Samuel J. Bunting, was the son of Samuel Bunting (1828-1878) and Susanna Lloyd Andrews (1832-1896). Through his paternal line, he was descended from Josiah Bunting (1734-1813), a minister and elder of the Darby Monthly Meeting, some of whose correspondence survives in this collection.

His aunt, Martha Bunting (1861-1944), Swarthmore College Class of 1881 and Ph.D., Bryn Mawr College, compiled family genealogies and sketches in 1934. She requested that the manuscript be given to the care of Samuel J. Bunting, who shared her interest in genealogy. In addition to the genealogies of many prominent Quakers living predominantly in Delaware County, PA, she included anecdotes and sketches of the life and concerns of her parents, Samuel and Susanna Lloyd Bunting.

Samuel J. Bunting, Jr., was the son of Samuel J. (1851-1946) and Helen McIlvain Bunting. He was a graduate of Swarthmore College, Class of 1910, and a member of Radnor Monthly Meeting. A banker by profession, he was active in the American Friends Service committee during WW1, and in 1920, he was involved in the founding of Young Friends. He was involved in genealogical research and seems to have become the caretaker for the accumulated research and records of the earlier generation of family genealogists.

Samuel J. Bunting, Jr., (1889-1966) who was chiefly responsible for this colleciton, was a birthright Hicksite Friend descended from a family that was associated for many generations with the Society of Friends in Pennsylvania and, in particular, with the Darby Monthly Meeting. A banker by profession, he was interested in genealogy and worked over a long period of time to compile family records. The history of how these genealogical papers came together from different sources is not known, but apparently Samuel J. Bunting, Jr., was given the care of the genealogical sketches written in 1934 by his aunt, Martha Bunting (1861-1944) and also the correspondence and genealogical research compiled by Samuel Marshall, who was Martha's cousin and also descended from James and Hannah Lloyd Andrews. After his death, one box of his papers which included the research done of the Ridgway line and personal letter of Samuel J. Bunting, Jr., were given to FHL. In 1988, additional papers which apparently remained with his brother, sister-in-law, and nephew where donated to FHL after the death of J. Gibson McIlvain Bunting, his brother.

The collection also includes the genealogical correspondence and extensive notes compiled by Samuel Marshall (1863-1927). He was Martha Bunting's first cousin; his mother was Frances Lloyd Andrews, the sister of Susanna Lloyd Andrews Bunting. Fanny Andrews married William Pusey Marshall at Darby Monthly Meeting in 1851. Samuel Marshall, a birthright member of Birmingham Monthly Meeting, worked for the trust department of a Philadelphia insurance company, lived in West Chester, and was active in the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. His papers include extensive correspondence with Harold Lloyd, for whom he did genealogical research.

As an example of how the family lines are intertwined, Samuel J. Bunting, Jr., prepared a chart for Samuel H(ager) Marshall of Wisconsin, who was the cousin of Samuel Marshall of West Chester. He also corresponded with a distant cousin, Morgan Bunting (1863-1929), the architect, who also was active in the Pa. Genealogical Society and interested in the history of local Quaker meetings.

The collection illustrates the correspondence and related materials which sometimes descended in Quaker families with deep roots in America. In addition to the genealogical materials, there are original documents such as the correspondence of Josiah Bunting, Quaker minister.