Notes for James Bunker: Original Bunker Immigrant, father spelled his name Buncker James Bunker: The eminent historian and genalogist Dr. Charles E. Banks, who studied such matters for over five years in England, stated orally his discovery that James Buncker, baptised 10 Feb 1633/34 in Slapton, Devonshire, England, son of James and Elizabeth Buncker, is one and the same man as (this) our James Bunker the original immigrant. Our James was born about 1628, as he stated his age to be 50 in the 1678 deposition (History Durham, N.H. 2:31; Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire p 119).
How he got over here is still a mystery, and he apparaently came without his parents. At about 18 (in 1646) he first appears in Kittery, Maine (Spencer's pioneers on Maine Rivers 112). Shortly after 1649 he moved the short distance across the state border to Dover, New Hampshire, witnessing a deed there in 1652. His wife's name was SARAH (Nute, according to Gen. Dictionary Me. & N.H. but no evidence to that effect found by compiler of this genealogy source who asked the author of that statement for proof, but received none.) In 1675 he built what might be called a fortified home, known as "Bunker's Garrison" (N.E.H.G.R. 5:452; Proceedings Dover Historical Society 5:L240) to withstand Indian attacks. On 17 July 1694 Bunker's Garrison wasa defended successfully against a devastating Indian attack (N.E.H.G.R. 5:452) His will, dated 14 Oct 1697, probated 24 June 1698, mentioned his wife Sarah and his sons James Jr. (executor), Joseph and John. It is an interesting fact that the will is signed James BUNCKER, lending credence to his connection with James BUNCKER of Slapton, Devonshire, England. The further fact that his will was witnessed by three men named Pepperell caused Colonel Paul Bunker to wonder wheter his wife Sarah might have been a Pepperell.
Sources: Name : Bunker Genealogy, Desendants of James Bunker of Dover, N.H.
From http://www.bunkerfamilyassn.org
This page presents brief histories of the three largest branches of the extensive Bunker family. The Bunker genealogies designate the branches with a letter, and the first Bunker in the line is denoted with a numeral one. So, George Bunker of the Charlestown Branch is C-1, James of Dover is D-1 and George of Topsfield-Nantucket is N-1.
Charlestown Branch
In America the earliest mention of a Bunker is of George Bunker, who founded the Charlestown, Massachusetts branch of the Bunker family. George Bunker was designated C-1 in the Bunker genealogies. George, a wealthy emigrant, settled in Charlestown prior to January 1633. He was a great-grandson of Roger Bunker who died in 1515 in the parish of Tingrith, Bedfordshire, England. The history of this family is briefly described on the Bedfordshire page. George's original birth record has been copied but is, according to Henry Bunker's research, practically illegible. We do know George was younger than 18 in 1609. George, as did James Bunker (D-1) and cousin George Bunker (N-1), signed his name Buncker at times.
In 1624 George married Judith Maior (Major) at the parish church of Odell in Bedfordshire. George and Judith had seven children, five born in England and two in Charlestown. The family came to Charlestown between April 1632, when son Joseph was baptized in Odell, and January 1633, when George was allotted a 10-acre lot in Massachusetts.
By 1638 George owned 22 parcels of land in Charlestown, plus 200 or more acres in Malden and almost 300 acres in Woburn.The land assigned to George Bunker extended from Main Street over the hill to the north to the Mystic River. One of his pastures reached over the summit of Bunker Hill, which was given his name by early and common consent to the connected ridges of elevated ground on the peninsula.
George Bunker sold his home in Charlestown in 1648, two years after the death of his wife Judith, who died Oct. 10, 1646. She was the first of the Bunker family to be buried in the ancient burial ground under the shadow of Bunker Hill, where still stands a headstone in memory of her youngest son Jonathan, grandson Captain Benjamin Bunker, and four great-grandchildren. Although George was undoubtedly buried there in 1664, no memorial stone has survived in that location.
George Bunker's descendants were not numerous and by 1793 they were dead or had moved west to Smyrna, New York, where Benjamin Bunker (C-9) built and operated the Bunker Hotel. The only male member of the Charlestown branch of the Bunker family alive at the time of the battle of Bunker Hill was Benjamin Bunker, and to the best of our current knowledge there were no Bunkers of any branch who fought in the battle, which occurred on Breed's Hill, lower down the main hill from Bunker Hill.
The above information is summarized from Henry L. Bunker III's 1984 Bunker Family History; the most recent and complete Charlestown branch genealogy is the 1965 Bunker Genealogy, Volume II, compiled by Edward C. Moran Jr.
Dover Branch (This is the Bradbury Line)
The earliest knowledge we have of James Bunker, sometimes spelled Buncker, is the record of his christening on February 10, 1633/34 in the parish church of Slapton, Devonshire, England. His christening is the earliest record of the name James among the Devonshire Bunckers.
Given the Bunker designation D-1, James in 1678 stated in a court deposition that he was 50, hence born in 1628. James served on a jury in 1646 in Kittery, Maine, and it is not likely he would have been called for such duty at the age of 13. We have no "positive proof" that James of Devon and James of Kittery is the same man but "circumstantial evidence is very strong," according to Henry Bunker III in his Bunker Family History.
James Bunker apparently came to New England without parents, arriving in Kittery in 1646. Sometime between 1649 and 1652 he moved to Dover, New Hampshire, where he was granted land on August 10, 1653. He built a fortified home known as Bunker's Garrison in the Oyster River Plantation area. Sources disagree on the date of the garrison's construction. One states shortly after 1652 (probably too early) and another states it was built in 1675. In any case it was the last remaining garrison of the Oyster River Plantation area attacked by Indians in 1694. The Oyster River Plantation area became the town of Durham, New Hampshire in 1732; the garrison was torn down in 1927. In the Bunker genealogies, references to Dover in the early years of the family really refer to territory now designated as Durham, New Hampshire. After 1732, a reference to Dover is most likely not a reference to the Oyster River Plantation area, but to the city.
The above information is generally summarized from Henry L. Bunker III's 1984 Bunker Family History. The most recent and complete Dover branch genealogy is the 1971-83 Bunker Genealogy, Volume III, updated and compiled by Ruth Bunker Christensen, Ward Bunker and Henry L. Bunker III.
Topsfield-Nantucket Branch
George Bunker is credited with founding the Nantucket branch of the Bunker family, although he never visited Nantucket. Only his wife and children made the journey when they settled there in 1659. Until June 1998, extensive research by family genealogists had not revealed whether Francis or Timothy Bunker was the father of George, who is given the Bunker Family Association designation as N-1. George Bunker (C-1) and George Bunker (N-1) were first cousins, grandsons of Roger Bunker of Tingrith.
In June 1998, Brian Bunker, BFA Life Member from Hong Kong, and his parents from the United Kingdom attended the BFA annual reunion, and displayed a pedigree going back to Roger and Agnes Bunker through Francis, not Timothy Bunker. The descendents of Francis Bunker stayed in England, thus the descendents of Timothy's son George (N-1) are now identified as the Nantucket Branch.
George Bunker married Elizabeth Godfrey in the parish church of Maulden, Bedfordshire about seven or eight miles from Tingrith center. There is some confusion concerning George's wife's name when they arrived in America. In Topsfield she was known as Jane. According to Henry Bunker, "Two alternatives appear: first, Elizabeth died just before they left England or more possibly en route to America, and George married a Jane shortly afterwards so that Elizabeth never reached America and was not buried in Tingrith either. The second possibility is that she was Elizabeth Jane Godfrey and chose to drop the Elizabeth in America where she had no friends to continue her former name." George and Elizabeth had two children born in Tingrith and three born in Topsfield.
George Bunker is first recorded in Ipswich, Massachusetts. We do not know how long George and his family lived in Ipswich or why they decided to move a few miles west to Topsfield, but by 1652 they resided there. George drowned in 1658. His widow remarried and moved to Nantucket in 1659. George's son William (N-2) was the first Bunker male to live, work and die on Nantucket.
The above information is summarized from Henry L. Bunker III's 1984 Bunker Family History; the most recent and complete genealogy of the Nantucket branch is the 1965 Bunker Genealogy, Volume II, compiled by Edward C. Moran Jr. Also, see the August 1998 issue of The Bunker Banner (forthcoming).
BUNKER HILL HISTORY
Bunker Hill was the site of the first of the famous battles of the Revolutionary War. No history of the Bunker family would be complete without mention of this battle, which occurred on June 17, 1775. This battle was a great significance to the American colonists but also recorded the Bunker name for posterity all over the eastern part of the country.
To the best of our current knowledge, no Bunker took part in the battle on either side, but there were no formal American regiments and no rosters of soldiers, only scattered records pieced together from individual sources. In any event, George Bunker gave the hill its name, as he and his descendants owned its land many years before the battle. A 1931 typed volume of Bunker genealogy states: "The land assigned to George Bunker extended from Main Street in the south, over the hill back of it to the north to Mystic River. One lost (pasture land) ran over the summit of Bunker Hill, and hence this name, given by early and common consent to two connected ridges of elevated ground in the peninsula."
George and his descendants had left Charlestown several years before the battle. The American colonists originally expected to fortify Bunker Hill and actually started work, when it was decided to move forward and down to Breed's Hill. There were 11 English light infantry companies in the attacking army. During the battle the city of Charlestown was destroyed by cannon fire from British war ships supporting their troops.
Bunker Hill Flag
According to Henry Bunker III, at least two versions of the flag used by the American patriots in the battle of Bunker Hill are depicted in paintings made long after the battle. Henry Bunker's conclusion was that possibly both were actually used. One version, used in New England before 1737, had a blue field with a white union quartered by a red cross. This flag, with the addition of a green pine tree in the upper inner quarter of the union, was carried at the battle of Bunker Hill as depicted in early paintings. More recent flag research states the flag was red, with the New Englander's pine tree on a white cannon. The cross of St. George in use on earlier New England flags was omitted as Americans took up arms against the British (see Bunker Family History, p. 99}.
Bunker Hill Monument
The Bunker Hill monument on Breed's Hill is still an important part of the Boston skyline. The Marquis de Lafayette laid the cornerstone in 1825 for the 220-foot tall structure of granite, quarried at Quincy, Massachusetts. The dressed stones were transported on our country's first railroad, constructed specifically for that purpose, from the quarry to barges on the Neponset River for transfer to Charlestown.
Bunker Hill information sites Worcester Polytechnic Institute's description of the battle David Scarbrough's photograph of the monument Freedom Trail Tour Stop at Bunker Hill Yale University Art Gallery exhibit Charlestown, MA's Bunker Hill depiction Gunpowder used at Bunker Hill
The above information is summarized from Henry L. Bunker III's 1984 Bunker Family History, pp. 69-70, 72, and 99-100.
Battle of Bunker Hill "Don't Fire Until You See the White's of Their Eyes!"
A Brief History:
After retreating from Lexington in April, 1775, the British Army occupied Boston for several months. Realizing the need to strengthen their position in the face of increasing anti-British sentiment in and around Boston, plans were developed to seize and fortify nearby Dorchester Heights and Charlestown peninsulas. The peninsulas offered a commanding view of the seaport and harbor, and were important to preserving the security of Boston. The Americans caught word of the British plan, and decided to get to the Charlestown peninsula first, fortify it, and present sufficient threat to cause the British to leave Boston. On 16 June, 1775, under the leadership of Colonels Putnam, and Prescott, the Patriots stole out onto the Charlestown Peninsula with instructions to establish defensive positions on Bunker's Hill. For reasons that are unclear, they constructed a redoubt on nearby Breed's Hill. The next morning, the British were astonished to see the rebel fortifications upon the hill and set out to reclaim the peninsula.
General Howe served as the commander of the British main assault force and led two costly and ineffective charges against the Patriot's fortifications without inflicting significant casualties on his opponents. After obtaining 400 reinforcements which included sorely needed ammunition for his artillery, Howe ordered a bayonet charge to seize Breed's Hill. In this third attempt, the British were finally able to breach the breastworks of the American redoubt and the Patriots were forced to retreat back to the mainland.
This battle, though victorious, proved costly for the British. Of the 2400 British soldiers in Howe's command, the 1054 casualties accounted for nearly forty percent of their ranks. The American casualties were 441, including 30 captured, with most being inflicted during the retreat. The battle served to proved to the American people that the British Army was not invinsible. It became a symbol of national pride and a rally point of resistance against British rule.
Overview of Events Precipitating Battle 1. Boston Tea Party in response to the Intolerable Acts. 2. Boston Massacre. 3. The battle at Lexington and Concord had left feelings of resentment among the colonists. 4. Harrasment of the British in Boston. 5. The British plans to occupy Dorchester Heights were viewed with alarm as the build up of British troops increased. The occupation of Dorchester and Charlestown Peninsulas would effectively isolate Boston. 6. Committee of Safety orders fortification of Bunker Hill to resist British assault of the Charlestown peninsula.
More About James Bunker: Died 2: January 24, 1697/98, NH.632
James Bunker (b. Abt. 1628, d. Abt. June 1698)
Notes for James Bunker: