Francis A (Smiley) Dunn, Son of William E Dunn

Background:

As discussed previously in this blog, William Edward Dunn (WED) and his first wife had a daughter, Ella Dunn. After being widowed he married Josephine Barbara Lauer and they had eight children.

Previously in this blog I've written about what I've been able to find out about their eldest son, Stephen, and their second son, John (known as Jack). Their next two children were daughters Julia and Rosa, who died as children, and we have no other info about them.

They were followed by sons Eugene and Edward, who are covered elsewhere in this blog. The next son was Francis Anthony (known as Smiley), and this page covers what I've so far been able to learn about him.

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Here's his obituary:

Chicago Heights Star
12/10/1987

"[Funeral] Services were [held] yesterday for Francis A 'Smiley' Dunn, a lifelong Chicago Heights resident who died Saturday, December 5 in St. James Hospital medical center.

The Rev. John Doyle, pastor, offered mass at St. Liborius church in Steger. Burial was in Homewood Memorial Gardens cemetery.

Mr. Dunn was born November 10, 1903, in St. Genevieve, Mo. He was retired from woodworking for Caravelle Wood Products Inc.

He is survived by his wife, Edna; one daughter, Colleen Becker of Springfield, Va; one sister, Helen Wolf of Steger, and three grandchildren."

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From the 1910 census:
Being born in 1903, the first census in which he would have appeared is this one. Smiley's mother, Josephine Lauer Dunn, and the children lived in Crete, Illinois. Ella would have been 25 by this time, had married, become Ella Dawson, and was no longer in the household. Rosa and Julia had died, and three more children had been born.

WED had died in 1908 and the household looked like this:
Josephine Dunn, 39
Stephen C Dunn, 17, [illegible word] keeper at Steger Piano factory
John H Dunn, 15, custom finisher, also at Steger Piano factory
Eugene M Dunn, 11
Edward T Dunn, 9
Francis A Dunn, 6
Helen M Dunn, 2

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From the 1920 census:
The family was still living in Crete, and in the household with Josephine, 49, are:
John, 25, a foreman;
Edward, 19, machinist;
Francis,16, millwright;
Helen, 12, presumably still in school.

All three males work for the Steger Piano factory. From other records we know that Eugene married in 1917 and is no longer in the household.

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From Smiley's Social Security Death Index:
Name: Francis A. Dunn
SSN: 346-07-9396
Last Residence: Chicago Heights, Illinois
Born: 10 Nov 1903
Died: 5 Dec 1987

I couldn't find a draft registration for him, nor could I find him in the 1930 census. I will continue to research, but this surprises me, for as you can see above, he was recorded for 1910 and 1920 and was still living in the same area. It would be interesting to know more about him, so I will see what more I can learn and will update this page when I do so.

Last updated 5/17/09