Here is an article about a very interesting Bunker. Does anyone know who his family is? http://www.citypaper.com/1998-12-09/feature.html Bette

I found recently a couple English Bunkers. One we had in our database as having married in Illinois in 1892 but did not know where he was born. He was Henry Charles Bunker b. c. 1871 in England, immigrated to US 1886, m. Imogene Bassett in IL. He was in Cecil Co. Maryland in 1930 and died in 1963 maybe in MD. The other we did not previously have in our database. Henry K. Bunker b. Mar 1842, married before immigrating in 1886 where he also ended up in IL. He m. Rebecca b. Sep 1842 about 1862. Ch: Horace b. Jan 1879 in England, Rose b. Jan 1867 in England, Gertrude b. Sept 1871 in England, Kenneth W. b. May 1891 in Illinois. Henry may have been a railroad engineer. The occupation is smudged in the 1900 census. Horace was a glass blower and Kenneth worked in the glass factory. They were living in Chicago in 1900 but had moved to Rockford, Illinois by 1920. Rose was the only one counted in the 1910 census that I can find. She was in Chicago yet but living in a rooming house and working as a dressmaker. Rose married William D. Moulton. Rose was a widow by 1930 and living with her brother Kenneth. Kenneth married Ida about 1911 and it does not seem that they had any children. Gertrude m. George Egglesten about 1892 and they had at least 6 children. Horace married Jane who was born in Canada about 1882. Her parents were born in England. She immigrated to the US in 1894. Horace and Jane had Ch: Lily b. c. 1903, IL; Jane b. c. 1905 IL; Helen b. c. 1906 IL; Harriet b. c. 1908 Iowa; Elizabeth b. c. 1912 Iowa; Ruth b. c. 1915 IA; Norma b. c. 1916 IL; and finally that boy they wanted Robert was b. c. Aug 1919 in IL. Of this family, the only Bunkers we might have living today would be in Robert's family. He was alive in 1930. I found two Robert Bunkers born in Aug 1919. One was issued his social security card in IL and he died 22 Nov 1997 in Georgia. If anyone knows more about the possible descendants of Robert I would appreciate hearing from you. We have the records for several descendants of Henry Charles Bunker but I can always use more information. Bette

I have recently changed insurance so have to provide the new doctors with medical histories. A medical pedigree is extremely helpful to your doctor. It is interesting to note allergies for 6 generations, glaucoma in 3 family members, diabetes in two of the younger generation, heart problems, strokes, cancer, especially the lack of breast cancer and the presence of colon cancer, etc. Most genealogy programs have spaces to enter medical information. I put in not only things like my father's early pneumonia and lifelong susceptibility to it but all the things that our family members have died from or presently have. Recently, one of my daughters also needed medical history information. She happens to be a medical assistant and knows its importance. I was able to supply information on the ills and causes of death of 7 generations of her ancestors. It is easy in each of these programs to enter the information and block it from regular reports that you publish. It can be marked as sensitive in some programs so that it does not print out unless you override the block. You can usually do reports that include the age at death, giving a good idea of the relative longevity of your family. Combined with illnesses and causes of death this gives in one report excellent information for your doctor to assist her in planning your treatment. My doctors love it. If you are doing a medical pedigree, the date of birth, marriage, death are not important. The important information is the cause of death, the age at death, chronic illnesses, incidences of cancer, asthma, heart disease, glaucoma, macular degeneration, diabetes, epilepsy, arthritis, allergies and other chronic problems and the relationship to you of those family members. So you need to set your report to show parents, grandparents, great-grandparents. You need to include the siblings of each person on the report so that you get your cousins, aunts and uncles through the generations. If you can produce that information for only two generations it is helpful to your doctor but if you can do it for 6 generations it is a great help to him. Bette

Rootsweb Review had a couple of good sites listed this week in their newsletter. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~rockymap/ is a site that searches for property owned in Rockingham, Australia. You type in a surname if there was someone who owned property there with that name a section number comes up. By clicking go you get a map with the immediately surrounding lots and the one with that surname. Interesting website and a good idea for looking for property records. With this you can do a preliminary search before ordering searches of the deeds registry. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dcoop/ This site gives you names of cemeteries in Oxford County, Ontario, Canada. It has links to places to order transcriptions of the stones and some other information. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/groups/ This site at Rootsweb searches professional and religious societies. I had not seen it before and it looks like another source to check for interesting family data that adds to your "picture" of your ancestor. The Rootsweb Review is a good newsletter to get. It gives up to date information on their new databases, interesting articles and advice on searching. In addition, Rootsweb still remains the largest free database of records that I know about. While you have to get past the box at the top of the page that leads you to Ancestry.com and the paid database of the company that sponsors Rootsweb, scrolling down the page gets you to links to the free databases. http://www.rootsweb.com The newsletter can be subscribed to at RWR-on@rootsweb.com. All you have to do is send the message and your email address will be added. You do not have to type anything in any part of the message. It is all automated. Bette

Hi all: Bette Richards has made several posts to this list regarding the use of DNA testing to sort out family branches. The following web page has a very nice graphic of how one could use 'Y' chromosome DNA testing to determine the presence / absence of a genetic 'fit' http://www.griffingweb.com/using_dna_to_resolve_a_griffing_mystery.htm As it turns out, the two men who had the test done (cost appx $200 ea.) turned out to have an exact DNA fit. They are both descendants of the same common ancestor. Best regards H.A. Kippenhan, Jr.

I went down to get a passport today. I have never had one before. I was told I was not going to get it with what I had provided because my mother did not file my birth certificate until I was over a year old. Amongst the items that could be used to prove citizenship was "geneology" (spelled that way on a federal form yet) records. Since my family both sides have been in the USA since the early 1600s I was sorely tempted to print out a pedigree with my ancestors back for 400 years. I restrained myself and have confined it to 4 generations. Strangely enough in those four generations, there are some foreigners. My dad's mother was born in Nova Scotia as were her parents and grandparents. However, her great-grandfather was born in the United States. My mother's grandfather was born in England but all the rest of her ancestors have been in the US since before 1750. I have absolutely no immigrant ancestors who ever went through Ellis Island. The Bunkers have gone in and out of Canada several times. However, if one of your parents was born in the US you are a citizen of the US no matter where you are born. Also, no matter where your parents have been born, if you are born in the US, you are a citizen. Different countries have different laws. In some countries your citizenship follows that of your father. Now that is sort of dumb. Only your mother knows for sure who your father is and not all mothers know that either. I was also tempted to give them a copy of my DNA report that indicates that I am a Native American. I wonder what they would do with that? My husband was born before Indians were citizens of the United States. He never had a passport but I wonder what they would have done about that? Indians were made citizens by an Act of Congress in June 1924. When we applied for Archie's social security we sent all kind of things to prove his age. Fortunately, we were living in South Dakota at the time and they were used to Indians born before June 1924. With the new restrictions, things are getting harder. As I live on the border and am surrounded in my own mobile home park with people with vehicles licensed in Mexico who have lived here for years and know there are scads of illegal immigrants in this park, it amuses me what hoops I have to go through to prove I am a citizen. If any of you find yourself in the same difficulty and need a pedigree just let us know. We will be glad to supply you with your "geneology" records. Bette

Good news! Dante Sandoval, one of Tucson's most respected photographers, has agreed to take the pictures for our reunion. Dante regularly exhibits his photos in museums and art galleries. Take a look at his website gallery and you can see some of his work. If you click on Soiled Doves you may see someone you know! ;-) http://www.photogenesis.tv/gallery.htm Bette

in 1920 in Danton, Richland Co., ND was a George Bunker age 37, b. Norway, parents b. Norway who immigrated to the US in 1872. He was an engineer. Does anybody know who his family was? Bette

1870 census for Badger, Webster Co., Iowa lists Chas. Bunker age 43, farmer; Catherine age 36; Edward age 10; Chas. age 8; Henry age 6, all born in Germany, and Frank age 3 b. Iowa. Maybe he belongs to one of you. Bette

I am looking for the lineage of Donald Bunker of Yankton SD. He married Josephine Sivertsen and had 3 children. A baker by trade, he died in 1967. Thanks for any leads ! Suzanne Artley

The time is nearly here to come visit me in Tucson for the reunion Mar 4-7. If you have not sent in your registration forms yet now is the time to do it. We are going to have a great time and I hope to see all of you here. Bette

In looking for information about one of our Donald Bunkers, I found nothing. However, I found 24 other Donald Bunkers that I cannot connect with any in our file. Isn't that the way it always happens? :-( If anyone is looking for a stray Donald Bunker, I may have a birthdate, death date or some locations for you. Bette

Two Bunker Banners were returned without forwarding addresses. Do you know the whereabouts of Joanne Bunker, Butte MT and James Paxton, Bothell WA? Would appreciate your help. Happy New Year gil

Hello, Thomas, nice to meet a new cousin on line. I will add info on your family to the data base, but as always, private info on living individuals (other than the relationships), will be excluded, though I will keep it one my computer data base. I would be happy to furnish you with a GEDCOM file if you would like, so you won't have to cut and paste from what is available on line as the Detling Family Extended (http://www.gencircles.com/users/ddetling/1). I have included some notes below for your help, and will be glad to work with you on this. I am also copying some other folks who are related, as I'm not sure if you know them. I've added you to the free Bunker-L mailing list at rootsweb so you can see what others might have to say if they don't reply directly. I would like the name and e-mail address of your cousin "Beth" as I don't believe we have corresponded. Your name was given to me by Barbara Gunvaldsen of the Fairfield (Maine) Historical Society. If she is the Beth you refer to, then I have corresponded with her. My information on the descendents of Joshua Williams comes from others who have researched this family. These include Janet Williams Hinkley (who descends from Samuel A. Williams, Jr.) and David Rust, along with other cousins Dan Earl, Bob Forrest and Nancy Porter (who descends from Sarah Williams). Also Todd McVay, and more recently, I have been in contact with Randy and Alice Williams Schroder; Alice is another descendent of Joshua, and they furnished me with a complete copy of Donald Ward Williams manuscript. I had only a reference to it from correspondence with Janet Hinkley more than 15 years ago, so was pleased to see the complete copy. I agree that Donald didn't include as much documentation as would be desirable. Dan, Bob and I descend from another of Samuel and Sobriety Bunker Williams' children, Elizabeth who married Nathaniel Winslow. I have information on many of the descendents, some though are not well documented. I am currently the webmaster for the Bunker Family Association. Unfortunately, like many surname societies, the BFA until recently did not keep data on the descendents of female family members, but by exchanging info with others, we have built up an extensive data base which is available through my web site. I will admit, though, that primary documentation on many of these families is lacking; we try to include where we can but as you can tell it is a monumental challenge (especially for me as I am not related directly). I have some many lines in this with many mysteries still that I am concentrating on the direct lines and haven't spend so much time on the ancillary ones (relying on others to furnish details as well). I will cite some information in my comments below. Please review, and let's keep in touch. _____ From: Thomas Lloyd [mailto:t_lloyd8888@msn.com] Sent: Friday, January 02, 2004 6:37 AM To: ddetling@greencity.org Subject: Williams Family Info Mr. Detling: Apparently, you are the king pin in the genealogy of the Williams clan. I've attached a file which is for my daughter's DAR application. Which will note that Sobriety Bunker is the wife of the "patriot" Samuel Bunker. I think you meant to say Samuel Williams here; and I'm hardly the "king pin" of anything. I just have been working on this family for many years, but there are many others who've done likewise. I'm copying my research contacts and other cousins; people should feel free to chime in if they can help in any way. I'm trying to find documentation that will connect Samuel Bunker to one of his sons: Joshua Williams. Then documentation that connects Joshua Williams to his son Joseph Philbrick Williams. I have - I think - sufficient documentation tying Joseph Williams to his son Ward Spooner Willaims. The DAR are rather stringent in their requirements. My information on Joshua and his descendents comes from Donald Ward Williams' work which you have cited below. I believe Donald Ward Williams did submit some of this information in support of an application to the Sons of the American Revolution, and you might try to find out whether that was approved (as I believe it was). I don't know if the DAR and SAR have similar requirements for documentation, or whether they have revised them to require more recent applicants to document the ancestral families more completely. That wouldn't surprise me, but it hardly seems fair to conclude that Donald Ward Williams was eligible for SAR membership based on his work, and then to conclude that one of his descendents (your daughter) could not be a DAR member even if the relationship between your daughter and Donald Ward Willams can be more completely documented but his ancestry remains less well documented. I guess that is part of the reason I have never pursued this myself, though my ancestral lines on both my mother's and father's family can be traced back (and reasonably documented) to the earliest days of this country including the settling at Plymouth, Massachusetts; the founding of Fort Orange, New York; and the exploration and settling of Maine. So-called patriotic ancestry does not grant any additional right to citizenship nor extend civility except in the eye of the beholder. I have had absolutely no success in this endeavor. I also have my great uncle Don Williams genealogy research that goes back to Williams Williams of 1633. ... Do not despair; all genealogy is a work in progress. While I have reviewed the material in Donald Ward Williams work back to William Williams, I don't think that the parentage of our ancestor Samuel Williams (married to Sobriety) has been clearly identified, and I don't show it in my data. Now, turning to your DAR introductory document, you state in the first paragraph under Samuel Williams that his wife Sobriety was "related to the Bunkers of Charlestown, Mass." This is not a correct statement. There are three main Bunker branches: the Dover branch from Durham, New Hampshire; the Charlestown Branch of Bunker Hill, Massachusetts; and the Topsfield Branch from Nantucket, Massachusetts. Many allied branches, some not connected to the three main branches, have been identified, including families in Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Australia and Germany, and Puerto Rico. For most of the 20th Century, it was commonly believed the James (Sobriety's ancestor) was related to the two George Bunkers who are the ancestors of the Nantucket and Charlestown branches of the Bunker families in America. The Bunker Family Association recently begun a DNA project, and based on DNA tests to date, the Devon Bunkers are in no way related to the Bedfordshire Bunkers. In America, this means that James of Dover was not related to the two Georges who came to America. I have noted the comment in the National Archives about the paucity of data on the family of Samuel Williams--none! But research has revealed that there are many connections between the Williams families and the Philbricks (I suggest you check the Philbrick data at http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~nvjack/fylbrigg/vitals.htm). Joshua married two Philbrick daughters, and sister Hannah married their brother Stephen Philbrick. Sister Sarah married Reuben Wilbur. I note that you refer to the 1800 Census data as showing the elder Samuel with wife and six children in the area now called Vienna, Maine. By 1800, Samuel Williams, Jr. -- the Rev. Samuel Williams, would have been 21 (and probably not living with his parents. He married in October 1800 to Mary Philbrick (another Philbrick sister) in Readfield/Mt. Vernon, Maine.Your manuscript does not refer to to Samuel A. Williams Jr., perhaps inadvertently. Donald Ward Williams refers to the first born child of Samuel and Sobriety Williams as Rev. Samuel, b. November 25, 1772. I have disputed this birth date in my data base: "Most of the original work documenting details about the Rev. Samuel Williams Jr. was done by Janet Williams Hinkley of Cambridge, Ohio, and furnished to Douglas Detling. Until January 1997, Mrs. Hinkley was "still not sure" her ancestor, the Rev. Mr. Williams, was the son of Samuel and Sobriety Bunker Williams. Given the research she has completed, and in the absence of any contravening information that the Rev. Mr. Williams was another kind of relative, Douglas Detling's conclusion is that he was the first born son of Samuel and Sobriety Williams. "In a January 7, 1997 letter to Douglas Detling, Janet wrote: "I now share your belief that Rev. Samuel Williams Jr. is indeed the first born son of Samuel and Sobriety." The Samuel Williams/Mary Philbrick family structure is described in town records (copy in possession of Douglas Detling). The handwriting in these town records is poor, and the birth date shown is likely to be incorrect. Many have assumed a birth year of 1782. In addition to a family history giving the younger Samuel Williams' birth as 1779 or 1780, the 1850 Census of Washington County, Pennsylvania gives Samuel Williams' age as 71, and by the 1880 Census, Jonathan Williams gives his father's place of birth as New Hampshire. Age 71 in 1850 would have Samuel Williams born in 1779, which is the date used by Janet Hinkley and Douglas Detling (letter of March 20, 1996 from Janet Hinkley to Douglas Detling). "The Rev. Mr. Williams was the first settled minister of Avon, Maine. Avon Town Records, Maine State Archives, Kennebec County., Maine, Deed Book 9, page 497. He was ordained as a minister on January 20, 1805 in Avon, Maine. Religious Magazine, Short History of the Church of Christ, Joh n Buzzell, American Periodical Series, 1800-1825. The Rev. Mr. Williams sold his property in Vienna in 1806, Kennebec County, Maine Deed Book 9, page 8. His listed occupation was cordwainer, and he was listed as a resident of Avon, Maine. He was hired by the town of Phillips, Maine in Oc tober 1813. Albert Pease History of Phillips, Maine, quoted from minutes of town meeting. In March and June 1817, the Rev. Mr. Williams sold his property in the town of Phillips. Somerset County, Maine Deed Books 3&4, 1811-1819, Vol 3, pages 446-447. Phillips is now in Franklin County. "Along with Samuel and Sobriety Williams and John Williams, the Rev. Mr. Williams visited Joshua Williams, then living in New Portland, Franklin Co., Maine, before leaving for Ohio, via Pennsylvania, according to family recollections recorded by descendant Donald Ward Williams. In the fall of 1817, the Rev. Mr. Williams relinquished his plan to go to Ohio. He established the first Free Will Baptist Church in the area of Cookstown, now Fayette City, Pennsylvania. By 1824, this church had 200 members and other churches organized. See Biography of the Rev. Samuel Williams from Free Baptist Cyclopaidia by Rev. G. A. Burgess, A.M., and Rev. J. T. Ward , A.M., Free Baptist Cyclopaidia Co., 1889. "In 1827, he bought a farm in the old East Pike Run Township of Washingto n Co., Pennsylvania, where he remained until his death in early 1859. His will was probated May 3, 1859. He paid taxes from 1827-1859, after which his heirs were taxed, according to Washington County, Pennsylvania deeds. No tombstone or death record was found by Janet Hinkley. The family is described in Janet Hinkley's "Elder Samuel Williams: The 'Mad Yankee' of Washington County, Pennsylvania," Southwestern Pennsylvania genealogy m agazine "Keyhole" (October 1991)." Well, this should be enough to prompt some exchange of information, if nothing else. Cousin Doug Douglas G. Detling (ddetling@greencity.org) 725 Royal Ave. #81, Medford, OR 97504-6449 (541) 301-1025 . eFax (815) 366-9121

BFA President Gil Bunker has passed along word of a new Bunker Family Association member--Barbara Mondt of San Diego. Barbara is a descendent of Cynthia Bunker (N-140-III) of the Nantucket branch. Barbara's e-mail address is also listed on the e-mail directory on the BFA web site: www.bunkerfamilyassn.org/email.html. Please follow instructions on that page to send e-mail to her. Welcome, Barbara. Douglas G. Detling (D15-II) - Bunker Family Association web site/e-mail coordinator ddetling@charter.net visit the BFA web site at: www.bunkerfamilyassn.org/index.html

In 1870 a family of Bunkers, all born in Holland, were living in Chicago, Cook Co, Illinois. John Bunker age 55, worked in the lumberyard. Rica age 45, John age 10, Lizzie age 7 and Thomas age 5. They are new to the database. Bette

Hi all: You might want to access the following web page and grab the "free" PDF writer tool they have made available. http://www.go2pdf.com/product.html There is a nice instruction page on how to set up the tool, and how to use it. There is also a rather nice Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. While I'm at it, Adobe has now made Version 6 of the PDF reader available (free) at the following web page: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html A small hint - I'd avoid using the Adobe Download Manager when fetching the file. Best regards - H.A. "Kipp" Kippenhan, Jr. -

The rest of the Bunkers on the Rootsweb marriage list that I cannot find just about equal the ones in St. Joseph Co., IN. Please help me if you can. Thanks. Albert Bunker m. Ester Moore 1903 Benton Co., OR C.A. Bunker m. Mrs. D. Osborn 1893 Los Angeles Co., CA Ella Bunker m. Lucien Brockley 1929 Broundary Co., Idaho Mattie F Bunker m. W.F. Elsea 1893 in Los Angeles, CA (her name may have been Martha as Mattie is a common nickname for that)(maybe she was the ex-wife of Willard Jerome Bunker?) N.R. Bunker m. Josephine Holstein 1887 Los Angeles, CA Prudence M. Bunker m. Dewey Gates 1951 Roosevelt Co., New Mexico Wilfred Bunker m. Beatrice Proulx 1916 Menominee, MI And a couple St. Joseph, IN I missed: Joseph O. Bunker m. Clara Bragg 1938 in St. Joseph Co., IN Frank R. Bunker m. Edith Elder 1954 St. Joseph Co., IN Bette

Having checked out the marriage records on Rootsweb there are several Indiana marriages that I cannot connect. Can anyone give me any ideas on these people? St. Joseph Co., Indiana Bert A. Bunker m. Margaret A. Fischer, 1945 Delores Bunker m. Leland Payne 1937 Edna E. Bunker m. Howard B. Kellogg 1949 Emma C. Bunker m. George A. Bunker 1929 Gertrude A. Bunker m. W.G. Hahn 1932 Harold Bunker m. Sylvia Youell 1927 Keith E. Bunker m. Dorothy M. Shipperley 1932 Keith E. Bunker m. Ruth Detwiler 1937 (could be the same man as above) Mabel Bunker m. Alphonse Yakasitis 1948 Mildred Ann Bunker m. Alphonsus William Rafferty 1947 Norma Jean Bunker m. Alfred L. McFadden 1957 Ruby A. Bunker m. Gerald B. Williams 1947 This is an awful lot of Bunkers getting married in just one county that I don't have. If anyone can help me find out which families they belong to I would appreciate it. Bette

Rootsweb maintains several free databases. This one with marriages is frequently updated. You might try it when looking for marriage records. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/marriages/ This and many other tips and new database lists appeared on the Rootsweb Review this week. You can subscribe to this free by sending an email to RWR-on@rootsweb.com. You do not have to say anything in the subject line or message. Just mail the message and you will automatically be put on the list. Every issue of Rootsweb Review begins with instructions on how to get off the mailing list so if you change your mind later it is easy to unsubscribe. Bette