Madison Dunlap's immigrant parents were Robert Dunlap and Margaret Kerr. They married in Augusta County, Virginia and Madison was the 10th and last child. He married Martha Hanna McKee on 18 Jan 1834 in Rockbridge Co., VA. (Their 10 children are listed in wife Martha's bio.) His parents would have had lovely accents from Scotland, and I suspect Madison had a bit of that, too.

30 Oct 1837, Madison Dunlap purchased 31 acres on the waters of Kerrs Creek, grant #87, p 642. It was surveyed on 14 Sep 1836 on warrant #5986, on Alexander Dole's line, Jno Goodbors line, and Thomas Lucky or ? line. There are also several Gilmores (Jno, Jas, Robt & Wm C.), Jas Logan and Thos & Jas Cunningham in 1795, 1800-1801, 1827 or 1837 in Kerrs Creek.

In 1846, William White, Trustee for Alexander Dale, deeded land (next to it) to Madison and he built the home on it in 1847. Madison willed it to sons Milton P Dunlap and Saml McKee Dunlap. Shortly afterwards, this Samuel transferred it to Milton, outright. Later Milton's trustee, J H Harper deeded it to Sallie B. Dunlap on 4 Jan 1905. After her death, her heirs transferred it to Clarence M Dunlap in 1917, the owner in 1936. The Library of Virginia has a copyrighted photo of the home online (See the 1936 WPA Historical report at the Library of Virginia.) This was near the Indian Massacres of 1759 and 1763-64.

On the 1850 Dist. 51, Rockbridge Co., VA, I found farmer Madison Dunlap, 42 with $13K in real estate; other Dunlaps: R.K., 15; John M., 13; Samuel M., 7; Wm M., 3; Mrs. M., 38; Margaret, 11 and Nannie, 5, plus 3 workers, all VA born. Sadly, he was also listed on the 1850 Slave schedule with a 24 year old unnamed woman with 5 children, ages 1 to 16.

From the Collection: "Papers contain information about Dunlap's family members, especially Madison Dunlap (1808-1883) of Kerr's Creek and his son, John Matthew Dunlap, a member of the Washington and Lee Class of 1857 who was killed at at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. The collection includes compositions that John Matthew Dunlap wrote for Professor J. J. White in 1856-1857, transcripts of letters he wrote while serving in the Confederate Army, and letters concerning his death. The collection also includes the manuscript of J. D. Morrison's Old Monmouth and Its Times." It also includes Madison's Accounts 1830 to 1878, bills, receipts, promissory notes, tax receipts, 1835-1868.

On the 1860 Kerrs Creek, Dist. 5, Rockbridge Co., VA census, I found farmer Madison Dunlap, 51 with $20K in real estate, plus other Dunlaps: (female) M. Henderson (Hanna), 48; (the rest are male Dunlaps) J. Wm. (Jno M), 23; S. Mackey (Saml McKee), 17; Wm M., 13; M. Kyle (Milton P.), 9; W. White (Walter Wharton), 7 and O. Benj. (O Beverlin), 5 plus a seamstress, etc. Sadly he was also on the 1860 Slave schedule with 5 males (ages 40, 25. 15, 11 and 7) and 1 female, age 40.

On the 1870 Kerrs Creek, Rockbridge Co., VA census, I found farmer (male) M. Dunlap, 51 with $24,400 in real estate and other Dunlaps: Martha H., 58; Laborers: Samuel, 27; Wm M., 23; Milton, 20; Walter W., 17 and Oklelia B., 15, all VA born. Other laborers and probably domestic with her young children resided with them. R K Dunlap and family lived nearby.

On the 1880 Kerrs Creek, Rockbridge Co., VA census, I found M. P. Dunlap (Milton P), 30; wife Sally B., 29; sons: Sam M., 2 and Thos K., 10/12 plus (widower) and father, Madison, 71 and brother Saml McK., 37, all VA born. Madison states his father was born in Scotland and mother in Pennsylvania.

He also owned a home in Powhatan, Va, near Richmond, while his children were young.

The McKees of Virginia and Kentucky from the Bible belonging to John T. McKee (in possession of Mr. O. B. Dunlap in August 1890 is on LDS film #1036714, item #21. The Holy Bible was published 27 Oct 1802 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was printed for Mathew Carey, No. 118, Market Street. This data is typed and it was filmed 1 Mar 1978. It says Martha Hanna McKee married Madison Dunlap on 18 Jan 1834. It gives the names and full birth dates of their children.

Robert Dunlap's 1803 bible page lists Madison's birth, death and marriage. A copy of the birth page is on his father's Findagrave memorial. It says: "Madison Dunlap Born the 29th September 1808." The marriage page says Maddison Dunlap Marries January the 15th 1834."The bible preface says Charleston, Sept. 15, 1803, and is written by Samuel Etheridge. Jerry Dunlap got a copy of the bible from a Robert Dunlap family member who was willing to share it. Jerry is related to Robert's brother Archibald. He sent a scan of it to me.

Online at the Library of Virginia (http://www.lva.lib.va.us), WPA Historical Inventory; I found and copied all available reports online, including a photo of the following homes:

Madison Dunlap home #1, abt. 1847; it's located about 12 miles northwest of Lexington, on the north side of Rt. #628, about ½ of a mile from the highway or at 3162 W Midland Trail. Today it's 3,708 sq ft, 4 bedrooms and 2 baths.

Aug 2015 it was up for rent for $1800 a month, on two different sites, fully furnished and in great shape inside on 2.34 or 2.94 acres.

Madison Dunlap home#2, abt. 1856; #383; it's located on highway #60, about 8 miles west of Lexington.

22 Jan 1867, Staunton Spectator, Sale of 331 acre farm by Henry A. McCormick, adjoining lands of Samuel W. McKee, Madison Dunlap and Joseph McFaddin.

O.B. Dunlap home, formerly Madison Dunlap's home, built about 1800, #382; located about 8 miles north of Lexington, near the "Big Spring." (McKee Cemetery by New Monmouth Church.)

Madison is on the 1850 to 1880 Rockbridge County, Virginia censuses.

The House of Dunlap, by Rev. Jas A.M. Hanna, 1956, Edward Brothers, MI, p 73 onward, gives data on Madison, his dad, wife, kids and more generations. It mistakenly gives the wrong data from Rev. Professor John Dunlap and older. Instead it was the line of Alexander and William Dunlap, 1744-1816. (See The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Morgan County, 1906, p 814)

From the Roanoke Times, 1 Sep 1891, article about the sale by son William of his father's 252 acre farm on Kerr's Creek, sold to Capt. John A. McNeel.

The Lexington Gazette dated 27 Aug 1902 says Lexington Route #1 passes by E. Lexington up North River on Kerr's Creek Road by the "old Madison Dunlap farm" and others.

Cousin Calbert T. Seebert describes his Aunt Margaret S. Seebert, then 82 describing a Dunlap family photo, in Jan 1981. "The two men in the front row were the surviving Confederate soldiers. "Uncle Sam was in Union prisoner of war camp and Uncle Bob lost his leg at the Battle of Chancellorsville. He walked on a peg leg." I saw this slightly out of focus, old photo, of 2 rows of the about 7 Dunlap siblings, in the 1990's. I have been trying to get a copy of it to share here without luck. Their brother John M died in Gettysburg in 1863.

It just so happens that the Washington and Lee University, James G. Leyburn Library Special Collections and Archives has the Dunlap Family Papers, Madison Dunlap, Accounts, 1856 - 1859, in File — Box: 1, Folder: 10. "Papers contain information about Dunlap's family members, especially Madison Dunlap (1808-1883) of Kerr's Creek and his son, John Matthew Dunlap, a member of the Washington and Lee Class of 1857 who was killed at at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. The collection includes compositions that John Matthew Dunlap wrote for Professor J. J. White in 1856-1857, transcripts of letters he wrote while serving in the Confederate Army, and letters concerning his death. The collection also includes the manuscript of J(ames) D(avidson). Morrison's Old Monmouth and Its Times." J D Morrison died in 1902 and was buried at Old Monmouth.

A cemetery angel has cleaned his old gravestone and it looks like new in the last photo taken in Sep 2009. It says:
(underneath a weeping willow tree motif)
MADISON DUNLAP
Born
Sept. 29, 1808:
Died
May 29, 1883.
(I believe it was on a large base with his surname on it, that is beside it, unless it belonged to another. See photo.)

11 Aug 1909, Lexington Gazette, Kerr's Creek Personal News includes several Dunlaps connected to Madison. See photo.

Click on all photos and captions. The large framed portrait's top half of Madison, from his family home, was shared by SH. It appears exactly like the small carte de visites of the same pose. Suspect the large one was a sketch of the smaller one, like his daughter's in laws had also done.

Check out a well researched and detailed eight page article about the land, the many owners and description of Madison's old home, titled Madison Dunlap, David Lowman and Miller's Mill, by Nanalou Sauder. "At 15 feet by 201⁄2 feet, the dining room is the largest room in the house. It is peculiar in that it has two windows and eight doors and also because half of it is in the back part of the house and half in the front. No architect designed this one! After the kitchen, it is the nicest room in the house. The larger two rooms, located on the front, measure about 18 feet square, and the smaller ones more than 9 feet. Upstairs, the front bedrooms are also 18 feet square, but the smaller rooms are larger than the ones downstairs — about 9 feet by 13 feet." It was presented to the Ignorance Club, in October 1994. Mrs. Sauder was a local school teacher and lived in Madison's home from 1965 to 2010.

Researched and written by LSP. Do NOT REPRODUCE my text or my photos.