Bunch Family in Mississippi

Yesterday morning, I opened my email and found a copy of a press release from ancestry.com announcing the result of several years' research into the family lineage of President Obama's deceased mother, Stanley Ann Dunham.  Specifically, the research suggests that Ms. Dunham's ancestry is linked to John Punch of Virginia, likely America's first slave, and relates how John Punch's son, John Bunch, was born to an unnamed free white female. The story of John Bunch, a free mulatto, and his descendants, complete with references, can be read on links provided on ancestry.com's website. As I began reading the fascinating history of the Bunch family in America, I recalled hearing my paternal grandmother occasionally mention this surname in conversations with our relatives from Attala County, Mississippi. In addition, I have frequently seen the surname Bunch while researching census records in counties where my ancestors lived in Mississippi, including Attala.  Also, I recalled finding Bunch family connections while searching for my elusive Gibson ancestors in North and South Carolina. With my interest now piqued by the story of John Punch and John Bunch and his descendants,  I decided to do a little Bunch family research of my own.

According to early census records for territorial Mississippi, Elijah Bunch and Jacob Bunch were already living in the area as early as 1800, showing up as residents of what was once called the Southwest Mississippi Territory.  Further research established that Elijah Bunch likely migrated from North Carolina, where he had purchased land in 1791 in Chowan County from an individual named Hance "Pond," or maybe "Bond."  And just three years after he purchased the land in Chowan County, Elijah married Ann Parrish on August 26, 1794, also in Chowan County. According to North Carolina records of marriage bonds, Abner Bunch, whose relationship to the groom is undetermined, was the Bondsman, and Joseph Blount witnessed the marriage ceremony.

In 1820, the U. S. Census conducted in Mississippi shows Jacob Bunch and John Bunch as heads of households in Wilkinson County, Mississippi.  Elijah Bunch does not appear on either the 1810 or 1820 census. On August 7, 1820, John Bunch's household in Wilkinson County included 16 free white persons and 4 slaves. And it was in Wilkinson County that a Rebecca Bunch married Felix E. Stephens on October 19, 1828.  Jacob Bunch married Phanner R. Hornsby several months later, on January 1, 1829, also in Wilkinson County.  More research is needed to determine relationships that may have existed between Elijah, Jacob, George, Paul, and John Bunch, all early residents of territorial Mississippi, as well as Rebecca's relationship to Jacob Bunch. Further research is needed, also, to determine if Jacob's marriage to Phanner Hornsby was his first marriage or a subsequent union and to determine names of their children, if any, born during the marriage.

A review of the U. S. Census of 1830, recorded in Franklin County, Mississippi, adjacent to Wilkinson County, shows Margarett Bunch, a white female over 50 years old, living alone with two children under 20.  Since she was listed as head of household, it seems reasonable to believe at this point that she was widowed.  Interestingly, Samuel Porter, one of my paternal ancestors mentioned earlier in this post, and another Porter male, Tillet Porter, were enumerated on the same census page that listed Margarett Bunch. Ironically, members of the Bunch and Porter families would eventually move to Attala County and the surrounding area, where many of their descendants still live today.

References: 
Hunting For Bears, comp.. Mississippi Marriages, 1776-1935 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: Mississippi marriage information taken from county courthouse records. Many of these records were extracted from copies of the original records in microfilm, microfiche, or book format, located at the Family History Library. 

 Ancestry.com. U.S. Census Reconstructed Records, 1660-1820 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Census Publishing. State Census Records. West Jordan, Utah: Census Publishing, 2003-2009. 

Ancestry.com. North Carolina, Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868;[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. Original data: State of North Carolina. An Index to Marriage Bonds Filed in the North Carolina State Archives. Raleigh, NC, USA: North Carolina Division of Archives and History, 1977.

Finding the Fenners

Sometimes we stumble upon something simply by chance.  As it has been said so many, many times that one often finds romantic love when one least expects it, maybe finding the name of a previously unknown ancestor falls into this same category of happenstance.  My recent discovery was actually the result of searching for Joseph Fenner, whom I had deemed to be the oldest of three Fenner males enumerated on early census records for Wilkinson County, Mississippi. Joseph Fenner, Sr., an early settler of Wilkinson County, died on August 30, 1840 and left a widow, Rachel, and eight children, most adults. One of these children, William Fenner, through his daughter Rachel Fenner, most likely named for her grandmother, is my maternal fourth great-grandfather.

What I found in my search for Joseph Fenner was really quite unexpected.  I found Fenner surnames in a place that I had not previously searched - Providence, Rhode Island.  My discovery came about while I was reading through references to Fenner surnames in early Rhode Island records, including the Annals of the town of Providence: from its first settlement to the organization of the city government in June, 1832.  An imaged version of this publication, printed in 1843, is available for reading on ancestry.com.  In that publication,  I found that Arthur Fenner served as one of the first four representatives to the Providence General Assembly in 1664. The list of representatives also included the names of two other Fenner men, Thomas and Richard, whose relationships to Arthur and to each other are unclear to me at this time. According to the Annals, Arthur Fenner also served as the Town Treasurer in 1662. As I continued to research the Fenner family of Providence, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Rhode Island's fourth governor was Captain Arthur Fenner, a descendant of Arthur Fenner the assemblyman.  


Although finding the Fenner family members in Providence (Rhode Island) was an unexpected and quite unique experience, I now have more unanswered questions than when I began the search. Are Joseph Fenner, Sr., Joseph Fenner, and William Fenner descended from the Fenners who were involved in early Rhode Island politics?  And if so, how are these individuals related to my ancestors who lived in early Wilkinson County, Mississippi?  


Watch for more here as the search continues.




Source:
Ancestry.com. Annals of the town of Providence : from its first settlement to the organization of the city government in June, 1832 [database on-line]. Provo, UT: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005.  Original data:  Staples, William R., Annals of the town of Providence : from its first settlement to the organization of the city government in June, 1832. Providence: Printed by Knowles and Vose, 1843.

Fenner Family of Mississippi - Beginning at the End

I now know that my great-great-great-grandmother, Rachel Fenner, is descended from the Fenner family that lived in the early-mid 1700's in Bertie and Craven Counties in North Carolina.  It appears that Rachel's family followed in the footsteps and wagon trails of so many others who left that area searching for new lands and a better way of life in places west and south.  From all accounts, Rachel was born after the family left North Carolina.  Some researchers believe Rachel was born in Tennessee, where some of the Fenner family eventually settled, while others believe she was born in Georgia, as her family traveled further south.  Most researchers, however, agree that Rachel Fenner married William Neatherlin in Georgia, and several of their children were born there before the family moved to the Mississippi Territory after 1790.  Since the family eventually included several more children, it seems likely the younger ones were born after Rachel and William arrived in the territory. The presence of both Fenner and Netherland families in the Mississippi Territory in the early 1800s is validated by territorial census information that shows William Netherland, Joseph Fenner, Sr., Joseph Fenner, and William Fenner enumerated as heads of households in Wilkinson and Lawrence Counties.

Source:
Ancestry.com. Mississippi State and Territorial Census Collection, 1792-1866[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Mississippi State and Territorial Censuses, 1792-1866. Microfilm V229. 3 rolls. Heritage Quest.

Balfour, Davis, and Gartley Families of Madison County, MS

One of my readers, Bill Hays, contacted me several months ago about a post I had written on Cemeteries of Dancing Rabbit Creek about Mound Bluff Cemetery in Madison County. In his email, Mr. Hays thanked me for posting photos of the old cemetery in which a number of his ancestors are buried.  According to my contact, many of those buried in the cemetery once lived in an area of Madison County that was referred to as the "Vernon Neighborhood," families that had migrated from Wilkinson County, Mississippi and from Bayou Sarah, Louisiana.  Mr. Hays explained that his great-great-grandfather, William Lovett Balfour and his wife, Elizabeth Davis Gartley Balfour are among those buried in the cemetery, as well as other members of the Balfour, Davis, and Gartley families who were part of the migration.  Proudly, he also related that he was in the process of replacing his great-great-grandparents' demolished grave marker with a "flat plaque."

Recently, Mr. Hays recontacted me and included photos of himself and his cousins from Woodville, Mississippi and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when the "flat plaque" was placed on the gravesite of William Lovett and his wife, Elizabeth Davis Gartley.  Interestingly, Dr. William Lovett Gartley was a Founder and President of the Board of Trustees of Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi.  A photo of the plaque can be viewed on my other blog, Cemeteries of Dancing Rabbit Creek.


In the weeks ahead, look for posts here about members of these three families and the area known as the "Vernon Neighborhood."

Netherland Family in Southwest Mississippi Territory - Early 1800s

An early census of the Mississippi Territory indicates James, Joseph, Levi, and William Netherland (Jr.) were already residents of the southwest area of what later became the State of Mississippi.  Most Netherland researchers believe the four men were brothers, having been born in Richmond County, Georgia to William Netherland (Sr.) and Rachel Fenner Netherland. According to the census, James was the head of a household in Wilkinson County, while the other three men were enumerated in Lawrence County. In 1816, a census taken in Wilkinson County validates that James continued to be a resident there, and in 1816, a census of Lawrence County confirmed that William, Joseph, and Levi were still residing in that county. In an earlier post I included the names of the ten children born to William Netherland (Sr.) and Rachel Fenner Netherland, my fourth great-grandparents. I am descended from their son, John Patrick Netherland and his first wife, Elizabeth Jane Smith. Their son, William Bailey Netherland, was my maternal great-grandfather.  I invite you to follow me here for future posts about several Netherland families as they migrated from Mississippi into Louisiana and later to Texas.


References: Missisippi State and Territorial Census Records, 1792 - 1866, accessed online via ancestry.com on September 8, 2010