If you come to a Bunker ancestor who was born about 1800-1820 and cannot find his parents, you should look at the 1790 census. There were only 80 Bunker households listed in the 1790 census. The father of a child born between 1800 and 1820 should have been between 20 and 50 years old. If only 20, he was probably listed with his parents in the 1790 census and his name would not appear on any index or image. If he were older though, he may be listed as head of household. The 1790 census listed the names of the head of household with the numbers of males and females in the family in categories by age groups. Although your ancestor would not have been born yet, you can see if any Bunkers were living in the area. In 1790 most of the Bunkers were still in MA (31 households) or NH (21 HH's). There were 13 HH's in NY, 10 in ME, 2 in PA and 1 each in CT, MD, and NC. By looking at the 1790 census indexes, you can see the towns where these families lived and then go to those areas to look for more records. Barring a father who was a recent immigrant or did not get counted in the 1790 census, you have narrowed down you search considerably and can concentrate in these areas. Of course, there are those families who moved right about 1800 too so the father may have been in MA and the child born in NY. Still it is an aid to narrowing the search somewhat. Nearly all the genealogical databases have the census index on line and some have the images. You can probably get the index free everywhere but for the information about the members of the household, you will probably have to pay for a membership to the organization, or look at microfilms. Look also in Ontario, Canada as many Loyalist families moved there following the Revolutionary War and some Bunkers did as well. The Revolutionary War did not end until 1783 and the first federal census followed 7 years later. Many states and colonies had earlier census'. By 1790 some of the Loyalists were already in Canada too. Once you have narrowed your search, you need to go to early state records, church records, and cemetery records, probates, guardianships. One of the best sources is the New England Historic Genealogical Society. They have many free databases and if you are a member you can borrow from their circulating library of lots and lots of early record compilations. Many of the early records have been put on line but you usually have to pay for them. Be sure to look for entries that have strange spellings such as Buncker, Bunger, Benker, Banker, etc. Spelling was not too precise in those days and the Bunkers spelled their name in many different ways. If you haven't been able to find your connection on the internet, it will be in some early records that have not been put online or that you have to pay for access to. Also remember that the Bunker family historians and genealogists have been looking for our family members for 100 years and we still find new information every day. It takes some work to find it but that is what is fun with genealogy, solving the problems. Bette

Dear Bette, Thank you for this message - you've sent us some really good information. mg > > > ==== BUNKER Mailing List ==== > Post your information and queries. We love it. No BUNKER rock left untouched. Spelling variations ok - we don't "know" the original. > > >