John BUNCH II b. 11 May 1666 Henrico, Virginia, British Colonial America d. 1729 Henrico, Virginia, British Colonial America: Our Family History

Carney & Wehofer Family
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1666 - 1729 (62 years)

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Name	John BUNCH II [1]
Born	11 May 1666	Henrico, Virginia, British Colonial America [1]
Gender	Male
Died	1729	Henrico, Virginia, British Colonial America [1]
Person ID	I594765143	Carney Wehofer 2024 Genealogy
Last Modified	15 Dec 2022

Father	John BUNCH, I, b. 1 Jul 1637, New Kent, Virginia , d. 1 Jul 1700, New kent, New Kent Virgina (Age 63 years)
Mother	Mary SPEAR, b. 3 Dec 1640, New Kent, New Kent County, Virginia , d. Aft 1669, New Kent, Virginia, British Colonial America (Age 29 years)
Married	Between 1661 and 1667	Virginia [2]
Family ID	F536728417	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family Mary ASHER, d. Yes, date unknown

Married 16 Nov 1691 Henrico, Virginia, British Colonial America [3]

Children

	1. John BUNCH, III, b. 1690, New Kent, New Kent, Virginia, British Colonal America , d. 14 Mar 1742, Louisa, Virginia, British Colonial America (Age 52 years)
	2. Ann BUNCH, b. 1692, Prince George's County, Maryland , d. Yes, date unknown
	3. Paul BUNCH, b. 1692, Bertie County, North Carolina , d. 1775, Bertie County, North Carolina (Age 83 years)

Last Modified 13 Dec 2022

Family ID F536728416 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Notes

John Bunch (1) was transported to the Virginia colony in about 1656 as documented in CAVALIERS AND PIONEERS . In 1657/59 there was a court order in York County involving a John Bunch with a favorable outcome. Then in 1662 a John Bunch (1) patents 450ac of land in New Kent County (neighboring York County and New Kent was a very large county extending to the mountains). If he came to America at 17 (as is the family history in one of the Bunch lines) John (1) would have been born about 1635. This appears to be one individual who came to America BEARING the name John Bunch and settled in New Kent County.

There is another possibility. There was an indentured African American immigrant living in Virginia by the name of John Punch (born abt 1609) who researchers of Barack Obama's ancestry believe changed his last name to Bunch or his son's name to the John Bunch(1). Because of trying to escape his indenture before it was finished, John Punch was penalized to be indentured for his natural life and is considered the "first slave". Would his children have been free, as with indentures, or slaves as with slavery. If his son John was free then he could possibly be the John who patented 450 ac of land in New Kent County, VA in 1662. If truly a slave, neither he nor his son would have had legal rights to patent land.

John Punch would have had to see the name change as advantageous to himself or his son. Perhaps the name "Punch" suggested aggression which he would want to avoid in his circumstance. Immigrants altering their names for various reasons was not unusual. Punch to Bunch would preserve much of the name. It was certainly possible for him to patent land if free, as there is documentation of some other free blacks who acquired land and some African American slaves themselves in the 1600s.

My understanding is that free black land holders were expected to socialize with other free land owners and not with any slaves.
My understanding is also that there was increasing prejudice towards the latter 1600s which escalated during the 1700's as slavery escalated as a practice. Nevertheless, there were a minority of free blacks that retained their freedom and property ownership in the 1700s and the 1800s before and after the Civil War. One example is Henry Bunch of Orange County. He and his family were designated negro, or mulatto and were free property owners in the 1700 and 1800s.

But for most blacks slavery was awful and terribly wrong. Every human being wants to be free and own their own property...not BE someone else's property. Why and how slavery has existed around the world through out history is a sad blight upon much of mankind. Those who abduct (usually their own) and sell, those who transport and sell, and those who purchase and use, all share the guilt and shame. We have no information if this John Bunch gave into the easier, more lucrative lifestyle growing in popularity and had slaves himself.

Two other Bunches appear in the land records in the 1703/04 quit rent rolls: A John Bunch (2) with 100 ac in New Kent County, VA (the first John Bunch (1) had 450 ac to pay on) and a Paul Bunch with 150 ac in King William County, VA. These counties were close, just across the river from one another. This is very suggestive of John (2) and Paul being sons of John Bunch (1) (the new immigrant, or son of John Punch) They both named, what seems to be their first son, John. They would have both been at least
21 to own property in their own names in 1703 and thus probably were born about 1665 to 1682. In 1722 a John Bunch (2-son, or 3-grandson)uses the title "Jun" in a deed indicating his father was a John Bunch.

Both John (2) and Paul Bunch were active and mentioned a number of times in various ways in the land records. Both end up with land in Hanover County VA (Hanover was carved out of New Kent County). Then Paul moved to North Carolina where he died in 1726 in Chowan County leaving a will. John (2)dies in Louisa County, VA (Louisa was carved out of Hanover County) where he died BEFORE 1742. In 1742 two of this John's (2) sons, William and Henry, sell the land they inherited from their father to their older brother John (3). All 5 son's are listed in the deed (John, William, Henry, David and James).

In the 1720's there was Henry Bunch, son of John Bunch (2) that owned land Va. There is also a Henry Bunch "a planter" of Chowan NC who subsequently bought land in Bertie County NC and then lived and died in Bertie NC. They could be the same person, especially if Henry Bunch moved to Chowan County NC when his uncle Paul Bunch moved there and then found better land in Bertie County and eventually went back to Virginia to sell his land in Louisa to his older brother as he would have no use for it.

The history is complicated by another John Bunch immigrating to acquire more land. There is also a Henry Bunch "a planter" of Chowan NC who subsequently bought land in Bertie County NC and then lived and died in Bertie NC. They could be the same person, especially if Henry Bunch moved to Chowan County NC when his uncle Paul Bunch moved there and then found better land in Bertie County and eventually went back to Virginia to sell his land in Louisa to his older brother as he would have no use for it.

The history is complicated by another John Bunch immigrating to America in 1683 and another in 1716 with no current information on where they settled. My understanding is that sometimes there was some dishonesty and names were reused to acquire more land. Perhaps these are mistakes.

************************************

This John Bunch Jr is "NOT" the same man as John Bunch II.
John Bunch II is son of John Bunch I and is a Mulatto man is is the ancesor of Barak Obama

***John Bunch Jr. is the son of John Bunch Sr. who was born in 1640 in England. He arrived in America from England in Richmond in 1656. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/26347140/person/402128923753/facts

John Bunch Jr was born about 1664/1665 in Henrico, New Kent, Virginia and was not a Mulatto. He was registered as a Colonial Soldier. https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/48434/VAColonialSoldiers-007224-217/342882?backurl=https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/26347140/person/402128719029/facts/citation/1102182170341/edit/record

He is also listed in https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/48412/DuplicatesVARecs-004065-164/335512?backurl=https://www.ancestry.com/family

Sources

[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, person ID L5BW-J78. (Reliability: 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 Bruce Bunch, person ID GNBR-15F. (Reliability: 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).