Notes for Aaron BONNELL

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Notes for Aaron BONNELL

Marriage, GMNJ 19:18, Records of the New Providence Presbyterian Church.
Settled in Harrison Twp., Ohio. DOB from old family Bible.
Drew a pension for Revolutionary War service, which needs to be investigated.
History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio
Aaron Bonnell the seventh child was born March 4 1759 in Essex county NJ He married Rachel Clark and six children were born to them Of these Clark Bonnell was born November 18 1790 in New Jersey His father Aaron was the only one of the Bonnell colony
who settled in Harrison township the others stopping in the neighborhood of Carthage During his lifetime he drew a pension having been an artificer for the government during the war of the Revolution His wife also died upon the old place near Harrison
Clark Bonnell had learned in part the trade of a shoemaker in New York State before the removal of the family to the West Sometime before the death of his parents he was married to MissElsey Wykoff of a family residing near Harrison on the Indiana side
and removed to the village where he pursued his trade for mauy years and then removed to a country neighborhood in Koss township Butler county five miles from Hamilton where he continued to follow his trade Remaining here about five years he removed to
New London Butler county where his wife died in September 1835 she was born February 7 1794 Clark Bonnell died in Cincinnati in 18 5 4 in the seventy fourth year of his age Their children numbered nine of whom MS was the third and the eldest son MS
Bonnell wifc born upon the old place near Harrison in a cabin where his father was then residing He received some schooling iu the poor subscription schools of that day which he attended for brief periods as the pressing labors of the farm and workshop
would allow and in due time learned his lather's trade beginning to help in a small way when he was but nine years of age He did not take kindly to the business as it was too confining and he was strongly predisposed to farm life so he did little at
shoemaking after he was fifteen years of age For about eight years he served as a farm hand in various places in Hamilton and Butler counties by the month or year and for the next two years worked Judge Anderson's farm in Butler county on shares Then
for two years farmed similarly on the old place near Harrison which had become the possession of his grandmother He also managed it a similar term after her death for the purchasers of the farm Messrs George Arnold and Peter Riffuer The latter was
father of Martha R who became the wife of Mr Bonnell December 8 1842 He was then residing on a rented farm on the other side of the Whitewater near the edge of Indiana where he remained a year and then removed to the Frost farm on Lee's creek in the
north part of the township This he occupied on rive year leases for the period of fifteen vears and so successfully that in 1850 he was enabled to purchase the 140 acre tract upon which he now lives two years before his last lease expired To this he
removed at the expiration of his lease and here he has since resided adding 11 acres to his origiual purchase and making a farm of high excellence The Hamilton County Agricultural Society decided in 1880 to give a premium to the owner of the best
regulated farm in the county With this in view a committee composed of Lew Fowler IH Pendry A Brown M Hosbrook VB Sater and William Durham made a careful examination of every nook and corner of the farm and readily awarded Mr Bonnell a silver medal
Thirty one miles of uuderdrain have been constructed on this farm It is of interest to note that in 1842 Mr Bonnell sold corn at Harrison for 13 cents per bushel hogs at Cincinnati for $2.25 net and after spending four days hauling 100 bushels of oats
to Cincinnati he sold it for 6 cents per bushel in 1863 he sold hogs at SI 4 75 per hundred gross hay at $30 per ton at Harrison corn at $1 30 a bushel by the carload and wheat at $3 per bushel at home In connection with his farming operations Mr
Bonnell has raised horses for sixty one years and never lost one by death until April 2 1894 In 1881 Mr Bonnell was elected in the Hamilton County Agricultural Society and gave his assistance thereto for eleven years The fair grounds are at Carthage
and when it was necessary for him to be there he made trips from home and return a distance of eighty miles in a day and always bore his own expenses He was president of the Miami and Whitewater Valley Pioneer and Harvest Home Association in 1888 and
served with much credit to himself and the entire satisfaction of the organization More than forty years ago he became a member of Harrison Lodge No 140 IOOF and belongs to the Sterns Encampment No 183 and Daughters of Rebekah No 300 He is also a
Master Mason in Snow Lodge No 193 F & AM at Harrison Mr Bonnell has taken little interest in politics but has devoted his time to his farm and cared for two other families besides his own His brother Robert Burns Bonnell and wife died in November and
February 1870 respectively in Daviess county Ind leaving five children without a home Mary Ann born November 12 1856 Naomi born February 2 1859 Jacob W born April 15 1862 Emma J bom February 25 1864 and Robert born March 13 1867 Mr brought them to his
home on December 24 1870 and educated and cared for until they were able to make their own living His daughter Elizabeth Isabel after her husband left for South America whence he never returned came her father's home in the spring of 1876 and Mr
Bonnell has cared for her and three children to whom he gave good educational advantages Mr Bonnell's wife Martha Riley Bonnell third daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Riffner was February 11 1815 at the old home near Harrison She died August 4 1888
children were as follows Elizabeth Isabel born September 23 1843 who John S Bowles December 22 1866 and became the mother of three children Samuel C born November 3 1867 Seneca B born January 20 1870 and Martha B born May 10 1872 Clarke Marion borp
March 18 1845 who married SarahButts and died December 21 1880 leaving one child Clarence C Bonnell born March 27 1874 Peter R born April 20 1847 deceased William R born May 30 1849 who married Sarah Cook December 5 1870 both are deceased their only
child Emma G born October 3 1871 was married June 15 1893 to Edward McKasson and has one child Clarence Leroy born March 24 1894 Stephen Easton born June 21 1851 deceased Elsey Alice born May 5 1853 who married William Butts and died March 26 1873 and
Emma Angeline bom March 21 1855 deceased Mr Bonnell is truly a pioneer of the Whitewater Valley James Andrews Harriso is said to be the only person now living who was a resident of that town when Mr Bonnell was born Our subject began to hew his own way
through life with strong arms and a willing heart but with no financial inheritance The fortune he has amassed is the result of his industry frugality and honest dealings He and his companion who has gone to her reward made many a neighbor happy by
their generous hospitality and long after he has been stricken from life's roll on earth will the name of Uncle Seneca Bonnell be referred to by those who knew him He believes in learning of the country he loves so well by travel In 1876 he and his
wife left Cincinnati via the little Miami railroad for Philadelphia to witness the Centennial Exposition They spent the first night in Cleveland the second in Buffalo and the third at Niagara Falls where they took in all the wonderful sights They
proceeded to Rochester and Albany and taking a boat at the latter city beheld the beautiful scenery along the Hudson river to New York City Here they remained four days being there at the time Hell Gate was blown up experiencing the shock which made
the whole city tremble They went to Philadelphia saw the wonders of the Centennial and afterward visited Washington City and Mount Vernon the home of George Washington They returned home by way of Baltimore and Harper's Ferry It is a remarkable fact
that the railroad fare for himself and wife was only $42 for the entire trip Mr Bonnell also visited the World's Columbian Fair at Chicago in 1893.
*****
Revolutionary War period:
Bible, family & marriage records gleaned from pension applications, Volumes 1-4, p. 25 lists all children and DOBs, probably from Revolutionary War pension application.
*****
Lived in Saratoga County, New York afor a few years after marriage.
Left a will in which he mentioned Rachel Bonner and Othniel Looker. Need to
see original....perhaps it was Rachel Bonnell that he mentioned?
Apparently has an elaborate monument recalling his Rev. War service.

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