Richard James Gunn, some records show him as James R. Gunn, was born between 1827 and 1828 in Brunswick County, Virginia. His birth year is based solely on census records. His parents were Freeman James and Maria Bridgeforth Gunn. He was the youngest child, with at least two older brothers, Samuel H., and John B. Gunn, and a sister Mary. His father was a farmer who owned approximately 200 or more acres in Brunswick County and also held and sold land in Lunenburg County, Virginia. Richard was raised in Brunswick County.
According to marriage documents, Richard James Gunn married Mary Augusta Elmore in Lunenburg County, Virginia on March 27, 1851. She was the daughter of James W. Elmore, Jr. and Martha Barnes.
Richard's wife, Mary Augusta, was the sister of Lucy Ann Elmore who married Richard's brother Samuel Harrison Gunn in 1857. The children of these unions, were double first cousins!
To further complicate the relationships resulting from Gunn men, marrying Elmore women, Richard and Samuel Gunn's brother, John B. Gunn also married an Elmore. John married Lucy Jane Elmore. Lucy Jane was the daughter of James W. Elmore Senior and Mary Pritchett. Lucy Jane Elmore Gunn was the aunt to both Lucy Ann, and Mary Augusta Elmore who married her husband's brothers, Samuel Harrison and Richard James Gunn.
According to the 1850 Census of Brunswick County, Mary Augusta was living with her parents, and her given age was 16 (born circa 1834). No age was stated on her 1851 marriage documents. I was unable to find Richard in the 1850 census of Virginia, he was not living with his father and mother in Brunswick County.
In the 1860, Richard James appeared as Jas R. Gunn. He and Mary Augusta, and three children were living in the poor house operated by William Sledge and his wife Nancy. (1) Richard and Mary had three children who appeared in this census; Sarah, Maria (Martha L), and James H. Gunn, ages 8,6, and 4, respectively. There were 28 people in the poor house. By 1860 Richard's parents had sold their farm in Brunswick County, and relocated to Nottoway County. Daughter Martha L in this census may be Maria in the 1870 census and James H. Gunn appeared as John H. Gunn.
The author of Folks Back Home says that Richard did not serve in the War Between the States because he was blind in one eye. It is not known how he may have sustained this injury. Because both of Richard's brothers, and numerous cousins all served, it must have been difficult to remain home.
Richard James Gunn and Mary Augusta Elmore had several children whose births are documented in birth records of Brunswick County.
1. Sarah W. Gunn a daughter was born in 1851 or 1852. She married her first cousin John E. Gunn, in 1873. John E. Gunn was the son of John B. and Lucy Jane Elmore Gunn. Sarah W. Gunn gave her age as 22 on her marriage register, and named her parents as James and Augusta Gunn.
2. James H. Gunn a son was born in 1857. He died at the age of 4, according to the Brunswick County Virginia mortality records, from croup. His death was reported in May 1861. Parents of record were James R. and Augusta Gunn.
3. Fannie Gunn a daughter was born September 14, 1862. Fannie died from causes not stated on October 5, 1867 . She was 5 years old, according to the mortality records of Dinwiddie County, Va. Her parents were recorded as Richard and Augusta Gunn.
4. Cora A. Gunn - born March 1868.
On March 14, 1868 in Brunswick County, Virginia James W. Elmore and his wife Martha Barnes Elmore reported the death of their daughter, Mary Augusta Elmore Gunn, age 27. Mary Augusta's cause of death was reported as childbed (child birth). Her husband's name was reported as Richard J. Gunn. Mary Augusta Elmore Gunn gave birth to at least six children during her 17 year marriage to Richard. The only child known to survive to adulthood is Sarah W. Gunn.
By 1870 Richard is a 43 year old Miller in Brunswick County, with four children in the home. We know from mortality records that two children, James H and Fannie and his wife Mary Augusta are deceased. Living at home with their father on the farm were:
Sarah W. Gunn age 17 - Sarah will marry her first cousin John E. Gunn in 1873
Mariah S Gunn, age 15 - She's likely listed as Martha in the 1860 census
Mary E. age 8 -
Cora A. age 2. Cora may have been the baby born, when Mary Augustus died in childbed in March of 1868.
No member of the Richard James Gunn family was found after 1870 except daughter Sarah W. Gunn.
1. 1860 Census of Brunswick County, Virginia -M653, Roll 1337, Part 1, Page 735
2. 1870 Census of Brunswick County, Reel 1637, page 265
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