Individual Details
Prentiss Franklin Bonney
(2 Apr 1805 - Aft 1853)
IDENTIFICATION
There seems to have been some confusion as to whether Prentiss Franklin Bonney and Emily Hayden were really the parents of all the children that show up in their household in the census records.
For some reason, Pauline Bonney had down Peter Clay and Lizzie Holden, but I can't figure out where that information comes from. Pauline Bonney seems to have believed that Peter Clay Bonney and Lizzie Holden were the parents of William, Henry, Cowan, and Taylor. However, I don't know what her source for this information was.
One argument for Peter being Henry's father is the similarity of the names (Peter Clay and Henry Clay). However, I think it is likely that Henry was named after the famous politician Henry Clay who is responsible for the Missouri Compromise (which allowed Missouri to become a state). Assuming that there really was a Peter Clay Bonney, the common middle name could just be a coincidence.
"P.F. Bonny" shows up on the 1850 Washington County, Missouri, census (with the children). Also, his two marriages can be found in the Washington County records (with his name spelled two different ways). His widow and family then appears on the 1860 Iron County census. By contrast, I've found no official records of a Peter Clay Bonney. The names are somewhat similar (even Hayden and Holden are similar), so it could just be that somebody was relying on word-of-mouth information.
Also, I have been in contact with a descendant of Sophia Bonney, and his information supports Sophia and Henry being brother and sister. One of Sophia's sons, Homer St. Clair, apparently went to live with their Uncle Henry Bonney for a time after Sophia's death. The 1900 Reynolds County census does show Homer in Henry's household and lists him as a nephew ("NEP"). Also, a letter to Pauline Bonney mentions another letter from Annie St. Clair (Homer's wife). Annie related the story of a young Bonney boy who died shortly after the Battle of Pilot Knob. Another letter to Pauline mentions Homer and Harry "Babe" St. Clair. The author, who I believe lived in Ironton at the time, said he knew Harry's wife (widow?), who was apparently a nurse's aid.
Then there's the fact that Henry named his eldest son "Prentiss Franklin". (I wonder if his second son was also named after a grandfather or great-grandfather?)
Finally, the FamilySearch IGI (v4.02) contains entries for Henry and Taylor that shows Prentiss and Emily as their parents. (Of course, the IGI could be wrong.)
PLACE OF BIRTH
Also, there was some confusion over whether Prentiss was born in New York or Virginia. The LDS Ancestral File has Prentiss and his first wife both being from "Salem, Montgomery, VA", but when I managed to contact the original source for that information, she said that she didn't know where Prentiss was born. The Ancestral File computer software automatically made that assumption.
Unfortunately, the census data is equally confusing. The 1880 Reynolds County census shows H.C. Bonney's parents being from Va, the 1900 census shows his parents born in MO , and the 1910 census for Henry shows father born NY, mother born VA. Fortunately, two of Henry's older brothers reported census data that agreed with Henry's 1910 census. James Logan Bonney reporting on the 1880 census in California that his father was from NY and mother from VA, and Cowan reported the same on the 1900 census. Also, the 1850 Washington County census shows P.F. Bonney being from NY as well. So, I think that should be pretty well settled.
The date of birth I have listed comes from the FamilySearch IGI v4.02. As with other information I've found there recently, no source information is given. The IGI erroneously lists the place of birth as Washington, Missouri (a county which didn't exist until several years later).
NATIONALITY
Another researcher (Gretchen Moeller) told me in an e-mail that she was told Prentiss' "...father came from Scotland and was a boot maker." Also, an internet site called www.last-names.net, says the following about the origin of the Bonney surname "(origin: Scot.) Genteel, fine, spruce. French, Bon, Bonne, good, handsome." Also, Prentiss was twice married in a Presbyterian church (which came out of the Church of Scotland) located in the largely Scotch/Irish community of Bellvue, Washington County, Missouri. So, for a time I believed Prentiss was from Scotland. However, now that it appears I have found his connection to the Thomas Bonney who came from Sandwich, England, I believe Gretchen's source was wrong.
OCCUPATION
According to the 1850 census, Prentiss was a farmer, and his land was worth $200.
RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION
The fact that Prentiss was married twice in the same church in Washington County, Missouri (BELLVUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH), and apparently named one of his sons (Donel Cowan) after two of the ministers there would make me think that the family was probably active in that church.
UNTIMELY DEATH
Prentiss is supposed to have died of cholera on his way to California during Gold Rush days. He was accompanied by his eldest son, who stayed out west after his father's death. The exact date is unknown, but because his youngest child was born in 1854 and there is an administrative bond recorded in 1853, I have indicated his death as "After 1853". It was definitely before 1860, because he's missing from that census. The place of his death was shown in Pauline Bonney's records to be White Plains (state unknown), but the only White Plains that I could find west of the Mississippi was White Plains, Nevada, which is along the old Gold Rush Trail along the Humbolt River. Nevada Territory was formed in 1861 from a portion of Utah Territory, so at the time this would have been Utah Territory.) The Central Pacific Line later followed the same route, and today interstate 80 follows this route. White Plains isn't on the road maps today, but it was supposed to have been 68 miles east of Reno between the existing towns of Lovelock and Fernley. By my calculations, that puts it almost right at the intersection of I-80 and highway 95 and almost exactly half-way into what was then known as the "40-Mile Desert", the most grueling stretch of the Gold Rush Trail.
The following description of White plains was found in "The Pacific Tourist" by Hentry T. Williams, 1876 (found on-line at moa.umdl.umich.edu):
"White Plains, - 361 miles from San Francisco, with an elevation of 3,894 feet - the lowest point we reach in this great basin. The place - a side track, is appropriately named for it is surrounded by a white alkali desert, covered in places with salt and alkali deposits. The evidence of volcanic action and a lava formation are everywhere visible in the hills and on the plains in this vicinity. Though the plains immediately adjoining the station are white with alkali or salty deposits, yet the ridge and uplands to the right are covered with the reddish, porous rocks and finer blackish sand which always accompany this formation. At White Plains we have reached the lowest elevation on the Central Pacific, east of the Sierras. We are, in fact, almost in the sink itself of the Humbolt and Carson Rivers. The low flats stretching away to our left, are usually more or less covered with water in the season of the floods, and the two rivers virtually unite in this great valley or basin. There is no visible outlet to these streams, or rather to this basin, and the immense drainage of these two rivers sinks in the sand and is taken up by evaporation. The oldest settlers in this region of country, hold to the opinion that the water is taken up by evaporation, and say that at certain seasons of the year this process is very rapid - large bodies of land covered with water becoming thoroughly dry in a few days."
I have also learned that a neighbor of the Bonneys who also had connections to the Bellview Presbyterian Church, one James Huitt, left for California with his wife in 1853 and arrived at Rough & Ready, Nevada County, California in December of that year. I have to wonder if this was the very same wagon train which Prentiss and his son were part of. Or perhaps the Bonneys were encouraged by reports that came back from Huitt and others.
PRENTISS' FATHER
Prentice F. Bonney is mentioned in the Journal of the Senate of the United States of America, 1789-1873
WEDNESDAY, January 6, 1841 (page 84):
"Mr. Benton presented the petition of Prentice F. Bonney, praying to be allowed the bounty land due to his father at the time of his death, on account of his services in the late war; which was referred to the Committee of Claims."
The following day, THURSDAY, January 7, 1841 (page 85), Luke Bonney is mentioned:
"On motion by Mr. Hubbard,
Ordered, That the Committee of Claims be discharged from the further consideration of the petition of the heir of Luke Bonney."
Page 283 (in the index) makes it clear that the petition discharged is that of Prentice Bonney:
"Bonney, Prentice F., petition of, referred - - - 84
committee discharged - - - - 88"
Mr. Benton is apparently Thomas Hart Benton (1782-1858), Senator and a Representative from Missouri, who is buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, MO.
There cannot have been very many Prentice F. Bonney's living in Missouri in 1841, and I am guessing that "the late war" would be the War of 1812. If so, there might be some record of a "bounty land warrant".
According to "Bounty Land Warrants for Military Service in the War of 1812" by Jan Bishop McFarland (http://genealogy.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=genealogy&cdn=parenting&tm=21&gps=133_308_958_602&f=11&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.ultranet.com/%7Edeeds/bounty.htm), "The warrant itself should include the name of the veteran, his rank on discharge, his branch of service (including company, etc.), and the date the warrant was issued. It may also include the date the land was located and a description of the land." McFarland goes on to say, "If he obtained bounty land, you should be able to find your ancestor in National Archives Microfilm Series M848 (14 rolls), War of 1812 Military Bounty Land Warrants, 1815-1858. This series includes an index to patentees in Missouri & Arkansas..."
However, if the Luke Bonney mentioned the following day is the father of of Prentice, it looks like Prentice's request was denied, which would explain why I haven't been able to find a land grant associated with Prentice in on-line resources.
For now I am assuming that Luke Bonney was the father of Prentice and that he served in the War of 1812.
As further evidence of this, we know that another son of Luke, George A. Bonney, also was born in New York and lived for a short time in southeast Missouri and moved away about the same time that Prentiss headed for California. A biography of George says he was the third child, but the four siblings usually listed for him are all younger than him.
There seems to have been some confusion as to whether Prentiss Franklin Bonney and Emily Hayden were really the parents of all the children that show up in their household in the census records.
For some reason, Pauline Bonney had down Peter Clay and Lizzie Holden, but I can't figure out where that information comes from. Pauline Bonney seems to have believed that Peter Clay Bonney and Lizzie Holden were the parents of William, Henry, Cowan, and Taylor. However, I don't know what her source for this information was.
One argument for Peter being Henry's father is the similarity of the names (Peter Clay and Henry Clay). However, I think it is likely that Henry was named after the famous politician Henry Clay who is responsible for the Missouri Compromise (which allowed Missouri to become a state). Assuming that there really was a Peter Clay Bonney, the common middle name could just be a coincidence.
"P.F. Bonny" shows up on the 1850 Washington County, Missouri, census (with the children). Also, his two marriages can be found in the Washington County records (with his name spelled two different ways). His widow and family then appears on the 1860 Iron County census. By contrast, I've found no official records of a Peter Clay Bonney. The names are somewhat similar (even Hayden and Holden are similar), so it could just be that somebody was relying on word-of-mouth information.
Also, I have been in contact with a descendant of Sophia Bonney, and his information supports Sophia and Henry being brother and sister. One of Sophia's sons, Homer St. Clair, apparently went to live with their Uncle Henry Bonney for a time after Sophia's death. The 1900 Reynolds County census does show Homer in Henry's household and lists him as a nephew ("NEP"). Also, a letter to Pauline Bonney mentions another letter from Annie St. Clair (Homer's wife). Annie related the story of a young Bonney boy who died shortly after the Battle of Pilot Knob. Another letter to Pauline mentions Homer and Harry "Babe" St. Clair. The author, who I believe lived in Ironton at the time, said he knew Harry's wife (widow?), who was apparently a nurse's aid.
Then there's the fact that Henry named his eldest son "Prentiss Franklin". (I wonder if his second son was also named after a grandfather or great-grandfather?)
Finally, the FamilySearch IGI (v4.02) contains entries for Henry and Taylor that shows Prentiss and Emily as their parents. (Of course, the IGI could be wrong.)
PLACE OF BIRTH
Also, there was some confusion over whether Prentiss was born in New York or Virginia. The LDS Ancestral File has Prentiss and his first wife both being from "Salem, Montgomery, VA", but when I managed to contact the original source for that information, she said that she didn't know where Prentiss was born. The Ancestral File computer software automatically made that assumption.
Unfortunately, the census data is equally confusing. The 1880 Reynolds County census shows H.C. Bonney's parents being from Va, the 1900 census shows his parents born in MO , and the 1910 census for Henry shows father born NY, mother born VA. Fortunately, two of Henry's older brothers reported census data that agreed with Henry's 1910 census. James Logan Bonney reporting on the 1880 census in California that his father was from NY and mother from VA, and Cowan reported the same on the 1900 census. Also, the 1850 Washington County census shows P.F. Bonney being from NY as well. So, I think that should be pretty well settled.
The date of birth I have listed comes from the FamilySearch IGI v4.02. As with other information I've found there recently, no source information is given. The IGI erroneously lists the place of birth as Washington, Missouri (a county which didn't exist until several years later).
NATIONALITY
Another researcher (Gretchen Moeller) told me in an e-mail that she was told Prentiss' "...father came from Scotland and was a boot maker." Also, an internet site called www.last-names.net, says the following about the origin of the Bonney surname "(origin: Scot.) Genteel, fine, spruce. French, Bon, Bonne, good, handsome." Also, Prentiss was twice married in a Presbyterian church (which came out of the Church of Scotland) located in the largely Scotch/Irish community of Bellvue, Washington County, Missouri. So, for a time I believed Prentiss was from Scotland. However, now that it appears I have found his connection to the Thomas Bonney who came from Sandwich, England, I believe Gretchen's source was wrong.
OCCUPATION
According to the 1850 census, Prentiss was a farmer, and his land was worth $200.
RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION
The fact that Prentiss was married twice in the same church in Washington County, Missouri (BELLVUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH), and apparently named one of his sons (Donel Cowan) after two of the ministers there would make me think that the family was probably active in that church.
UNTIMELY DEATH
Prentiss is supposed to have died of cholera on his way to California during Gold Rush days. He was accompanied by his eldest son, who stayed out west after his father's death. The exact date is unknown, but because his youngest child was born in 1854 and there is an administrative bond recorded in 1853, I have indicated his death as "After 1853". It was definitely before 1860, because he's missing from that census. The place of his death was shown in Pauline Bonney's records to be White Plains (state unknown), but the only White Plains that I could find west of the Mississippi was White Plains, Nevada, which is along the old Gold Rush Trail along the Humbolt River. Nevada Territory was formed in 1861 from a portion of Utah Territory, so at the time this would have been Utah Territory.) The Central Pacific Line later followed the same route, and today interstate 80 follows this route. White Plains isn't on the road maps today, but it was supposed to have been 68 miles east of Reno between the existing towns of Lovelock and Fernley. By my calculations, that puts it almost right at the intersection of I-80 and highway 95 and almost exactly half-way into what was then known as the "40-Mile Desert", the most grueling stretch of the Gold Rush Trail.
The following description of White plains was found in "The Pacific Tourist" by Hentry T. Williams, 1876 (found on-line at moa.umdl.umich.edu):
"White Plains, - 361 miles from San Francisco, with an elevation of 3,894 feet - the lowest point we reach in this great basin. The place - a side track, is appropriately named for it is surrounded by a white alkali desert, covered in places with salt and alkali deposits. The evidence of volcanic action and a lava formation are everywhere visible in the hills and on the plains in this vicinity. Though the plains immediately adjoining the station are white with alkali or salty deposits, yet the ridge and uplands to the right are covered with the reddish, porous rocks and finer blackish sand which always accompany this formation. At White Plains we have reached the lowest elevation on the Central Pacific, east of the Sierras. We are, in fact, almost in the sink itself of the Humbolt and Carson Rivers. The low flats stretching away to our left, are usually more or less covered with water in the season of the floods, and the two rivers virtually unite in this great valley or basin. There is no visible outlet to these streams, or rather to this basin, and the immense drainage of these two rivers sinks in the sand and is taken up by evaporation. The oldest settlers in this region of country, hold to the opinion that the water is taken up by evaporation, and say that at certain seasons of the year this process is very rapid - large bodies of land covered with water becoming thoroughly dry in a few days."
I have also learned that a neighbor of the Bonneys who also had connections to the Bellview Presbyterian Church, one James Huitt, left for California with his wife in 1853 and arrived at Rough & Ready, Nevada County, California in December of that year. I have to wonder if this was the very same wagon train which Prentiss and his son were part of. Or perhaps the Bonneys were encouraged by reports that came back from Huitt and others.
PRENTISS' FATHER
Prentice F. Bonney is mentioned in the Journal of the Senate of the United States of America, 1789-1873
WEDNESDAY, January 6, 1841 (page 84):
"Mr. Benton presented the petition of Prentice F. Bonney, praying to be allowed the bounty land due to his father at the time of his death, on account of his services in the late war; which was referred to the Committee of Claims."
The following day, THURSDAY, January 7, 1841 (page 85), Luke Bonney is mentioned:
"On motion by Mr. Hubbard,
Ordered, That the Committee of Claims be discharged from the further consideration of the petition of the heir of Luke Bonney."
Page 283 (in the index) makes it clear that the petition discharged is that of Prentice Bonney:
"Bonney, Prentice F., petition of, referred - - - 84
committee discharged - - - - 88"
Mr. Benton is apparently Thomas Hart Benton (1782-1858), Senator and a Representative from Missouri, who is buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, MO.
There cannot have been very many Prentice F. Bonney's living in Missouri in 1841, and I am guessing that "the late war" would be the War of 1812. If so, there might be some record of a "bounty land warrant".
According to "Bounty Land Warrants for Military Service in the War of 1812" by Jan Bishop McFarland
However, if the Luke Bonney mentioned the following day is the father of of Prentice, it looks like Prentice's request was denied, which would explain why I haven't been able to find a land grant associated with Prentice in on-line resources.
For now I am assuming that Luke Bonney was the father of Prentice and that he served in the War of 1812.
As further evidence of this, we know that another son of Luke, George A. Bonney, also was born in New York and lived for a short time in southeast Missouri and moved away about the same time that Prentiss headed for California. A biography of George says he was the third child, but the four siblings usually listed for him are all younger than him.
Events
| Birth | 2 Apr 1805 | New York, USA | |||
| Marriage | 27 Nov 1828 | Washington Co., Missouri, USA - Hannah Logan |  | ||
| Marriage | 7 Jul 1836 | Washington Co., Missouri, USA - Emmelia "Emily" Hayden | | ||
| Census | 1850 | Washington Co., Mo, USA | | ||
| Administrative Bond | 13 Jun 1853 | Washington Co., Mo, USA | | ||
| Death | Aft 1853 | White Plains, Utah Territory, United States |  |
Families
| Spouse | Emmelia "Emily" Hayden ( - ) |
| Child | William H. Bonney (1838 - 1903) |
| Child | Donald Cowan Bonney (1839 - 1924) |
| Child | Henry Clay Bonney Sr. (1841 - ) |
| Child | Sophia E. Bonney (1843 - ) |
| Child | Margaret E. Bonney (1846 - ) |
| Child | Zacariah Taylor Bonney (1849 - 1908) |
| Child | Hardin R. Bonney (1850 - 1860) |
| Child | Buena Vista Bonney (1852 - ) |
| Child | Oscer Bonney (1854 - ) |
| Spouse | Hannah Logan (1808 - 1832) |
| Child | James Logan Bonney (1829 - 1901) |
| Child | Alida S. Bonney (1832 - ) |
| Father | Luke Bonney (1774 - 1819) |
| Mother | Eunice Hinman (1779 - ) |
| Sibling | George A. Bonney (1810 - ) |
| Sibling | Charles Bonney (1812 - ) |
| Sibling | Arma Bonney (1814 - 1855) |
| Sibling | Caroline Bonney (1815 - ) |
| Sibling | Josiah Hinman Bonney (1817 - 1887) |
Notes
Death
That portion of Utah Territory became Nevada Territory in 1861 and is now the state of Nevada.Endnotes
1. Anna Pauline (Pinkley) Bonney, Genealogy Notes of Anna Pauline (Pinkley) Bonney Photocopies in the possession of Gregory Neil Bonney.
2. Washington Co., Missouri MARRIAGE BOOK A 1815-1841 internet.
3. HISTORY OF BELLVUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH - CALEDONIA, MO internet.
4. Anna Pauline (Pinkley) Bonney, Genealogy Notes of Anna Pauline (Pinkley) Bonney Photocopies in the possession of Gregory Neil Bonney.
5. Washington Co., Missouri MARRIAGE BOOK A 1815-1841 internet.
6. HISTORY OF BELLVUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH - CALEDONIA, MO internet.
7. Anna Pauline (Pinkley) Bonney, Genealogy Notes of Anna Pauline (Pinkley) Bonney Photocopies in the possession of Gregory Neil Bonney.
8. Myra Swenson Bettis, Washington Co Histories #3 (washco03.txt) internet archive.