F. H. Dunham

F. H. Dunham is one of the most prominent business men of Santa Paula, is a stockholder in and a director of the Hardison & Stewart Oil Company, and Superintendent of the Mission Transfer Company's oil refinery. There are four companies here interested in the oil development: the Hardison-Stewart Company, the Sespe Oil Company, Torrey Canon Oil Company, and also the Mission Transfer Company, which latter are refiners and marketers of the oil and transfer it from the wells to their refinery and see to its shipment. Mr. Dunham was born in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, October 26, 1855. He is a son of Rufus A. Dunham, a native of Massachusetts, born in September, 1819. His grandfather, George Dunham, was also born in Massachusetts. They are of English ancestry. Robert Dunham, who is the progenitor of the American branch of the family, was born in England about the year 1760.  When sixteen years of age he was drafted into the English army to fight the American Colonies. When he reached America he took the first opportunity offered to join the American forces, and at the close of the war he made his home in Massachusetts. He was a descendant of Sir R. Dunham, a Knight of the west of England. They had a family coat-=of-arms, which is yet in existence, and it is stated that at the close of the war he expected to found an estate in America, but was not successful as it was contrary to the ideas of the founders of a republic. Mr. Dunham's mother's name was Hannah Morton Westgate. She was born in Rochester, Massachusetts, in 1821. In speaking of Mr. Dunham's paternal ancestors, it should be further stated that his great-grandmother, nee Mary Albertson, was a direct descendant of Peregrine White, one of the original Pilgrims of the Plymouth Colony. The subject of this sketch was the seventh of a family of twelve children, ten of whom are now living. He was reared and educated in his native town, graduating at the high school at the age of sixteen. When he was eighteen years old he engaged in the steam laundry business in which he continued six years. He then removed to Olean, New York, and went into the employ of the Acme Oil Company, remaining with them seven years and in that time learning the business thoroughly. From there he came to Santa Paula, California, to superintend the construction of the oil refinery and to operate the works, in which business he is still engaged. The capital stock of the Mission Transfer Company is $250,000, and their refinery is the most complete of all on the Coast. The quality of their refined petroleum is unsurpassed by any in the world. Mr. Dunham is a most competent man in his line of business. He is a man of few words, but has a fine business head and is a gentleman of first-class business integrity.

    Mrs. Dunham is a native of Massachusetts, born in April, 1863. Her maiden name was Alice M. Green, and she is the daughter of Captain Paul Green, of that State. She and Mr. Dunham were married in 1882. They are both Methodists and he is a steward and trustee of that church. Mr. Dunham is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. and Mrs. Dunham reside in a beautiful and substantial new house of their own planning and building. The grounds are being ornamented with trees and flowers, and the place is fast becoming one of those delightful homes, of which there are so many in Southern California.

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