Born at Ottawa, Ontario on 18 October 1869, he was educated at the Christian Brothers' School at Ottawa. He worked as a building contractor and, after arriving in Winnipeg in 1905, was a partner in the construction firm of Dunn and Wallace.
On 14 April 1890, he married Mary Ellen Halpin at Ottawa and they subsequently had twelve children: Mary Kathleen Dunn (1893-1922), Ethel Dunn (1895-?), Beatrice Anna Dunn (1895-?), Louise Dunn (1897-1968), Gerald Michael Dunn (1900-1985), Wilfred James Dunn (1902-1957), Vera Isabel Dunn (1906-1988), William Edmond Dunn (1906-1975), Norman Percival Dunn (1908-1979), Shirley Teresa Dunn, Margarite Helen Dunn (1910-1942), and William Henry Dunn (1911-1977). He was a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, Independent Order of Foresters (Ottawa), and Knights of Columbus (Winnipeg).
He died at his Winnipeg home, 759 Broadway, on 17 August 1913 and was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery.
Some of his construction work in Manitoba included:
Building
Location
Year
Status
760 McMillan Avenue, Winnipeg
1909-1910
Demolished (?)
Assiniboine Lawn Bowling Clubhouse
South side of Wolseley Avenue between Chestnut and Walnut streets, Winnipeg
1910
?
Hotel
Northwest corner of Main Street and Higgins Avenue, Winnipeg
1911
?
Apartment Block
Southwest corner of Portage Avenue and Carlton Street, Winnipeg
1912
?
283 Kingsway, Winnipeg
1912
“Crescentwood Congregatonal,” Winnipeg Tribune, 11 March 1910, page 3.
“New apartment block,” Winnipeg Tribune, 23 June 1910, page 4.
Death registration [William Dunn], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Deaths and funerals,” Manitoba Free Press, 18 August 1913, page 9.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 15 January 2026
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