OUR NEW ENGLAND HOMELAND
Dear Family,
Pamela, Carsten, Charissa, and Grandma Potthoff were brave enough to venture with me on a geneological venture that led us to the lands of our ancestors. Before exploring we had enjoyable times in Newport, RI, Nantucket Island and Camden Maine. It was fun to see bow the rich live.
The rest of our vacation should be of some interest to my family as we spent time investigating where our early Bunker ancestors lived. Our First stop was Kittery, Maine. This is where our first American ancestor James Bunker settled in the early 16OO’s. He worked at a mill here till 24 years old at which time he moved to Durham New Hampshire. Kittery, on the southern coast of Maine, is a moderate sized sea town with a small harbor. We didn’t spend much time there wanting to spend more time at the site of the Bunker Garrison. Not far from Kittery is Bunker Lane close to the city of Durham. It is off the main hiway leading from Kittery to Durham. The first house to the left sits on a small hill. This is the site of the original Bunker Garrison that was built by James Bunker in the 1650′s. It was taken downs in the 1920′s. It protected the Bunker families from Indian attacks. I walked to the top of the hill and talked with a young women who worked there taking care of several elderly people. She says Bunkers often stop to ask if this was the spot. There is a nice view of woods and fields from on top of the hill, a good spot to keep eye out for Indians. a short walk on a grassy path lies the old Bunker graveyard, nestled in the trees. It seems to appear better kept than 3 years ago when I last visited. A fence surrounds the grave yard where 20 to 30 of our early ancestors lived. A nice plack has recently been placed. The oldest graves are unmarked but I’m told there are records of who is buried in them. I met another Bunker who lives in the area. She states that there is another old Bunker graveyard nearby which she discovered. The Durham NH historical society has pictures of the original garrison and a model of it’s interior. I also found an original picture of the interior of it. I took pictures of these for our histories.
On our way up the coast we stopped in Kennebunkport to see Pres. Bushes house. After seeing it I know why he spends so much time there. Lots of people where stopped along the way taking pictures.
Two-thirds the way up the coast of Maine is a large Island called Mount Desert Island. One can get to it by driving over a bridge. Our ancestor Benjamin Bunker the grandson of James 1st was the first settler on this Island as well as the Cranberry Isles which lie nearby. Benjamin settled on the Desert Island when 50 years old. During the revolutionary war he retured to the Desert Island from the Cranberry Island. Several books I found stated that this Bunker of “great age” 108, was the first permanent settler of the Cranberry Islands. Mount Desert Island is quite large with several resort cities on it. It is quite crowded in the summer. It is also a national park. On it are the highest mountains of Maine. Where Mountain meets water, close to the Cranberries is very picturesque. Large sail boats, scooners, and lobster boats fill the harbor. There are lots of trees there. I didn’t see any desert.
From the North East harbor we got on the Beal and Bunker ferry-—a boat that carrys around 30 people and the mail and headed for the Great Cranberry Island. When I asked a young women if she new of any Bunkers on the Island she smiled and looked as if I was joking. Many of the Islanders are Bunkers or are related to them. She introduced us to an older gentleman who was the Brother of the ferry captain. He was one of the oldest Bunkers on the Island. He later was very helpful in transporting Pams mother and showing us the grave yard. The ferry trip took about 1/2 hour. It was one of the prettiest trips I’ve taken. We had 2 hours to explore before we had to catch the ferry again. Pam and I walked the length of the 2 1/2 mile long- Island to the cemetary. We met two Bunkers who showed us graves and talked about Island life. They treated us like family. Most of the early Bunker graves were designated as sea captains. Most of the Bunkers that lived there lived off the sea. We found the graves of some of Benjamins children but were unable to locate his grave. The Bonkers that lived there were unsure where he was buried or if there was an original Bunker home still to be seen. One of the Bunkers walked back with Pam, Charissa and I to the ferry. The other drove grandma and Carsten back in his pickup. We got introduced to several other relatives on the way back. One of our relatives has a little gift shop on the Isle. Another built a log house from scrated from the trees on the Island. There is 1 store, a church (open only in Summer), gift shop, one room school, and a bed and breakfast. The Island has one paved road that runs the length of it. The main industry is fishing and lobstering. We saw lots of lobster pots. Approximately 70 people live there. If you were accepted by the community it would cost you about 250 thous. for a small home there. Cranberries were raised there at one time until the mosquitoes took over. We found and ate some wild cranberries. Life is quite different there. There are no locked doors, police, etc. One woman left her bike at the docks unlocked and said” I’ll be back for it tomarrow.” She stated there is no crime there.
From the great Cranberry we traved by ferry for a brief stop to little Cranberry Island which Benjamin Bunker deeded to one of Ms sone. This Island is more populated and the houses seemed larger. Many lobster boats are in the harbor. Each has a small sail on the back of it. a historical museum is on this Island which is open only in the summer. I plan on writing to see if they have some histories for us. There are many summer homes on this Island where families come year after year. I’m told most of the Bunkers live on the bigger Island.
Our next trip took us to Blue Hill, a small town were we spent the night. It’s very close to Sedgwick, Maine. In Bluehill Silas Bunker 1st, died from a fall. He spent his early married life on the Great Crandberry Island but later moved to Sedgwick Maine. Here he surveyed highways. His son Silas 2nd also lived in Sedgwick. Silas 2nd moved later to three other locations in Maine: Atkinson, Trenton, and Charleston. I wanted to see the land that our two Silas ancestors lived on. We drove to the old town hall and historical society which existed in the time of our ancestors and found the numbers of people who worked there. One woman was kind enough to come and open the building for our research. She showed me the first census of 1790 which showed Silas 1st as one of the original land owners and settlers in the area. He was given land of ( the King of England. A map of the land divisions exists that shows where Silas lived. I plotted it against a modern map and found that it lies between two roads on Harriman point road in Brooklin (Sedgwick was divided). The land is oceanfront on the Blue Hill Bay. It is overgrown with small trees. The only structure I could see is a small underground house. A lobsterman was pulling up his catch for the day. A for-sale sign is on the property and I’m told its very expensive. There are some early graves in Brooklin which bare the Bunker name but Silas isn’t found. Sedgwick is know for its blueberry farms which cover the area. The bay has many large scooners on it. I could tell many wealthy people lived there. The city itself is very small. There is no motel, etc there. I couldn’t find any Bunkers in the phone book who lived there.
Our trip was quite busy and tiring but I left renewed in spirit far I had visited the lands of my forefathers and had seem the beautiful surroundings in which they had lived. Reading our early Bunker histories has a new meaning to me. It makes me appreciate more Edward Bunker who left this area to settle the deserts of Southern Nevada.
Sincerly, Brent Bunker & family
Source:Brent Bunker