Unexpected Discoveries - Bonsall Records

I've been blessed to have been born into a family that had at least its fair share of history and genealogy buffs, and from time to time records turn up from the research done years earlier. My maternal grandfather, Gregg David Reynolds, had a first cousin, David M. McFarland, who was his generation's historian and he was very interested in tracking the family lines. Though he was not as particular as I might like about sourcing his work, I've yet to find any serious errors in his research. His wife was a Bonsall and he tracked that family as well as his own. Over the years, one of his daughters has been sending me his files as they turn up during housecleaning efforts and these packages have often contained some real gems.

My latest find in this conglomeration of data is two very old pages from an old Bonsall family bible. These pages allow me, at long last, to feel confident about cousin David's assertions that Thomas Bonsall (1789 - 1875) was the son of Edward Bonsall and Hannah Gleave. I've transcribed the pages and uploaded them to East Coast Genealogy (under the Data Archives). David's files also include some old family letters, some of which I'll be transcribing as well. One of the more interesting of these letters is one from David to his father as he explains why he feels the need to enlist in the military during World War One, against his father's wishes. At the very least, these old files provide an interesting slice of history for modern readers.