Additional information
by Michael Bunner (Author), Gregory Bunner (Author)
This book follows the history of one branch of the extended Bunner family in America from the time of their initial immigration from Germany in 1736 through the nine succeeding generations. The first six chapters provide the historical foundation for virtually every branch of the extended Bunner family in America today. The last seven chapters focus on the John Amos Bunner branch of the family, but provides the names and biographies of his nine siblings that can assist members of other branches of the Bunner family to trace their lineage.
The first generation of Bunners left Germany in hopes of a better life in America and settled in Lancaster County, PA. The second generation chose the hard life of the American frontier in western Virginia (now West Virginia) and survived the French and Indian War. The third generation fought for American independence during the Revolutionary War and then returned to western Virginia to lead their lives.
The fourth generation continued moving westward with the leading edge of the American frontier to present day Indiana. One member of the fifth generation moved his family back from Indiana to present day West Virginia to live on his original family farm. That generation also witnessed the construction of hundreds of miles of railroad tracks crisscrossing the region that significantly reduced the time to transport people and goods and greatly expanded the economy in western Virginia. The sixth generation lived through the political and social turmoil of the Civil War that saw many families in western Virginia torn apart by their choice of loyalties. They saw President Lincoln assist western Virginia citizens to break away from Virginia, secede from the Confederate States, and rejoin the Union as West Virginia, the thirty-fifth state. It was also this sixth generation that adopted "Bunner" as the proper English spelling of the family name.
The seventh generation moved from eastern to western WV near the Ohio River. The eighth generation moved from Wood County, WV to Zanesville, OH, and became the first generation to earn a living working in a factory and not as a farmer. Unfortunately, the Great Depression caused that factory to close, forcing the family to return to WV where subsistence farming allowed them to survive until America's entry into World War II brought The Great Depression to an end. The ninth generation grew up during the Great Depression, lived through World War II and the Korean War, and witnessed the emergence of America as a superpower.
The authors do a superb job of integrating the Bunner family biographies with the history of the times in which they lived. As a result, this book provides many interesting insights and tidbits into what life was like in the early German settlements of the "Pennsylvania Dutch" country during colonial times. It also includes the trials and tribulations of the family that moved to the western Virginia frontier in the Appalachian Mountains in 1747, including an encounter they had with sixteen-year-old George Washington that Washington included in his journal. The Revolutionary War comes to life as seen through the eyes of John, Joseph, and Reuben Bunner, all of whom served in the cause to win America's independence. The Civil War is presented through the eyes of Alexander Bunner and his wife Lydia, who saw the opening land battle of the war take place near where they lived. Other Civil War battles in West Virginia are seen through the eyes of Lafayette Bunner, who served as a teamster for the Union Army and provided food, munitions, and medical supplies to Union soldiers for the duration of the war. These Bunner family biographies are also integrated with World War I, the Great Depression and World War II, and the Korean War. These narratives provide unique perspectives not found in other history books.
