Immigrants to North
America
with the Surname of Punches or of that Ilk,
Prior to the American Revolution
by James E. Punches
Author's Note: The information
given was the best available in 1988, when this article was written.
We know now that there is more than one source for the family
surnames.
I. 1500 - 1599
James Pounce
- Master of the ship, William and Mary. This ship sailed in the
company of five others, under the overall command of Sir John
Hawkins, in the year 1567, on a voyage to the Spanish settlements in
America. The William and Mary was lost at sea during a hurricane as
the English fleet ran from a pursuing Spanish fleet. The actual fate
of the William end Mary is unknown. What is known is that she was
last seen between Cuba and Mexico on a northerly heading.
II. 1600 – 1699
John (Pontes,
Pountes, Pounse, Pounce, Pouncey) - An early settler in Virginia. Originally obtained
land in Jamestown Colony under crown grant in 1622. He sponsored
further colonial immigration from Britain until at least 1652 when
he is mentioned as sponsoring a group for settlement in King and
Queen County.
Michel du Pon
- One of a group of French and Flemish Huguenots, who along with his
wife and two children, were given per-mission to settle in the
Virginia Colony. The date of the permission is 11 August 1621.
William (Pontes,
Pontis, Pontus)
- An early settler in Plymouth Colony (Massachusetts) from about
1630. Originally from Dover, England. He married Wybra Hansen of
Leyden, Holland on 4 December 1610. He had at least two daughters as
offspring, Hannah and Mary. He died on 9 February 1653.
Thomas (Ponnt,
Pount) -
An emigrant to New England on 29 April 1635. Age given as 21 in the
certificate of emigration. He traveled in the ship, Elizabeth and
Ann; Roger Cooper, Master.
Thomas Pynch
- An emigrant to Virginia on 27 July 1635. His age is given as 38.
He traveled in the skip, Primrose; Captain Douglas, Master.
Ja.(mes?) Pontian
- Listed as a settler in Virginia in 1648. May have been James
Poyntz, born in Reigate, Surrey, and baptized 8 September 1601. No
record remains in England of his later years.
Anpka Pounsey
- Listed as having been imported by John Pontes as an immigrant for
King and Queen County, Virginia in 1652. Sex of the person is not
known.
Sir Sydenham Poyntz
- Colonel General and Major General of the Parliamentary Army, 1643
- 1658. Brother of James Poyntz. Baptized 3 November 1607. Married
Ann Eleanora de Count Stephanus do Casy of Wurttemberg, Germany. He
was Governor of Antigua in 1661 and subsequently retired to Virginia
where he spent the remainder of his life.
William Pounsey
- Originally from Shadd Town, Southwark, London. He vas bound in
apprentice servitude with the consent of his mother, Alice Pounsey,
to one Richard Stephens, for a period of eight (8) years. He
imported at Maryland Colony on 22 July 1685. There is no record he
ever returned to England.
????? Punch
- Listed in an immigration document as being imported in land
settlement in Virginia in 1695. May have been a negro slave which
would account for the lack of a Christian name. Imported slaves were
counted against the importation requirements of colonial land grants
until 1699.
III. 1700 - 1776
Mary Punch
- Listed as being imported in land settlement in Virginia in 1702.
Niklaas Ponts
- Recorded as having immigrated at New York in 1709. It is indicated
that he arrived with a wife and three children.
Michael (Poince,
Points, Point) - The likely proper spelling of his family name is Poyntz. He was a
Quaker and was a member of the Abington Monthly Meeting during the
1720's and 1730's. He married an Elizabeth Nicholson, who immigrated
from Pardshaw Cragg, Cumberland, England ca. 1726, sometime between
24 April 1728 and 27 July 1728. It is not established if Michael was
an immigrant himself, or if he was born in America. Quaker records
indicate that Michael was buried 13 April 1736. Philadelphia Quaker
Records.
John Poyntz
- He is listed as being a member of the Irish Club of Boston in
1737. He was baptized on 2 December 1706 in Stoke St. Michael, near
Bath, Somerset. He was the second son of William and Mary (Strode)
Poyntz. It is not yet known when he immigrated nor whether he was
accompanied by either or both of his younger brothers, Francis and
Thomas. His elder brother, Strode, remained in England continuing
the family in that country.
Hans Michael
(Punch, Pointz) - Imported at Philadelphia, 8 October 1737; having arrived aboard the
ship, Charming Nancy, of London. Recorded as having sworn allegiance
to the British crown on that date. He is noted as being a Palatine.
Augustus Ponsy
- Imported at Philadelphia on 5 September 1738 from the ship, Winter
Galley. Recorded as having sworn allegiance to the British crown on
that date. Appears to have emigrated from the Palatine.
Mrs. Peter Pontius
and
Johannes (John)
(Pontius, Pontius, Pontes) - Palatine Archives in Speyer, Germany show that an
emigration license was issued to Mrs. Peter Pontius and her children
to emigrate to America. Immigration records show that in the same
year, 1738, Johannes Pontius, a 20 year old male, signed the
immigration papers and swore allegiance to the British crown on 9
September 1738. Based on the fact that others from the village of
Langenbach (the home village of Mrs. Peter Pontius), traveled with
Johannes Pontius on the ship, Glasgow, as well as the fact that most
others whose licenses to emigrate from the same period and the same
region were on the same ship, it seems safe to conclude that
Johannes was the eldest son of Peter and Mrs. Pontius (widow).
Adam Pontius
- Imported at Philadelphia in 1747, with a wife and two children.
Joseph Poyntz
- He is listed in some records in the Pennsylvania Archives as
being resident in Pennsylvania in the 1750's. It is not known if he
was an immigrant or native born.
Johan Puntzius
- Imported at Philadelphia on 13 October 1747 from the ship, Two
Brothers. Recorded as having sworn allegiance to the British crown
on that date and recorded as being from the Palatine.
Abraham Pons
- Imported at Philadelphia on 24 September 1761 from the ship,
Neptune. Recorded as having sworn allegiance to the British crown on
that date. Appears to have been from the Palatine as the majority
of ships passengers were from the Palatinate.
Johan Gottlieb
Ponce
and
Johannes Gottlieb
Ponce -
Both imported at Philadelphia on 28 October 1766 from the ship,
Countess of Sussex. Recorded as having sworn allegiance to the
British crown on that date.
Johan David Pontius
and
Johan Philip
Pontius
- Two brothers who, according to the Palatine State Archives, were
granted a license to emigrate to America. The records indicate they
imported at Philadelphia in 1768. Johan David was born 9 March 1738
and Johan Philip was younger. Their parents were Andreas and Anna
Marie Pontius of Niederbrombach, Zweibrueken, Duchy of Birkenfeld.
Martin Pontzius
and
David Pontzius
- Both imported at Philadelphia on 12 November 1768. Both are
recorded as having sworn allegiance to the British crown on that
date. Their ship was the Pennsylvania Packet, with a passenger list
from the Palatine.
William Ponty
- He is known only from Philadelphia vital records and from Benjamin
Rush's Ledger. He and Ann Windkimer took out a marriage license on
26 May 1774. Benjamin Rush states that in 1775, William Ponty was
living, "next door to the Widow Forrests.”
NOTE: The family
names of Pons, Poyntz, Pontius, and Punches, as well as all other
derivations in the French, English, Franco-German, and related
lines, appear to derive from the offspring of one man in history.
That man was Pontius, a lord, prince, baron, or sire (take your
pick, all titles are used in the historical documents) who ruled
the. Principality of Pons from the castle at Pons, in Saintoigne, on
the West coast of France during the middle and late eleventh
century, i.e. ca. 1050 - 1085 AD. He is positively identified as a
companion of William, Duke of Normandy, during the Norman conquest of
England in 1066 AD. He had a number of sons. Three are positively
identified, Drogo, Walter, and Richard, with the family names of
Poyntz, Pouncey, Poynes, Punches, and Clifford in England and Wales
and with the family name of Punch in Ireland, Three others are
positively identified, Anselm, Garnier, and Philip-Milo, with the
family names of Pons, Ponce, Ponches, Pontis, and Pontes in the
family records of France and adjacent regions.