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Dunning (Dunnen) McNair was born July 23, 1762 to a Scottish and Irish family in West Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. McNair was an officer in the Pennsylvania state militia. Later as a state legislator in Pennsylvania, he introduced a bill to abolish slavery. In 1788, he settled with his wife, Anne Stewart, near Rippeyville, east of Pittsburgh. Dunning and Anne had six children. McNair purchased 266 acres in various lots and built his mansion, Dumpling Hall. Dunning was an agent of the Pennsylvania Property Company, also called the Pennsylvania Population Company, in both Pittsburgh and the Erie Triangle. The Pennsylvania Population Company was backed by eastern financial interests. From 1792 to 1812, the company purchased frontier lands from the government, leased them to farmers for development, and then resold the lands at a higher price. By 1790, Dunning had drawn the first plan of lots for the proposed settlement of McNairsville around Dumpling Manor. In the mid 1800s, the lands of former Rippeyville and McNairsville grew into Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. The new city was named for the prominent family of John Wilkins. Dunning McNair's fourth son, Dunning Robert McNair, born ca. 1805, married Catherine Steele and moved to Louisville, Kentucky. Dunning Robert McNair was contracted by the U.S. government for the mail service in Kentucky, where he was also a lawyer and county treasurer. He was also involved in the transport of mercantile goods and guns. Later, Dunning Robert McNair and his family relocated to Washington, DC, where he was a pioneer developer of transportation and trade west of the Alleghenies.

From the description of Papers of Dunning McNair and Dunning Robert McNair, 1793-1857. (University of Pittsburgh). WorldCat record id: 31531085

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