Category: Research

William Bonnington, my four times great grandfather, was born about 1816 most likely in Bowden, Roxburghshire, Scotland.¹ He was the son of Robert and Agnes (Inglis) Bonnington.² He died 11 June 1885 in his brother’s house in Bowden.³

About 1838, he married Margaret Purves⁴ (or Fairborn).⁵ She was born about 1821 and died between 1844 and 1847. William married for the second time on 9 July 1847 in Melrose, Scotland to Mary Reavely.⁶ She was born about 1825 in Galashiels, Selkirkshire, daughter of Mark and Margareth (Paterson) Reavely, and died 21 April 1855 in Newington and Grange, Edinburgh.⁷ After her death, William married for the third time to Elizabeth Thomson on 16 June 1857 in St. Boswell’s Parish, Roxburghshire.⁸ Elizabeth was born about 1803, daughter of James and Janet (Goodfellow) Thomson, and died 15 November 1880 in the district of Bathgate.⁹

William worked as a joiner, a carpenter, and apparently moved with his work. In 1841, he can be found in the census for Galashiels, Selkirkshire.¹⁰ By 1851, he and family were in Ladhope, Melrose, Roxburghshire.¹¹ Ten years later, the family was in Colinton, Edinburgh, Midlothian.¹² He and third wife Elizabeth, as well as his daughter Isabella, were in Ilkley, Yorkshire, England in 1871.¹³ By 1881, William was living alone with a domestic in Bathgate, Linlithgow.¹⁴

William and Margaret (Purves) Bonnington had children:

1. Anne Bonnington was born 5 May 1839 in Galashiels and likely died before 1851.
2. Robert Bonnington was born 30 May 1841 in Galashiels and may have died prior to 1851.
3. Peter Purvis Bonnington was born about 1844 and died 16 September 1891 of Phthisis Pulmonalis, a.k.a. Tuberculosis, in Lasswade Parish, Edinburgh. He married Elizabeth Buchanan on 17 June 1864 in Colinton.

William and Mary (Reavely) Bonnington had children:

4. Margaret Bonnington was born about 1849 in Galashiels and died of Typhoid Fever on 23 December 1883 in Selkirk, Selkirkshire. She was a lady’s maid.
5. Agnes Bonnington was born about 1850 in Galashiels and died sometime before 1855.
6. Isabella Bonnington was born 16 February 1855 in Edinburgh, Midlothian. She was living with her father and step-mother in Ilkley in 1871, but no more is known about her after that time.

This post is part of a blogging challenge entitled 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, created by Amy Crow of No Story Too Small in 2014. Participants were to write about one ancestor every week. I’m revisiting this challenge for 2017. This is my thirteenth 52 Ancestors post, and a make-up post for week twelve.

James Smith, my three times great grandfather, was born about 1812 in Whitburn, Linlithgow, Scotland¹ to Thomas and Agnes (Nimmo) Smith and died on 8 February 1856 at age 44 in Whitburn.² He was an “engineer,” a.k.a. engine worker, who worked in the coal mines.

On 25 December 1840, he married Isabella Aitken, daughter of William Aitken and Marion Brown of Lanark, Scotland.³ Isabella was born 27 February 1816 in Carnwath⁴ and died 1 December 1856 in Whitburn.⁵ Both she and James were buried in the Whitburn church yard.

On Sunday, 6 June 1841, the couple was living with Isabella’s parents at Auchengray in Carnwath parish.⁶ William and his son John were wrights, son-in-law George Tweedie a laborer, and son-in-law William Smith an ironstone miner.

By 30 March 1851, James and Isabella and their children were living at Crossroads in the parish of Whitburn in Linlithgow.⁷ They had apparently moved there by 1844 as all their childrens’ birthplaces are listed as Whitburn.

1856 was a terrible year for Thomas, Marion and William Smith, James and Isabella’s three children. After the death of their parents in February and December, they likely went to live with James’ brother and sister: William and Margaret. Marion died 11 May 1857⁸ of hydrocephalus, likely acquired hydrocephalus caused by an injury, infection or tumor. Thomas and William can be found in Uncle William’s household in Whitburn in 1861.⁹

Thomas remained in Fauldhouse until his death in 1909. William became a ship’s engineer and travelled abroad, eventually marrying in Edinburgh and emigrating to the United States. He filed an intention to become a naturalized American citizen on 20 September 1886 in Berks County and became a citizen on 12 January 1893 at Harrisburg.¹⁰

James and Isabella (Aitken) Smith had children:

1.  Thomas Smith was born circa 1844 and 9 May 1909, Fauldhouse, Greenburn, Whitburn parish. He married married Jane Bryce.
2. Marion Smith was born circa 1846 and died 11 May 1857, Greenburn, Whitburn parish.
3. William Smith (25 Sep 1851—23 Feb 1905, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania), married Eliza Craig Bennington, 12 December 1882, Uphill parish, Linlithgow

This post is part of a blogging challenge entitled 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, created by Amy Crow of No Story Too Small in 2014. Participants were to write about one ancestor every week. I’m revisiting this challenge for 2017. This is my twelfth 52 Ancestors post, and a make-up post for week eleven.

My 3x great grandfather Jefferson Force’s ancestry remains a mystery. He was born 9 December 1833 in Centre County, Pennsylvania and died 20 October 1910 in Pine Glen.¹ He married Susan L. Mulhollan, daughter of John and Emily (Boileau) Mulhollan, on 22 March 1857.² His obituary reads:

“Died at his home in Pine Glen on Thursday, October 20th, Jefferson Force, a well known and respected citizen of that place, aged 76 years, 10 months and 11 days. During the Civil War, he was drafted in 1864 and received an honorable discharge in 1865. He was married to Susan Mulholland in 1857, with whom he spent a long and happy life. Mr Force was a charter member of Messiah Church, of that place and always remained steadfast to the church of his choice and served its teachings. He leaves a large circle of friends to mourn his loss. Funeral services were conducted by Rev. E.A. Meredith.”³

He enlisted in the Civil War on 20 December 1864 and mustered out 17 July 1865 at Alexandria, Virginia. He served in Company E of the 45th Pennsylvania Infantry Volunteers, 1st Brigade, 1st Division.⁴ During this period the regiment was involved in the advance on Richmond, Virginia, the Battle of Cold Harbor, the siege of Petersburg, the Battle of Chaffin’s farm, and the Appomattox campaign.⁵ Jefferson apparently was not wounded during the war, or at least not enough to impact his health.⁶

After the war, Jefferson lived and worked in Pine Glen, Centre County, Pennsylvania, as a house plasterer and farmer.⁷ Between 1857 and 1884, Jefferson and Susan had 14 children, five of whom died before 1900—nine daughters and five sons.

It’s been suggested to me that Jefferson was the son of Isaac and Polly (___) Force, who both died in the 1840s based on a Bible owned by Mrs. Agnes E. Shope. I have yet to find evidence to prove this supposition. A number of young Force children—including Martin and Agnes—can be found in a variety of non-Force-led households in the 1850 census enumeration for Centre County, indicating that they were most likely orphaned.

Agnes was born 8 April 1839 and may have been Jefferson’s sister. She named two of her sons Jefferson T. Shope and Martin V. Shope—both names of Centre County Force men. Jefferson also named a daughter Agnes E., perhaps after Mrs. Shope. She lived in Milesburg, Centre County and died in 1922. Martin V. Force (12 Dec 1835-28 May 1902) lived in Pine Glen and was Jefferson’s neighbor.

Jefferson and Susan (Mulhollan) Force had the following children:

1. Wilhelmina Susan Force (29 Oct 1857-5 Nov 1921), married Robert Askey
2. Catharine E. Force (13 Sep 1859-9 Mar 1899), married Albert Gilmore
3. Hannah M. Force (1 Sep 1861-1 May 1938), married Johnson Watson
4. Agnes E. Force (1 Aug 1863-16 Jul 1936), married John Thomas Fye
5. Carrie Amanda Force (23 Aug 1865-3 May 1932), married William Henry Meeker
6. Martin Luther Force (6 Feb 1868-23 May 1945), married Delilah N. Hamilton
7. John C. Force (16 Jan 1870-27 Aug 1890)
8. Lovina Caroline Force (28 Jan 1872-28 Oct 1964), married George W. Youdeshell
9. Mary Alice Force (28 Jun 1873-12 Oct 1913), married Richard Whiles
10. Martha Ellen Force (9 May 1875-10 Aug 1934), married Jacob Whiles, Wilson R. Smeal
11. Lucy Malinda Force (26 Sep 1876-Mar 1960), married William Emetic, John G. Kein/King
12. George W. Force (6 Jan 1878-10 Jan 1878)
13. William E. Force (14 Sep 1883-9 Oct 1883)
14. Albert M. Force (4 Sep 1884-5 Sep 1884)

Jefferson and Susan are my 3x great grandparents.

This post is part of a blogging challenge entitled 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, created by Amy Crow of No Story Too Small in 2014. Participants were to write about one ancestor every week. I’m revisiting this challenge for 2017. This is my eleventh 52 Ancestors post, and a make-up post for week ten.

I’ve written extensively about my ancestor Christian Hoover and the search for his family. Now that I’ve got another piece of evidence that his parents were Philip Hoover and Hannah Thomas, I thought I’d write about them.

Philip Hoover was born about 1802, most likely on his father’s property on Plum Creek in Armstrong County.¹  He was the third son and fourth child of Christian and Barbara (Harmon) Hoover. He died in May 1882 in Burlingame Township, Osage County, Kansas.²

1820 Survey for Plum Creek Township land

About 1820, Philip married Hannah Thomas, daughter of John and Margaretta (Mackin) Thomas. She was born 14 July 1802 in Armstrong County and died 16 August 1880 in Burlingame Township.³  Hannah’s sister Sarah had married Samuel Hoover, Philip’s eldest brother, several years earlier. They lived in Plum Creek Township where Philip was a farmer.

On 21 August 1820, Philip had 73 acres surveyed.⁴ The survey was returned 28 June 1825. Philip sold this land on 3 February 1826.⁵ When his father died in 1850, Philip received land from his estate. He sold this land in a series of transactions in January 1876 and April 1877 before he and his wife headed west with his son Jacob and his family. Philip and Hannah both died in Burlingame several years later. Jacob and his family continued moving west, finally settling in Grays Harbor County in Washington by 1889.⁶

Philip Hoover 1850 census household

Based on census records, Philip and Hannah (Thomas) Hoover had children, born in Armstrong County:

1. Christopher Hoover was born circa 1821 and died 1 October 1887, Covington Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. He married Caroline Kinnard, also of Armstrong County. She was born about 1830 and died 11 February 1877 in Covington Township.
2. Mary Ann Hoover was born 22 Nov 1825. She may have married a Fisher.
3. John Thomas Hoover was born 4 November 1827.
4. Margaret Hoover was born 1831. She married Stewart Davis Pitt.
5. Barbara Hoover was born 1833. She may have married a Gibson.
6. William Hoover was born 1835.
7. Jacob Hoover was born 8 February 1846 and died 14 September 1909 in Aberdeen, Grays Harbor County, Washington. He married Julia Ann Rupert in Pennsylvania.
8. Ralston Hoover was born 1839 and died 13 June 1862 at Baltimore Cross Roads in Virginia as a result of injuries sustained during fighting in battle during the Civil War.
9. Sarah Hoover was born 1842 and died 1917. She married Henry Blystone on 28 March 1860.
10. Samuel M. Hoover was born 1845.

This post is part of a blogging challenge entitled 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, created by Amy Crow of No Story Too Small in 2014. Participants were to write about one ancestor every week. I’m revisiting this challenge for 2017. This is my ninth 52 Ancestors post, part of week eight.