Individual Details
Zacariah Taylor Bonney
(25 Feb 1849 - 25 Nov 1908)
Taylor was supposed to have been a soldier in the Battle of Fort Davidson at Pilot Knob, Missouri, but I don't know what company he was in. It was said that he "...didn't look like Grandpa [Henry Sr.] or Cowan, he was short & fat & died young from a stroke." However, it looks like he lived to at least the age of 40.
I puzzled for some time over why Taylor didn't show up on the 1850 Washington County census. According to the 1860 Iron County census, he should've been old enough. Jacerrah/Jacenah/Jacemah (as it had been variously transcribed) was missing from the 1860 census, but could've died. Then I noticed that Zarariah (from the 1880 census of Montgomery County, Kansas) was the same age as Taylor, his wife had the same first name and middle initial, and the states of origin (for mother, father, and self) matched up. (We already knew that Taylor, Cowan, and Henry had all lived in that county, which is why I researched it to begin with.)
I suddenly realized that "Taylor" might be Zarariah's middle name (or visa versa). After some more thought, I also realized that a cursive capital J and a cursive capital Z might look very similar (I wish I could change the font to demonstrate - "Brush Script MT" in my word processor demonstrates this nicely). Likewise for cursive capital F and T. Suddenly, "Jecerrah F." might become "Zecerrah T." and if you replace the first r in Zarariah with the c from Jecerrah, you get "Zacariah" (or Zachariah)!
Okay, I admit this takes a bit of imagination, but I did find some supporting evidence on the web. One is an article on www.familytreemaker.com on "Deciphering handwriting". The article specifically says that in old records a capital T and capital F often look the same (other letters they list are I and J, L and S, L and T, M and N and U and V). An even better article was found at www.firstct.com/fv/oldhand.html. This article talks about several issues and has some great examples. One example shows an abbreviation of the name "Zachariah" that looks a lot like "Jach.a" (where the period is below the second a). Also, several articles I've seen talk about how names were often spelled "phonetically" (which means accents could affect the spelling) and the spelling could vary even when being written by the same person.
It should also be noted that in the same year of Taylor's birth (1848) Zachary Taylor was elected President. Zachary and Zachariah are really two forms of the same name, so it could be that he was named for the new President and hero of the Mexican War.
Unfortunately, when I finally did get a look at the microfilm of the 1850 Washington County census, I found that the name in question does look like Jaceriah (or Jacenah) F. (it definitely doesn't say Zaceriah T.). Also, "Jaceriah" is definitely identified as a female. Still, there was clearly some mistake (since Jaceriah from the 1850 census is inexplicably replaced by Taylor on the 1860 census). So, I'm going to postulate that the census-taker was working off of something that another person had written, and he mis-read the name when he copied it down for the official document, and in the process, Zaceriah T. became Jaceriah F. I know it sounds like a lot of conjecture, but it fits the facts as I know them now.
I recently found an entry in the FamilySearch IGI (v4.02) that shows "Taylor Zeany Bonney" born Feb 1848 in ", Washington, Missouri" (I don't know what the special characters around "caledonia" mean) to Prentiss Franklin Bonney and Emily Hayden. Unfortunately, no source information is shown for the entry. I never before heard of anyone named "Zeany". I looked for the name on the internet and only found mention of women with the name. It seems perfectly reasonable, though, that this could be an unusual nickname for "Zachariah" (perhaps made up by an older sibling).
I got the 1880 Montgomery, Kansas census information from somebody I contacted through the internet that looked it up in a book for me. For some reason, when the LDS put the 1880 census on their web site, there were differences. The information I had previously shows Annie Goodin, Cohen Bonnie, and Zarariah Bonney. The LDS shows Annie Goodwill, C. Bonnie, and Zachariah Bonney. Unfortunately, I don't know which is more accurate.
I puzzled for some time over why Taylor didn't show up on the 1850 Washington County census. According to the 1860 Iron County census, he should've been old enough. Jacerrah/Jacenah/Jacemah (as it had been variously transcribed) was missing from the 1860 census, but could've died. Then I noticed that Zarariah (from the 1880 census of Montgomery County, Kansas) was the same age as Taylor, his wife had the same first name and middle initial, and the states of origin (for mother, father, and self) matched up. (We already knew that Taylor, Cowan, and Henry had all lived in that county, which is why I researched it to begin with.)
I suddenly realized that "Taylor" might be Zarariah's middle name (or visa versa). After some more thought, I also realized that a cursive capital J and a cursive capital Z might look very similar (I wish I could change the font to demonstrate - "Brush Script MT" in my word processor demonstrates this nicely). Likewise for cursive capital F and T. Suddenly, "Jecerrah F." might become "Zecerrah T." and if you replace the first r in Zarariah with the c from Jecerrah, you get "Zacariah" (or Zachariah)!
Okay, I admit this takes a bit of imagination, but I did find some supporting evidence on the web. One is an article on www.familytreemaker.com on "Deciphering handwriting". The article specifically says that in old records a capital T and capital F often look the same (other letters they list are I and J, L and S, L and T, M and N and U and V). An even better article was found at www.firstct.com/fv/oldhand.html. This article talks about several issues and has some great examples. One example shows an abbreviation of the name "Zachariah" that looks a lot like "Jach.a" (where the period is below the second a). Also, several articles I've seen talk about how names were often spelled "phonetically" (which means accents could affect the spelling) and the spelling could vary even when being written by the same person.
It should also be noted that in the same year of Taylor's birth (1848) Zachary Taylor was elected President. Zachary and Zachariah are really two forms of the same name, so it could be that he was named for the new President and hero of the Mexican War.
Unfortunately, when I finally did get a look at the microfilm of the 1850 Washington County census, I found that the name in question does look like Jaceriah (or Jacenah) F. (it definitely doesn't say Zaceriah T.). Also, "Jaceriah" is definitely identified as a female. Still, there was clearly some mistake (since Jaceriah from the 1850 census is inexplicably replaced by Taylor on the 1860 census). So, I'm going to postulate that the census-taker was working off of something that another person had written, and he mis-read the name when he copied it down for the official document, and in the process, Zaceriah T. became Jaceriah F. I know it sounds like a lot of conjecture, but it fits the facts as I know them now.
I recently found an entry in the FamilySearch IGI (v4.02) that shows "Taylor Zeany Bonney" born Feb 1848 in "
I got the 1880 Montgomery, Kansas census information from somebody I contacted through the internet that looked it up in a book for me. For some reason, when the LDS put the 1880 census on their web site, there were differences. The information I had previously shows Annie Goodin, Cohen Bonnie, and Zarariah Bonney. The LDS shows Annie Goodwill, C. Bonnie, and Zachariah Bonney. Unfortunately, I don't know which is more accurate.
Events
| Birth | 25 Feb 1849 | Caledonia, Washington, Missouri, United States | |||
| Census | 1860 | Iron Co., Missouri, USA | |||
| Marriage | 3 Dec 1874 | Montgomery, Kansas, USA - Sarah M. Vancleave |  | ||
| Census | 1880 | Liberty, Montgomery, Kansas, USA | |||
| Death | 25 Nov 1908 | stroke - Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, USA, | |||
| Burial | 25 Nov 1908 | Moline Cemetery, Moline, Elk, Kansas, United States | | ||
| Description | short and fat |
Families
| Spouse | Sarah M. Vancleave (1856 - ) |
| Child | Joseph F. Bonney (1876 - ) |
| Child | Daniel M. Bonney (1877 - ) |
| Father | Prentiss Franklin Bonney (1805 - 1853) |
| Mother | Emmelia "Emily" Hayden ( - ) |
| Sibling | William H. Bonney (1838 - 1903) |
| Sibling | Donald Cowan Bonney (1839 - 1924) |
| Sibling | Henry Clay Bonney Sr. (1841 - ) |
| Sibling | Sophia E. Bonney (1843 - ) |
| Sibling | Margaret E. Bonney (1846 - ) |
| Sibling | Hardin R. Bonney (1850 - 1860) |
| Sibling | Buena Vista Bonney (1852 - ) |
| Sibling | Oscer Bonney (1854 - ) |
Endnotes
1. Montgomery County, Kansas Marriage Index.
2. Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed ), Moline Cemetery.