Like his father, Freeman was a farmer. In September 1823 a deed shows, 15 yr old Freeman James Gunn had worked for his father as an overseer for two years. In exchange for his labor, he received a deed for the slave Hannah, and $120.00. Freeman must have been a hardworking and mature young man, to be given the position of overseer. Freeman's parents died abt 1823 or 1824, leaving orphaned, two young children, Elizabeth about five years old,, and Henry G. Gunn about eleven. Elizabeth J and Henry Gunn were raised by their father's sister, Elizabeth Gunn who married Burwell Wilks. Freeman was 15 or 16 and possessed farming, labor, and other skills that enabled him to provide for himself.
There is some speculation, Freeman's parents , James Gunn Jr and Elizabeth, left Brunswick County, but this is unlikely. In 1823, Freeman's father, James Gunn, Jr would have been in his late 50's or early sixties, his wife Elizabeth Jordan Gunn, about 40. It is improbable James and Elizabeth Jordan Gunn moved, leaving their youngest children behind to be raised by someone else.
Records beginning in 1812 and lasting until 1823, reflect that Freeman's father experienced increasing financial difficulties. He sold and otherwise indebted most of his property holdings. Fortunately for Freeman, he purchased 200 acres of land in January of 1825. The land bordered the road from Stephen Jones Bridge to Flat Rock Church in Brunswick County. This was land his father James, had indebted to John Rives in 1822.
Eight months after the purchase of this property, Freeman age 17, married Maria Bridgforth, the daughter of John and Mary Miller Bridgforth, on November 8, 1825. The couple were married by the Rev. John Doyle in Brunswick County. They lived in the St. Andrew's Parish District of Brunswick County. Like his father, Freeman was a farmer and a slave owner. Freeman and Maria Gunn had four children that survived infancy. Their first child, John B. Gunn was born in 1827, likely named after his maternal grandfather, John Bridgforth. John's birth was, followed by Richard James Gunn born in 1828, Samuel Harrison Gunn in 1831, and Mary S. Gunn in 1834.
On August 21, 1850 when the census for Brunswick County was taken, Freeman listed his occupation as planter. Their son Samuel Harrison Gunn, age 18 and his wife Martha were living in the home, with their 2 month old infant. This child did not survive. Mary S. Gunn, Freeman's youngest daughter was also in the home.
All of Freeman and Maria Bridgforth Gunn's sons married into the Elmore family.
1. In 1851, Richard James Gunn married Mary Augusta Elmore, the duaghter of James Elmore, Jr, and his wife Martha Barnes.
2. In 1853, son John B. Gunn married Lucy Jane Elmore, the daughter of James Elmore, Sr. and his wife Mary "Polly" Pritchett Elmore.
3. In 1857, after the death of his first wife, Martha Daniel, Samuel Harrison Gunn married Lucy Ann Elmore, also a daughter of James Elmore, Jr and his wife Martha Barnes. Lucy Ann Elmore died in 1874. In 1876, Samuel Harrison then married Addie Elmore, the daughter of Edward and Desdemonia Robbins Elmore.
Sometime between 1850 and 1860 Freeman James Gunn moved from Brunswick County to the third district of Nottoway County, Virginia. Freeman was working in Nottoway County as an overseer. Overseers at this time, were in charge of the plantation slaves. Large plantation owners, as a rule, did not grovel in the day-to-day handling of slaves, but were hired to delegate slave labor and to administer punishment if needed. Overseers actually ran the plantations prior to the Civil War. Freeman worked for John Gilliam Powell on the Powell plantation "Falkland" located on the Ridge Road, outside of Blacks and Whites, which is present day Blackstone, Virginia. When the 1860 census was taken, Freeman was 52 years old. The census did not reflect that he owned real estate. This is expected since, he was working on the Powell Plantation. Their daughter Mary S. Gunn was 25, and a grandson, James Freeman Gunn, age 6, the son of Samuel Harrison and Maria Bridgforth, was also in the home. Samuel Harrison Gunn and his second wife, Lucy Ann Elmore who he married in 1857, were living in Lunenburg County when the 1860 census was taken. Their son John B. Gunn was living on the Gunn farm in Brunswick County, and son Richard James Gunn may have been living in the Totaro District of Brunswick County, but did not appear on the 1860 census.
Freeman James Gunn's exact death date isn't known, he died after the 1860 census and before the 1870 was taken. He would have been 52-58 years old. . By 1870, Freeman's wife Maria Bridgforth Gunn, had , moved into the home of her son Samuel Harrison Gunn and his second wife Lucy, who had moved from Lunenburg County to Brunswick County, Virginia. Maria apparently died between 1870 and 1880. Most likely she and her husband Freeman were buried on the farm near present day Blackstone, Virginia.
Go to John B. Gunn
Go to Samuel Harrison Gunn
Go to Richard James Gunn
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