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| 1820 Census for Town of Wolcott, Seneca Co., New York | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head of Household | Males | Females | ||||||||||
| Free White Males under 10 | Free White Males 10-16 | Free White Males 16-18 | Free White Males 18-26 | Free White Males 26-45 | Free White Males 45 and over | Free White Females under 10 | Free White Females 10-16 | Free White Females 16-18 | Free White Females 18-26 | Free White Females 26-45 | Free White Females 45 and over | |
| Bunts, Thomas, p. 452 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Bunts, Abraham, p. 458 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Notes: | The record for the family headed by Abraham Bunts seems to show that an older man over age 45 was living with his son, daughter-in-law, and perhaps either his granddaughter or an unmarried daughter aged between 18 and 26. The record for Thomas Bunts may be that of a relative, possibly another son of Abraham Bunts.
"Bunts" is a variant in spelling the surname "Bunce," since census takers were not always very literate, and probably recorded names based on how they sounded, i.e. phonetically. Additionally, in the Deed Index, Ontario County, NY, Letter "B", 1789-1845, which is part of the official county website, are the following entries. These men may or may not have been living in the vicinity of the Thomas and Abraham Bunce listed in the 1820 census, and likewise may or may not have been related.
* It seems probable that this David Bunce was the same one who bought and sold property in Steuben Co., New York in 1822, but who was at that time a resident of Ontario Co., New York.
Lastly, in a letter dated April 5, 1988, from Russell E. Bidlack of Ann Arbor, Michigan to Bonnie Bunce, he stated in part: "I have a note which I copied once from George W. Cowles' LANDMARKS OF WAYNE COUNTY, NEW YORK (1895), p. 285, which gives a list of those who participated in the first town meeting of the town of Wolcott, in Wolcott Village on April 3, 1810 — a little more than 3 years after Wolcott had been set off from the town of Junius. One of the men on this 1810 list was Abram Bunce. On pages 288-9 there is a list of the residents of Wolcott in 1812, but no Bunce is listed." In an earlier paragraph in the same letter, Mr. Bidlack also wrote: Many years ago (1951) Mrs. Clarence C. Nesbitt wrote to me from Palmyra, NY. She referred to a "Butler-Savannah Cemetery" in Wayne County, NY, and said there is a stone there for a "Jacob Bunce, died 10 March 1844, aged 59 years." This would mean he was born about 1785. She said there was also a stone for a "Jonas Bunce, died 27 Sept. 1853, aged 61 years" — so he would have been born about 1792. She also mentioned a "Westburg Cemetery on the county line between Wayne and Cayauga [sic] Counties" in which there was a stone for "Loretta Bunce, w. of William, born 16 Apr. 1858, d. ----" and one for "William Bunce, 1855-1894." Also a "Woods Cemetery in the N.E. corner of Butler Twp." where there was a stone for "Elizabeth Bunce, w. of Thos. d. 12 June 1832, aged 64 yrs." Also "William Bunce, died 12 Nov. 1840, 80 yrs." I know nothing about any of these Bunces. According to p. 162 of the 6th edition of the Handy Book for Genealogists, Wayne County was established in 1823, 3 years after the census recorded above. A portion of Wayne County was taken from Seneca County and a part from Ontario County to form Wayne County. It appears that the Town of Wolcott was part of Seneca County ceded to Wayne County in 1823. |