Bonnell/Bunnell lineage from William Bunnell/Ann Wilmot as it applies to the ancestry of William Bonnell of Kentucky

From George Farris:

I've pondered all of the new records that we've accumulated over the past year, mostly through John Bunnell's efforts, plus what has been published in the past regarding the Bonnell/Bunnell lineage from William Bunnell/Ann Wilmot as it applies to the ancestry of William Bonnell of Kentucky.  

The most important new information that was apparently not available or not researched by William Austin and others in the past includes the records from Woodbridge and the records of the Samuel Bonnells of Middlesex County, NJ which together cover the period from 1707 through the mid 1760s.  And these then tie into the migration records that we've assembled for the Bonnells through Virginia to KY over the period 1768 - 1799.  

Based on this I submit the following analysis of the suggested ancestry of William Bonnell.  

I would welcome your comments, questions, insights, and criticism regarding this.

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Ancestry of William Bonnell, progenitor of the “Kentucky Bunnells”

Over the past year or so William has been tracked back from Kentucky through five counties in Virginia, and an associated Samuel Bonnell back from Spotsylvania and Loudoun Co. VA to Windsor Township in Middlesex County, NJ and on to Woodbridge, NJ back to at least 1707. 

We know, from John Bunnell's Y-DNA results that this line goes back to the immigrant William Bunnell of New Haven and, therefore, must be a part of the Nathaniel Bonnell/Susanna Whitehead line of Elizabethtown, NJ. 

Since William had a daughter, Anne, married in 1785, he was probably born in the 1740s and apparently the son of Samuel Bonnell, Jr. born in 1707, and, therefore, a grandson of Samuel, Sr. 

Given the timeframe of the records in NJ it seems to be inescapable that the Samuel Bonnell, Sr. of Woodbridge and Windsor/Middlesex County has to have been #280017, the Samuel who originated in Elizabeth Town and the son of Nathaniel. 

There are two potential problems with this suggested lineage:  

1. it is alleged that Samuel (280017) died in 1715, and 
2. he had a wife named Abigail while the mother of Samuel, Jr. was named Susannah.

Regarding (1), above, the death of a Samuel Bonnell in 1715 was listed in New Jersey Genesis magazine according to William Austin. The original source of this information is unknown. Some researchers have referred to this death as being in Springfield Township. 

As Marjorie Gibbs has stated, based on communications with William Austin, there was another Samuel Bonnell (290009) listed as a son of Joseph Bonnell and Rebecca Dod – but he was not mentioned in Joseph's will or in other records. Their children were born between the time of their marriage in 1705 and Rebecca's death in 1713. It seems likely that this Samuel died as a young boy and was probably the death reported in 1715. Joseph and his family lived in the Springfield Township area.

Regarding (2), above, it has seemed odd that the records involving Abigail in 1698, 1701, and 1714 do not mention her husband. Normally, if a husband existed he would have been involved and listed rather than the wife – especially in the 1714 action consenting to the apprenticeship of Abigail's son Benjamin.

From Y-DNA analysis of descendants of this Benjamin he was also of the same Bonnell lineage – and therefore probably a son of Samuel. While divorces were rare in those days they did happen – and the above records suggest that Abigail and Samuel separated and that he then married a person named Susannah and lived in Woodbridge and in Windsor Township in Middlesex County, NJ.

So the suggested lineage is:

• Nathaniel Bonnell/Susanna Whitehead → 
• Samuel Bonnell, Sr./Susannah -- →
• Samuel Bonnell, Jr./ – →
• William Bonnell/ – →
• The “Kentucky Bunnells”

There are obviously many pieces of this puzzle missing and more research to be done. This hypothesis could be incorrect, but it is based on the foundation of previous research by William Austin and others plus records from the Woodbridge Town Clerk and the numerous and highly enlightening court records that John Bunnell has unearthed from the NJ Archives that were not cited in previous research.

Comments and discussion are very welcome.

These are some of the comments we've received:

John Bunnell
Thanks for this analysis, I think you are exactly on track.  As you stated, there is still much research to be done, but I think the pieces fit together well enough that there is a very high probability that we have finally reconnected the Kentucky Bunnells/Bonnells.  I will use this as the basis for research whenever I can get to New Jersey again.  Given that I just scratched the surface last time I was there, I imagine there is much more to be found.  I think it will take about a week of on-site work to feel that we have exhausted the records.  I think the priority order would be: 1) back to the state archives for a manual search through the post-1764 Middlesex Court records, as well as a fresh look at everything else, 2) Middlesex County records held in Perth Amboy, 3) local records in Windsor (the state librarian indicated that there may be some church records, etc), 4) Somerset County records, as I believe Samuel Bonnell, Jr. may have been there for a number of years surrounding 1732, 5) Woodbridge local records, and finally 6) Essex County records.  Of all of these, I only feel that the Essex County records have been well-searched, but even these may yield new information since we now have a much clearer idea of what we are looking for.  

After your email, I looked at William Austin's write up on the Elizabeth Town Samuel carefully for the first time.  I think it is interesting that Austin also came to the conclusion that Samuel divorced his first wife, even though he did not seem to be aware of the second marriage record or the reappearance of our Samuel Sr. in Woodbridge and Windsor.   

George's reply:
John,

I don't have a copy of Austin's book and wasn't aware that he had also concluded that Samuel and Abigail Bonnell were divorced.  That helps support our conclusions regarding the ancestry of William and the "Kentucky Bunnells."  Austin apparently didn't find the Woodbridge records regarding Samuel - or any of the other records in Middlesex County.

I think it may be possible to research the original Woodbridge Town Clerk records on microfilm from LDS.  From a comment by one of the transcribers, the original records were apparently badly damaged before they were microfilmed - which may help explain differences in transcriptions by different authors. But, knowing the dates we are looking for, we can probably focus on the specific Bunnell records that John Grady found and determine the proper transcriptions. 

I expect it may be a while before you are able to spend more time in NJ, but when you make it there also put on your research list to be on the lookout for any possible connection of the Samuel Bonnells of Middlesex with the Isaac Bonnell of Perth Amboy, born in 1738, the loyalist who was Sheriff of Middlesex for a short time and ultimately ended up in Nova Scotia.  My conjecture is that he may have been a brother of William.

Marjorie

Thank you and the others involved for your assiduous research and analysis. Although I have not been actively involved in this aspect of determining the William Bunnell line of descent, I was some years ago, and know how frustrating, addictive and exhilarating such research can be. I think you’ve made a monumental contribution toward untangling some of the mystery and obscurity of the Bonnell story. I will amend my own family narrative accordingly. I think your hypothesis, George is right on, and until and unless something further comes to light, I accept it as the probable reality. Thank you for including me in your emails.