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There were seven marriages between the children and grandchildren of emigrants James Bunker and William Drew, William Drew married Elizabeth, daughter of emigrant Francis Matthews and (Mrs.) Thomasine Shannon, who were married in England. John Drew married Rebecca Cook, daughter of John Cooke and Mary Downes, whose parents were emigrant Thomas Downes and wife Elizabeth. There is a block in the Washington Monument which was quarried out of the original homestead of Francis Matthews, The block is engraved, and represents the State of New Hampshire in the Monument.
NOTICES
Group III Revised pages have been at the printer’s for some time, but printing problems have delayed the job. We will be mailing them as soon as possible.
Our President, Mrs. Annabelle Moore, is doing well with her note-paper project, which she sells to help the BFA. There are five styles and may be had in all one kind or in assorted. The Bunker Garrison and the Gulls, printed in this Banner, are two of the styles available. All sketches are historical. They sell for 10 notes and 10 envelopes for $1.25 postpaid. Her address is on p. 1. Please enclose stamp for reply.
There are only a few binders left. It has not been decided on whether to order more or not. It will depend on how many people want them, and probably on any raise in price, “HELP!” “HELP!” “HELP!”
This is a very urgent distress call for D.U.E.S. It’s really a SOS call (Swim or Sink). We don’t want to sink, do we? Anne tells me that very few members have paid their 1973 dues! Membership renewals make nice Xmas gifts but please don’t depend on Santa Clause, he might not know in time. Please note. our dues are the life-blood of BFA. In many cases, postage alone eats up the three dollars in correspondence to one individual. Many Genealogical Societies charge ten dollars a year, which is more than three time what BFA costs us.
The Banner exists on your contributions and for this we thank you. This issue is higher because of extra pages, so the following issue will be only 4 pages to make up Henry tells me we may have to charge more for the Group IV Pages since the printing costs are higher. The $1,50 now charged does not cover actual cost, so the difference has had to come out of the general fund. Sale of binders helped, but not quite enough,
I recently saw a sign in a waiting room which read, THANK YOU FOR NOT SMOKING, So I’m putting out a Banner sign: THANK YOU FOR PAYING UP YOUR BACK DUES
SOME NOTES ON RESEARCH INTO ENGLISH ANCESTRY OF JAMES BUNKER OF DOVER, N.H. Compiled by Edward F. Cooper, Nantucket Branch
In the BUNKER GENEALOGY, DOVER BRANCH, VOL. I, E.C. Moran cites Charles E. Banks oral statement that James Bunker was baptized 10 Feb. l633/4 in Slapton, Devonshire, England, son of Janes and Elizabeth Buncker, and that he was the same person as the Janes Bunker of Dover, N.H. In the same volume Moran also quotes from the Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire a l678 deposition by James Bunker in which he stated his age to be fifty, which would have made 1628 his birthplace,
This seeming contradiction may or may not be a serious one. It is possible that his parents waited five years after his birth to have him baptized. On the basis of patterns indicated in church records of the time, it was customary for a child to be baptized within a year of birth, and usually before the child was a month old.
In the process of researching the English ancestry of the Topsfield-Nantucket branch of the Bunker family back to Tingrith, Bedfordshire, England, and establishing a reasonable first cousin relationship between George of Topsfield and George of Charlestown, Mass., this compiler discovered another village named Slapton located in Buckinghamshire, slightly less than ten miles from Tingrith. This raised the interesting possibility that James of Dover may have come from the Buckinghamshire Slapton instead of the Devon one. If so, this would seem that there is a high probability of a close relationship between James’ line and the Tingrith Bunkers. Conversely, a proof of the Devon origin would tend to indicate a more remote relationship, if any.
Accordingly, this compiler has been researching English parish and probate records with the following results to date: Devon Wills-—
John Bunker of Churstow 1613 Principal Registry 1559–1650 John Bunker of West Allington 1634″ ” “ William Bunker of South Brent 1634 Arch Deaconry of Exeter 1540–1650
(NOTE: The first three of these villages are within twelve miles of Slapton, establish ing Bunkers in that area as early as 1613.)
Slapton, Devon, Bishop’s Transcripts of baptisms, marriages and burials, l606-l642.
1632 Feb 10 Buncker, James, son of James and Elizabeth bapt 1642 Dec 18 Buncker, Kathrin, dau of Nicholas and Elizabeth bapt 1642 Dec 18 Buncker, William, son of William bapt
(NOTE: The 1632 date for James differs from that by Banks by one year: month and day coincide. There are no Bunker/Buncker entries under marriages or burials, indicating that James’ parents did not remain in Slapton.)
A search for the Lay Subsidy Roll for 1624 did not reveal any entry for a Bunker in Slapton. Devon, indicating that James’ parents arrived after that date but before 1632. In researching the parish records of Slapton, Buckinghamshire, it was disappointing to find that the records did not go back earlier than l653, and thus were of no value in locating Bunkers earlier than that date, Further confusion in the research was added with the discovery that there is still another Slapton, located in Northampton, northwest of Bedfordshire. Unfortunately, the same situation prevailed here in that the parish records do not go back early enough to give any Bunker entries in the time period in which we are interested. Probate records, however, did reveal two Bunker entries:
Thomas Buncker of Paulerspury 1613 John Buncker of Paulerspury book dated l63?−39 Paulerspury is approximately twenty miles from Tingrith, and it is reasonable to assume a relationship to those lines.
In the absence of further factual data, what conclusions might be reasonably draw as to the origin of James of Dover at this time? It seems reasonable to assume than James was born in Slapton, Devon, probably in 1628, and baptized at Slapton in 1632. He may have been born elsewhere and baptized after his parents moved to Slapton. We know also that there were other Bunkers living close to Slapton, Devon, about that time, and were presumably related. If this is the case, the probability is for a dis¬tant relationship, if any, with the Tingrith line of Bunkers, as none of the Bedfordshire records lists any James Buncker during the time period in question.
The earliest English record, so far, of a possible Bunker ancestor is for Sir William Bonquer, mentioned frequently between 1246 and 1271, as a prominent member of the court of Henry III in London. If this was our early ancestor, descendants may have migrated west and south to Devon, leading to James, and others, north to Bedford-Buckingham-Northampton areas and leading to the Tingrith line and down to the two Georges of Topsfield and Charlestown.
It must be kept In mind that we are looking for ancestral clues in a time period earlier than most records were kept for ordinary people, and of the few records that were kept many have been damaged or destroyed by time and improper storage. At this time, available data tend to support Banks’ and Moran’s conclusions that the Dover James came from Slapton, Devon.
The sketch below of Bunker Garrison House appears on page 63 of History of Durham, by Everett Stackpole. Tiny reduced print says the garrison was 40 feet six inches long, and 20 feet 5 Inches wide. The map was drawn on the scale of 1 ft. 6 in. to the inch.
The garrison was built on a knoll to better guard against Indians. It was taken down in 1927. Another building was erected later and artifacts found at the excavation site included the following: A large iron buckle: a large iron 
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hook: a very small nail; two other nails; a tablespoon with part of handle missing; a knife with part of handle missing) a key-hole plate; a brass button; part of a door hinge; a garden hoe; and some pieces of broken crockery with various designs. Also, other pieces of bottles and pottery. These were given to Mrs. Moore, our President.
The settlement of Dover, New Hampshire, began in 1623. The part known as Oyster River Plantation was later divided off and called Durham. On the map below can be seen the homes and garrisons of the families related by marriage to James Bunker. These people were emigrants from England.
The land between Bunker’s Greek and Johnson’s Greek was at first owned jointly by William Follett and James Bunker, and known as “Bunker’s Neck.” These parcels of land were grants by the Town of Dover. It is interesting to note that there is no house shown for William Follett. The Town later granted Follett’s share to James Bunker, Jr.
It is said the largest ships in the world could come up Little Bay and into the headwaters of Oyster River, and return without difficulty, since the Bay was 50 ft, deep at this point. It can be noticed that most homes were located near a freshwater stream, except for several towards the division of Lee to the west.
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Source:Brent Bunker