Hillsborough, NC

I’ve never heard of the Bunch name being documented to tribal Saponi. I wonder what the original source is for that.

As a point of clarification, I went back and reviewed our 1990 Petition for State recognition, to see what had been stated regarding the Collins, Gibson, and Bunch families in the 1755 tax list for Orange County. They are referred to as “Indian” in the petition, with an explanation of how the term “mulatto” was commonly applied to persons of mixed Indian descent. It does not identify them as Saponi, and I am not aware of any early record that does identify the Bunch family as Saponi. I will be happy to send the entire text (about 3 paragraphs) if anyone needs it. Some of the Gibsons end up in Macon, where some of them apply as Cherokee to the Guion Miller Commission. They are rejected, but the agent notes their Indian appearance in a handwritten note on the application.

Please be aware that the “Petition for State recognition for the Eno-Occaneechi Indian Tribe” (now the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation), submitted in 1990, is based on information availible in the mid to late 1980’s, and if it were to be re-written now, based on what we know now, it would no doubt be much more well written. We’ve learned a lot since then, both in terms of actual information, as well as in writing style.

My personal belief is that the Bunches were of Indian descent; early direct documentation for that seems to be lacking at this point.

Tshwe’n tweh’n,

We have the Bunch surname among our Southern Band Tuscarora Tribe of “Indian Woods” Bertie County NC.Now whether they were originally Saponi that were absorbed into our Tribe or whether they were Tuscarora that hid their Identity as Tuscarora when they left the Reservation,I don’t know,but Bunch is one of 89 surnames that connect to my people.

Oo-neh

Oo-yeh’-gweh Neh-rah’-gwah’

(He is dancing Smoke)

Smokedancer

Forest,

Having seen the freeafricanamericans. com site before, I again refered back to it and found this in reference to the discussion of the Bunch’s being Saponi. Not that this snippet “proves” Saponi descent, but it definitely suggests it.

“John2 Bunch, born say 1692, owned land adjoining Gideon Gibson’s land, and he probably named his son Gideon for him. He sold the land that “my father Paul Bunch bought of James Kelly on Occaneche” on 28 August 1728 and purchased 100 acres in Bertie County on the south side of the Roanoke River near Tuckahoe Marsh on 12 May 1729….”

And the exact page link: http://www.freeafricanamericans.com/Brooks_Byrd.htm

Jim

I don’t know, Jim, these dates are a bit too early. In the 1720’s the Saponi were still living as a tribe on the Fort Christanna reservation. It’s about then that they dispersed. So perhaps these Gibson and Bunch families were mixed blooded, or perhaps they are the white families the mixed blooded families took their name from, one way or another.

Tshwe’n Forest dis-neh tweh’n,

That is what I am talking about. Many remenants migrated to the “Indian Woods” Rez in Bertie for protection,they were absorbed into the Tuscarora ,thus becoming Tuscarora. This happened a lot. So no matter what Tribe that they came from,once they were absorbed for protection,they became Tuscarora. So there were Tuscarora with the Bunch surname that may have been,I said may have been(such as Jeremiah Bunch) Saponi at one time or you may have had Choanoc remenants that were absorbed into the Tuscarora and thus became Tuscarora,Yeopim,Pamlico etc.

Oo-neh

Oo-yeh’-gweh Neh-rah’-gwah’