Christopher Dunkin was born Sept. 25, 1812 in London, England, son of Summerhays Dunkin and his wife, Martha Hemming. Educated at London and Glasgow Universities, he came to America in 1831 to reside with his mother, who was living at Cambridge, Mass. After the death of her husband she had remarried. Her second husband was Dr. Jonathan Barber, formerly of London but then on the staff of Harvard University.
In 1835 Christopher Dunkin married Mary Barber, daughter of Dr. Jonathan Barber by a former marriage, and two years later moved to Canada where he entered the legal profession. From 1858 to 1861 he was a Member of the Provincial Parliament for the Counties of Drummond and Arthabaska. Then he moved to Knowlton and purchased a property on the shore of Brome Lake, and was elected as representative for the County of Brome. In 1867 he was elected to the House of Commons for Brome County and was Minister of Agriculture from 1869 until 1871, when he was appointed Judge of the Superior Court. He died in 1881.