The Dunfee Family :: Children of Mary Bonnett Lovett

See this previous post for information on Mary Dunfee who married Isaac Bonnett and James Hanson Lovett. Mary was the mother of eight children, five with Isaac and three with James.

1. Rebecca Bonnett was born about 1836. She is listed in census records with her mother from 1850 through 1870 and is listed as age 14, 24, and 34, respectively. In 1870, Mary Lovette is head of household but Rebecca Bonett is listed as owning real estate valued at $8,850 and has a personal estate of $1,390. Rebecca's occupation is “works at home”. In 1860 she was listed as a seamstress.

According to Holmes County, Ohio marriage records, a Rebecca Bonnett was married on October 31, 1876 to Richard Pawers. They were found living in Ottawa, Franklin County, Kansas in 1880, 1900, and 1910. However, I am not convinced that this is the right Rebecca Bonnett!

Why? Well, the 1880 census shows that Richard Powers has an 18 year old step son named John Bonnett who was born in Ohio. There is also a 3-year old son James Powers. The 1900 census shows that Richard and Rebecca have been married 24 years, which would put their year of marriage at about 1876, which means they are likely the ones married in Holmes County. Rebecca is listed as born in July 1836. She was the mother of two children, both living. And, in 1910 the census shows that Rebecka was married twice.

The Ohio Marriages database on FamilySearch were searched for a Rebecca marrying a Bonnett but came up empty. The 1870 census was also searched for Rebecca Bonnett born about 1838 and John Bonnett born about 1862.

So... since the Rebecca Bonnett who married Richard Pawers/Powers is probably not the right person, I really do not have any information on her beyond the 1870 census. She was not found in the 1880 census.

2. Isaac D. Bonnett was born July 30, 1838. He married Sophronia Greenlee on June 15, 1865 in Ashland County, Ohio. Isaac was a farmer. He died December 27, 1877 and Sophronia died February 16, 1879. They are both buried in the Pioneer/Old Sixteen Cemetery in Ashland County, Ohio. They were the parents of five children: Henry Bonnett (born about 1866), Isaac Dean Bonnett (born December 21, 1867 died July 12, 1942), Nettie Bonnett (born about 1869), Louie Bonnett (born August 23, 1873 died March 16, 1874), and Bertie L. Bonnett (born December 16, 1876 died August 11, 1877).

Louie and Bertie are buried beside their parents in the Pioneer/Old Sixteen Cemetery. Holmes County Will Book 2 show that Sophronia's estate was probated on February 28, 1879. The will lists daughter Nettie (she got the picture album) and sons, Henry and Dean. I have no information on Henry. Nettie was listed with her grandmother, Mary Lovett, in the 1880 census but I have nothing further on her.

Isaac Dean was married on February 28, 1895 to Josephine Van Numman in Wayne County, Ohio. They were the parents of two children: Isaac Donald Bonnett (1895-1942) and Martha Bonnett (born about 1909). According to the Find A Grave memorial for Isaac Donald he died on May 3, 1942 at Camp O'Donnell in the Philippine Islands with burial at Arlington National Cemetery.

3. George Bonnett was born about 1840. In May 2008, I wrote about him as the “news boy” who left a $20,000 estate. It was an undated newspaper article and at that time I didn't know when he had died, guesstimating that it was after 1910. The article stated that George was the proprietor of a corner news stand. He had in his possession a letter written to him before 1876 (it was “more than 35 years old” at the time) from his brother Isaac and that letter led authorities to his next of kin.

Since then I've found several records that I thought might be him (still not sure of the first two):

• An 1888 Illinois Voter Registration on ancestry.com listed George Bonnett residing at 128 Harrison St. No City was given on the record. His nativity was Ohio, he had resided in the precinct for 7 years, in the county 10 years, and in the state for 17 years.
• An 1889-1890 City Directory for Quincy, Illinois (also on ancestry.com) listed George H. Bonnet as an apprentice on The Patriot, presumably a newspaper.
• And, most recently on FamilySearch, a Cook County Illinois Death Record that shows George Bonnett died on December 11, 1911 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois of pneumonia with exhaustion as a contributory factor. His age is given as 63 years with a birth date of 1848, which is off a bit since census records show that he was 10 years old in 1850 and 20 in 1860. His birthplace was listed as United States. His occupation was Paper Deliverer for the Daily Tribune and his address was the Harrison Hotel. His former occupation was miner, which might have been how he accumulated such a large sum of money. He was single and had been a resident of the City and State for 15 years. George was buried on December 14, 1911 in Rosehill Cemetery.

4. Albert Bonnett abt 1842. He was not found in the 1860 or later census records. No further information.

5. Henry Bonnett abt 1844. He was not found in the 1870 or later census records. No further information.

6. Charles M. Lovett was born January 11, 1851 near Lakeville in Holmes County, Ohio and died December 9, 1935 in Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio. There is an extensive biography of him published in volume 3 (pages 1173-1174) of the “History of North Central Ohio : Embracing Richland, Ashland, Wayne, Medina, Lorain, Huron and Knox Counties” in 1931. He married Vera A. Powell on November 27, 1871. They adopted a daughter, Iva, who married Henry S. Palmer. Iva and Henry had one son Charles Lovett Palmer. Iva died on December 27, 1941. Her death record on FamilySearch lists her husband as Harry S. Palmer.

Charles held a variety of jobs. He was first a farmer and stockman. He was elected county treasurer of Wayne County in 1891 for two terms; was manager of the Wooster Shale Brick Paving Company; agent of the Southwestern Railway Company; president of the Millersburg, Wooster & Orrville Telephone Company; and vice president of the Wayne Building & Loan Company of Wooster.

7. Alveretta Jo Lovett was born about 1852 and died in March 1948. She was married on May 1, 1877 to William H. Shipp in Holmes County, Ohio. In 1900 they resided in Gilead Township, Morrow County, Ohio where William was a Grocer and sold General Merchandise. By that time they had had 6 children but only 4 were living. Their 18 year old son Fred was an Apprentice Turner while 16 year old Ernest was and Apprentice Jeweler. Twelve year old Harry was in school while 5 year old Vincent wasn't. They also had a 25 year old servant, Deborah Long, living with them.

In 1910, the William H. Shipp family is residing in Mount Vernon, Knox County, Ohio where William works in a furniture store. Son Harry, age 22, is recently married (to 17 year old Mabel) and does General Engine Work. Son Vincent, 15 years old, also resides with them.
The family wasn't located in 1920, but in 1930 William and Alveretta were living on North 10th street in Kansas City, Kansas. They owned their home, which was valued at $5,000 and William was retired.

Alveretta Lovett and William H. Shipp were the parents of six children: Nellie Edith Shipp (born March 29, 1878 died September 4, 1878 buried in Plum Run Cemetery, Holmes County), George Hazlett Shipp (born May 28, 1879 died January 6, 1887 also buried in Plum Run Cemetery), Fred Lovett Shipp (born July 13, 1881), Charles Ernest Eugene Shipp (born October 1883), Harry Herbert Shipp (born March 22, 1888 died October 1971), and Roger Vincent Shipp (born February 8, 1895).

8. Franklin E. Lovett was born March 28, 1858 in Holmes County, Ohio and died July 2, 1900 in Wayne County, Ohio. He was married in Holmes County on April 22, 1880 to Ida Barton. They were the parents of three children: Mary Maudie Lovett (born September 16, 1881 died January 13, 1887), Grace G. Lovett (born July 31, 1883 died December 10, 1974), and Glen Barton Lovett (born February 2, 1886).

Mary Maudie is buried in Newkirk Cemetery, Wayne County, Ohio near her parents. According to the death notice of Alveretta Lovett Shipp dated March 26, 1948 and published in the The Loudonville (Ohio) Times, Alveretta was “an aunt of Mrs. James Drumm of Wooster” which can only be Grace Lovett but I didn't find a marriage record for them in the Ohio Marriages database on FamilySearch. Glenn Barton Lovett married Mary Nice on October 5, 1910 in Wayne County, Ohio.

Sources are available upon request. If you are researching any of these families, please contact me at kinexxions "at" gmail "dot com.

Published under a Creative Commons License.
Becky Wiseman, "The Dunfee Family :: Children of Mary Bonnett Lovett," Kinexxions, posted March 31, 2012 (http://kinexxions.blogspot.com/2012/03/dunfee-family-children-of-mary-bonnett.html : accessed [access date])