The earliest recorded member of this family was called John Puckham. John was born in about 1660. John Puckram was a Native American who married a black woman named Joan Johnson. John was baptized a month before his marriage, and presumably was given the name John. The last name Puckram likely refers to the Indian settlement of Puckamee. It can be challenging to find the exact line of ancestors and the following is the most likely reconstruction of the family line. The last name is rare in the 17-19th century and some documents have survived that allow us to trace the family through the decades. The first 4 generation were born in Maryland, but Elias would move to North Carolina in the late 18th/early 19th century.
- John Puckham and Joan Johnson married in 1682/3. They had several children including:
- Abraham Puckham (b. 1685)
- John Puckham ? (b. 1686)
- Susannah Puckham (b. 1688)
- Richard Puckham (1690–1751). The name of Richard’s wife is not known, but the next generation of Puckhams is thought to be his family.
- Richard Puckham was likely the father of the three brothers known from historical records:
- George Bookram (Puckham) (b. 1766) George is the most likely of the three to be the father of Elias Bookram.
- Levin Puckman (b. 1768)
- John Puckman (b. 1770)
- George Bookram/Puckram (b. 1766) is the likely father of Elias Bookram (1790 – 1860).
- Elias Bookram (1790 – 1860) was born in Maryland and moved to the area of Granville in North Carolina. Elias married Chashe Scott as his second wife on the 24th of June in 1824.