The Gunter Line

The Gunter line begins with John Gunter (1830-1863), recorded as having been born in North Carolina. John Gunter’s mother was named Esther (1809-18??), also born in North Carolina. John married Elzira (1828-18??) (surname unknown, but possibly Henderson?), of Tennessee as he and his parents made their way through Tennessee and Kentucky, settling initially in Pope County in rural southeastern Illinois. Written records remain elusive as to the identity of John’s father, Esther’s husband.

[My theory--which is only the author's theory--is that a Wiley Gunter (1774-1837) of Jones and/or New Hanover County, NC is John Gunter's grandfather. The ancestry of this Wiley Gunter is very well recorded back to 11th century England and continues into northwestern Normanic France in the Middle Ages.

Wiley Gunter married Rezin Simmons (1772-1800) of Jones County, NC in January 1800. Most records for Rezin Simmons state she passed away in December 1800 at age 28. Perhaps Rezin passed away during childbirth?

If a male child was born of Wiley and Rezin who grew up and married an Esther ____, then there is a chance Rezin was John Gunter's paternal grandmother.]

The 1860 US Census taken at Township 10, Range 4, Williamson Co., Illinois shows the following:
John Gunter, 30 (head of household); Elzira, 32 (wife); Esther, 50 (John’s mother). John and Elzira had five children: James (b. 1848), John (b. 1851), Eliza (b. 1853), George (b. 1855), and Wylie (b. 1859).

Eliza Gunter eventually married Ushell (or Hershell) D. Cutrell and raised her family in Illinois. James Gunter had a wife named Deborah and two daughters, Emily J. and Mary, and farmed near Shawneetown, Illinois in the 1870s. No verifiable records are known for John or George. Due to the total absence of records it is plausible that George may have died in adolescence.

Wylie Gunter was raised in Williamson Co., Illinois and married Martha Moreland (1852-1918) about 1879. This is reported to have been Martha’s second marriage, following a brief marriage to a man named Johnson. Martha Moreland was born in Phillips Co., Arkansas, but moved to Illinois with her family as a child. Wylie Gunter and Martha Moreland had one child, Robert Henderson Gunter, born Jan 11, 1883 in Shawneetown, Illinois.

Wylie is believed to have died fairly early in adulthood, probably in his thirties, after which time Martha married a third time to Aaron Stout “Bud” Brazier (1859-1936). Interestingly, Aaron Brazier and his first wife, Sarah (1862-188?), while living in Illinois, were close neighbors of Wylie and Martha Gunter and even entered their 1880 US Census records sequentially. Apparently, when each couple lost a spouse near the same time the surviving spouses married each other. Aaron and Martha Brazier had one child, Janet, who died in childhood.

Whether it was a sign of the times, or a purposefully cultivated multi-generational family association, the Gunter and Bryant families appear to have lived parallel lives in the 1800s and early 1900s. Aaron and Martha Brazier and her son from Wylie, Robert Henderson Gunter, moved from Illinois to Mississippi Co., Missouri in the late 1890s, together with several members of the Bryant family. The 1900 US Census taken in Mississippi County, Missouri shows Aaron and Martha Brazier in the same household with Robert Henderson Gunter, apparently just months before his marriage to Anna May Bryant, whom he must have known since childhood.

Robert Henderson Gunter (1883-1967) married Anna May Bryant (1884-1969), a daughter of John M. Bryant (1835-1885) and Ura S. Truex (1853-1897), about 1900 and started a family. Robert and Anna May continued to live in Mississippi Co., Missouri for several years and their first five children were born in Missouri. They then moved to Greenfield, Poinsett County, Arkansas in 1916, along with Anna’s brothers and other family and friends. Aaron and Martha Moreland Gunter Brazier also made the move to Greenfield and were buried in the Houston Cemetery east of Old Military Road north of the Greenfield community north of Harrisburg.

Robert Henderson Gunter and Anna May Bryant had six children:
1. Charlotte Elizabeth (1903-1976) “Lottie” married Louie Jackson Scott and they had Iva Belle, Louie Joseph, Margrette, and Robert D.
2. Vergil C. (1907-196?) Vergil married Elvia Jean Blalock and they had Donald Ray, Bobby (died young), Eddie Joe, Shirley Joann, and Vergie Sybil
3. Herbert A. (Bill) (1910-1957) Bill married Laverta Blalock and they had Billie and Michael
4. John Wylie (1912-1976) John Wylie married Gladys Olive Wixson and they had Sylvia Jean, Jack Henderson, Martha Nedine, and Wylene Ann
5. Martha Belle (1915-living) Martha married Ned Darter and they had no children
6. Ralph Alexander (1917-1996) Ralph married Mary Faye Imboden and they had no children

This photo is dated March 1924 and was probably taken at the Robert and Anna Gunter homestead near Greenfield, Arkansas. All six children are present: back row, l-r: Vergil, Herbert (Bill), and Charlotte (Lottie); front row, l-r: Wylie, Martha, and Ralph.

This photo was taken at Robert H. and Anna Gunter's 50th wedding anniversary celebration at the Fisher United Methodist Church, which had just been completed. Back row: Sons Wylie, Bill, Ralph, and Vergil; front row: daughter Martha, Robert H. and Anna Gunter, and daughter Lottie.

This 1955 Christmas photo of R.H. and Anna Gunter was taken by daughter Martha in their living room at their Brushy Lake community home.

Note: An interesting fact is that the Gunter brothers, Vergil and Bill, married Blalock sisters, Elvia and Laverta.

About 1930 Robert and Anna May Gunter moved their family from the Greenfield community to the Brushy Lake community in Owen Township, Poinsett Co., Arkansas. Robert was a noted fisherman and their four sons initially established a joint farming enterprise. This was later divided into two farms, one comprised of Vergil and Wylie, and the other with Bill and Ralph. Vergil and Wylie eventually farmed independently, as did Ralph after Bill’s death in 1957.

This photo was taken in the late 1960s of the remaining four Gunter children and their spouses. From left: Wylie and Gladys Gunter, Ralph and Mary Faye Gunter, Ned and Martha Darter, and Louie "Shorty" and Charlotte "Lottie" Scott.

The caption tells the story, although the editor made one error: the infant is Tommy's daughter, Chris--not a son.

These three photos were taken in May 1947 of John Wylie Gunter operating his new D4 Caterpillar dozer on his farm east of Brushy Lake community. The author believes this is the field now situated along highway 214 and adjacent to Priscilla Lane.

John Wylie Gunter and Gladys Olive Wixson's only son, Jack Henderson Gunter (1934-2003), married Priscilla Ann Sparrow (1935-living), of Pittston, Maine on February 14th, 1959. Jack Henderson Gunter had enlisted in the Air Force and following basic training in San Antonio was stationed at Loring Air Force Base at Limestone, Maine for the duration of his service. Jack worked initially as a route draftsman before becoming a surgical assistant at the base hospital. Jack and Priscilla settled in Owen Township, Poinsett County, Arkansas and raised four children on their rice farm: Jill Ann, John Robert, Joy Alicia, and Jay Russell.