Person:Thomas Bunce (1)

Thomas Bunce, Hartford, 1639, a proprietor “by courtesie of the town.” His home-lot in 1639-40 was near the site of the present Capitol. He served in the Pequot War, and was granted 60 acres for good service, in 1671, and 50 more in 1672. He was chosen chimney-viewer, 1646; constable, 1648; juror, 1649 ; townsman, 1653, 1661, 1665; rate and list maker, 1669 ; chimney-viewer, 1670; list-maker, 1671, 1672, 1673; freed from training, etc., Sept. 1672, being then 60 years of age. He and his wife Sarah were original members of the South Church, Feb. 12, 1670. He d. before Aug. 1683; appoints "beloved brethren, Ensign Nathaniel Standly and Steven Hosmore" overseen. Inv. July and Aug., 1683, £1,024. He names in his will wife Sarah, “cousin Elizabeth White,” and “sister Katherine Clark.” His widow d. Jan. 1693-4.[1]

Thomas and Katherine (sister named in his will) are often listed as the children of James Bunce and Katherine Raynor, seemingly based on a manuscript at the Connecticut Historical Society. However, that pedigree is likely based on an 1830 book of Kent genealogies by Walter Perry. That book lists only 7 children of James, not 11, and does not include Thomas and Katherine. So there appear to be no concrete sources supporting their parentage.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Howard, Alice Kennedy. Genealogy of the Bunce Family of Connecticut. (Marion, Mass.: The Author; Typescript, 1971)
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2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Manwaring, Charles W. A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records. (Hartford, Conn.: R. S. Peck & Co., 1904-06)
   I:283-284.