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John BUNCH, I

John BUNCH, I

Male 1637 - 1700  (63 years)

Personal Information    |    Notes    |    Sources    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name John BUNCH  [1, 2, 3
    Suffix
    Born 1 Jul 1637  New Kent, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 3
    Gender Male 
    FamilySearch ID GZWJ-97X 
    Residence 1662  New Kent, Virginia, British Colonial America Find all individuals with events at this location  [4
    450 acres. Land purchased in New Kent County, Virginia Colony near Blisland Church and Wahrani Creek 
    Died 1 Jul 1700  New kent, New Kent Virgina Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 3
    Person ID I594766058  Carney Wehofer 2024 Genealogy
    Last Modified 12 Nov 2023 

    Father John PUNCH,   b. 1610, Cameroon, Africa Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. York, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F536728596  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Children 
     1. Henry BUNCH, Sr.,   b. 1664, Virginia, British Colonial America Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Abt 1726, Chowan, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 62 years)
    Last Modified 15 Dec 2022 
    Family ID F536728595  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 2 Sarah Mary BARNARD,   b. 3 Dec 1648, Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 16 Mar 1730, Hartford, Connecticut Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 81 years) 
    Last Modified 12 Nov 2023 
    Family ID F536728418  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 3 Mary SPEAR,   b. 3 Dec 1640, New Kent, New Kent County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 1669, New Kent, Virginia, British Colonial America Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 29 years) 
    Married Between 1661 and 1667  Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location  [5
    Children 
     1. Mary BUNCH,   b. 20 Dec 1660, Maryland, British Colonial America Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1682  (Age 21 years)
     2. John BUNCH II,   b. 11 May 1666, Henrico, Virginia, British Colonial America Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1729, Henrico, Virginia, British Colonial America Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 62 years)
    Last Modified 15 Dec 2022 
    Family ID F536728417  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • John Bunch I was a mulatto. His wife is unknown. John Bunch I was the son of John Punch an African slave brought to York County, Virginia from either Cameroon or the Ivory coast. John Bunch's mother (John Punch's wife) was an unnamed white woman. He had three sons, John II, Henry and Paul.
      When John Bunch was born in 1632 in Virginia, his father, John Punch was an indentured servant, later enslaved as punishment. John Bunch I had a son in 1632. He died in 1704 in his hometown at the age of 72.
      John Bunch I was a mulatto. His wife is unknown. His father was brought to York County, Virginia from either Cameroon or the Ivory coast. John Bunch's mother (John Punch's wife) was an unnamed white woman. He had three sons, John II, Henry and Paul.
      The researchers continued, then finding the father of Samuel Bunch being John Bunch III who lived about 1680 to 1742 in Virginia, to the grandfather of Samuel being John Bunch II who lived about 1655 to 1704 in Virginia, then the great grandfather to Samuel Bunch was John Bunch I who lived prior to 1637 to 1670s in Virginia. This John Bunch I was the tenth great grandfather to Obama.That alone is quite a lineage, taking the family back to Colonial Virginia in the mid-1600s. The researchers working for Ancestry.com using the vast resources in the archives of Virginia located who they believe would be the eleventh great grandfather, a man named John Punch of York County, Virginia. His surname is a bit different in spelling, but that is a common occurrence, where a family name will be spelled or changed for a number of reasons.Investigating into the story of John Punch became extremely interesting for the researchers. John Punch first came to Colonial Virginia from Africa as an indentured servant. In the beginnings of the English colonies, additional laborers were needed. However, they were not taken as slaves, but rather worked as indentured servants for a specific period of time then gaining their freedom.When you look at the African population in Virginia around 1620, the numbers were small, approximately 25. John Punch appears to have been an early indentured servant to Hugh Gwynn of York Co, Virginia. Slavery as a legal practice did not come into law until 1670.

      John Bunch I was considered a free man (because his mother was free) in the 1660s and owned 450 acres in New Kent County, VA. Yet, it appears that John Bunch's mother was white and his father, John Punch, an African, resulting in an interracial marriage which was more acceptable in the 1630s.It was not just the few court records, deeds, wills or other records that survived which helped prove the results, but also DNA testing showed the link, especially with origins from sub-Saharan Africa, possibly the west coast region of Cameroon, in the Bunch lineage.

      Added by K.van Wormer:

      I am a descendant of John Bunch. My DNA results show I am 1% Bantu-Cameroon as do some others of my relatives from the Bunch line. This is proof of African heritage here.



  • Sources 
    1. [S1160] FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 13 Dec 2022), entry for Paul BUNCH, person ID L835-WT3. (Reliability: 3).

    2. [S1160] FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 15 Dec 2022), entry for Paul Bunch, person ID L835-WT3. (Reliability: 3).

    3. [S1160] FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 13 Dec 2022), entry for John Bunch II, person ID GJ6J-FMY. (Reliability: 3).

    4. [S1160] FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 15 Dec 2022), entry for John Bunch, person ID GZWJ-97X. (Reliability: 3).

    5. [S1160] FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 13 Dec 2022), entry for John Bruce Bunch, person ID GNBR-15F. (Reliability: 3).