Presidential Birth Certificates - A genealogical look

Barak Obama's Birth Certificate

A facebook friend posted yesterday a comment that there were multiple US presidents of the past who had one or more foreign born parents who were “never required to submit a birth certificate,” responding to the recent silly ongoing controversy as to the birthplace of Barak Obama.  I was a bit intrigued as an amateur genealogist as birth certificates are a phenomenon of the comparatively recent past, and I wondered if any of the listed presidents could have produced official documentation had it been required.  Most states did not have mandatory birth registration until the 20th century with a only few requiring such registration in the 19th century. Prior to that, birth records are rather “hit and miss” and often do not exist, although there are “local” exceptions such as parish baptismal records and similar. 

For the presidents mentioned in the post:

Thomas Jefferson: born 1743 in Shadwell, Virginia.  I could not find any original birth documents.  Birth registration at the state level did not begin until 14 June 1912.  Some local birth records are as early as 1853, 90 years after his birth. 

Andrew Jackson: born 1767 in “South” Carolina.  Apparently, he was born in such a remote location, that the actual NC/SC border in this area had not been established, although the area was later part of South Carolina.  State birth registration in SC did not begin until 1915.  An historian/genealogist did apply for a “delayed birth certificate” for him in 1962 citing several of his letters, his will, an early map and “two noted authorities” in evidence.   It appears that the certificate was granted based on this evidence. Birth registration in SC did not begin until 1915. Jackson, therefore, seems to be the only one of these presidents that has a birth certificate, but it was issued posthumously, 195 years after his birth. 

James Buchanan: born 1856 in Cove Gap, PA.  I could find no original records of his birth.  Pennsylvania began state birth registration in 1906, 50 years after his birth. 

Chester A. Arthur: born 1829 in Fairfield Vermont.  Birth records in VT began quite early in 1857 but still 28 years after his birth.  I did find some inconsistencies in census records.  In the 1850 census, his birthplace is recorded as Vermont.  In the 1870 census, it was reported to be New York. 

Woodrow Wilson: born 1856 in Staunton VA.  The earliest county records in VA are from 1853, and I could locate no records for his birth of an original nature.  Again, state registration of births did not begin until 1912, 56 years after his birth. 

Herbert Hoover: born 1874 in West Branch, Cedar County, IA.  IA is one of the few states to have pre-1900 birth registration.  Their records, however, begin in 1880, still seven years too late.  I did find three passport applications, all made from London, in which, in 1911, 1913 and 1916, he swore to his date and place of birth under oath. 

In brief, then, none of these prior presidents who had one or more parents of foreign birth could have produced a birth certificate or original official birth records, as they simply did not exist at the time. Whether there was any question as to the validity of their places of birth in the US is a question that I cannot clearly answer.  Given the certificate and the independent attestations to his birth from the local newspaper, I would classify the Obama records as high level confidence for genealogy.  Can we drop this now? 

Updates to Joseph Bonser. His will and place of residence.

I went yesterday to the Family History Center of the LDS church here in Mesa, Arizona. I spent some "fruitless" time with cemetery indices of Beaver County, Pennsylvania looking for Elliott, Gibson, Kennedy and Inman burials.  I found a number of them, but mostly later and of unclear relationship to my forebears in that county.

More disappointingly, I looked at some indices for the wills and administrations of Northumberland County, PA for records on Isaac Bonser.  I did not find any listings of administrations, but I did find a notation of a will probated on 11 February 1777.  This would seem to match the "date of death" that I have found in some online trees for Joseph Bonser. It is also consistent with his having "died in the Jersey" with regard to his company and regimental history and the Fitzsimmons pension document.  According to a volume of extracts, however, the will mentions only "my wife and children" and does not list any specific names.  Once again, there is no connection that I can firmly document yet.  I have, perhaps, a couple more chances.  Sometimes one can get a "probate packet" that lists more than simply the wills.  This is a pretty early one, but it may be possible to write to Northumberland County and get information.

Also, given the time of his death, a guardian may have been appointed by the Orphans' Court, as it was not always the case that a widowed mother was felt to be "competent" in that role.  The Orphans' Court records still exist for that time and have been microfilmed by the LDS, but I will have to order them from Salt Lake City, and this means another trip to the family history library.  I would probably have to get at least two rolls, one the index for the time period and the other the actual court proceedings.

In the meantime, I did come across a reference to Joseph Bonser and his place of residence in a publication I found on The Internet Archive. This describes Joseph Bonser as an early settler in this area and also describes being near Loyalsock, a name that comes up in land records for his "possible" son Isaac Bonser as well as in the military records for Joseph Bonser as related in the Fitzsimmons pension application of 1833.


"Joseph Bonser was an early settler above Loyalsock, on the
small stream which still bears his name. His cabin stood at the
point where the great Sheshequin path intersected the run, and
where Rev. David Brainerd met and preached to the Indians as
early as 1746. The great swamp alluded to by Colonel Hartley
was in this neighborhood."

Otzinachson: a history of the West Branch Valley of the Susquehannah: its first settlement…; Meginess, John Franklin 1827-1899; Williams Port, PA: Gazette and Bulletin Printing House, 1889; p. 334

The introduction to this copy reports that it was first published in 1856, making it an even earlier secondary source than the 1899 date would suggest.

There is a map reproduced in the front of the book that has, in the upper right quadrant north of the Susquehanah river the "Loyalsock Creek."  Just barely visible there is "Bonser's Run" that is referred to in the text.

Map of Susquehanna River Area including Bonser's Run (upper right quadrant)

(click to enlarge)

Isaac Bonser 1767-1849

I have, for some time, been collecting information on Isaac Bonser, my fourth great-grandfather (Line of descent Isaac Bonser--Samuel Bonser--Jane F. Bonser Atkin--Lizzie F. Atkin Cook--Margery Frances Cook Henderson--Eileen Marie Henderson Shy--Jeffrey Shy, myself).  Although this posting includes work that I have encountered elsewhere in various fragments it extends this material substantially, so I thought that a detailed blog entry might be of interest to other descendants of Isaac Bonser and others interested in early Ohio history.

ORIGIN AND EARLY YEARS IN PENNSYLVANIA

Isaac Bonser was born in Pennsylvania in about 1767.  The date is derived from recollections of his son, Samuel Bonser, who gave an interview to The Portsmouth Times published on 12 July 1873.  According to this son, he was 82 years old at the time of his death in 1849 in Scioto County allowing a calculated birth year of about 1767.

As of this writing, I have no certain documentation of his parentage.  There are two candidates, a Daetmar or Detner Bonser (Revolutionary War veteran from the German Regiment) and another, whom I so far feel is somewhat more likely, Joseph Bonser, identified from muster rolls of the Pennsylvania Militia as 2LT in Captain Cookson Long's Company of the 2d Battalion of the Northumberland County Militia. Pension applications for other persons giving testimony in 1833 and 1834 mention Joseph as well.  In the pension application of one Ebenezer Cook in the State of New York, 6 May 1834 is recorded, the following:

 "…Firstly, he [Ebenezer Cooke] volunteered in the fall of the year 1776 in the militia for six months, in a company raised in the County of Northumberland, now Lycoming, State of Pennsylvania at and near a place called Loyalsock the name of the Captain was Cooksey Long (not certain about the spelling of the christian name) Lieutenant Joseph Bonser and one Wilson was Ensign–it was a rifle company and with other troops were commended by Col James Morrow and Major James Hays–the first movement was to Lancaster in the same state, which was in the month of september 1776. From thence after a stay of some weeks this force was ordered to join the troops under command of General Washington and did so at a place called Newtown in Pennsylvania near the Delaware River in December 1776.–the army crossed that River soon after and took the Hesians at Trenton-the army moved to Princeton and captured a detachment of the British forces at that place.–the prisoners were taken to the Pennsylvania side of the River.–the riflemen then left the regular force and moved forward to Piscataway near New Brunswick, which latter place was occupied by the enemy–the riflemen lay at Piscataway till February when the had a skirmish with the enemy.–the riflemen retained their station at Piscataway till the month of March 1777 when their service expired…."

A second, even more intriguing mention comes in the Pension application of a William Fitzsimmons on 14 February 1833 in Lycoming, Pennsylvania in which it appears that Joseph Bonser died during the New Jersey campaign:

"….I [William Fitzsimmons] volunteered in a company of Pennsylvania Militia commanded by Capn Cooksey Long in the month of December 1776, the company rendevoused [sic] at the town of Northumberland. The 1st Lietuenant was Joseph Bonser, the Ensign Joseph Newman, afterwards appointed 1st Lieutenant in place of Bonser who died in service in the Jersey…."

From the original records of the pension application of William Fitzsimmons of 1833
(Click to Enlarge Image)

While I do not yet have data to definitely link Isaac Bonser to Joseph, the times and the places as well as the surname match well, and this is at least a "possible" match. It would be an "exciting" genealogical addition to the family if for no other reason than that he died in the Revolutionary War and participated in George Washington's famous crossing of the Delaware.

The earliest definite record that I have found so far of Isaac Bonser is in the First United States Census of 1790 where he appears in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania in a household of 3 along with two "white females." Presumably, one is his wife, Abigail Burt (b. ca 1770 in New Jersey or New York and died 1853 in Scioto County, Ohio). By dates of birth of his children, the second female may have been his daughter and first child, Jane Bonser, (1789-1852).

Isaac Bonser in 1790 U. S. Census from Northumberland County, Pennsylvania
(Click to Enlarge Image)

Other early records that I have been able to find on Isaac are land warrant records from Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, the earliest of which is from 1792.  There are at least three such records dating from 17 December 1792, 3 May 1793 and 15 Feb 1794.  Place names mentioned in the descriptions include in 1792 "Northumberland or Luzerne County," "the waters of Loyalsock and Hoopeny Creek," in 1793 "Muncy Township in the County of Northumberland [now in Lycoming County]" and in 1794 "the road leading from  Bald Eagle [Creek] to Sunbury."

Drawing from Land Warrant Map of the 1793 Survey
(Click to Enlarge Image)

Of additional historical interest is the drawing from the 1793 survey showing his neighbors.  One neighbor, Uriah Barber, appears again in Scioto County records. He was one of the persons accompanying Isaac Bonser to settle in Scioto County in 1796.  Another neighbor is recorded as Benjn. Rush. For those of us who remember any American history, Benjamin Rush (1746-1813) was a "founding father" of the United States from Pennsylvania, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, surgeon general in the Continental Army, treasurer of the U. S. Mint and a famous physician, particularly in the treatment of mental illness.  He is also remembered as having engineered the reconciliation of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams in 1812.  According to a Wikipedia article (not clearly sourced for that section), he had a son Benjamin who "did not marry, moved to New Orleans, LA," so it is not clear if the owner of the adjacent property was "the" Benjamin Rush, his son by the same name or another Benjamin Rush.  The time period, however, is contemporary with "the" Benjamin Rush and the location in Eastern Pennsylvania certainly not an impossible association. In the 1790 census, there is certainly no neighbor by the name of Benjamin Rush, although Uriah Barber does appear on the same page with Isaac Bonser.  Dr. Benjamin Rush is clearly found in Philadelphia in 1790 with no doubts, as he is specifically designated to be "Doctr. Benjn Rush."

MOVE TO SCIOTO COUNTY, OHIO

In 1795, Isaac Bonser made his first trip to what was to later be Scioto County, Ohio and later settled there permanently in 1796.  In the section on Scioto County, Historical Collections of Ohio in Two Volumes, by Henry Howe, Copyright 1888 and published by the State of Ohio in 1900, on pp. 561 and 567-8, we find the following:

"In 1795 Major Isaac Bonser, who had been sent out by parties in Pennsylvania, staked out land preparatory to settlement at the mouth of the Little Scioto river. In August of the succeeding year, he returned with five families and descending the Ohio river in flatboats they took possession of this land. These five families were those of Isaac Bonser, Uriah Barber, John Beatty, William Ward and Ephraim Adams."
p. 561.


"MAJOR ISAAC BONSER, in the spring of 1795, came on foot with his rifle and other equipment to the mouth of the Little Scioto, where he marked out land for settlement. He then started to return to Pennsylvania for the parties by whom he had been sent out when he fell in with a surveying party under Mr. Martin, who had just completed the survey of the French Grant. They were returning to Marietta in a canoe. Bonser found them in rather a bad predicament. They had exhausted their stock of provisions, their powder had become damp and unserviceable and they were in danger of suffering for want of something to eat. Mr. Bonser proposed to them that he was going up into Pennsylvania and had rather a heavy load to carry, if they would take his baggage in their canoe, he would travel on shore with nothing but his rifle to carry, would kill as much meat as they all could eat, and camp together every night. This proposition was received with much satisfaction. Bonser being relieved of his heavy load walked on the bank with great alacrity, and occasionally brought down a deer or a turkey, or perhaps a bear, buffalo or elk, which were plenty at that time; they would take the game aboard the canoe and so traveling was made easy and expeditious for both parties. the first night after they had eaten their supper of fresh venison, Mr. Bonser asked them to let him see the condition of their powder. The powder was contained in a horn and too damp to ignite readily. He took a forked stick and stuck it into the ground a suitable distance from the fire, hung the powder horn up and took out the stopper so as to let the steam pass out, and let it remain in this position until morning. The heat from the fire dried out the powder so that it was fit for use if needed.
In this manner they meandered the river to Marietta, where they separated – Mr. Martin to report to Gen. Putnam, Surveyor General of the Northwest Territory, and Mr. Bonser to cross the mountains of Pennsylvania and report to those who had sent him out.
Major Bonser returned to the mouth of the Scioto river the following year [1796], and after Ohio had been admitted to the Union [1 March 1803], contracted in partnership with Uriah Barber and another to build a State road from Portsmouth to Gallipois. It lay nearly all the way through a dense forest. They had to cut the stumps so low that a wagon could pass over them, and to clear every thing out so as to make a good road. They surveyed and measured the distance and marked every mile tree. This was called a State road in contradistinction to other roads. the location has changed very little since."
pp. 567-8

"A PIONEER FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION
In 1808, the people of the surrounding county celebrated the Fourth of July on the farm of Major Bonser. Great preparations were made, and the people came from far and near – West Union, Gallipolis and all the intermediate country were represented. They bored out a log and banded it with iron to serve as a cannon. But it soon burst. Robert Lucas [later governor of Ohio] read the Declaration of Independence, and made a speech. It is said to have been the first celebration of the kind ever held in the valley and formed an epoch in the annals of the Scioto country."
p. 568

Similar records, but differing slightly in wording and details are to be found in A Standard history of the Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio; Willard, Eugene B. Ed.; The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916. pp. 49-50

"ISAAC BONSER, FORERUNNER OF SCIOTOVILLE

But Isaac Bonser, a young backwoodsman and surveyor, had already made a claim for a tract of land at the mouth of the Little Scioto. In the spring of 1795 he had crossed the mountains from Pennsylvania, in the interest of citizens of that state, and marked some pieces of land in that locality with his tomahawk, supposing that we would thus be entitled to it by priority of discovery. At that time the survey of the French Grant had just been completed, but there was no vestige of a settlement between Gallipois and Manchester, although surveyors were everywhere abroad in the Ohio country."
p.49


"SETTLEMENT ON THE LITTLE SCIOTO

Mr. Bonser's report to his Pennsylvania friends and supporters was so favorable that four families accompanied him to the location at the mouth of the Little Scioto in the spring of 1796; they did not arrive at their destination, however, until the 10th of August. The heads of the five families which thus formed one of the pioneer colonies of the Scioto Valley, although they settled at the mouth of the Little Scioto at what is now Sciotoville, were Isaac Bonser, Uriah Barber, John Beatty, William Ward and Ephraim Adams. When these five families located, they found that Samuel Marshall and John Lindsey had moved up from Manchester a few months before, and erected cabins near their claim. A Lindsey son and a Marshall married soon afterward, their union being the first in the county."
p. 49

For some years, I was puzzled by the title "Major" for Isaac Bonser, and looked for him vain in records of the Revolutionary War.  Subsequently, I found that his title "Major" came from the War of 1812 when he was elected Major of the local militia. Again from  A Standard history of the Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio,

MAJOR BONSER, A STAYER

Isaac Bonser cultivated his land above the mouth of the Little Scioto, and built several mills there and elsewhere. He lost considerable money through the rascality of one Col. John Edwards, who obtained control of a large tract of land embracing the present site of Sciotoville, and after involving various purchasers, moved over into Kentucky and let them clear up the titles as best they could. Mr. Bonser was one of his victims, but quickly rebounded from his temporary embarrassment.
When Scioto County was organized in 1803, Mr. Bonser was one of its leading men. He was particularly interested in the militia and was elected major of one of its ten battalions. In those days two musters a year were held, on which occasions he acted as field officer. in the War of 1812 his oldest son was taken prisoner at Hull's surrender of Detroit, and he himself marched at the head of his battalion to the relief of the American troops. The Scioto contingent got as far as Sandusky, and then turned back, as the enemy had been driven off. This military record attached to Mr. Bonser the title by which he was familiarly known, Major."
p. 50

Among his subsequent accomplishments, Isaac Bonser built one of the first state roads in this area of Ohio with his friend, Uriah Barber in about 1803 or shortly afterwards.  He was also elected to the State Legislature in 1827.

"FIRST STATE ROAD OF THE REGION

Major Bonser was a Jacksonian democrat and his party sent him to the Legislature in the fall of 1827. The last years of his life were passed in farming and in the management of his little mill. He died about 1847 – by no means rich, but, to his last day, a model of industry and usefulness. One of his most substantial acts was, in partnership with Uriah Barber, the building of the State Road from Portsmouth to Gallipois, soon after Ohio had been admitted to the Union. It lay nearly all the way through a dense forest. they had to cut the stumps so low that a wagon could pass over them, and to clear everything out so as to make a good road. They surveyed and measured the distance and marked every mild tree; and their thorough, honest work was in evidence for many years. "
-A Standard history of the Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio; Willard, Eugene B. Ed.; The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916. p. 50

Modern Day Map of Bonser and Barber's State Road
from Sciotoville to Gallipolis
The road extends for nearly 79 miles.
(Click to Enlarge)

ISAAC IN LATER RECORDS IN SCIOTO COUNTY

Not surprisingly, Isaac Bonser does not appear in the census records of 1800 and 1810, presumably as he was living in Scioto County, Ohio at that time, and there are no records of U.S. Census from this location at that time.  He does, however, return to census records in 1820 when he is found in Porter Township, Scioto County, Ohio (1820 U S Census; Porter, Scioto, Ohio, Page: 124; NARA Roll:M33_95; Image: 140.).  He is found again in 1830 (1830 U S Census- Porter, Scioto, Ohio, Page- 73; NARA Roll- M19-140; Family History Film- 0337951) and 1840 (1840 US Census; Place- Porter, Scioto, Ohio; Roll  112; Page- 425; Image- 229; Family History Library Film- 0020176). Abigail, his wife, appears in the 1850 census at the age of 81 in a household adjacent to that of her son, Samuel Bonser. (1850 US Census; Place- Porter, Scioto, Ohio; Roll  M432_727; Page- 245B; Image- 366.) This 1850 census also gives an alternative place of birth for Abigail as New York, rather than New Jersey, as her son Samuel had reported.

CHILDREN OF ISAAC BONSER AND ABIGAIL BURT

Although they are said to have had 12 children total, I was able to document 10 out of the 12 of the children of Isaac Bonser and Abigail Burt:

Jane Bonser, b. 1789, probably Northumberland County, PA; m. Samuel Ferguson, 7 June 1809, Scioto County, OH; d. 1852, Andrew County, Missouri

Joseph Bonser, b. 1791, probably Northumberland County, PA; m. Rebecca Patten, 27 Jan 1820; d. 1852, Scioto County, OH

Hannah Bonser, b. 1793, probably Northumberland County, PA; m. Allen Moore, 6 Feb 1812, Wayne Township, Scioto County, OH; d. 8 Nov 1877, Montgomery County, Indiana

Samuel Bonser, b. 30 Sep 1795, Northumberland County, PA; m. Hannah Mead, 5 Aug 1819, Sciotoville, Scioto County, OH; d. 6 Jan 1879

Isaac Bonser, Jr., b. 1796, Bonser Run Rd., Sciotoville, Ohio; m. Mehittabel Burt, 1 May 1817, Scioto County, Ohio

Sarah Bonser, b. 1802, Bonser Run Rd., Sciotoville, Ohio; m. George David Parker, 20 Mar 1820, Scioto County, Ohio; d. about 1875

Jacob Bonser, b. 8 Nov 1803, Bonser Run Rd., Sciotoville, Ohio; m. Catharine Wolford, 4 Feb 1830, Scioto County Ohio; d. 24 August 1848, Wheelersburg, Scioto County, Ohio

John Bonser, b. 8 Nov, 1803, Bonser Run Rd., Sciotoville, Ohio; m. Rebecca wood Halstead, 1827, Louisville, Kentucky (?); d. 8 Mar 1893, Vancouver, Clark County, Washington

Nathaniel Bonser, b. 1804, Bonser Run Rd,  Sciotoville, Ohio; d. 1852

Uriah Bonser, b. 1808, Bonser Rund Rd., Sciotoville, Ohio; m. Aveline Avenhon, 13 Aug 1829, Scioto County, Ohio, m. Sarah Ann Corriell, 18 July 1841, Scioto County, Ohio; d. 1861

RECOLLECTIONS OF SAMUEL BONSER IN 1873

Isaac Bonser's son, Samuel Bonser was interviewed in an article in The Portsmouth Times, 12 July 1873, page 2. His accounts duplicate some of the ones from the sources above, but provide some additional details and anecdotes:

"Pioneer History.

Mr. Bonser, at our interview, spoke more particularly of the life and incidents connected with his father's history.  Isaac Bonser, his father, was born in Pennsylvania and died in this county in 1849, at the advanced age of 82 years. his mother, Abigail Burt, was born in New Jersey, and died near Sciotoville in 1853, aged nearly 83 years.

In 1795 the elder Bonser left Northumberland county, Pa., and came down the river to look at the country and choose a place to locate. Pleased with the prospect at the mouth of the Little Scioto river, he determined to bring his family there. On his return, when near what is now Haverhill, he found a man named Martin, with an engineering corps, in a famishing condition. They had just completed their first survey of the French Grant, which was the first survey in the county, had gotten all their powder wet, and were poor woodsmen, though game was in abundance they could not capture any. Mr. Bonser hunted for them for three days, furnishing them bountifully with bear and deer, dried their powder, and continued on his journey.

In the summer of 1796, he with his family, and Uriah Barber, John Beatty, Wm. Ward, and Ephraim McAdams, and their families, embarked on a flatboat, and descending the Ohio river, landed at the mouth of the Little Scioto, on the 10th day of August. Uriah Barber proceeded down the river and settled at Oldtown, and Ephraim McAdams at the mouth of the Miami river, in Hamilton county.

At the time Mr. Bonser moved to Ohio there were but two other families living in the county. They were those of Samuel Marshall, who landed at the mouth of Lawson's run, now the eastern corporation line of the city of Portsmouth, in March 1796, and John Lindsey, who settled at the mouth of the Little Scioto, in March or April of the same year.

The little colony, when it landed on the forest, put up blankets and quilts, over branches of trees, in slanted, tent-shaped style, to protect them from the heat until the log cabin could be reared.  In a week after their arrival, Mr. Bonser had, with the aid of his few neighbors, constructed a little log house, 18x20 feet, with only one room. This was the third house built in Scioto county.

He cleared the first field in the county, in the fall of 1796, and in the spring of 1797 planted it in corn. This field is just about the bridge across the Little Scioto, on the Portsmouth and Wheelersburg free turnpike. He was a great hunter, and had a trusty flint-lock rifle, which which he killed over 1000 deer, besides many bears, buffaloes and turkeys. He claimed to have killed the first and the last buffalo in Scioto county. At one time, he had as many as 22 deer in the house.

The son relates an incident of the father. A German by the name of Ingle or Engle, had settled at Old Town in 1797, and his knowledge of frontier life was very limited. he knew nothing of handling a gun, and being unable to secure meat his family was in a nearly famishing condition. Mounting Chris., his son of nine years, on a hours, he sent him to Bonser to beg him to furnish him some meat. Mr. Bonser had only one or two deer on hand then, but he gave these to the boy, and directed him to return on a certain day when he would be more liberal. On that day Chris. was on hand, and his horse was loaded with four deer.  He kept the family in meat for two or three years, the boy saying in after years, "If it hadn't been for 'daddy Bonser' we would have starved."

"In the year 1798 the French colony, consisting of Valodin, La Croix, Vincent, Andre, Duty and others, settled in the Grant, and with small colonies that settled in deferent parts of the county, the country began to be more populous.

As the incidents narrated in the remainder of this review are from personal recollections of Isaac Bonser [sic], the subject of this sketch, we will say in concluding the reminiscences of the elder Bonser that he was one of the first commissioners of the county, and served several terms. He held nearly all the township offices, and in 1821 was elected to the Ohio Legislature. He was an uncompromising Democrat all his life. "

"In 1798 his father [Isaac] commenced building a grist mill on Bonser's run. He got his neighbors to help him raise the building. Mrs. Lindsey and Mrs. Bonser, who had been left at home on that day, ,saw five breast enter the river, on the Kentucky side. They waited awhile, until they had nearly reached the Ohio side, when mrs. Lindsey said to her dog "watch, "bear!" The dog knew the meaning of the word. no sooner had the wild animals got ashore than Watch, followed by the other dogs, took after them, the two women following them and cheering them on, until every bear had taken to a tree. As their husbands had their guns with them, they were at a loss how to get their game, until Barley Monroe, an old hunter, was attracted to the spot by the baying of the dogs, and the cries of the women, and shot every bear. The game was divided among the house-raisers, Monroe living so far away that he refused to share it. Mr. Bonser says when one dog would tree a bear, all the dogs would know it by the peculiar bark of the animal, and break for the place, while if he would tree a raccoon they would pay no attention to his barking.

Mr. Bonser's recollections are, that Scioto county was organized in 1803, and formed out of Adams county, which included pretty much all of Lawrence, Pike and Jackson counties. The first clerk was Alex. Curran, sheriff Wm. Parrish, surveyor John Russell, afterwards Matthew Curran, then Robert Lucas. The first court was held by either Judge Belt or Baldwin, in the double log cabin used as a tavern and buit [sic] by John Brown on what is now Front street, below the Scioto river free suspension bridge. One end of the house was used as a bar-room, and in it the court held its sessions.  We believe a portion of this house is still standing and has been weatherboarded. The lower end of the house was destroyed by fire."

"Early Patriotism

Mr. Bonser says the first public celebration of the Fourth of July in the State of Ohio was held in 1808 on his father's place, about 150 yards from the house in which he now lives. his father had a field of wheat which ripened early, and he reaped it, threshed it, and took a portion of it to Maysville, in a canoe and had it ground to make bread for the celebration. He was two days in making the trip, pushing the canoe up himself in one day. People came from Chillicothe, Maysville, Gallipolis, and other places, about 300 persons were present. They were principally hunters. Robert Lucas, afterward State Senator and Governor, delivered an oration. Fresh meat of all kinds, both wild and domestic, was in abundance, and was baked over a large pit full of hickory coals. An old Virginia negro, a mill-wright in the employ of his father, was the cook. A great many staid three or four days. General Tupper, of Gallipois, had a barrel of cider oil he had brought from Marietta. Whisky was plenty, and yet there was no drunkenness or quarreling. All kinds of exercise was indulged in, such as wrestling, jumping, running, and etc. The old colored man made a cannon out of a gum log, which was bred five or six times before it bursted. Cross-eyed John Campbell was the cannoneer. He would touch the gun off and then dodge behind a huge poplar tree, the trunk of which was six feet in diameter at its base."

DEATH AND BURIAL

Isaac Bonser died in Sciotoville on 20 September, 1849 and was followed a few years later by his wife, Abigail in 1853.  Both of them were interred in the original Sciotoville Cemetery which was destroyed to build a railroad bridge in the early 1900s.  By accounts, the bodies were moved to the Old Wheelersburg Cemetery, but unfortunately, the grave of Isaac and his wife were never remarked.  A letter from N. S. Goodrich to Mr. Smith Bonser of Cheyenne, Wyoming documents a "sad state of affairs" concerning the cemetery, but does confirm that the body of Isaac was apparently moved to the new cemetery:

Dear Cousin

I have just returned from a visit to the old home in Ohio. I will endeavor to explain how I found things there. I found many changes since my last visit 23 years ago. I have one brother and three sisters in Portsmouth which is now a city of 30,000 people and is still growing. At Sciotoville I found but few I knew, saw many changes here the town has a population of 2,500 people, many good homes here. The Chesapeake and Ohio R.R. are building a bridge over the Ohio river at this joint. It will cross the Ohio river just a few rods east of the Little Scioto river. The depot will stand on the plot, you will so well remember, where so many of your relatives were buried and so we supposed would be permitted to sleep here in peace until the last trumpet should sound, but no the vandal of hand of progress would not let these old Pioneers rest in the graves which they had selected as there [sic] final resting place. The great railroad Corporation must have this sacred plot for there own and why should these forgotten dead rest in a place needed for this great enterprise, so notice was given to all who had friends to move the remains and all others were moved by an unfeeling construction and with no more feeling than if they had been so many animals and were enforced to be moved to the Wheelersburg Cemetery and reinterred and all monuments reset. I visited this cemetery where my father mother and two brothers have rested for many years. This is indeed a beautiful spot. I had hard work to find where amy of the Bonser family were buried. Found the graves at last with a fence mark on a line at the head board. Found the graves of Major Isaac Bonser his wife, Jacob Bonser, W.J. Bonser, Benjamin-Burt and others. You will no doubt remember the large-marble that marked our grandfathers grave. This has been broken and not replaced. There is a stone to the memory of Jacob Bonser. The grave of Benjamin Burt as you will remember it in the Sciotoville Cemetery had at its head a masonic square and compass then this inscription, Sacred to the memory of Benjamin Burt 84 years old a Soldier of the Revolution a member of the Baptist Church peace to his ashes. The monument was in good condition but with all the rest had been dumped in an obscure part of the cemetery and not one replaced. What do you think of community that would allow such desecretion? Yet after all perhaps we should not blame them too harshly, as the stranger has taken the kinsmans place and no one interested was there looking after the reinterment of the sacred dead, and this is a busy selfish age and all these dead had long since become a part of mother earth. It makes a feeling of unsupperssable [sic] sadness steal me. I stood in the old cemetery and saw the great piers the R.R. Co. was building they strike the hill east of the cemetery about 40 ft. above the cemetery and are making a double track. Three steam shovels were at work. The R.R. will cross the Little Scioto at Dixons Mill and will go on through Harrisville it will be one of the great coal carrying roads. The coal coming from West Virginia. I met only one person who had borne the Bonser name. Mrs Emma Duvendick daughter of Isaac Bonser who died at her home in Portsmouth some months since while on a visit. She was sick a very short life. I will say I made an arrangement with the Sexton of the Wheelersburg Cemetery to have all the markers replaced at the graves so far as this can be done his opinion was that the only one that could be reset was that of Benjamin Burt . It does seem to bad to let the remains of Major Isaac Bonser sleep in an unknown grave and this is what it means unless the graves are soon marked as the weather will soon obliterate all the record there is as to where they are buried. I enjoyed my visit in Portsmouth very much. I found about forty nieces and  nephews and had fine time visiting with them. My brother H.E. and his wife were with me as they said to take care of a 72 year old man. I found I could keep pace with the rest. At no time did we retire before 11 pm. Portsmouth has built about up to Sciotoville the Millbrook Park view enclosed are at the mouth of what we --- --- (unreadable) New Boston is here and has five thousand people. The Steel Mills here employ two thousand men. I trust this will find you in the enjoyment of health.

Your cousin,

N.S.Goodrich

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Obviously, genealogical work is never a completed task, and it is likely that further information will be found about Isaac Bonser and his heritage. I will try to post any updates that come along.

Remembering my grandfather, John S. Henderson, Marine Corps Veteran of World War I

On this Armistice Day, 2009, I would like to honor on my family history blog my maternal grandfather, John Henderson, a Marine Corps Veteran of WWI.

John Stanley Henderson, was born on 11 June 1900, the 8th in a family of 8 children.  His mother, Martha A Elliott Henderson died when he was a small boy, and he was raised by his father, Thomas Henderson, and older siblings.  At the mere age of 16, he enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps having provided a false date of birth of 1898.  He completed basic training at Paris Island, South Carolina, and was initially in service in and around Cuba on various ships. 

On 2 April 1917, President Woodrow Wilson addressed a joint session of congress and asked for a declaration of war, reversing his prior stance of firm neutrality in the so-called “European” war.  Although there were to be some days of debate to follow, congress issued the formal declaration of war only four days later on 6 April 1917. John Henderson, who was in foreign duty in Cuba at that time,  was recalled with many other Marines already in service to Philadelphia and became part of the First American Expeditionary Force to France to assist the Allies in the struggle against the Central Powers.  For the next two years, he served in the Second Division of the AEF along with the other members of the Fifth Marine Regiment.  This regiment was to participate in some of the most famous conflicts of the World War in France, helping the French to turn the tide against the German opposition and ultimately lead to victory over the Central Powers.  

Some of the most celebrated and bloody battles took place in the Chateau-Thierry sector where the famous Battle of the Belleau Wood was waged from 1-26 June, 1918. Marine Corps muster roles record that John S. Henderson was assigned to the 43d company (F) of the Fifth Marine Regiment on service in this sector.  

One of the greatest of my family treasures is my grandfather's diary of his experiences in World War I.  As part of my remembrance of him today, I include some excerpts from his diary from the days of his service in the Chateau-Thierry Sector in June 1918:

At four o'clock the next morning, we ate breakfast and proceeded to hike. We hiked all day till suppertime. We stopped long enough to eat supper and proceeded to hike all that night till four o'clock the next morning. We stopped, and as I had no blankets, I hunted a hay stack to sleep in. I slept till about noon that day. Got up and had breakfast and dinner together. That afternoon we proceeded to hike some more...

We are now getting up into the towns that the French have evacuated for fear of the German advance. We stopped that evening in a little town where they were bringing in many wounded soldiers...

We can now hear the big guns on the front trying to stop the German advance. Rested in this little village that night.  The next day we discovered that we were too well a view of the German aeroplanes that were constantly flying over our head, so we left this place and hiked to a forest where we were not so easily seen.  As I was eating my supper that evening, a German aeroplane came over and burned up our American observation balloon almost directly over our head.

That night, I was detailed on a ration party and went up to the front with a load of rations. On my way up, I saw a fellow going up also. He asked me, "Where in the Holy Hell are they taking us to?" I told him he didn't need to worry.  He would be coming back in a few days.  He said, "How? Dead?"....As we were coming back, the Germans got a line on us and began to send the G. S. Cans [chemical weapons ordinance] over at us.  You should have seen us getting off that road...

The next day we proceeded to move on up to the front..I saw a German observation balloon shot down by a French plane in this place.  There were ambulances carrying American wounded back in a stream from daylight till the next daylight.  I was getting a cartload of water in a little deserted village, and a shell struck a building right across the street from me and killed the mule on the cart, but didn't touch me...

We were in these woods for ten days in all. We were relieved and went back to a little town 8 kilometers behind the line for a week. We entered the Chateau-Thierry Sector with two hundred and fifty men and came out with forty of our original two hundred and fifty.

By the end of the battle of the Belleau Wood, U.S. forces had suffered 9,777 casualties, of which 1,811 were fatal. Strategically, the action in the Chateau-Thierry Sector and the Belleau wood brought to an end the last major German offensive and was felt to be a major turning point in the war. 

Although my grandfather did survive to return home from the war, many thousands of others did not. On this Veteran's Day, most properly recalled as the Armistice Day for World War I, we remember with gratitude the sacrifices of those many service men and women who placed themselves in harm's way.  

I will pause today at 11AM to remember my grandfather at the time of the official declaration of the armistice 91 years ago. It was the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour, 1918...
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John Henderson died on 7 August, 1983 , and I am grateful to have known him for the first 19 years of my life.  He is  buried at Rushtown Cemetery in Scioto County, Ohio together with my grandmother, Margery Frances Cook Henderson, his wife of 58 years. 

More on Richard Chatfield 1500-1586

Richard Chatfield, the testator of 1582, of Bedyles in the parish of Ditchling, of Oving, Treyford, Sidlesham, and Chichester co. Sussex, and of the Isle of Hayling co. Hants, born about 1500 and died in July 1586. When he was a young man, he removed thirty miles westward from his ancestral region of Mid-Sussex and settled in Chichester. In this city, he probably secured in trade the means which enabled him to acquire numerous pieces of property (some of which formerly belonged to monasteries dissolved by Henry VIII), and to raise his branch of the family into the armigerous gentry, with its pedigree and arms entered in the Heralds' Visitations, while the branches in Mid-Sussex remained among the yeomanry. In the subsidy of 1523 he was assessed for lands in the Hundred of Street and for goods in Chichester. Between 1544 and 1572 he was assessed in the Rape of Chichester in various subsidies, and acquired property at Chichester, Oving, West Ashling, Sidlesham, Treyford, Westmeston, MIddleton, Twineham and Bolney. When he made his will in 1582, he was living at Chichester, and he was buried in the cathedral there 26 July 1586. His will is a brief and unsatisfactory document, as it names only two of his cildren, although it is certain that he had at least six and probably even more. It is evident that he had given portions to his children during his lifetime. No monument to him remains, as the iconoclastic partisans of Cromwell wrecked that part of the Cathedral in which he was buried. 

The New England historical and genealogical register, Volume 70; Waters, Henry Fitz-Gilbert; New England Historic Genealogical Society; 1916 

A further search turns up information on the Heralds' Visitation of Sussex in 1562 that has a pedigree and arms for Richard Chatffeild of Bedyles in Dychering.  The armorial bearing recorded is: 

ARMS-Or, a griffin segreant sable, on a chief purpure three scallop-shells argent.

CREST-An heraldic antelope's head erased argent, armed or, gorged with a coronet sable

Translated, this would equal, I believe, a shield with a background of gold in the lower/main portion with a black griffin standing in its back legs.  The upper portion of the shield has a purple background with three silver shells.  Finally, it is topped off by a black crown with 3 strawberry leaves (the fourth "invisible") with a two horned antelope's head with golden horns and a split or "torn" base in silver.   There are some online companies that claim to have this available for purchase, but the one that two that I saw a sample of ignored the initial "or" meaning gold for the main shield.  

459th Birthday of my 12th Great Grandfather, Richard Chatfield I

Richard Chatfield I was born 10 September 1500 in Bedyles, Sussex, England and was the eldest child of John Chatfield (ca 1475-1560) and Alice Stapley (b. ca 1475).  He was the eldest of three known sons of this family.   He was a landed individual and a "gentleman", but seemingly lacking in formal noble title.  He was a generous contributor to Chichester Cathedral and was buried in the east end of the church in July of 1586. Unfortunately, his monument did not survive the turmoil of the English reformation, and there is no longer any visible memorial in the cathedral.
His will, recorded in the year 1582 reads:

The will of RICHARD CHAFYLLD of the City of Chichester, gent., 24 October 1582. My Body to be buried in the Cathedral Church of Chichester, against the library in the east end of said church, decently and honestly. My will is that Francis my son, for and in consideration of my former goods and cattell shall see my body honestly buryed at his cost and charges according to his promise. I give 10s to a preacher to preach at my burial. To Joane Est, my daughter, 20s. To Anne Kynswell 10s. The residue of all my goods and cattell, my debts paid and legacies performed, I give to Agnes my wife, whom I make my executrix. I desire Mr. Henry Blaxton and Dr. Daniell Gardener, residentiaries of the Cathedral Church of Chichester, to be overseers and to be a comfort and stay of my wife, and I give to them 10s apiece. Witnesses: Henry Blaxton, Daniell Gardener, Richard Juxon and Thomas Macyn [signed] Richard Chatfulld. This my very last will was read to me 18 june 1585 in presence of John Base, Henry Clerk and John Brown, to whom I confessed it to be my last will.  Proved 7 October 1586 by Agnes, the relict and executrix.

Francis Clayton Atkin and Jane F. Bonser Atkin

Since I mentioned it in my first posting, I thought that I would post a copy of the photograph of my great great grandparents, Francis Clayton Atkin and Jane F. Bonser Atkin.
Francis Clayton was born on September 1835 in New York and died on 5 October 1909 in Bertha, Scioto County, Ohio.  Although the name of his mother, Mary Jane Duval, is known, we only can speculate on his father's name.  Although there are a number of Atkins in Delaware County, NY, a DNA test done by my friend Joyce could not confirm a close relationship.  Francis was a carpenter and bridge builder. He also served in the Civil War on the Union side enlisting in Ohio on 1 October 1861 as  Private. He died on 5 October 1909 at Bertha in Scioto County, Ohio.
Jane F. Bonser, his wife, was the granddaughter of one of the first settlers of Scioto County, Ohio, Major Isaac Bonser.  She was herself the 8th of 16 children born to Samuel Bonser and Hannah Mead and was born in Scioto County Ohio on 26 May 1835. She was married to Francis Clayton Atkin on 9 June 1858 and preceded him in death on 26 October 1907.  They are both interred in Greenlawn Cemetery, Portsmouth, Scioto County, Ohio.
Their gravestone is visible at findagrave.com at this link: Gravestone of Francis and Jane Bonser Atkin