 He was the son of boat builder Robert M. Dungan and Joanna (Jenkins) Dungan.The family moved to Los Angeles County in 1877 and eventually settled in a section of Orange County (between southern Santa Ana and Fountain Valley) known as "Gospel Swamp".From 1886 to 1888, Dungan attended the Michigan State Normal School (later renamed Eastern Michigan University) in Ypsilanti, Michigan.