Founder of Milford, Physician, and Patriarch of the American Gunn Family
Jasper Gunn stands at the head of one of America’s oldest continuous Gunn family lines. Baptized on 9 August 1607 at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Great Burstead, Essex, England, he was the son of Henry Gunne and Sarah Hawkley. Raised in the intellectually active and deeply Protestant culture of East Anglia, Jasper acquired the literacy, discipline, and reforming spirit that would shape the remainder of his life.
Before leaving England, Jasper married Christian, whose family shared his religious convictions and later joined the migration to New England. (Her maiden name is not established by record; the identification of her family is discussed in her own account.) Their decision to emigrate during the Great Migration was one of conviction rather than necessity. In 1635, Jasper and Christian sailed aboard the Defence to Massachusetts Bay before settling first in Hartford and then helping establish Milford in the New Haven Colony.
Jasper became one of Milford’s respected early citizens. Town records reflect his service as a teacher, sealer of weights and measures, brass and copper mender, and participant in civic affairs. He was also recognized as a physician, providing valuable medical care in a frontier community where trained practitioners were scarce.
Jasper and Christian raised a family whose descendants spread throughout New England and eventually across the United States. Their known children include Jobamah (“Job”) Gunn, Nathaniel Gunn, Daniel Gunn, and Dr. Abel Gunn, together with additional children who died young or whose surviving records are incomplete.
Jasper died at Milford on 2 January 1670/71, leaving a legacy of faith, literacy, public service, and civic responsibility that became recurring themes throughout the succeeding generations of the Gunn family.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| c. Late July/Early August 1607 | Born in Great Burstead, Essex, England |
| 9 Aug 1607 | Baptized at St. Mary Magdalene, Great Burstead |
| Before 1635 | Married Christian |
| 1635 | Sailed aboard the Defence |
| 1635–1639 | Resident of Hartford |
| 1639 | Helped establish Milford |
| 1640s–1670 | Physician and civic officer in Milford |
| 2 Jan 1670/71 | Died at Milford |
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Secondary Sources
Jasper Gunn’s medical education is not documented in surviving university or guild records. His later recognition as a physician in New England strongly suggests training through the provincial English system of apprenticeship in physic. This represents the most likely historical interpretation rather than a documented fact.