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DUNKIRK DUNLAP 317 and at one time the society, including the members living in the neighborhood, numbered nearly 300. The property which belonged to the society by donation, and the labor of the single brethren and sisters, were common stock ; but none were obliged to throw in their own property or give up any of their possessions. They considered celibacy a virtue, but never required it, nor did they take any vows in ref- erence to it. When two wished to be joined in wedlock, they were aided by the society. In the earlier days the idea of a universal res- toration existed among them ; but it has never been taught as an article of faith. About 1740, 40 years before the present general system of Sunday school instruction was introduced by Robert Raikes, Ludwig Hoecker (Brother Obed) established a Sunday school, which was main- tained for upward of 30 years. After 1777 the society at Ephrata began to decline, and of the peculiar features of the early Seventh Day Dunkers few traces are now to be found there. A branch of the society was established in 1758 at the Bermudian creek, in York co., Pa., of which likewise but little is left. An- other branch established in 1763 at Bedford still flourishes. Their principal settlement is now at Snowhill, on the Antietam creek, in Franklin co., Pa. DUNKIRK (Fr. DunTcerque), the most north- ern town of France, in the department of Le Nord, on the strait of Dover, 150 m. N. of Paris ; Int. 51 2' N., Ion. 2 22' E. ; pop. in 1866, 33,083. It is a flourishing place, with an active commerce and manufactories of soap, beet-root sugar, leather, and starch, besides iron works and yards for ship building. Its fisheries are important, especially those of cod and herring, and employ about 100 vessels. The town contains many public buildings, inclu- ding the town hall built in 1642, the church of St. Eloi, a high bell tower, hospitals, prisons, &c. The port is shallow, but the roadstead is good, and the progress of the commerce of the town since it was made a free port in 1826 has been rapid. The entrances in 1870 were 2,917 vessels, of which 872 were steamers, with a tonnage of 494,576. The origin of Dunkirk is said to have been a chapel founded by St. Eloi in the 7th century, around which a number of fishing huts were erected. Charles V. defended it with a castle, which has been demolished. It was afterward taken by the English, who lost it again in 1558; and in 1559 it was acquired from the French by the Spaniards, whom the duke d'Enghien (after- ward the renowned Conde) drove out in 1646. It soon passed again into the hands of Spain, and was once more taken by the French in 1658, who gave it up to Cromwell in accord- ance with a previous treaty. Charles II. sold it to France in 1662, and Louis XIV. strengthened its defences. The English made an ineffectual attempt to bombard it m 1695. After the peace of Utrecht its fortifications were dismantled and its port was filled up ; the former, having been restored, were again demolished at the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, and again repaired in 1783. Ten years later it withstood a siege by the duke of York. DUNKIRK, a village and port of entry of Chautauqua co., New York, 35 m. S. W. of Buffalo; pop. in 1870, 5,231. The Erie and the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern railroads connect it with the principal points both east and west, and the Dunkirk, Alleghany Valley, and Pittsburgh line gives access to the coal and oil regions of Pennsylvania. It is beauti- fully situated on rising ground on the shore of Lake Erie, and has an excellent harbor, pro- tected by a breakwater. It is a port of refuge during bad weather, and has the advantage of being free from ice earlier than Buffalo. At the western extremity of the bay is a light- house, and at the main channel a beacon. For the year ending June 30, 1872, 31 vessels of 3,595 tons entered from, and 30 of 3,548 tons cleared for foreign ports; 61 vessels of 11,946 tons entered, and 64 of 12,258 tons cleared in the coastwise trade. Dunkirk contains exten- sive iron works, machine shops of the Erie railway, a glue factory, a brandy distillery, 3 breweries, several oil refineries, manufactories of sashes, doors and blinds, flouring mills, &c. There are 2 banks, 4 hotels, 6 public schools, 2 weekly newspapers, and 10 churches. DUNKLIN, a S. E. county of Missouri, bor- dering on Arkansas, bounded W. by the St. Francis river, intersected by Castor river, and having Lake Pemiscot on its E. border ; area, about 700 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 5,982, of whom 166 were colored. The surface is occupied in great part by prairies and swamps, but the soil is generally fertile where not overflowed. Efforts have been made to reclaim the sunken lands, caused by the earthquakes of 1811 and 1812. The chief productions in 1870 were 256,620 bushels of Indian corn, and 5,267 of wheat. There were 1,211 horses, 1,697 milch cows, 3,251 other cattle, 2,622 sheep, and 11,- 376 swine. Capital, Kennet. DUNLAP, William, an American painter and author, born in Perth Amboy, N. J., Feb. 19, 1766, died Sept. 28, 1839. In his 17th year he began to paint portraits, and in the summer of 1783 executed one of Washington. The next spring he went to London, and for several years was a pupil of Benjamin West. After his return to America he tried various pur- suits, including painting, literary work, thea- trical management, &c. ; but at the age of 51, after repeated failures, he became permanently a painter. He executed a series of pictures on subjects selected by West and somewhat after his style, which were exhibited in various parts of the United States. He was also one of the founders of the New York academy of design. His "History of the American Theatre," pub- lished in 1832, and " Arts of Design in the United States," are standard works of much interest. He also wrote a number of plays, a biography of Charles Brockden Brown, and