

Open questions what is probable, weak or missing — confirm or correct it

Probable

Probable confirm or correct → His dates. Born about 1825 in Kentucky by the censuses; Find a Grave gives 1824–1898 S2275, and Milton’s obituary of 1917 calls him “the late Woodford Dunn of this county” S1650. What is weak or missing: no record of his death has been read; the middle name “Mason” and the birthplace Smiths Grove given in family trees are unsourced, and Nannie’s certificate gives his birthplace as Tennessee, where the censuses have Kentucky. Know more? Use “Add to this record”.

In the record Generation 6 — Earl's 3rd-great-grandparents and their siblings

1. S10501870 United States Federal Census — 2nd Civil District, Sumner County, Tennessee, page 18, dwelling 117 (P.O. Enon College). Ancestry record 10638623. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Probable 9 August 1870: Woodruff Dunn, 45, farmer, born Kentucky; Mary, 37, keeping house, real estate $4,200 in her name; Luther 18, Nancy 16, Leo 13, Eliza 12, Artemisia 10, Alice 8, all born Kentucky. The 1870 census states no relationships; Nancy (Nannie) is taken to be Nannie E. Dunn by name, age, Kentucky birth and district, four years before her Sumner County licence to marry Milton W. Chenault.
2. S14921860 census — Woodford Dunn household, District No. 1, Warren County, Kentucky (P.O. Bowling Green), p. 89 (stamped 793), dwelling 799, lines 4–11. Ancestry, “1860 United States Federal Census”, record 39948825. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 6 October 2026. Probable Woodford Dunn, 35, farmer, land worth $12,500; Mary C., 28; and Henry W., Luther, Nancy E., 5, at school, Eliza, George and Artemesia. No relationships are stated; Nancy E. is Nannie only through the 1870 Woodruff Dunn household.
3. S1650Obituary of Milton W. Chenault — Nashville Banner, 29 January 1917, p. 11. Read as machine-read (OCR) text; the page image has not been checked by eye. Died on Saturday [27 January] at his home near Castalian Springs; buried at “the old Chenault family burying ground”. “The son of the late David Chenault, a prominent pioneer citizen of this county. He was a native of Sumner, born in 1849, being the tenth child of a family of fourteen children. On Feb. 26, 1874, he married Miss Nannie Dunn, daughter of the late Woodford Dunn of this county, who survives, together with several children.” His mother is not named.
4. S2275Find a Grave memorials 99230430, 99230451 and 62186798 — William Henry Dunn, William Henry Dunn Jr. and Ermine Alice Dunn Chenault, Gallatin City Cemetery, Sumner County, Tennessee. Findagrave.com, read 7 October 2026 (memorial pages). Volunteers’ compiled pages, not original records. Probable William Henry Dunn: born 22 September 1850, died 23 September 1912; parents linked: Capt. Woodford Dunn (1824–1898) and Mary Charlotte “Lottie” Ford (1832–1915); brothers and sisters linked: Luther Ford Dunn, Nancy Embry (Chenault), Eliza Embry (Collett), Artemesia “Mittie” (Collett) and Ermine Alice (Chenault). William Henry Dunn Jr.: born 8 May 1883, died 31 March 1944; parents linked: William Henry Dunn and Nannie Mantlow; wives Mary Louise Barry (married 1906) and Lena Barry (married 1931). Ermine Alice Dunn Chenault: born 7 June 1862, died 18 December 1935, “daughter of Woodford Dunn and Mary Lottie (Ford) Dunn”; husband linked: James Monroe Chenault (1855–1940), married 1889. The given names and ages agree with the Dunn households of 1860 (S1492) and 1870 (S1050); the 1860 “Henry W., 9” has his given names reversed. What it does not settle: the maiden name Ford, the marriages and every exact date rest on these pages alone.
5. S2288Warren County, Kentucky, register of births, 1856: G. Dunn. Read from the image of the original register. Confirmed G. Dunn, born 2 February 1856, son of Woodford Dunn and Mary L. Ford. George Woodford Dunn’s 1919 Tennessee death certificate gives 3 February and the mother only as “Ford”; the register is the contemporary record.
6. S2289Tennessee certificate of death no. 29117 (1935), Alice (Dunn) Chenault, Castalian Springs, Sumner County. Read from the image. Confirmed Wife of J. M. Chenault; born 7 June 1862; died 18 December 1935; buried at Gallatin; father Woodford Dunn, mother Mary Lottie Ford, both born near Glasgow, Kentucky. The certificate gives her birthplace as Castalian Springs; five censuses say Kentucky, and Kentucky is followed. The index’s middle name “Eunice” reads Ermine on the image.
7. S2350Kentucky death certificate (Warren County, 1940): Eliza Dunn Collett. Ancestry record 1195426. Read from the image (Stage 2 batch 1019-0610, 19 Oct 2026). Confirmed Born 11 October 1857, Edmonson County, Kentucky; died 3 March 1940 in Bristow Precinct, Warren County; widow of Eugene Collett; parents Woodford Dunn and Mary Ford; buried Fairview Cemetery 5 March 1940. The index reads “Eugne”.
8. S2362Tennessee death certificate, Wilson County, Reg. Dist. 693, Reg. No. 85, Mrs Nannie E. Chenault, 5 August 1936. FamilySearch “Tennessee, Deaths, 1914–1966”, ark 1:2:M1WY-D61. Read from the image (PP-1019H, 19 Oct 2026). Confirmed Civil District 19, Greenwood; widow of Milton Walter [Waller] Chenault; age 82; born in Tennessee; father Woodford Dunn; mother’s maiden name Mary Ford; informant Milton Chenault, Lebanon; buried in the family cemetery, 7 August 1936.
9. S2375Edmonson County, Kentucky, marriage bond, Woodford Dunn and Mary C. Ford, 18 September 1849, p. 114. Ancestry record 2520162. Read from the image (Stage 2 batch 1019-0655, 19 Oct 2026). Confirmed Surety John D. Otter; certificate filed.
10. S2376Kentucky birth register, Warren County, 1853, Luther F. Dunn. Ancestry record 150033364. Read from the image (Stage 2 batch 1019-0655, 19 Oct 2026). Confirmed Luther F. Dunn, born March 1853; parents Woodford Dunn and Mary C.