Lucas County IA Archives Biographies.....Dungan, Warren Scott 1835 - 
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ia/iafiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com December 9, 2007, 5:59 pm

Author: Lewis Publishing Co. (1896)

COLONEL WARREN SCOTT DUNGAN, Lieutenant Governor of Iowa, lawyer, statesman,
orator, patriot, a man honorable and honored, devoted to the public welfare and
the private good, has his home in Chariton; but he is a man not of a locality
only, for he belongs to the State, and Iowa's people admire and respect him for
his unselfish devotion to the best interests of the commonwealth. Prominence has
come to him not through fortunate circumstances but through merit and a desire
to perform faithfully and well every duty that falls to his lot; and a record
without a stain is that of Iowa's Lieutenant Governor.

   Colonel Dungan is a native of Frankfort Springs, Beaver county, Pennsylvania,
born September 12, 1822, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His parents were David Davis
and Isabel (McFarren) Dungan. He is a grandson of Levi and Mary (Davis) Dungan
and a great-great-grandson of John Scott, who settled in Bucks county,
Pennsylvania, in Colonial days. His grandfather, William McFarren, was an Ensign
in the war of the Revolution, in Colonel Birnigh's battalion of Northampton
county militia in service at Billingsport, November 5, 1777. His
great-grandfather, John Scott, was Commissary General of the Pennsylvania Line
in that war.

   Mrs. Benjamin Harrison .was a descendant of John Scott, son of the above,
whose brother, Matthew Scott, was one of the ancestors of Mrs. R. B. Hayes.
Colonel Dungan was named for Colonel Joseph Warren Scott, late of New Brunswick,
New Jersey, who was a grandson of John Scott, the immigrant.

   The Dungan family was founded in America by ancestors who were of Scotch
lineage, but came to this country from the Emerald Isle, about the time William
Penn settled in the Keystone State. Levi Dungan, the grandfather, was a native
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was brought up, and married, February 2,
1764. He was the first settler in 1772, of Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he
secured 1,000 acres of land, which property has descended through three
generations of the family, while the third generation, now holding a part of it,
has long since passed the central milestone on life's journey. When Levi Dungan
secured that property it was on the very border of Western civilization. He took
with him from his home in Philadelphia to his new home several slaves which he
had formerly owned in the East and set them to work clearing up the timber lands
and developing a farm. The family at that early day had to endure many hardships
and trials, such as are incident to frontier life. The only mode of travel was
on horseback over roads "blazed" through the trackless forests. The country was
full of wild animals and wilder men, for the Indians still lurked in the forests
and their treachery was frequently experienced by the white settlers. On the
death of his father in 1880 Colonel Dungan inherited a part of the old homestead
in his native State.

    The record of the life of Colonel Dungan is the history of an active and
useful career. His early education was obtained in the academy at Frankfort
Springs. His father was a farmer and his family were surrounded by the
discomforts that come to the Western frontiersman. In 1851 Colonel Dungan went
to Louisiana and soon afterward to Panola, Mississippi, where, wishing to
replenish his somewhat exhausted exchequer, he, without previous notice or
mention of his purpose, had printed a circular which read as follows:

PANOLA SELECT SCHOOL.

    Warren S. Dungan respectfully announces to the citizens of Panola and
vicinity that he will open his school on Monday, May the 17th. He proposes
teaching a thorough English course, including the Primary branches, the Natural
and Moral Sciences and the Higher Mathematics. From his experience in teaching,
both North and South, he hopes to be able to give general satisfaction to those
who favor him with their patronage. Terms per session of five months as follows:
For Primary Branches, viz., Orthography, Reading, Writing, English Grammar,
Geography and Arithmetic, $10.00; for the Higher Branches, $12.50.
   
Then followed references as to character, scholarship, etc., written by some
very prominent persons of that day, and the circular was concluded by the words:

   The school will be kept in the school-room belonging to Mr. A. G. Goodwin.
       (Dated) Panola, Mississippi, May 15, 1852.

   A copy of this little circular is still treasured by Colonel Dungan, a relic
of those far-away days when he was a poor young man dependent upon his own
resources. Among his possessions near this old circular lay his first tax
receipt, issued by the treasurer of Beaver county, Pennsylvania, June 8, 1855,
being for county and State tax, the sum of nineteen cents! In the school Colonel
Dungan was very successful, and for three years he remained in Mississippi,
spending a part of the time in the study of law in the office of Colonel Miller,
a very talented attorney.

   In 1855 Mr. Dungan returned to his native State and entered the law office of
Messrs. Roberts & Quay. The former, a first cousin of our subject, was killed in
the battle of Gettysburg, while leading his regiment-the One Hundred and
Fortieth Pennsylvania, of which he was Colonel. The junior partner is well known
to the American people as United States Senator and chairman of the national
Republican committee. Under the instruction of such able gentlemen Mr. Dungan
continued his studies, applying himself closely, and in April, 1856, he was
admitted to practice in the court of common pleas of Pennsylvania.

   Immediately afterward he removed to Iowa and located in Chariton, where forty
years of active and eventful life have been passed, a life that is as an open
book, and one that has merited public confidence and the honors that have been
conferred upon him. As all who enter prominently into political life, he has had
opponents and strong opposition to overcome, yet a manly, honorable course has
ever characterized his record, and even his political enemies can truthfully say
nothing against his career as an official. He first began practice in Chariton,
and it was not long before he became eminent at the bar, gaining a reputation as
a successful advocate which brought to him a liberal patronage.

   It was while thus engaged that Colonel Dungan was married. On the 3d of
April, 1859, he wedded Miss Abby Kingman Procter, a native of Massachusetts and
a lady of culture and refinement. Their happy home was blessed with seven
children, five of whom are living. The only son, Fayette Procter, was employed
on the Chicago Evening Journal, as foreman of the advertising department, but
died September 9, 1895. He was born in Chariton, Iowa, February 26, i860, and
through his boyhood as well as his mature years, manifested that kindliness,
sympathy and helpfulness which were the most marked traits of his character.
Even in childhood, in playing with his sisters, he never manifested the
roughness which boys often display. Among his business associates he had the
reputation of being the most generous man in their midst. He never heard a call
for relief from a needy one to which he did not generously respond. There was
nothing selfish or narrow in his nature, and the regard which his fellow workmen
had for him was shown in the beautiful floral offerings with which they
decorated his bier and the way in which they met the funeral expenses, not
allowing his father to do this, for it was to them a work of love in which they
showed forth their love for the comrade that had passed before. In business he
was strictly honorable, putting his energetic nature into his work and
faithfully performing to the best of his ability every trust reposed in him.
Among all his acquaintances not one could be found that did not hold him in the
highest esteem for his many excellencies of character. His heart was broad
enough for all suffering humanity and the great loss which his family suffered
in his death cannot be expressed in words. The daughters of the family-Effie M.,
Minnie W., Myra B., Mary E. and Myrtle A.-are under the parental roof, having
enjoyed all the educational and social advantages which fit them for the
intelligent enjoyment of life. On the 21st of September, 1881, the family was
called to mourn the loss of the wife and mother, and father and daughters have
since lived together, realizing that as the diameter of the family circle
diminishes the circumference should grow the stronger.

   The service which Mr. Dungan has done for this State is one which cannot be
over-estimated and his official career is one that silences the voice of
criticism. In 1861 he was elected to represent the district composed of Lucas
and Monroe counties, in the State Senate. At this time the country was just on
the threshold of the war of the Rebellion, and love of country and liberty were
more to him than official honors. Accordingly he resigned his office and
recruited a company for the war, being himself sworn in as a private, although
he was soon elected Captain. His company was assigned to the Thirty-fourth Iowa
Infantry, as Company K, and on the 27th of September, 1862, he was commissioned
Lieutenant Colonel, in which capacity he served until May 25, 1865, when he was
made brevet Colonel of volunteers, an honor that was conferred upon him in
recognition of valiant service at the battle of Fort Blakely, in the rear of
Mobile. He participated in the engagements of Chickasaw Bayou, siege of
Vicksburg, Fort Esperanza and in all the engagements of that part of Banks'
campaign up Red river which occurred in the neighborhood of Alexandria, and his
retreat therefrom. He was at the siege and capture of Fort Blakely, the last
defense of Mobile, besides other battles and numerous skirmishes. During the
last six months of his army service he was on the staff of Major General C. C.
Andrews as Inspector General of the Second Division, Thirteenth Army Corps. He
was mustered out of service at Houston, Texas, July 15, 1865, an honored veteran
who had faithfully defended the old flag and the cause it represented.

   Colonel Dungan returned to his home and family in Chariton and resumed his
law practice, but was not long permitted to remain in the exclusion of a law
office. He has since been more or less prominent in official life and public
affairs. In 1880 and again in 1882 he was a member of the Legislature,
representing Lucas county, and in 1889 he was chosen Senator from his district.
He is known as a competent, careful, painstaking public servant, who puts forth
every effort in his power to secure the greatest good to the "greatest number. A
cool, calm judgment, which does not give way to the impulse of the moment, must
sanction every movement to which he gives his support, and when he determines
that any cause is worthy, he becomes a champion that neither fear nor favor
could alter in his course. In the legislative halls of the State he demonstrated
his ability as a statesman, devoted to the welfare of the commonwealth, and on
many important committees he has done a work that has promoted public welfare
and advanced the prosperity of Iowa. It was also Colonel Dungan who drafted a
bill providing for the removal of the battle flags of the Iowa regiments from
the State arsenal and depositing them permanently in hermetically sealed glass
cases in the new Capitol. The bill passed both houses of the Twenty-third
General Assembly, but did not reach the Governor. However, it was passed by the
Twenty-fourth General Assembly and Governor Jackson designated August 10,
1894,-the thirty-third anniversary of the battle of Wilson creek,-for carrying
the law into effect. Colonel Dungan was chosen to deliver the address on this
occasion. Some 4,000 old gray-haired veterans were present, as well as a very
large assemblage of other persons interested. This address was a masterpiece of
eloquence and patriotism. The Colonel is a master of the art of rhetoric and his
words are fluent and forcible, earnest and convincing. The sparkling truth is
adorned but never concealed by rhetorical beauty, and his orations, such as on
the occasion mentioned, abound in a fervid patriotism which moves his hearers
and leaves a deep and lasting impression upon them.

   Colonel Dungan's services are in demand for soldiers' reunions and memorial
gatherings of that character, and the strong personality of the man and the
eloquence of the orator combine to make him ever a favorite with his audiences.
When the Legislature tendered to the venerable ex-Governor Jones a reception on
the occasion of his ninetieth birthday, Colonel Dungan delivered the address of
welcome. After a few introductory remarks, in which he referred to the
achievements of the venerable statesman and what he had witnessed during his
long and useful life, he said:

     "A drummer boy in the war of 1812, a soldier in the Black Hawk war, the
first delegate to Congress from the Territory of Michigan, including what is now
the State of Iowa as a part of his district; one who was largely instrumental in
the formation and naming of the great States of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa;
the first Senator in the Congress of the United States from the State of Iowa; a
friend and compeer of Webster, Jackson and other statesmen of their time; a
Minister to the Court of Bogota; coming into life in the very opening years of
the nineteenth century, having seen the whole of this grand Northwest
transformed from a wilderness, inhabited only by the savages of the forest and
the prairie, into grand and prosperous States of the Union, occupied by as
intelligent, moral, patriotic and prosperous people as dwell upon the face of
the earth, himself being a prime actor and a part of this grand development,-to
see such an one accepting an invitation to visit the capital of his State on the
occasion of his ninetieth birthday, coming all the way from his home in the
northeastern part of the State at this season of the year, standing among us a
nonagenarian yet in the vigor of well-preserved manhood, firm of step and clear
of intellect,-the eldest and most revered of Iowa's statesmen, it is most
fitting that he should receive the plaudits and the most generous welcome of the
members of this General Assembly. Heaven has crowned him with its highest
earthly blessing, for we read in Holy Writ that 'the hoary head is a crown of
glory.' We crown him to-day as the patriarch of Iowa's statesmen. We honor him
for what he has been and for what he is."

   Then turning to Governor Jones, Colonel Dungan continued: "My dear, venerable
Sir: Not only venerable in years but rich in all that should accompany old age,
as 'honor, love, obedience, troops of friends,' we bid you thrice welcome to
these legislative halls. As you have seen the beginning of years of the
nineteenth century, may God in his infinite goodness spare your life to see the
opening doors of the twentieth century before calling you to your final reward."

   In 1893 Colonel Dungan was elected to the office of Lieutenant Governor of
Iowa. As the second officer in the State he has been president of the Senate,
and presided with a dignity and faithfulness that has brought honor to the
office and credit to himself. It is said that no Lieutenant Governor has
discharged his duties more intelligently or with greater satisfaction to the
public. Well versed in law, an excellent parliamentarian and an honest and
conscientious officer, his rulings have been consistent and his decisions free
and impartial. Some of the newspapers have spoken of him in connection with the
office of Governor, but he has manifested no desire for the office; yet should
he be placed in that position the affairs of the State would be ably managed,
and he would add new luster to Iowa's history and his own name. His party has
made him its standard-bearer on various occasions. He was chosen a delegate to
the national convention in Philadelphia in 1872, when General Grant was
nominated for the presidency, and was Presidential Elector from the Seventh
district for the same year. He usually attends the State conventions of his
party and is generally chairman of the Lucas county delegation.

   Colonel Dungan was chairman of the Iowa Scotch-Irish society for the year
1895. He is an active advocate of temperance and sobriety, and his eloquent
voice is often heard in defense of these principles. He was a worthy member of
the Sons of Temperance, also of the Temple of Honor, and recently he was elected
a member of the order of the "Sons of the Revolution" on the service of his
grandfather, William McFarren, who was an Ensign in Northampton county
(Pennsylvania) militia in the war of the Revolution.

   Busy and eventful as has been his life he yet finds time to devote to those
holier duties which men often neglect in the rush and hurry of the work-a-day
world, and for many years he has been a leading Elder in the Presbyterian
Church. He has been three times chosen as delegate to the General Assembly of
the church. His public and his private life are alike above reproach. While in
office a dignified statesman, on the rostrum an eloquent orator, in business
devoted entirely to his work, in his leisure hours he will throw all these aside
and become a companionable friend, a pleasant, social gentleman, who is touched
by a tale of sorrow or distress and ready to lend a helping hand.


Additional Comments:

Extracted from:

A MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF IOWA

ILLUSTRATED

"A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will
never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote
descendants."'—MACAULAY.

"Biography is by nature the must universally profitable, universally pleasant,
of all things."—CARLYLE

"History is only biography on a large scale"—LAMARTINE.

CHICAGO: THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
1896


File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ia/lucas/bios/dungan94gbs.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/iafiles/

File size: 18.3 Kb