When I first got started on the DNA project, I had my father tested. I wanted to compare his DNA markers with other descendants of James of Dover, NH and then with the English to see if all the Bunkers are related. In the first group of men tested, 3 were descendants of men from Devon, England. One of those was a descendant of James of Dover. He is descended from Clement Bunker and Rebecca Drew. So is my father, or so I thought. The two men supposedly descended from Clement Bunker do not have matching DNA. The one tested definitely matches the two other men descended from Bunkers that came from Devon, England. James of Dover was supposed to have come from Devon, England. This descendant of Clement should be descended from James of Dover. But, there is my Dad. There are a bunch of us out there descended from Clement Bunker. I descend through his son, Jacob. Jacob has a fascinating history as he was captured by the Indians as a boy and did not return until he was a grown man. Then he went to Meredith, NH for a while and later to Quebec with his son Isaac, and some other Bunker relatives. Eventually they ended up in Illinois, where some of the family still lives. I have pretty good records for my Dad's ancestors, but the records between Clement and Thomas Jefferson Bunker are scant or non-existent. The two men in there were Jacob and his son, Isaac. I am looking for other descendants of Clement to see if their DNA matches the Devon, England men and thus James of Dover or if they match my dad's DNA. Possibly we can narrow down the place where the "stranger father" came in. That leads to questions about why he was called Bunker and there are no known adoption records. Informal adoptions were common. Orphans were regularly taken in by other families and assumed the names of the new families. After a couple generations the "adoption" was forgotten. Many women had children that were not those of their husbands. A lot of first children were not the children of the husband and the husband frequently knew it. Many times, men who married loved their wives and wanted to save her the shame of being a single mother even though they knew that the child was not theirs. Many times women were married previously and we just have no record of it. The father raises her children by the first husband and they take his name. Again the biological relationship is sometimes not known to the other children or grandchildren and sometimes forgotten. And then of course, sometimes the woman has an affair which leads to a child that her husband thinks is his. Even the woman may think it is. Depends upon the circumstances. I am now really interested in finding descendants of Clement to test. If they all match the Devon Bunkers, we can look for the "stranger father" further down the line. I am also looking for descendants of Clement's grandson Isaac and great grandson, Thomas Jefferson Bunker to test. As far as we know Jacob had only one son, Isaac and his only surviving son was Thomas J. However, there has been some conjecture that Andrew Bunker from Canada was a son of Jacob. It would be good to find some of his descendants to test too. If they matched my father's DNA markers it would confirm their descent from Jacob but not from James of Dover. Now isn't this interesting? If you are a man born with the name Bunker and would be interested in doing the DNA test, go to <http://www.bunkerfamilayassn.org> and follow the links for more information and directions on how to be included in the group testing. You get a discount by being a part of the group. Bette