John Bunch. Origin: Old Inhabitant.

John Bunch was granted 540 acres in the Bunches area of Long Island on 1 July 1788. He also received a grant of unknown acreage on 1 July 1790.

The Bunch surname is listed in the Wood Rogers’ Census (1731). George Bunch, an Old Inhabitant, also received land on Long Island. A John Bunch was born in 1777 on New Providence to John and Cicely Bunch. As with many other grantees, it is clear that the name John Bunch appeared in multiple generations, but we know as a certainty that the Bunches were in the Bahamas from the early years of the 18th century. For example, 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.

References: Census 1731, DM.