Martha Isabelle Hopkins (Barbour) Bunch was born on February 6, 1824 in Henderson County, Kentucky. She was the daughter of Jacob Bugg and Caroline Imlay (Brent) Hopkins. After the early death of her mother, Bunch was raised by her grandmother, Mrs. Innes Baxter Brent. She was married to Philip Norbourne Barbour in Kentucky in 1843. She moved to Galveston, Texas, to be closer to her husband, a soldier in the army. Staying with her Aunt, she remained in Galveston until the death of Barbour, and later returned to Kentucky. A few years later, Bunch married John T. Bunch, Speaker of the House of Representatives in Kentucky. They had two daughters together, Mary and Emma. Martha Bunch died in Kentucky on January 12, 1888.
Philip Norbourne Barbour was born in Henderson, Kentucky on April 14, 1813, the son of Colonel Philip Barbour. His mother was the daughter of General Samuel Hopkins. In 1828, Barbour was sent to a military school in Washington, D.C. He became a cadet at West Point in 1829 and graduated from the institution in 1834. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the United States Army, 3rd Regiment Infantry. In 1840, he was sent to Florida with his regiment to fight in the second Seminole War. At the end of the war in 1842, he returned to Kentucky for the last time. During this trip, he married his first cousin, Martha Isabelle Hopkins in 1843. In 1845, his regiment was sent to Texas to prepare for fighting in the Mexican-American War. He died in a battle in Monterey on September 21, 1846. He is buried in Frankfort, KY.
From the description of Martha Bunch Journal, 1846-1867 Bulk 1846. (Kentucky Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 70069450
