The first Bunting for whom there is any record in the Selbyville area is Jonathan Buntin (sic) born abt 1754 - died 1825.  His wife was Catherine/Caty.   It is not known when he arrived in the Selbyville area but he is listed in the 1782 tax assessment roll for Baltimore Hundred and several times afterward.  With rare exceptions, all the Buntings of the southern part of Sussex Co DE and the northern part of Worcester Co MD are his and Catherine's descendants.
     A complete detailed genealogy beginning with Jonathan and Catherine and continuing to 1998 may be found in Jane D Bunting: "Buntings of the Eastern Shore, Maryland and Delaware".   Copies of Jane's book are on file at the Selbyville Library, and at the Nabb Center in Salisbury. The book is carefully indexed and uses an easy-to-follow numerical method of descent.  A more recent version using FamilyTreemaker is available on CD. 
     Jonathan's exact parentage has not been verified, but it is known from DNA evidence that he was related to the Buntings of Accomack Co VA.   The earliest ancestor of this group for which there is documentation was William Bunting (born abt 1645 - died 1716), blacksmith,  who arrived in Accomack Co in 1671.
     It has been suggested that William's grandson Jonathan (b abt 1724 - died 1791) who lived at Jenkins Bridge in Accomack Co (just west of New Church) may have been the father of our Jonathan, but there is no positive documentation. 
     Deeds and wills show that some of the VA Buntings were moving into Somerset Co MD in the late 1700's and early 1800's.  Somerset Co formerly included lower Sussex Co DE as well as Worcester Co and Wicomico Co in MD.
     "The Bunting Family", a private genealogical study made by Robert Barnes of Baltimore MD in the early 1990's for Dorothy Bunting of the Noxema Corporation, developed the theory that our Jonathan was descended from a well documented group in Bucks Co PA.  Since his research, DNA samplings from descendants of their group and Jonathan's have shown no resemblance.
     The Accomack Co VA Buntings were thoroughly documented by Mary Frances Carey.  Her findings are on file at the Nabb Center in Salisbury.  Most but not all of her work on the Buntings may also be accessed on line through the Miles Files at the Eastern Shore of Virginia Library.  Some additional facts have been added to her work by Carolyn Seaman, Judy Stell and Gail Walczyk.   
    Ken Bunting  27 Jul 2010