Clues

An old photograph gives me the opportunity to look into a small window and observe our ancestor’s lives.  We can stare into their faces and try to imagine their lives, thoughts and routines.   I have collected some of these historic photographs of our Bonsor family and have reviewed many this past year. I have made some interesting discoveries, with more to come I hope.  To learn more about dating a photograph, I consulted with a genealogist with an expertise in period photos, clothing, hairstyles and materials to learn more about the age of these photos.  There are so many clues if you look hard enough, and they can lead you to more stories about your long lost relatives.

Photo 1 - Three Women, about 1888, Philadelphia

This is a formal picture of three women, possible a mother, sitting, and her two daughters.  They must be financially well off because their dresses are very well tailored and fit them.  The little girl is approximately 10-12 years old in a very pretty dress of plaid fabric with a silk looking scarf attached to a ruffled collar.  She also has a bow in her hair.  The other standing woman has her hair piled on top of her head with very curly bangs.  She looks to be in her 20’s and is very stylish with her dark dress, high collar and pin tucks down the front of her bodice.  Her skirt is pleated with a drape across at an angle.  The women sitting has her hair up and also has a very intricate dress with pin tucks in the front of her bodice and pleats with large buttons detailed down her dress.  She has a ring on her left hand, fourth finger, indicating she is married.  Both standing girls have their hands on their mothers’ arms, holding her.  The photo was taken in a studio in Philadelphia that was active at this location between 1879 to about 1895.  With the style of dresses and hair, my photo expert dated this picture at about 1888.  I have not pinned down exactly who they are, but I know the where and the when and that they might be related since they were with the photographs left in the 101 Harvard house.

Photo 2 - Arthur H Bonsor, Houtzdale, PA, taken in 1890's

I know this is a picture of Arthur H Bonsor because it was written on the back and this photo looks like a younger version of his older photographs.  But still clues are there and need to be identified.  It was taken in a studio in Houtzdale, PA.; why was he there in that town?  It is a formal sitting and he is dressed very well wearing a trimmed suit and vest.  His hair is combed carefully.  The main clue in this photo is he is wearing a white tie and white high collar, this means a very special occasion such as a wedding or graduation.  Is this his wedding picture when he married Margaret Kenna in June of 1891?  If so, where is a picture of Margret in her wedding outfit?  Or is it his graduation from school?  The scalloped edges on the cardboard matte indicate that the photo was taken in the 1890’s.  So another mystery to solve and more to investigate.

Photo 3 - Photo taken 1872, Philadelphia

This stylish woman had her photograph taken at a studio in Philadelphia by O. B. DeMorat on Sth Eight Street.  According to the city directory, the studio occupied that location in 1872.  She looks young, possibly in her 20’s and is very well dressed.  Her hair is very fashionable for the day with her hair pulled up on top of her head with a braided hairpiece added and two ringlets on her forehead.  It was very popular to add a hairpiece at this time period.  She wears a cross around her neck hanging from a black velvet ribbon over her lace collar.  This generally indicates she is Catholic or Anglican (from England).  Her dress is well fitted and of good fabric.  With all these clues, it was probably taken in 1872 and could be a Kenna girl, and Irish-Catholic.

Photo 4 - Alice Bonsor, Taken 1895, Camden, NJ

This baby photo was taken by Samuel C. Chester at 323 Federal St, Camden NJ.  He conducted a portrait studio at this address for over 25 years, 1894 – 1920’s.  Alice Bonsor (Aunt Alice) was born in 1894 and with that brow, it sure looks like her.  Bang on little girls started appearing in the 1890’s.  She is wearing a long white dress with ribbons of lace on the sleeves and front and along the hem.  She looks approximately 6 months old.

Photo 5 - Ethel Bonsor, Taken in 1894, Camden, NJ

This must be Ethel, Alice’s sister, two years older born in 1892.  She also has the new trend in bangs along with ringlets in her hair.  Her part in the middle indicates a girl, while it was traditional for boys to part their hair on the side in the 1800’s.  She has a very lacy dress on with big puffy sleeves.  In her hands she holds a doll made of leather; you can see the hand stitches on the legs.  This photo was taken at Garns and Co. at 206 Federal St, Camden NJ.  They were in business from 1889 to 1897.  Ethel was born in 1892 and this looks like she is about 2 year old.

Photo 6 - Alice and Ethel Bonsor. Taken in 1896, Camden, NJ

This is Ethel and Alice in bed probably in their home in Camden.  It was taken in the late 1890’s.  They look to be about 2 and 4 years old.  The square board the picture is mounted on was used in the 1890’s to the 1900’s.  Notice the large wood bed board, with carvings on each side and embellishments in the center.  There is also decorative wallpaper in the room.  The girls look comfortable with lots of pillows and beautiful linens.  This was a snapshot probably taken by Arthur, their father, as the girls slept.

Photo 7 - Man with bird

I think these two pictures are of the same man, one younger and one older.  Each photograph has clues.  This man looks very well groomed with his trimmed beard and combed hair. He is playing with a bird in a cage.  There is also a statue of a bird on the bookcase in the background.  There is a plant (it looks dead) on the table with the birdcage.  There is also a nice fern sitting on the floor in front of the window. Above the birdcage on the wall there is a German coo coo clock with the weight chain hanging down the wall.  There is a frame on the bookcase in the background with two round windows, with some pictures in them.  The room has a striped floral and vine wallpaper.

Photo 8 - Elderly Man

This man is sitting in the chair that is in the foreground of the previous picture.  He is not as well-groomed as before, instead has a long full beard and looks thinner but still has a prominent hook nose.   The bookcase stands behind him as in the previous photograph with the bird statue placed on top. It has a reflection of a lampshade in the glass front of the bookcase.  A mirror hangs on the wall and has a reflection of a framed artwork hanging on the opposite wall.  The wallpaper is the same striped floral and vine design as the previous picture.  Unfortunately it is difficult to tell by men’s fashions what year it could be.  This probably is the same man in the same room some years apart.  Does anyone have a coo coo clock or a framed twin picture or a bird statue?  These all could be clues as to where and when these pictures were taken.

Historic photographs do give us a glimpse of our ancestors in their daily lives, formal or casual.  By collecting all the clues and assembling these puzzle pieces I may be able to identify these long lost relatives and give a face to each of their stories.  This project is urgent in my mind because I don’t want these ghosts from the past to fade away in our memories and then we would lose their histories forever.

I would appreciate any clues and information you have about these and any other relative’s in our large family.  Please share these stories with me so I can solve our many mysteries and widen our view of our ancestors.

Why am I writing this family history?

Why am I writing this family history?

May 30, 2015

I want to share with you why I am spending thousands of hours doing research on our family, scanning and recording our family’s old pictures and films, and writing all these stories.  The simple, but most significant answer is, “Because I want to!” I know not everyone understands the appeal of the genealogy hobby, but for me it is personally rewarding to bring to life our ancestors with stories, not just facts. 

Most genealogies are not meant to be read, they are overflowing with names, dates, places and facts, but not very interesting to read.  I know, because I have studied many. I started my research in 1980, collecting these facts, writing them down in nicely formatted forms and putting them in a binder.  Over the years, as I had my family and watched as our lives got complicated and busy, I put my hobby aside. Soon the elder relatives passed on, I realized how much of the family history I had really missed.  Each life was a story and when a person pass on that story is lost unless we try to remember it and write it down.  I know as I get older, my memory is getting fuzzy; all those wonderful experiences I just knew I would remember for the rest of my life are now difficult to bring to my conscious thought.  So I took up my genealogy hobby again and have been pressing forward, trying to gather the facts and write stories that bring our ancestors to life, understanding what they lived through and how they reacted to these experiences. I must admit that even today when I find a birthdate or tombstone it still gives me a thrill; in fact I have been known to do a “Happy Dance” in the middle of the New Jersey State Archives when I found a long lost death certificate.  I enjoy delving into to their history.

Photographs are another enticement for me.  I love scrutinizing the old photographs; who are these people, where are they and what are they doing and thinking.  This is a big part of revealing the story, understanding the event that called for a photograph.  During the last several years I have been collecting, scanning photographs and film from all of my extended family.  Thank you so much for sharing these precious items.  I have been working to identify the time, place and people in these treasures and develop the stories that go with them.

OK, I do this work because I enjoy it, it uses my skills as a researcher and photographer and I am learning new skills such as writing and detective work; and it keeps my mind busy, occupied and working as I get older.  This research continually challenges me.  I must constantly learn, absorb information, and organize it.  It is better than some boring job in my opinion.  The bottom line is I would like to organize all my findings, photographs, films, stories, etc. into a book/media/volume to share with anyone that would like it.  I feel it is important to pass this information onto our children and grandchildren, from generation to generation.  I want this work to be my gift to my child and to anyone else who would treasure it.  I know it will take more time to complete this creation of mine and I really have not finalized the end product.  Is anyone interested it this?  Any ideas?

So now I need all of your help!  Yes, I am really asking, I need your help. I would like to have more input from you, the facts, the stories, the memories that you have that I don’t have.  Since our family moved away from the Philadelphia area, I did not get to interact with our older relatives very much, did not hear the stories or memories they had, or see their homes full of mementos.  I want these stories.  Think about what your parents told you over dinner conversation, or while dusting that old picture in the living room.  I know you heard the old stories and as kids, you rolled your eyes, “Not another story, Mom and Dad, they are so boring”, but if you think about it you may remember a few.  Please, please write them down, or just record them on your phone and send them to me in an audio file, or anyway that is easiest for you.  Just a few words, or lines to get started, they don’t have to be complete or beautifully written.  Or call me; I would love to talk with you.  I plan to visit the East Coast again this summer and see some cousins and hope to get to Florida and Texas in the near future to visit more cousins. 

Here are some of the many old photographs that I don’t know who they are.  I believe they are from the Bonsor and Kenna family while living in Philadelphia, Camden, Palmyra and Atlantic City.  Please review them and give me what you know about them, even just a few words.  I would appreciate it immensely.  Hope to see you all soon and there will be more stories to come on this blog.  See you then and enjoy the day.

Picture 1:  On the Boardwalk in front of Fralinger's Salt Water Taffy Store

Picture 2: Taken in Philadelphia

Picture 3: Taken in a photobooth on the Boardwalk

Picture 4: This is a Tintype Photograph, probably taken in the 1860's to 70's

Picture 5

Picture 6: Taken in Philadelphia

Picture 7

The Automobile Revolution

I was looking through some old papers and discovered Arthur H Bonsor’ s drivers license and Vehicle Registration cards from 1915 through 1920.  I found this information so interesting, I dug further into the history of the automobile and discovered Arthur must have joined the “Automobile Revolution” by being one of the first purchasers of these luxury vehicles.  

People started building their own automobiles in the 1890’s in very limited numbers.  Henry Ford began building cars in 1896 and started his own company in 1903.  By 1913 Ford Motor Company was mass producing the Model T and was first priced at $850, but by 1924 had dropped to $290. By 1927, more than 15 million had been sold.  Ford made affordable cars for the masses with the business model of one type, one color, one price.  General Motors was founded in 1908 and soon acquired Buick, Oldsmobile, Oakland and Cadillac. They catered to the higher social status with a variety of car types and customization.  It too mass produced many brands of automobile until it was one of the biggest manufacturers along with Ford.  Packard was founded in 1899 and built only 400 cars by 1903. From the very beginning, Packard featured innovations and concentrated on cars with prices starting at $2,600.  By 1903 the Packard Motor Car Company was one of the major luxury automobile manufactures in America.  These vehicles were perceived as highly competitive among high-priced luxury American cars.

1916 Camden Motor Club Card

 When the first automobiles were introduces, anyone could drive them without restriction.  Soon licenses were required by the states to collect fees for state income.   New Jersey required a Driver’s License starting in 1906, which was easy to get, just pay the fee.  Then in 1913,  New Jersey was an early adapter of the law requiring all drivers to pass an examination of their driving abilities and a written test to reduce the number of accidents that were common nationwide.  Because automobiles were new, people were not accustomed to cars’ power and often drove too fast or too recklessly.  By 1918 all states required license plates made from porcelain enamel on steel, although sizes did varied until 1956.

1915 New Jersey Vehicle Registration for Arthur H Bonsor Front

According to Arthur H Bonsor’s New Jersey Department of Motor Vehicle Registration Card, he owned a 1911 Packard, 4 cylinder, 30 horse power, Model 30 Touring car in 1915.  He paid $15 to register the vehicle and carried a 1915 NJ Automobile Driver’s License allowing him to drive a car of 30 and greater Horse Power.  He paid a $4 fee for his license in Camden, NJ.  He probably had this car for several years although I don’t have any paperwork to prove this.  He obviously enjoyed the luxury 7 passenger touring car and could afford them.  At this time he was 49 years old and living with his wife Margaret and his two daughters Ethel (23) and Alice (21).

1915 New Jersey Vehicle Registration for Arthur H Bonsor Back

According to the 1916 Vehicle driver’s license he purchased a new car, a 1914 Packard, 6 cylinder, 82 Horse Power, Model 3-48, Touring car and kept it through 1917.  The list price for this vehicle was $4,850, which in today’s value is $113,883.  Ethel and Alice drove this car in the 1916 Camden Civic Celebration Parade on May 19.  The Philadelphia Inquirer printed a picture of them with the headline:  “Pretty Girls Play Prominent Part in Spectacle for Civic Celebrations”.   They won 1^st place in their division according to the paper.  So we know that Ethel and Alice learned to drive and must have enjoyed the freedom of the road with their friends when they were young.  Of course Arthur was also a member of the Camden Motor Club, the precursor to AAA, in 1916 and successive years.

1914 Packard, Touring, 7, passenger Car, with Ethel Bonsor Driving

1915 New Jersey Driver's License for Arthur H Bonsor Front

1915 NJ Driver's License for Arthur H Bonsor Back

By 1918 the Vehicle Registration lists another new car, a Packard, 1916, 12 cylinder, 88 horse power, Touring car at a cost of $4440.  That is $101,219 in today’s money.  Arthur must have liked cars and enjoyed the freedom they provided.  He also wanted the best in Luxury vehicles by purchasing the higher-end Packard, when he could have purchased a Ford for less than $1,000.

1916 Packard Touring Car restored

With the old papers I was scanning there was a repair bill for a 1927 car with the License Plate Number C-5406.  The car had some minor repairs done in Atlantic City in 1928 according to the bill.  Again another new car for Arthur.

1931 Buick De Lux Sedan presented to Ethel Johnson by Arthur

In the 1931 family films, Arthur presented a Buick De Lux Sedan, 7 passenger, 8 cylinder vehicle, to Ethel Johnson for her to drive her 5 children around.  He proudly displays it at the curb of 101 Harvard Ave in the film.  The children climbed in and had a great time exploring the car.  I am sure it was much needed and used for all those trips to the beach to see the grandparents.

1931 Buick De Lux Sedan at 101 Harvard Ave.

It was interesting to run across these old papers and do a little digging.  Arthur must have really liked his cars, purchasing new ones every two to three years.  He wanted the newest inventions and learns to drive early.  Most families did not have cars until the late 1920’s. He was a wealthy man, so he seemed to enjoy selecting high-priced, luxury cars for his family. He must have been a forward thinking and liberal man to allow his daughters to drive these giant, difficult vehicles around town.  It was very dangerous to drive in the early years with no stop lights, bad road conditions, and the jumbled horse and wagon traffic.  I wonder if Arthur drove his car onto the ferry across the Delaware River and into Reading Terminal Market to go to work every day until the Benjamin Franklin Bridge was built in 1926.  He must have driven from Camden to Margate regularly in these vehicles, and that was a long difficult drive.  It was fun to discover and research these old papers, I am glad I got a peek into his world and learned  a little more about Arthur Bonsor and his family.

Part Two of the Story of the Joseph Bonsor Family

Jan 2014

“I am holding the cat on my lap as Father drives the wagon down the street away from the home I was born in, at 1810 North 11^th St., Philadelphia.  The wagon is loaded as we make our way past the Brick yards and cow pastures where I would play a game of baseball with my neighborhood gang.   I am sad and excited at the same time, I will miss our old house, but this is an adventure moving all the way to Palmyra, New Jersey.   I am 10 years old now, and it is 1875. My father, Joseph Bonsor, said it was important for our family to move to the country side, a place for all of us to grow up and make something of ourselves.” Arthur said.

Map of Cinnaminson Township 1880

“The folks were not planning on bringing the cat, but we were half way there by the time Dad discovered it, so my cat came along with me.”

 Palmyra was a small town surrounded by farmland.  The railroad station stood on stilts, on the main road in town.  Joseph purchased a house at 739 Cinnaminson Ave, along with 15 acres of farmland with the intention of growing and selling produce.  It stood on a crooked street with a worn fence on both sides according to Arthur H Bonsor’s recollection. 

Joseph and Emma Bonsor moved into the large wood frame house in Palmyra with their six children and one on the way.  It was a change in lifestyle for the family from the busy streets, grimy sidewalks and bustling shops to a pastoral town with wide open spaces for the children to play.  Joseph insisted the boys work on the farm while the girls helped Emma with the cooking and house hold chores.  There was always work to be done on a farm, but as long as the weather was good, you could always feed your family, Joseph used to say.  Arthur remembered the large patch of raspberry bushes and recalled,

“Mother fed us up on them so much when we were children, you know the old saying “what cannot be sold must be eaten”.  So we had raspberries all summer and preserved ones all winter 3 times a day, there are a lot of things I would rather have than Raspberries, even to this day I don’t want any,” Arthur recalled many years later.

Close up of 1880 map - J. Bonsor property shown

Walter was born in 1875 in Palmyra and that made five sons and two daughters.  Joseph continued to commute to Philadelphia to run his Cotton Lap business in the city as well as work to build up his farm at home.  Joseph took steps to become a US citizen by registering a ‘Declaration of Intent’ in the Pennsylvania Supreme court in Philadelphia.  This declaration automatically included Emma because she was his wife.

In 1876, Joseph started his willowware business in Philadelphia and conducted it for several years continuing to commute.  Once his farm was growing fruits and vegetables, Joseph sold his produce at the large farmers markets in Philadelphia as well as in Palmyra. 

Walter Bonsor & Maud Gaskill Tombstone

1879 brought sorrow to the family as Walter, the youngest son, died March 17, and was buried in the Bonsor family plot in the Epworth Methodist Church Cemetery near their home.  He was just 4 years old.  But the family had to move on after grieving their little one.   Emma soon gave birth to Percy Grant probably in November of that year and the family continued to thrive on their farm.

Arthur recalled that Joseph paid his sons 1 cent per box for picking the raspberries and he sold them for 3 cents per box to the commission merchant who sold them for us at the Dock Street Market in Philadelphia.  We were lucky to get that much.  Produce prices were very low for a time and sometimes it was not worth picking the product.  Many times we did send tomatoes to market and they could not dispose of them at any price.  Soon the canning factories were established and they contracted for all the tomatoes they could get.  Joseph greatly benefited from this new industry.

April 14, 1880 was a banner day for the family; Joseph became a US Citizen in the Oath of Allegiance Court: Common Pleas in Philadelphia.  I am sure the whole family attended this ceremony and celebrated afterward in their home.   By this time Joseph was 46 years old and his wife Emma at 34 were living a good life.  They were blessed with two daughters and six sons all living in their large home on Cinnaminson Ave.  Frank White, 37, was a boarder in their home, he came from England also.  They had a servant Mary Green, 25, and her daughter Mary, 6, helping out in this household.  According to the 1880 census, Joseph was a grocery store keeper.

Dec 3, 1882, Alfred J was born.  The farm was thriving and the children were having a great time.  Arthur reminisced that the boys had lots of fun on the farm in the summer time.

                “We would play hooky from our work and go swimming in the Pennsauken Creek about ½ mile away and then try to get back to work without Dad seeing us.  There is always plenty of work on a farm and our farm was small.  Dad could not afford to hire any men to help, so it was up to his boys to do the work, I shall never forget the pear orchard.  We had to grub the ground up, not being able to plow close enough to the trees and hurt the roots.  We were what you might call city farmers.  Dad was in all kinds of manufacturing businesses before coming to Palmyra.  He thought a small farm was the best place to raise the kids on.  Certainly we had plenty to eat.  Every Sunday we had a feast of roast of some kind weighing over 20 pounds and Mother would make a Yorkshire pudding and then all the other fixings that went with a good Sunday dinner, but I won’t say too much for the rest of the week.  When we came home at noon from school there was the platter of bread & drippings and molasses and a large bottle of milk.  If we turned up our noses at the lunch, we had our ears boxed or went back to school hungry.  But we were growing boys and girls and always had good appetites.  Mother had a way of putting on top of the pile of bread the stale slices which we did not eat the day before and we had to take the top one first.  We had a good Mother.  I remember her and the girls baking bread and cakes and pies and doughnuts most all day Saturday and about Monday it was all gone.  She would say, “Well I thought I had enough things to last until next Saturday”.  I shall never forget the bread my mother made.”

September 5, 1884, Florence was born adding another child to this growing family.  Joseph was 50 years old and Emma was almost 40.  The children ages spanned 20 years.  In 1885 according to the New Jersey Census, the family continued to live in their home on Cinnaminson Ave along with their boarder from England, Frank White.

Arthur recalled the time he was a young teenager,

                “We had great fun during the Citron Season (Cantaloupes).  The farmers always wanted a supply of seeds for the next seasons planting so the neighborhood boys and girls would go to the local farmers, all prearranged of course, to eat Cantaloupes.  We were to save the seeds, so you can imagine the Cantaloupes flying.  Sometimes the crowd would eat 10 to 15 baskets and what fun we would have afterwards.  Music was played and a big dance would start.  We boys would try and pick a dance partner and then the fun of taking the girls home afterwards and believe me they were girls, farmer’s daughters and always looking for fun.  We had picnics, straw rides and church affairs in our nearby woods several times a year.  One time my oldest sister had her head shaved for some reason and she wore a wig, which in those days was a disgrace.  At one of the Kissing Games it was necessary for us to go down the line of boys and girls and I purposely lowered my hand to knock her wig off.  She was embarrassed and humiliated and would not speak to me for some weeks.”

This large family grows older and weddings occur and grandchildren are born.  Joseph’s oldest daughter, Emma, marries George W. Shaner on Oct 23, 1888 in Palmyra at age 24.  The couple continues to live in Palmyra. George is a carpenter and soon becomes a successful contractor for home building.  They have 3 sons, George born in 1892, Edgar in 1893 and Arthur in 1902.  Joseph and Emma must have enjoyed having these three grandsons living so close.

Arthur married Margaret Kenna on Jan 9 1891 and moved to a big house in Camden, New Jersey probably to be near his wife’s family.  Arthur was growing his own business his father had helped him start in the Reading Terminal Market.  Soon Arthur and Margaret had two of their own daughters Ethel and Alice, and I am sure they visited their grandparents, Joseph and Emma, often.

Joseph and Emma must have been comfortable in their lives, financially well off and healthy at this point in their lives.  1894, August 5, the Philadelphia Inquirer Newspaper listed Joseph Bonsor at 60 years old, went on an extended trip through Europe.  He stayed in a forward cabin and docked in Liverpool. The ships manifest did not list Emma or any other family member so he must have traveled alone.  I must imagine that he visited his family in England and reacquainted himself with friends and family after being gone for over 30 years.  He returned on Oct 13 via New York on the Ship “Campania”.  He probably sailed past the newly erected Statue of Liberty standing 151 feet tall and docked at Ellis Island which was just established in 1892. 

In April 20, 1895 the Philadelphia Inquirer published the following article in the gossip column:

“Today Mrs. Joseph Bonsor, of Palmyra, NJ. A lady, who is socially well-liked in this city, will sail for Europe.”   Emma must have traveled to England to visit her family this time.

Charles married Elizabeth Hutchinson in May 1896.  It was an elaborate wedding with a write up in the Philadelphia Inquirer.  Charles built up a business as a Wholesale Merchant for Coffee & Teas in Philadelphia.  I don’t think they had children.

About 1897 Frank married Catherine Brunner and they had one daughter named Pearl.  Frank worked as a supervisor for the Coffee and Tea business with his brother Charles.  Joseph’s second daughter Catherine married Arthur Wakefield on Nov 29, 1898.  She and her husband probably moved to Baltimore, Maryland where she had 2 daughters.  By 1900, Joseph is doing well, he owns his home free and clear and his son Alfred is a clerk in his father’s produce business.  Alfred, 17, and Florence 15, still live at home.

Joseph and Emma started to travel to Atlantic City with their son Arthur, his wife Margaret and their two daughters Ethel and Alice, for the ‘season at the shore’ as many people did.  According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Aug 2, 1900 they arrived at the Esmond Hotel for a several week stay along with Justina Kenna of Camden who was Margaret’s sister. 

Grace Bonsor Tombstone

Herbert married Grace D Laughlin on Jun 11, 1901 in Manhattan, New York, but Grace died just a year and a half later on Dec 21, 1902.  She was buried in the Bonsor Plot in the Epworth Methodist Church Cemetery in Palmyra.

Joseph lost his beloved wife Emma, on Oct 29, 1902 at the age of 60.

Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov 3, 1902 Obituary:

Emma Bonsor Tombstone

                “Emma Bonsor, wife of Joseph, died Oct 29, 1902 at 60 years old at Palmyra, N.J.  The relatives and friends of the family are respectfully invited to attend the funeral, on Sunday, at 2 o’clock from her late residence, Cinnaminson Avenue, Palmyra, N. J. Internment at Palmyra Cemetery; Train leaves Market Street Ferry at 1:30 P.M.”

I must think that the loss of Emma to the family was devastating.  She seemed to be a wonderful woman, dearly loved by her family.   But life with all of the extended Bonsor families continued on as is expected.

Alfred married Catherine about 1905 and eventually had four children.  He started to work for his brother Arthur at the Reading Terminal, which might indicate that his father no longer needed him at the grocery store.  Perhaps Joseph retired from his business enterprises and Alfred started his career with his brother at the Butter and Egg business.

June 8, 1904 Florence married a local man, Stokes Gaskill and they stayed close to Palmyra.  They had a daughter Maud in 1905 that died as an infant.  She was buried in the Bonsor family plot in Palmyra.   A second daughter Ruth was born in 1918.

Joseph continued to live in Palmyra, but did visit his son, Arthur in Camden often.  While on one visit in the spring of 1907, Joseph contracts Tuberculosis and was sick for 3 months before passing on May 3, 1907.  Although there was research being done for a Tuberculosis vaccine, it was not used on humans yet.  Many were dying from this infectious disease.  Joseph’s body was returned to Palmyra and buried in his family plot in the Epworth Methodist Church Cemetery beside his beloved wife Emma. 

Joseph Bonsor Tombstone

William Edgar at age 33 marries Ida Weaver in 1907 in Philadelphia. Ida had a son from a previous marriage and they eventually had 2 more children.  William Edgar worked for his brother Charles as a clerk in the coffee business.

Joseph and Emma had 10 children spanning 2 decades in age and 10 grandchildren as far as I can discover.    The move to the farm did provide the family with a good place to raise the children as Arthur recorded fondly in his memories of his childhood with his parents in Palmyra.  Joseph definitely had an active life and he must have been a good father and teacher because his children grew to be happy and successful adults as far as I can uncover with my research.  There are certainly more stories to reveal and write about.  Our Bonsor family became American Citizens just shy of 135 years ago; really we are newcomers to this shore.  This was a great family tree to research and discover their trials and tribulations and the grit that makes them Bonsors.  I hope you enjoy this story about your ancestors, and take a little bit of inspiration from them.  I plan on researching Joseph parents, the English Bonsors soon.  Thank you for reading this blog and I always look forward to your feedback.

Epworth Methodist Church Cemetery, Palmyra, N.J.

The Bonsor Family Plot Marker

Bonsor Family Plot in the Epworth Methodist Church Cemetery