Clark, Robert Carlton, Ph.D. "History of the Willamette Valley Oregon."  Vol. 3.
Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company, 1927. p. 633.
 
W. R. BUNN

     For seventeen years W. R. Bunn has been a leader of the drug trade in
Yamhill, also leaving the impress of his individuality upon the history of its
development along civic lines, and represents the third generation of the family
in this county, which numbers him among its prosperous ranchers. He was born in
1881, on the old donation claim two and one-half miles northwest of Carlton, in
Yamhill county, and his parents, John Marion and Mary E. (Hawn) Bunn, were also
natives of Oregon. His father was born in Yamhill and was a son of Frederick
Bunn, Sr., whose birth occurred in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, November 3, 1825,
and who about 1835 accompanied his father, John Bunn, to Lonejack, Jackson
county, Missouri, where the family home was established. In 1844 Frederick Bunn
went to Dallas, Texas, with Mr. Wright, by whom he was reared. He was married
April 28, 1851, to Elmira Noel, daughter of James and Rachel Noel, of Lonejack,
Missouri, and in that year started for Oregon, arriving at North Yamhill on the
20th of September, after which Mr. Bunn took up a donation claim four miles west
of the town and there resided until he established his home in the town a few
years later. He died June 15, 1880. His wife, through her mother, Mrs. Rachel
Noel, was related to Joel Powell, a pioneer circuit rider of Oregon and one of
the best known preachers in the state. Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Bunn experienced
the privations of pioneer life after having journeyed to Oregon with ox team and
covered wagon. Of his donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres in
Yamhill county, a portion of the tract was prairie land and the remainder was
covered with valuable timber. A log cabin stood on the place and in this
primitive structure Mr. Bunn lived for a time. In 1861, however, he erected a
substantial frame house, planing the lumber by hand, and this building is still
in good condition.
     It was on the Bunn homestead that his son, John Marion Bunn, was born and
in the district schools of the locality acquired his education. He assisted in
the cultivation of the old donation claim until 1887, when he purchased a tract
of one hundred and sixty acres, lying partly within the corporation limits of
Yamhill. Mr. Bunn devoted the remainder of his life to the development and
improvement of that property and kept in close touch with the progress of
agriculture in this part of the state. Along fraternal lines he was identified
with the Masonic order, belonging to Lafayette Lodge. No. 3, A. F. & A. M. He is
survived by Mrs. Bunn, who now resides in Portland, Oregon. She was born in
Lafayette and was a daughter of Jacob Hawn, whose father, Henry Hawn, was born
in Germany and when a young man went to Canada and afterward to Pennsylvania,
removing thence to Genesee county, New York, where his son, Jacob Hawn, was born
and reared. One brother, James, died in California and another brother, Michael,
passed away in Pennsylvania leaving a fortune, but as there were no heirs this
was turned over to the state. There was also one sister, Mary. Of this family,
Jacob Hawn married a Miss Myers, who died when about twenty-six years of age,
and on the 18th of November, 1833, he wedded Harriet Elizabeth Pierson, who was
born August 30, 1818, and was a daughter of John and Thankful (Wilcox) Pierson.
In 1834 Jacob Hawn and his family removed to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he
built one or more mills on what was then the outpost of a slowly advancing
civilization. In 1836 or 1837 he went to Caldwell county, Missouri, and in 1839
started for Oregon, going to New York with the expectation of making the trip
around Cape Horn on the Lausanne, the same vessel that brought the large and
last delegation of Methodist missionaries to Oregon in 1840. On his arrival in
New York, Mr. Hawn found the vessel would not sail for six months, so they went
to Texas, but the climate did not agree with his wife and they returned to
Franklin county, Missouri, where they remained until May 10, 1843, when they
again started for Oregon, arriving at Vancouver, Washington, on the 18th of
November following. They settled at Oregon City and in 1846 moved to Lafayette,
Yamhill county, living in or near that place until they established their home
at The Dalles in Wasco county, Oregon, November 18, 1861. Jacob, Alonzo and
Jasper Hawn all served in the Indian war of 1855-56 under Captain Hembree of
Lafayette, Oregon. Jacob Hawn was an expert millwright and wherever he lived
built mills. It was the habit of Dr. McLoughlin in those early days to inquire
of all travelers as to their trades, and when he learned that Mr. Hawn, a
millwright, was en route for Oregon, he kept on the watch for him and also had a
man at Vancouver watching for three days for the arrival of the party. This man
told Mr. Hawn that Dr. McLoughlin wanted him to sharpen mill burs. The Doctor
said that his boys (Kanaka) would see about a house for Mr. Hawn's family and he
lived at Oregon City for a number of years, alter which he traded wheat to a Mr.
Risley for his land near Lafayette, and before moving to the farm Mr. Hawn built
a hotel in Lafayette. He also started to build a bridge and hewed the timber,
everything being then done by hand, but the gold craze came on and there were
not enough men left to finish the job. Mr. Hawn also went to the gold diggings
and by the time he returned the timber had been used for other things. However,
he built the Newby mill, the Perkins mill and others and was working on the
Happy Valley mill when he died of hemorrhage. He was born January 13, 1804, and
passed away January 27, 1860, while his wife died at The Dalles, April 17, 1883.
It was their daughter, Mary E. Hawn, who became the wife of John Marion Bunn. In
their family were ten children, two of whom died in infancy. Those who survive
are: Mrs. Minnie Frazer, who also makes her home in the Rose city: Mrs. Dora
Newton, of Prineville, Oregon; Fred, who lives in Carlton, this state; Mrs. Edna
Moore, of Portland; W. R., of Yamhill; Cleveland and Lloyd, residents of
Portland; and Herschel, whose home is in Merced, California.
     In the acquirement of an education W. R. Bunn attended the district school
near his home and the Yamhill high school, afterward entering the Oregon
Agricultural College at Corvallis, where he spent two years as a student in the
engineering department. On leaving that institution of learning he returned to
Yamhill and for four years was in the employ of a local druggist. On the
expiration of that period he located in Portland, Oregon, and for three years
held a position in a pharmaceutical establishment of that city. Mr. Bunn then
returned to Yamhill and in 1910 purchased the drug business of which he has
since been the proprietor. He has a complete stock of drugs and the filling of
prescriptions is one of the important features of the business. In addition he
sells school books and other supplies needed by pupils. His store contains a
soda fountain, at which he dispenses soft drinks and ice cream, and he also
deals in high-grade confectionery. The business, constantly expanding, has
become a vital factor in the life of the community, and in its conduct Mr. Bunn
is ably assisted by his wife. He is the owner of one hundred and fifteen acres
of the old donation claim entered by his grandfather and raises prunes, peaches
and walnuts on thirty acres of the tract, using the remainder of the land for
the growing of grain. His success as an agriculturist is based upon a thorough
knowledge of soil and climatic conditions in this region and the utilization of
scientific methods, always productive of the best results.
     It was on September 22, 1914, that Mr. Bunn married Miss Flossie Leland,
who was born in Minnesota and is a daughter of A. H. and Cora (Maguire) Leland,
natives of Michigan. The father followed the occupation of farming and was also
the owner of a restaurant. Mr. and Mrs. Leland have two children. The other
daughter, Viva, of Berkeley, California, was also born in Minnesota. Mr. and
Mrs. Bunn are the parents of two children: Winston, who was born June 18, 1916;
and Donna Marian, born March 22, 1922, both public school students.
     Mr. Bunn is a Mason, belonging to Lafayette Lodge, No. 3, A. F. & A. M., at
Yamhill, and to Al Kader Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Portland. He has been
through all the chairs in the blue lodge and is connected with the Eastern Star,
with which his wife is also affiliated, while he likewise has membership
relations with Yamhill Lodge of the Knights of Pythias. For two years he was
mayor of Yamhill, making an excellent record in that office, and is an ardent
advocate of good roads and schools. Mr. Bunn is regarded as one of the most
loyal, progressive and public-spirited citizens of this community and owes his
prosperity to those qualities which never fail to inspire respect, confidence
and friendship.
     
*******************

Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in March 2013 by Diana Smith.  Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.