Bonsor and Johnson Family Trees

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.