This post will continue the saga of the Fox family in Hunterdon. This time the subject is the first child and first daughter of George (iii) and Mary Fox. Her name was Anchor, and she was born about 1728, probably in Kingwood Township.
About 1751, she married a schoolteacher named Uriah Bonham, son of Hezekiah Bonham and (perhaps) Anna Hunt. Judging from her father’s will (dated 27 Apr 1754), Anchor did not have much to bring with her to the marriage. Her father George Fox mentioned his daughters, but not by name, and only left them a share of “the movables” (i.e., personal property). It is interesting that none of Anchor’s children were named George, but perhaps I am reading too much here.
Uriah Bonham was born about 1724 in Maidenhead (now Lawrenceville) NJ. According to John Lequear, Bonham came to the area of Rosemont about 1763. In fact, Uriah and Anchor had their first child in 1752, so Uriah Bonham was present in the neighborhood well before 1763. In fact, he was there as early as 1749 when he witnessed the will of John Ruckman of Kingwood. In 1760 he witnessed a Kingwood deed, and the will of Dennis Reiley. As a literate person, he was often asked to make inventories and witnessed many documents during his lifetime. In fact, he wrote the will of John Ruckman and was paid for it.
Based on the birth of their eldest child, I guess the wedding took place around 1751. But despite the fact that Uriah’s brother Malakiah was pastor of the Kingwood Baptist Church, Uriah’s wedding is not recorded in the Baptist minute book.
Thankfully, Bonham used his writing skills to keep track of some of the family births in a bible (later owned by John and Dinah Sutton), or at least some of them. The children were:
Amos, born May 11, 1752
Dinah, born Feb. 21, 1756
Mary, born about 1758
Hannah, born about 1760
Zedekiah, born Feb. 24, 1762
In 1774, Uriah Bonham made the Inventory of the estate of Joseph Howell dec’d with William Hoagland. Hoagland had mortgaged the Fox property northwest of Rosemont this year, the tract that the elder George Fox had purchased in 1719. Actually, Uriah Bonham and William Hoagland (usually spelled Hoogland) seem to have had a partnership in making inventories in Kingwood. I have found six instances when Bonham and Hoogland made inventories together: 1773 for Thomas Wilson of Kingwood, 1773 for John Woolverton of Amwell, 1774 for Joseph Howell of Amwell, 1774 for Dennis Woolverton of Kingwood, 1783 for Gideon Rowzer of Amwell, 1785 for Thomas Hankinson of Amwell. Uriah Bonham made many inventories with other partners over the years. I count 20 inventories made from 1772 to 1797.
There was only one time when Bonham and Hoogland witnessed a will together; that was in 1790 for Joel Woolverton of Amwell. When it came to witnessing wills, Uriah Bonham was the man to have on hand if you lived in Kingwood Township. Perhaps he was a witness so often because he was called on to write out the wills. I have found 27 instances of his witnessing wills, from 1749 to 1799.
In 1778, Uriah Bonham was taxed in Kingwood on 60 acres, 3 horses, 6 cows, 5 pigs and a single man (his son Amos). By this time, his wife Anchor Fox had died. She died sometime after 1773, the year that her daughter Dinah married John Sutton. The marriage record states that Anchor and Uriah were witnesses.
Daughter Mary was probably married the next year, to James Emmons (c.1740-1810). About 1780, son Amos married Rebecca Rittenhouse (1758-1830), and daughter Hannah married Job Emmons (c.1755-c.1813). (It seems likely that James and Job Emmons were brothers, but I have very little information on the origins of this family. They were not the same family as the Emans of Readington.) Celebrations continued that year with the marriage of Uriah Bonham to his second wife Magdalene, widow of Andrew Heath (c.1720-c.1777) on Aug. 30, 1780.
Despite these festivities, times were difficult. Thanks to the war, rampant inflation had taken hold and Continental currency had become worthless. In an attempt to retire useless paper and to raise taxes to support the Continental army, the state ordered two tax collections in 1780. The valuations of property went through the roof, and so did the amount of taxes. Uriah Bonham was again taxed in Kingwood, but this time as a householder with no horse, no pigs and 3 cows. It is quite possible that some of his livestock had been requisitioned by the army, although I did not find evidence of that in Quartermasters’ accounts.
Bonham was also taxed on a fishery, which was probably a good source of income during these times. But apparently not enough to prevent the loss of his farm of 60 acres. I haven’t checked the deeds, but I do wonder if his farm was sold at a sheriff’s sale to cover his debts. As to the fishery, I do not know the name of it or where it was located. Bonham’s name does not appear in Phyllis D’Autrechy’s book on Hunterdon County Fisheries.
Whatever the case, Bonham managed to reestablish himself after the war, as can be seen by examining his will, written on May 24, 1802. To his wife Magdalene he left the dwelling house, household furnishings and his whole plantation in Kingwood to use during her widowhood (the abstract does not state the acreage). Included with the furnishings were a ten-plate stove, a feather bed, three chairs and a blue chest. After her death, the plantation and his fishery were to be sold and the proceeds divided among his heirs.
A ten-plate stove was a six-plate stove (four sides, top and bottom) plus an extra 4 plates that formed an oven with hinged doors. These stoves came into use around 1760, and were the precursor to the cook stove. This one dates to around 1830 [Photo from AntiqueStoves.com].
To his sons Amos and Zedekiah he left his ‘wearing apparel’ (sounds much nicer than mere clothes). And Amos got an additional £10 from the estate. To each of the daughters of Andrew Heath, his wife’s late husband, he left £30, “it being the money I procured out of their father’s estate for their use when their mother had done with it.” Andrew Heath died intestate in 1777. Uriah Bonham made Heath’s inventory with Daniel Howell. Administration of the estate was granted to the widow Magdalene, and Uriah Bonham was her fellow bondsman (surety for her bond), with John Heath. The daughters of Andrew Heath were Mary Wilson, Elizabeth Hall, Prudence Bonham (wife of Uriah’s son Zedekiah) and Sarah Dilts.
Uriah Bonham left £5 each to his five grandsons: Uriah Sutton, Uriah Emans (Job’s son), Uriah Emans (James’ son), Uriah Bonham (Amos’ son), and Andrew Bonham (Zedikiah’s son). To his five granddaughters, Anchor Sutton, Anchor Emans (Job’s daughter), Anchor Emans (James’ daughter), Anchor Bonham (Amos’ daughter), and Anchor Bonham (Zedikiah’s daughter) he left 50 shillings each; shows where granddaughters stood in the pecking order. All of the Anchors were named long after the death (about 1775) of Anchor Fox Bonham.
You can’t have missed the recurring names of Uriah and Anchor among the grandchildren. Zedekiah also had a son Uriah, but he died at the age of 6 in 1795. The following generation, the great grandchildren, did not favor those names so much, but there was a Uriah Prall (c.1805-?), Uriah Emmons Bird (1816-1874), Anchor Bird (1815-?), and an Anchor Rittenhouse (c.1810-?).
(This is not the only case where the given names of grandparents were used for many grandchildren. In fact, there was one will written that stipulated that a bequest would be left to an unborn grandchild only if it were named after the person writing the will.)
Uriah Bonham named Thomas Lequear of Kingwood the sole Executor. This interests me. Thomas Lequear was forty years younger than Uriah Bonham. His own sons, Amos and Zedekiah were quite old enough to take on the responsibility. Perhaps he found Lequear to be an impartial sort of person.
Witnesses were Richard Heath, Edward “Rettenhouse,” and William Heath. Uriah Bonham died probably in early April 1809 at the age of 86, as the gravestone shows. The inventory was taken on April 13, 1809 by Edward Rettinghouse and Thomas Shearman (total of $241.07), and recorded on May 4th [NJA 2352J].
Uriah Bonham was buried in the Rosemont Cemetery. I am assuming his wife Anchor Fox was buried there too, but apparently her stone is gone. I do not know when Uriah’s second wife Magdalene died, but in 1802 she was about 77 years old. She probably lived out her life on the farm that was left to her during her lifetime.
In trying to determine where Uriah Bonham and Magdalene Heath lived, I noticed that Amos Bonham, his son, sold a small farm of 40 acres to George Fox, according to Fox’s will of 1815. Perhaps that was Uriah Bonham’s farm.
Next Post: the children of Uriah Bonham and Anchor Fox.
Roger
August 2, 2009 @ 10:34 am
"In 1778 Uriah Bonham was taxed on…[among other things]… a single man (his son Amos)."
Sounds like reason enough, right there, for a revolution.
That is the first I've heard of this tax scheme. Would he also have been taxed on a daughter, or was Amos considered farm labor, contributing to the value created on the farm?
Marfy Goodspeed
August 2, 2009 @ 11:22 am
Roger: In the 18th century, single men living in someone else's household were taxed. There were two categories: single men, and single men with horse. Who paid the tax is a question. In the case of single men living with their fathers, probably the father paid the tax. There were several single men living in households not related to them. In that case, perhaps those single men were expected to pay the tax. However, under the apprentice system, the apprentice was often treated like a member of the family, so the householder may have paid the tax in that case too.
Linda
March 10, 2012 @ 1:28 am
Uriah Bonham was licensed to marry Anchor Fox, both of Hunterdon Co., 5 Nov. 1751 [Ref: NJ State Archives Seatchable Database Colonial Marriages 1665-1799 (Trenton, NJ) Book A-W (Licenses): 40]. Neither are my direct ancestors, but Anchor (Fox) Bonham’s brother Absolem Fox married Uriah Bonham’s neice, Christian Bonham, the daughter of his brother Amariah Bonham. [Hezekiah Bonham, Sr’s second wife is presumed (I am a “presumer”) to be Mary Bishop, not Alger. Mary (Alger) Bishop, daughter of Thomas Alger/Auger, was her mother who married David Bishop, son of John Bishop, Sr., 24 Mch. 1679/80 Woodbridge, NJ. She was widowed shortly before 7 Jan. 1683/4 there, leaving her only child Mary Bishop (of the presumption). Mary (Alger) Bishop remarried 9 Jan. 1684/5 Charles Gil(l)man at Piscataway; he also died there before 26 Jan.1691/2. At Piscataway, she last married Benjamin Jones 20 May 1692, but she died at Piscataway less than a year later on 28 Apr. 1693, and is buried at the PiscatawayBurial Grounds at Edison.
I have enjoyed visiting your site – very well done – thank-you .
Marfy Goodspeed
March 10, 2012 @ 5:02 am
Linda, Thank you for straightening me out about Mary Alger Bishop. I had a note on the Mary Alger I had married to Hezekiah Bonahm that her headstone read that she died 1734 age 57, which gives a birth year of about 1677. So I knew I had a problem, and you have solved it for me.
Sheila Moore Mitchell
March 3, 2015 @ 5:46 am
Dear Mr. Goodspeed,
I was my pleasure to stumble upon your Goodspeed Histories while looking up information about General Daniel Wray. Some years ago I was looking at a site on Mytrees.com when I found the following claim:
The Wolverton’s/Woolverton’s (spelled both ways throughout the 18th century) were staunch advocates of the American Revolution. Gabriel’s daughter, Elizabeth, wrote that the family entertained General Washington several times while she was a small child.3.) Gabriel’s second cousin, Dinah Wolverton (daughter of Dennis Wolverton and Elizabeth Pettit), was married to General Daniel Bray. During the war, Bray amassed all the boats necessary to execute the famous “crossing of the Delaware”, bringing them together at the riverfront farms owned by Gabriel and his father, Joel. The eventual crossing then took place from these locations.” [end of Mytrees.com entry]”DATE 1 MAY 2007″ [end of Mytrees.com entry]
Unfortunately I do not have the name of the submitter, although I have renewed my subscription in hopes of finding such. Before conducting the search, I was sidetracked by researching the Crossing of the Delaware which led me to your most excellent site. I return again and again to your articles, all of which are so interesting, and not just those that apply to my family, descendants of Charles Woolverton of Hunterdon County.
Let me introduce myself. I am Sheila Moore Mitchell. I live in Pine Bluff, Arkansas and have done much research on my Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas William Wolverton. My tree looks like this:
Charles>Joel>Gabriel>William>James>Irvin>Buford and my mother Lucille Wolverton Moore.
I should say that William was the son of Gabriel and Abijah “Bishe” Paschal, born c. 1785. (There was another child, Gabriel, born c. 1781. I have a copy of the document where Abijah Paschal, was prosecuted in February 1784 for fornication. According to David A. Macdonald and Nancy N. McAdams in their 2001 eight-hundred plus page THE WOOLVERTON FAMILY: 1693-1850 AND BEYOND on p.65 “This describes a tradition surviving as late as the early part of the twentieth century in which a Woolverton of the late 18th century had an illegitimate son who bore his name but no legitimate son who did so. Gabriel and his illegitimate son Gabriel fit that description.” The authors stated that Asher B. Wolverton claimed to have been by a second marriage.
Son William Wolverton, my great-great-great grandfather was married in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1807 to Anna Lethome, a Protestant marriage in the Catholic church as proscribed by the king of Spain (before Louisiana statehood and while the Spanish were in control of Baton Rouge). They lived in Amite County, Mississippi and appeared on the 1810 census while Mississippi was still a territory. He enlisted from St. Helena Parish with the Louisiana Militia in December, 1814 for the Battle of New Orleans. By 1838 he and second wife Sarah were in Desha County, Arkansas. The Daughters of 1812 are soon to mark the grave of William Wolverton on land that has remained in the family there and celebrate not only his service but the joining of the Mississippi and the Arkansas William Wolverton descendants. William’s son James stayed in Mississippi while William and the other eight? siblings moved to Arkansas (perhaps to take up bounty land). After the Civil War, the cousins lost touch and only in the last five years have the branches found each other.
I don’t want to go on too much about topics not related to your fine research in Hunterdon County. I did want to explain a little about “who my people are” as we say in the South! Ha!
I have many copies and much documented material I would be glad to share by email if you are ever interested. Better still, come down for our 1812 celebration; we would schedule it around your calendar and feel honored to have you and any others visit. I have other enticements if needed!
Back to my original sentences, I am very interested in your thoughts on the claims made by someone submitting material to Mytrees.com. I hope this will be of interest to you even if my lengthy ramblings aren’t!
The Wolverton’s/Woolverton’s (spelled both ways throughout the 18th century) were staunch advocates of the American Revolution. Gabriel’s daughter, Elizabeth, wrote that the family entertained General Washington several times while she was a small child.3.) Gabriel’s second cousin, Dinah Wolverton (daughter of Dennis Wolverton and Elizabeth Pettit), was married to General Daniel Bray. During the war, Bray amassed all the boats necessary to execute the famous “crossing of the Delaware”, bringing them together at the riverfront farms owned by Gabriel and his father, Joel. The eventual crossing then took place from these locations.” [end of Mytrees.com entry]
Thank you for indulging me.
Sincerely,
Sheila Moore Mitchell
2702 West 37th Avenue
Pine Bluff, AR 71603
(870) 536-8964
(870) 329-9047
Marfy Goodspeed
March 3, 2015 @ 1:46 pm
Dear Sheila,
Thanks for getting in touch and sharing your Hunterdon roots with us.
As for that story you found about Daniel Bray and the boats, whether or not Daniel Bray gathered the boats on the Joel and Gabriel Wolverton farms, I cannot say. A deed search would help locate those farms, but I have not done that as yet. One thing I feel confident about is that the launch probably did not take place there. The Wolvertons would have been quite a ways upriver from Coryell’s Ferry (Lambertville) where the army had gathered. Most versions of the story say that Bray brought the boats down-river to transport the army.
Unfortunately, there is next to no hard evidence of any of this, which explains why there are so many versions of the event.
Fred
June 19, 2015 @ 3:59 pm
Wolverton: Charles (the immigrant) > Joel > Gabriel > William
Would like to find out more about this line if you are willing to share. Would prefer to discuss via email versus online forum… Thanks in advance…
Dennis Yancey
January 16, 2020 @ 4:37 pm
does anyone have any photocopies or images of the Bonham family bible cited?