George Bunch. Origin: Old Inhabitant.

George Bunch was born 27 January 1762 in the Bahamas. Twenty years later, a George Bunch was a commissary of prisons (in May 1782) on New Providence. He was appointed Clerk of the Court and Public Notary 31 March 1784 and captain of a militia company of Long Island 26 January 1797. As with many grantees, it's likely that there was a father and son with the same names, and we have been unable to distinguish between the two. Whatever the case, the Bunches were an old family. In fact, there had been Bunches in the Bahamas since at least 1704, in which year a John Bunch was listed as a signatory in a petition to the Royal Customs Officer for New Providence, documenting the dire circumstances the inhabitants found themselves in after a series of degradations by Spaniards.

George Bunch was granted 300 acres in what is the current settlement of Stella Maris in 1788 and 140 acres in the Burnt Ground area. The 140 acres was listed as “Escheated” on the Lands and Surveys Map.

Reference: DM, CO23.