Notes |
- The Ancestors of George Bonham are somewhat unsure, but have been included for further research. But a brief history of the Bonham family is found in "The Bonham Family" which states:
"There is definite evidence that the name did come from France. Family tradition is strong on this point as the story is repeated by so many members of the family from many sections of the country. According to tradition the family left France nd came to England during one of the periods of religious persecution. Other evidence that the tradition is fact is . . . an old map of France dated 1620 whereon a town named Bonham is located Northeast of Saint Quentin.
"At any rate the Bonham family has played its part in the history of England for the past 650 years. Sir John Bonham was living in Wiltshire, Eng 1300 and was Knight of the Shire. His son Nicholas is listed as Knight of the Shire in 1356. Tmas, the son of Nicholas, succeeded his father and married Catherine Marney, the daughter of Sir Henry Marney.
"William, the son of Thomas and Catherine, married Frances Knight, daughter of Sir Thomas Tey Knight.
"Thomas, the son of William and Frances was Knight of Stanway Hall and Sheriff of Counties Essex and Herts in 1526. He married the sister of Edmond Bocking.
"William succeeded his father and had George. Family tradition indicates that in addition to George, William and Samuel also came to America soon after 1600.
"The trite expression, Three Brothers came to America, may well be a fact in our case. One of these brothers may have been William who is listed as one of the London Company in Jamestown in May 1609. Tradition has it that he was a ship buir and was lost at sea without having a family. Another brother may have been Samuel who was also listed as a member of the London Co at Jamestown. A Samuel Bonam married Margaret Philpot and they named their children Samuel and Rebecca. Rebecca married George Eskridge who became the guardian of Mary Ball, the mother of George Washington. Samuel married Elizabeth, the sister of Mary Ball."
(SHRetc@aol.com - researching Eskridge Family)
George Bonham's place of birth has been listed as:
Essex Co, England -- (CALCH5000@aol.com -Claire Fuller)
Stanway, Lexden, Essex Co, England -- (richards@hctc.com - James Richards
Hoodsport, Washington 98548)
Harworth, Nottingham, England -- (castle96@flash.net - Janice Mauldin
Castleman from Bonham Genealogy by E. B. Hazie)
Colchester, England -- ("First Settlers of Piscataway and Woodbridge")
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("The Bonham Family" by Samuel J. Bonham 1955)
Sailed to America with his son Nicholas on Ship PHILLIP 20 June 1635, which was bound for Virginia. They took the oath of Allegiance at Gravesend, England. They landed at Plymouth, Mass. His age was given as 31, making him born in 1604. The church record of Plymouth contains the following statement, "On April 28, 1704 dyed our brother George Bonham. He lived to a good old age being about 95 years of age. He was a good man spake well of and is gone to receive his crown."
Posted on Ancestry.com Bonham board by Sue Bonham Campana:
"George was listed as a passenger on the Phillip on 20 June 1635, which sailed from Gravesend, England. He was 31 years of age. Nicholas was not listed. Source "The Original Lists of Persons of Quality" by John Camden Hotten. 34 men and 8 women were listed as passengers. No child was listed. This is detailed in "BONHAM and Related Lines" by my father, Howard E. Bonham."
1625, Apr 28 - m Miss Bishop in Essex Co, England
1635, June 20: Landed at Plymouth, Mass.
1644, Dec 20: Married 2nd wife Sarah Morton, of Plymouth
1647: George Bonham, Sr., sold land in Plymouth with consent of wife Sarah.
1653: George purchased several tracts of land in Plymouth
1656: Purchased more land in Plymouth
1658, Jan 1 - Nicholas m Hannah Fuller (b 8 Oct 1636) in Barnstable, Mass
1659: Purchased more land in Plymouth
1662: George and Nicholas citizens of Barnstable, Mass
1669: Witnessed will and records show he was an active citizen of the colony
1678: Build house (Note: "which is still standing.")
1679: Deeded land to his daughter Ruth and her husband, Robert Barrow.
www.ancestry.com
THE PIONEERS OF MASSACHUSETTS,
George, Plymouth, a suit of his arbitrated in 1640; atba. 1643. Ch. Sarah b. and d. in 1649, Sarah b. and d. 1650-1, Sarah b. Dec. 10, 1653.
_________________
(From: Janice Mauldin Castleman - castle96@flash.net)
Vol. 5 #364 of WFT gives an account of Nicholas Bonham taken from "First
Settlers of Piscataway and Woodbridge": Nicholas Bonham is definitely linked with that first George Bonham who was transported to Virginia June 20, 1635. He is entered as then of age 31 years and therefore must have been born about 1604 from Colchester, England. It has been variously disputed and then agreed that he was a brother to Nicholas Bonham. It is much more rational, logical and has more to support that as a matter of fact he was the father of Nicholas Bonham by a first wife whom he must have married about 1625 in England. There was a Thomas Bonham who was a famous English physician and writer and was perhaps a brother to George. It is interesting to note that a William Bonham was the son-in-law in 1538 of John Clere of the town of Colchester, England.
E. B. Hazie's 1954 revised addition of the Bonham book did not solve the question of George and Nicholas, but has added much data to this genealogy report. There is a copy of this book in the Ft. Worth, TX library.
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From Mayflower Families through Five Generations: *Note: Nicholas Bonham has been called a son of George Bonham of Plymouth. George Bonham d April 1704 "being upward of 85 years of age" (MD 15:64) or "being about 95 years of age (PLYMOUTH CH REC 1:119). If we accept the younger age and conclude that George was born about 1614, the chronology is very tight, for both George and his putative son Nicholas would have had to marry at the age of 19. If George lived to be 90 or older, the chronology becomes considerably more likely. But even though the asserted relationship is chronologically possible, no evidence for it, besides surname identity, has been seen."
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"BONHAM & RELATED FAMILY LINES, A Family Genealogy From the Mayflower to the 1990s" by Howard E. Bonham, co-authored by Jean Allin, copyright 1996 has in the prologue a brief paragraph regarding the family tradition that three BONHAM brothers me to America from England, but settled in different areas of the country. Anam Bonham, who arrived on the "Ark and Dove" in 1633 and first lived in Maryland, then NY; George Bonham and his son Nicholas, in Massachusets, then New Jersey, and Samuel Bonham in Virginia. George Bonham, age 31, from the passenger list of "Phillip" was bound for VA, but landed in Plymouth, MA in 1635.
His name was included on a list of males who could bear arms, ages 16 to 60, taken in 1643. He married Sarah MORTON 20 Dec 1644. Prior to this, in Aug. 1840, George Bonham, Sr., joined the local militia. He owned land in the Plymouth Colony and built a mill there. He or his son
George Jr., owned land until the early 1700s. He was a devoted church worker (and member of the Puritan Church), and a much respected citizen of the colony (The Hunt Connection, page 253).
Mr. Howard E. Bonham, still from the prologue, said that from "The Original Lists of Persons of Quality: Emigrants, Religious Exiles, Political Rebels, Serving Men Sold For A Term of Years, Apprentices, Children Stolen, Maidens Pressed, and rs Who Went From Great Britain to The American Plantations 1600-1700", page 94 by John Camden Hotten stated: "20 June 1635, These under-written names are to be transported to VA imbarqued in the PHILLIP Richard Morgan Mr. the Men have been examined by the Minister of the towne of Gravesend of their conformite to the orders & discipline of the Church of England: And tooke the oath of Alleg. die et A. prd." There were 34 men, 8 women, all listed as passengers on the PHILLIP to be transported to VA. Included in this list is the name of George Bonham, age 31. This ship sailed from
Gravesend, England on the 20th June 1635, and George took the Oath of Allegiance to England before departure. Nicholas, the supposed son, would have been 5 years of age, and might have been traveling with his father, but his name was not included on the passenger list since only
heads of the family's names were included.
Vol. 5 #364 of WFT gives an account of Nicholas Bonham taken from "First Settlers of Piscataway and Woodbridge": Nicholas Bonham is definitely linked with that first George Bonham who was transported to Virginia June 20, 1635. He is enteres then of age 31 years and therefore must have been born about 1604 from Colchester, England. It has been variously disputed and then agreed that he was a brother to Nicholas Bonham. It is much more rational, logical and has more to support that as a matter of fact he was the father of Nicholas Bonham by a first wife whom he must have married about 1625 in England. There was a Thomas Bonham who was a famous English physician and writer and was perhaps a brother to George. It is interesting to note that a William Bonham was the son-in-law in 1538 of John Clere of the town of Colchester, England.
E. B. Hazie's 1954 revised addition of the Bonham book did not solve the question of George and Nicholas, but has added much data to this genealogy report. There is a copy of this book in the Ft. Worth, TX library.
George Bonham died in Plymouth 28 Apr 1704. The church record contains the following: "On April 28, 1704 dyed our brother George Bonham. He lived to a good old age being about 95 years of age. He was a good man spake well of and is gone tceive his crown." (The Bonham Family, page 3). John Farmer, in "A Genealogical Register of the First Settlers of New England" page 36 said George Bonham, Plymouth, died 1704, aged c.93.
Regards to all,
Janice Mauldin Castleman
http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/c/a/s/Janice--M-Castleman/GENE5-0001.html
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