No. 194 Feb. 2021 Using Prison Records to Learn About Your Ancestors This is a delicate subject, but bear with me. In 1956, a brace with a wooden piece to keep the tongue from 15-year-old female, honor roll student, never convicted flapping. As late as 1972, in New Jersey, the court of a crime, always told her mother where she was and found that only a woman could be a common scold. who she was with, was arrested and taken to the local juvenile jail where she was locked behind bars. The In 1880, a woman who did not properly report the death next day as she was being taken home, she asked the of her still born child was convicted and punished with juvenile officer why this had happened and was told she nine months on the chain gang and working as a servant should mind her mother better. Totally puzzled by that for several months to pay off her fine. she finally figured out that her mother had decided this was the proper punishment when she threatened to tell Children had no rights to an attorney. They were not her father what her mother was doing to her sister. That even allowed to talk to their parents or any other adult girl was me. I have never committed a crime other than that might help them. In re Gault 387 U.S. 1 (1967), the driving too fast and never been convicted for that. Our US Supreme Court ruled juveniles have a right to an criminal justice system has been appalling over the years attorney in court proceedings, but only when there is an and there is a good chance that one of your ancestors actual court proceeding. may have experienced a situation similar to mine. They can be held for months in the county jails Under Common Law, children age 14 and over were without any access to an attorney or anyone else liable to be convicted for serious crimes. They could while awaiting a hearing on any alleged crime they receive the death penalty if they were over the age of 10. may have committed. They have no constitutional Only later was there an understanding that children rights; they do not have a right to make a phone call. under the age of 7 should not be held liable for serious crimes. Prison records can show us the name of the prisoner, the age, the place they were convicted, sometimes the names In one case a ten-year-old boy was arrested, convicted of their parents, whether they were immigrants, the and sentenced to death for killing another little boy. The occupation of the prisoner and sometimes that of the ONLY evidence against him was that he hid himself parents as well, the physical description of the prisoner when the people were looking for the missing child. and sometimes the diseases they had and the programs and work they did in prison. They are a treasure trove of In 1819, in Illinois, if kids did not obey their parents, information and can be found at the state prisons and the they were sent to jail until “they humble themselves to state archives. Court records may be kept at the the said parents or masters’ satisfaction.” It was not individual court, the state archives, the state universities until 1932 that juvenile courts came into existence. Prior and maybe historical societies. Federal prisoners’ to that, children were tried in regular criminal courts. records may be found at the particular federal prison (i.e. Obviously in my case, parents could still send their kids Leavenworth) and the US Archives. to jail for no reason at all in 1956. Local newspapers may also have articles about arrests, Women were treated nearly as bad. They were confined trials and convictions. Check local newspaper archives, in the same prisons as the men until the mid -1800s. In the state historical society, and online sources. A free many states, prisons and federal prisons for females online source for newspaper articles is located at: were not in existence until 1927. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ A woman and only a woman could be convicted for We don’t have much use for kids in this country. being a common scold. The punishment was a head 2421 Bette - 5 Oct 2020 BUNKER FAMILY ASSOCIATION President’s Dialogue PRESIDENT - gil Bunker ZOOM… ZOOM… ZOOM… Sorry, this is not a circa 9 Sommerset Road, Turnersville NJ 08012-2122 [email protected] – 856.589.6140 2015 Mazda commercial; it is your alert for the first ever Bunker Family Association ZOOM meeting to be held VICE-PRESIDENT / HISTORIAN - Bette Bunker Richards on June 19, 2021. LiANN PENNINGTON, our BFA 4570 N. Camino de Oeste, Tucson AZ 85745-9735 Scholarship Chair, volunteered to set up the digital [email protected] conference. Look for details in the May Bunker Banner. SECRETARY - Shirley Bunker Howell Surely this edition of the Bunker Banner should be 38 West 1600 South, Orem UT 84058-7444 labeled the Bette Banner as nearly all the articles are [email protected] followed with her by-line. A tremendous amount of time TREASURER - Lowell K. Bunker and exploration is necessary for this to transpire, and all 690 E. 2780 N., Provo UT 84604-4045 the while Bette continues to correspond about various [email protected] investigations into our family genealogy, not to mention I am accountable for a devastating wealth of queries. WEBSITE / EMAIL CHAIR - Douglas G. Detling A mere thank you is not sufficient, so… 363 Fargo Street, Eagle Point OR 97524-9576 Bette thanks a great Big bunch! [email protected] SCHOLARSHIP CHAIR - LiAnn Pennington I invite you to send your stories, articles, newsprint, 2632 52nd Avenue, Greeley CO 80634-4005 birthdays, marriages, obits, etc. Add your name to a By- [email protected] line; don’t let Bette do all the work. This is your GRAVEYARD CHAIR - Steve Bunker standard, keep it flying. 229 Portland Road, Gray ME 04039-9505 chinaseatrading.com Special gratitude is extended to (C-33-I) RODGER D. BUNKER, Mesa, AZ (formerly of Slayton, MN) for the DUES: Bunker Family Association article about his Grandmother Mattie’s early life as a 690 E. 2780 N., Provo UT 84604-4045 letter-carrier for the Post Office (see Charlestown Branch, p.2424). Mattie should certainly be labeled a PayPal NOTICE frontier woman, strong, fearless and courageous above If paying dues or other items via PayPal, please select the all. It is a delightful story! option ”Send money to friends and family” instead of “goods and services,” to avoid a service fee deduction from the payment. After making that selection, the next screen will ask My gratefulness is extended to Life Member E. MARIE you to enter amount with the option to “write a note.” That is BUNKER (RN 512768) Redondo Beach, CA for the where you enter a reason for the expense. Send payments to memoranda of missing mariners (see Babble p. 2424) Bunker Family Association at [email protected] and a cache of genealogical data, for the BFA database. – a receipt will be sent to your account. Congratulations to KRISTOPHER BUNKER, the new STATEMENT Managing Editor for the January 2021 Premier Edition The Bunker Banner is published quarterly, August, November, of RV Magazine, Lincolnshire, IL. Who is this puzzling February and May, by the Bunker Family Association periodical person? Bette thinks he is possibly U-25-II (FOUNDED in 1913), as a non-profit organization. grandson of LYMAN "Jiggs" BUNKER, Fernandina, Circulation is to 200+/- Bunker families worldwide. Annual dues that include the Bunker Banner are PDF e-file $20.00 FL bunch; in the database as born ca1975. Thanks to the (worldwide) – Paper copies: USA $25.00 – Canada $30.00 – perceptive eye of my son, JOHN Wm. BUNKER, West Europe $35.00 USD. Deptford, NJ, for detecting this descendant. LIFE MEMBERSHIP Well done author CAROLINE BUNKER ROSDAHL - Benefactor $300.00 - Humanitarian $400.00 - for a new tome about her nursing career. See the Bunker - Philanthropist $500.00 - Babble for a succinct book review. The Bunker Family Association is recognized as a tax- For the Bunker Family Association, I pray this year will exempt organization; contributions qualify as charitable be an improvement over 2020. Wear your mask, and donations under Section 501(c) (3) of the IRS code. have a healthy and successful New Year. Join the largest Bunker association in the world! gil Bunker Website: www.BunkerFamilyAssn.org 2422 Devonshire Bunkers – 2000 Bunker Babble -Bette Bunker Richards “Chicago obstetrician and gynecologist (N-206) Descendents of James (D-1) on a USB flash-drive. ALICE8 BUNKER STOCKHAM (1833-1912), the Approximately 1,333 pages in length, it updates fifth woman to become a licensed doctor in the U.S., the 1982 Bunker Genealogy – parts of the sent in an elaborate recipe for Coraline Cake, which 1965 Bunker Genealogy and more. called for the cake to be split and infused with It includes descendants of: strawberry or raspberry juice, then filled with boiled • James (D-1) Bunker of Dover, New Hampshire custard to make a sort of ‘French pie.’ Dr. Stockham was • Benjamin Bunker & Betsey Daniels, New London, NH anti-alcohol and anti-corset but - extraordinarily for her • Thomas Bunker & Alice Pertie, Rattery, Devon, UK time - pro-masturbation. She publicly endorsed it as • William Bunker & Ann Forrester, New Castle, DE healthy for both men and women. Her unorthodox stand Plus: positioned her as the antithesis to Sylvester Graham, • Devonshire Parish Records the Presbyterian reformer who believed rich food • Military service info for Bunkers from all branches inflamed sexual appetite, and who invented the Graham • Nearly 100 pictures • Maps • Indexes cracker (made with unrefined flour) to help Americans tame their sexual desires.