Jasper Gunn Arrives in New England

In the summer of 1635, a man named Jasper Gunn presented himself at the London Custom House and enrolled as a passenger bound for New England. The clerk recorded his name as Jasper Gonn, aged 29, accompanied by Ann Gonn, aged 25. The misspelling is the original document’s own hand — the first written trace of the Gunn family in America, already imperfect.

The Ship

The Defence of London, master Edward Bostock, sailed from London on 14 July 1635 and arrived at Boston harbor on 8 October, carrying approximately one hundred passengers. The crossing took nearly twelve weeks.

Among the passengers were several notable Puritan clergy traveling under assumed names to avoid Crown scrutiny — the political climate in England made emigration a matter requiring discretion. Archbishop Laud’s campaign to enforce Anglican conformity had made life uncomfortable, and sometimes dangerous, for those with Puritan sympathies.

The Hurricane They Missed

The Defence arrived six weeks after the Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635 had struck New England — a Category 4 storm estimated at 135 miles per hour that devastated settlements along the coast. The colonists Jasper stepped ashore among were still taking stock of what the storm had done.

“The sea came up above Narragansett, overflowed much of the country, and drowned 14 Indians flying from it.” — Governor John Winthrop, Journal, September 1635

That the Defence was at sea during the hurricane — and arrived safely six weeks after it — is a quiet fact that deserves noting. They sailed into the aftermath.

Arrival and Settlement

Jasper’s first settlement was Roxbury, Massachusetts, then a distinct town on the outskirts of Boston. On 25 May 1636, he was admitted as a freeman of Massachusetts Bay — a significant legal standing that required church membership and gave him the right to vote in colony affairs. He was granted 5½ acres of land in Roxbury in 1639.

In that same year he received a lot in the newly founding town of Milford, Connecticut Colony — the first indication that Roxbury would not be his permanent home.

The Question of Ann Gunn

The passenger manifest lists Jasper traveling with Ann Gonn, aged 25. Later records establish that Jasper’s wife was named Christian, not Ann. Several researchers have noted that Jasper did have a sister named Ann — though the age on the manifest doesn’t match the known sister precisely. She may have been a cousin, a neighbor from the same parish, or a second sister not previously identified.

This remains an open question in Gunn family genealogy.

The Family He Built

Jasper and Christian Gunn had several children born in the colonies — the first generation of American Gunns. Their descendants would remain in New England for generations before the westward drift of the 18th and 19th centuries carried the family name across the continent.

What Came Next

The Gunn family put down roots that held. By the time of the Revolution, four generations separated Jasper’s landing from the men who would answer the call at Lexington and Concord.