Divorce Action in Williams County, Ohio - Bonnell, 1869

Margaret Boyers Bonnell v James Richard  Bonnell (Journal 7 p331 - May 1869; Roll 21 case number 5 - 8 May 1869; case number 25) - see Native Daughter Abused: Daggett/Doolittle 

 

By Pamela Pattison Lash (updated 9 October 2021)

 

The couple was married in Wms Co, OH on 23 Feb 1859.  Margaret was born c1834 in OH, the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Boyers, who were enumerated with their children in the 1850 Jefferson Twp, Wms Co, OH federal census p24.  The Bonnells, according to Margaret, had three children, Frances E (9), Olivia A (7), and Alice M (5).  James had been willfully absent for more than three years and Margaret desired a divorce and reasonable alimony.  She was awarded a divorce.  A legal notice appeared in the "Bryan Democrat".  Later Margaret was sued by her lawyers for failure to pay for their services.  Also a local grocer stated that between 14 Nov 1867 - 13 Oct 1868 Margaret received coffee, butter, apples, soap, chicken eggs, oil, flour, cheese, brooms, syrup, wash board, crackers, rice, ginger snaps, cabbage, corn, vinegar, pork, peppers, tobacco, honey, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, biscuits, peaches, etc, necessary to support and maintain Margaret and her family, but the businessman had not been paid.

 

This seems unusual because Margaret had many relatives in the area to give her assistance, unless they were unsympathetic to her plight or she had worn out her welcome. There is a possible explanation based on Margaret’s daughter, Frances E, who was born in Mar 1858 and died on 11 July 1867 @9Y 4M 2D; she was buried in Fountain Grove Cem in Bryan beside her uncle Jacob Boyers, Jr.  Her birthdate if correct was almost a year before her parents married.  In those days this would have been, although not unusual, certainly a minor scandal. Nothing more is known of Margaret.

 

The errant ex-husband James R. Bonnell, son of John and Adelia (Latta) Bonnell, was born on 9 Feb 1836, pos Washtenaw Co, MI, and was enumerated with his family in the 1850 Keene, Ionia Co, MI Federal Census. He left Margaret c1866 according to the divorce details.  He married Minerva Jane Fleming first on 25 October 1868 at Buchanan Co, Missouri; later they repeated the ceremony on 27 November 1868.  Keep in mind that Margaret didn’t begin the divorce proceedings until May 1869 so it would appear that Bonnell was a bigamist.  There may be unknown court documents that could clear this up.  In the 1880 Illinois, Pope Co, Arkansas Federal Census, James 44 MI was listed with wife Minerva 40 and daughter Ida M 3. Later he would purchase land in Pope Co on 20 August 1884.  James died on 12 January 1900 in Linden, Clay Co, MO.

 

According to the 1880 Bryan federal census, p651A, Olive Bonnell 18 OH-MI-OH and her sister Alice 16 OH-MI-OH resided with their aunt Jennie Jump 40 OH (Mrs. PO Jump).  Alice married Abraham Glick on 8 August 1887 in Jackson Co, MO and her sister Olive A married William A Owen there on 12 December 1891.