Jasper Gunn (1606 - 1671)

Born 1606 in Essex, England [uncertain]

Husband of Christian (Unknown) Gunn — married 1636 in Connecticut Colony

Descendants

Died 12 Jan 1671 at about age 65 in Milford, New Haven, Connecticut Colony

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Jasper Gunn migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Great Migration (Series 2), by R. C. Anderson, vol. 3, p. 164) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Jasper Gunn is a member of Clan Gunn.

Uncertain Origin

There is no source for the parentage or Scottish origin for Jasper Gunn. The "DigginUpFamily" web site (see under Sources) is an unsourced pedigree for these early generations. While it may be correct, it cannot be considered a valid source as-is. The page claims that his father Henry was born in Great Rissington, Gloucestershire, England; that mother Sarah was born in Great Bursted, Essex, England 100 miles from that location, that they were married somewhere in England in 1695 but that all their children were born in "Highlands, Scotland". Granted that "Jasper Gunne" is a somewhat unusual name, a 1607 christening in Great Bursted is found (cited below) along with, on freereg.org.uk, several other children christened to a Henry Gunn at that location. The names match those on the "DigginUpFamily" page and those on the Henry Gunn profile linked as Jasper's father (except for the first two children born before 1599) but that profile and the web page say that they were born in Scotland, which is clearly incorrect.

Birth

Name: Jasper Gunne

Gender: Male

Baptism Date: 9 Aug 1607

Baptism Place: Great Burstead, Essex, England

Father: Henry Gunne^[1] note that the mother's name is not listed.

Immigration

Jasper arrived in Boston, Mass. October 8, 1635 in the ship "Defense" that sailed from London July 14, 1635 when he was 29 years old.

Note: he traveled with an "Ann Gunn" whom Anderson speculates may have been his sister. Anderson also believes that Jasper only ever had one wife, Christian and that his wife's name of "Mary" (from her record of joining the church) was a mistake based on Christian's will that lists all of Jasper's children as her own. Jasper Gunn of Great Bursted, Essex did have a sister Ann, born 5 years before him (see Jasper's "father" Henry's profile). The Ann traveling with Jasper was listed as about 5 years YOUNGER than him i.e. 10 years younger than the Ann Gunn of Great Bursted. This might not mean much given how inaccurate these passenger lists can be.

He settled in Roxbury, Mass. and was made a "freeman" of that place at a General Court held in Boston. In 1639 he had lot #24 in Milford, Conn.

Marriage and Children

Jasper Gunn and Mary Christian Baldwin were married on 08 Oct 1635 in Milford, New Haven, Connecticut. She died between 6 May 1690 (date of will) and 31 October 1690 (date of inventory).

1. NATHANIEL GUNN, b. say 1637; m. Springfield 17 November 1658 Sarah Day [Pynchon VR 57], daughter of ROBERT DAY {1634, Cambridge} [GM 2:2:325-29].
2. JOBAMAH GUNN, b. say 1639; m. (1) Milford 30 October 1663 Sarah Lane [Milford VR Barbour 79, citing "1:6"]; m. (2) about 1689 Mary Bristol [FANH 310].
3. MEHITABLE GUNN, bp. Milford 2 May 1641 [Milford ChR 2]; m. (1) Milford 20 December 1660 Benjamin Fenn [Milford VR Barbour 79, citing "1:4"]; m. (2) by 1690 Nicholas Camp (in her will of 6 May 1690, Christian Gunn included a bequest to "my daughter Campe namely Mehetabell" [NHPR 2:1:69]), son of NICHOLAS CAMP {1639, Milford} [Parke-Gildersleeve 51-52].
4. ABEL GUNN, bp. Milford 19 June 1643 [Milford ChR 2]; m. Milford 29 October 1667 Mary Smith [Milford VR Barbour 78, citing "1:8], daughter of John Smith [TAG 25:102].
5. DANIEL GUNN, bp. Milford [blank] [blank] 1645 [Milford ChR 3]; m. by an unknown date Deborah Coleman (in her will of 2 December 1703, "Deborah Gunn of Milford" included bequests to "my beloved brother John Coalman" and "my brother-in-law Jobamah Gunn," and in the inventory of her estate, taken 3 January 1703/4, she is described as "Deborah Gun of Milford deceased sometime the wife of Daniell Gunn deceased of Milford" [NHPR 3:4]).
6. SAMUEL GUNN, b. say 1648, m. by an unknown date Hannah Sanford, daughter of Andrew Sanford [FOOF 1:516-17].

Jobamah is usually given as the eldest son, followed by Nathaniel [Botsford-Marble 43]. However, inasmuch as Nathaniel was married five years before Jobamah, and we have no other evidence to go by, we have reversed this order. In view of this five-year difference, we may even have slightly underestimated the age of Nathaniel.

Occupation

He was Milford's first physician, a mender of brass and copper vessels, schoolmaster, sealer of weights and measures, a deacon of the church and generally a man of importance in the community.

About 1647 he moved to Hartford, Conn. where he continued his medical and other activities, also operating a mill.

Moved to Hartford as early as 1648.

In 1641 he was admitted to the church in Milford, "having been admitted and dismissed from the church in Hartford".

In 1649, he was "freed from watching during the time he attends the service of the mill". In 1656, he was "freed from training, watching, and warding during his practice of phissicke". Was a deacon in Milford, a schoolmaster, and appeared as an attorney in court on at least one occasion. Was the representative of Milford to the General Court.

Death

2 Jan 1671, Milford, Connecticut

In his will dated 25 December 1670 and proved on 27 January 1670/71 in New Haven,^[2] he left his land and stock to his sons. To Mehitable, he left "one of Mr. Hooker's books and my Aynsworth Communion of Saints".

His inventory was taken on 22 January 1670/71.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Essex : Great Burstead : St Mary Magdalene : Register of unspecified type : "Parish Register" database, FreeREG (https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5a4d0c9ef493fdeb842f9e7f : viewed 10 Mar 2022) baptism Jasper Gunne 09 Aug 1607
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} “New Haven Probate Records, Vol. 1-2, 1647-1703”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L92K-G9NK-Y : 8 March 2021), New Haven, Connecticut, FHL microfilm 007626739, image 161-162. New Haven Probate Record, 1647-1687, Vol. 1, Part 2, page 39-40.

• Descendents of Henry Gunn, p. 1; https://web.archive.org/web/20190614092403/http://www.digginupfamily.com/documents/gunn.html NOTE: Replaced with archive.org as of March 10, 2022. Unsourced (for these early generations) pedigree.
• Families of Early Milford, Connecticut, by Abbott
• Baldwin, Charles Candee (1881) Baldwin Genealogy from 1500-1881. Leader Printing co., Cleveland Ohio. (pg 50)
• Great Migration Begins V3:164-169.
• Baldwin, Charles Candee, The Candee Genealogy : with notices of allied families of Allyn, Catlin, Cooke, Mallery, Newell, Norton, Pynchon, and Wadsworth (Cleveland, Ohio, Leader Printing Company, 1882), p. 173. "Norton ... John bought property, September 29, 1659, in Hartford, Connecticut, of Jasper Gunn, which he sold February 22, 1664, to John Spencer."

• Colonial Connecticut Records, 1636 - 1776. Freemen at Milford, 1669 pp. 172, 197, 298, Index p. 593

• Selected and Introduced by Gary Boyd Roberts, Genealogies of Connecticut Families From The New England Historical and Genealogical Register ([CD]Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1983), vol 3, p 606.

• Abbott, Susan Woodruff. Families of Early Milford, Connecticut (Genealogical Publishing Co., 1979)
  pp. 316-7. "Jasper arrived in Boston, Mass. 8 October 1635 in the ship "Defense" that sailed from London 14 July 1635 when he was 29 years old ... He settled in Roxbury, Mass. ... 1639 ... The same year he was given lot # 24 in Milford, Conn. as a freeplanter ... Gunn was Milford's first physician, a mender of brass and copper vessels, (for medicine alone could not support a family in those times), schoolmaster, sealer of weights and measures, a deacon of the church and generally a man of importance in the community."

• Find A Grave: Memorial #83609149

• Jacobus, Donald Lines. An American Family, Botsford-Marble Ancestral Lines (Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, Connecticut, 1933) Page 42-3 & Page 240.