Individual Details
Richard Taylor Bonney
(16 Feb 1871 - 11 Mar 1947)
Buried Lesterville Memorial Cemetery.
Richard Bonney apparently told Harold Bonney he was a member of the Latter Day Saints, which led to speculation that his family broke off from the Mormons on their way West and that's why he was born in Kansas. However, the Mormon "Exodus" from Nauvoo, Illinois to Utah took place in the years 1846-1847, decades before Richard's birth. The Mormons were kicked out of Missouri in the winter of 1838-1839, before Richard's father was born.
I did not think there was an LDS church near Lesterville. However, Google maps shows a Latter Day Saints Church in Reynolds County, Missouri off State Highway B west of Logan Creek Conservation Area. According to Google this is 21 miles from Lesterville. The satellite image shows one building and a cemetery. The Mormon web site does not list a church at this location, evidently because this is a Reorganized LDS (now called Community of Christ) church. The RLDS was started by some Mormons who decided not to follow Brigham Young to Utah after Joseph Smith Jr.'s death. They eventually elected Smith's oldest son, Joseph Smith III, to be their first President, and for several generations afterwards the RLDS was led by Smith family members.
I found a cemetery listing for this site in Reynolds County on findagrave.com which has photos. One of the photos shows a iron gate which says "RLDS CEMETERY IN MEMORY OF ELMO YOUNG" thus confirming it is an RLDS church. It is listed as being in Ellington, the closest big town. I also found the church listed on the Community of Christ web site (which also listed it as being in Ellington), confirming that it is a current church and not just a historic site. Anyway, the oldest graves listed for the cemetery are from 1960, but the building itself looks quite old.
So, it could be that Richard was a member of this RLDS church.
Richard Bonney apparently told Harold Bonney he was a member of the Latter Day Saints, which led to speculation that his family broke off from the Mormons on their way West and that's why he was born in Kansas. However, the Mormon "Exodus" from Nauvoo, Illinois to Utah took place in the years 1846-1847, decades before Richard's birth. The Mormons were kicked out of Missouri in the winter of 1838-1839, before Richard's father was born.
I did not think there was an LDS church near Lesterville. However, Google maps shows a Latter Day Saints Church in Reynolds County, Missouri off State Highway B west of Logan Creek Conservation Area. According to Google this is 21 miles from Lesterville. The satellite image shows one building and a cemetery. The Mormon web site does not list a church at this location, evidently because this is a Reorganized LDS (now called Community of Christ) church. The RLDS was started by some Mormons who decided not to follow Brigham Young to Utah after Joseph Smith Jr.'s death. They eventually elected Smith's oldest son, Joseph Smith III, to be their first President, and for several generations afterwards the RLDS was led by Smith family members.
I found a cemetery listing for this site in Reynolds County on findagrave.com which has photos. One of the photos shows a iron gate which says "RLDS CEMETERY IN MEMORY OF ELMO YOUNG" thus confirming it is an RLDS church. It is listed as being in Ellington, the closest big town. I also found the church listed on the Community of Christ web site (which also listed it as being in Ellington), confirming that it is a current church and not just a historic site. Anyway, the oldest graves listed for the cemetery are from 1960, but the building itself looks quite old.
So, it could be that Richard was a member of this RLDS church.
Events
| Birth | 16 Feb 1871 | Liberty, Montgomery, Kansas, USA | |||
| Marriage | 17 Jan 1894 | Lesterville, Reynolds, Missouri, USA - Laura Jane Myers |  | ||
| Marriage | 25 Apr 1916 | Elizabeth Farmer | | ||
| Death | 11 Mar 1947 | Lesterville, Reynolds, Missouri, USA | |||
| Alt name | Dick | ||||
| Burial | Lesterville, Reynolds, Missouri, USA |
Families
| Spouse | Laura Jane Myers (1874 - ) |
| Child | William Franklin Bonney (1896 - 1977) |
| Child | Carrie Jane Bonney (1897 - 1983) |
| Child | Walter Clay Bonney (1898 - 1984) |
| Child | Donald Albert Bonney (1900 - ) |
| Child | Jesse Taylor Bonney (1902 - 1983) |
| Child | Edsel Bonney (1904 - 1906) |
| Child | Homer Tirl Bonney (1906 - ) |
| Child | Myrtle May Bonney (1908 - 2007) |
| Child | Marvin Monroe Bonney Sr. (1910 - ) |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Farmer ( - ) |
| Child | Guy Richmond Bonney (1917 - 1938) |
| Child | Emma Frances Bonney (1918 - 1985) |
| Child | Living |
| Father | Henry Clay Bonney Sr. (1841 - ) |
| Mother | Jane Tredinnick (1849 - ) |
| Sibling | Prentiss Franklin Bonney (1869 - ) |
| Sibling | Druscilla Bonney (1873 - 1873) |
| Sibling | Priscilla Bonney (1873 - 1873) |
| Sibling | Ellen E. "Nell" Bonney (1874 - 1937) |
| Sibling | Henry Clay Bonney Jr. (1877 - 1952) |
| Sibling | Emily S. Bonney (1879 - 1883) |
Endnotes
1. Anna Pauline (Pinkley) Bonney, Genealogy Notes of Anna Pauline (Pinkley) Bonney Photocopies in the possession of Gregory Neil Bonney.
2. Anna Pauline (Pinkley) Bonney, Genealogy Notes of Anna Pauline (Pinkley) Bonney Photocopies in the possession of Gregory Neil Bonney.
3. Iron County register. (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.), 27 April 1916. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.