A Forgotten Site - How Fun!

I had actually forgotten all about this blog until doing a search yesterday for my new site East Coast Genealogy. I'll be moving some of the old posts form here to there, and perhaps just use this as a general blog for items related to East Coast Genealogy in general.

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.

More Bingaman Related Items

Apparently, the family of Walter Bingaman, friend to Harry K. Thaw, had more issues with which to deal than just Walter's stay at Dixmont Asylum. Walter's sister, Nancy, also had issues:


Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. 1910-05-09

Pittsburg Girl Barred In Room Kills Herself

The Death of Fiance Leads Miss Bingaman to End Life

Put Bullet Through Brain

Suicide in member of one of Pittsburg's Most Prominent Families

Pittsburg, Pa. May 9. Miss Nancy Bingaman, twenty-six years old, a Vassar graduate and member of one of the oldest Pittsburg families, killed herself here by firing a bullet through her brain. Sudden dementia, caused by grief over the death of her fiance a year ago, is given by the family as the cause for her suicide. Miss Bingaman was a niece of Dr. Bingaman, an alienist, who figured prominently in the trial of Harry K. Thaw.

While other members of the family were at church yesterday morning, Miss Bingaman remained at home. When the family returned home from home, she could not be found. They finally learned that the door to a maid's room was barricaded, and looking through the keyhole saw stains on the floor. They called Dr. J. E. Johnson, who entered the room by means of a ladder. The girl was dead.

Miss Bingaman took part in many Vassar functions in the east. Her father, J. P. Bingaman, was a n associate of E. M. Bigelow, one of the foremost public men in Pittsburg.
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One way or another, this family had a lot to deal with.