Dr. John Bonner, son of James Bonner and Mary Laird, was born 30 March 1794 in Abbeville, SC. As one of the younger children of this couple, he had several advantages one of which was an excellent education. After studying medicine at the Willington School, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He began to practice medicine in 1817 in Claiborne, AL. While there, he met Eliza Feribry Williams whom he married in 1825. In addition to practicing medicine, Dr. John Bonner operated two plantations---Bonner Plantation and Bonner Swamp Place---in Dallas and Wilcox Counties in Alabama. He raised race horses and had a mile-long track for their training. Dr. John Bonner and Eliza Feribry Williams were parents of 9 children: Mary Rachel; Dr. James Isaac; John Laird; William Theophilus; Andrew Samuel; Oliver Alexander; Eliza Jane; Irvine Hale; Arabella Williams. Because he thought his wife had tuberculosis, he moved his family from Alabama to Williamson Co., TX around 1850. A short time later they moved to Freestone County and he bought a very large tract of land along Cottonwood Creek in the area that became known as Bonnerville. He abandoned his medical practice and spent his time operating his plantation. He was a charter member of Harmony ARP Church at Stewards Mill. The Civil War stripped him of most of his wealth and he divided his land among his children before retiring. He died in Fairfield at the home of his son Dr. James Isaac Bonner on 14 November 1878. He was the last surviving child of his parents.
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Book - Biographical Sketches from Limestone, Freestone, and Leon Counties, Texas. Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1893. p. 107-108.
"DR. J. I. BONNER. This most excellent gentleman and highly respected citizen is a physician and surgeon of Fairfield, Freestone County, Texas, and is a member of one of the largest, oldest and wealthiest families in the state.
He is the son of DR. JOHN BONNER. The latter was born in Abbeville District, South Carolina, in 1794, where he was reared and educated. He had a thorough collegiate course and graduated with great credit. Among his classmates were General Longstreet, afterward of Confederate fame; Judge Lipscomb, afterward of the Supreme Court of Texas; A. P. Bagby, afterward governor of Alabama and other less distinguished, but very worthy men. He read medicine under the celebrated Dr. Waddell of South Carolina and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Bonner began his practice in St. Stephens County, Alabama, in 1817, and was in practice there and in Claiborne and Dallas Counties of that State until 1850 when he came to Texas. He first settled in Williamson County where he bought a large tract of land about seven miles north of the newly-created county seat of Fairfield, lying on Cottonwood Creek, and opened an extensive plantation, owning a large number of negroes. His time was entirely occupied with agricultural pursuits and he never practiced his profession after coming to this state, except among his relatives and close friends. From 1853 until the outbreak of the War he managed his large plantation, but he lost most of his property, especially his negroes and personal property, in the War. He then divided the land among his children and lived in retirement, dying at the home of his son, our subject, in 1879, in his eighty-fifth year. He ranked well as a physician and enjoyed a good practice. He was a cultured gentleman, largely imbued with those aristocratic views which were prevalent in that portion of the country at his time of life. Late in life he joined the Presbyterian Church, in which he had been reared, and lived consistently the rest of his life within its teaching.
Our subject's mother was ELIZA F. WILLIAMS. She was born in Fayettesville, North Carolina, but her parents moved to Clairborne County, Alabama, where she met and married Dr. JOHN BONNER. She died in Freestone County some years before her husband. JOHN and ELIZA BONNER had nine children, seven of whom became grown, the eldest being the subject of this sketch. Of the others: JOHN L., is a farmer of Freestone County; ANDREW died in 1865 from disease contracted in the Confederate Army; OLIVER A. and IRVIN H. are farmers and stockmen of Freestone County; ELIZA, the eldest daughter, died unmarried; and ARABELLA is now the wife of W. H. McCRERY of Freestone County.
..."
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Book - Biographical Sketches from Limestone, Freestone, and Leon Counties, Texas. Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1893. p. 107-108.
"DR. J. I. BONNER. This most excellent gentleman and highly respected citizen is a physician and surgeon of Fairfield, Freestone County, Texas, and is a member of one of the largest, oldest and wealthiest families in the state.
He is the son of DR. JOHN BONNER. The latter was born in Abbeville District, South Carolina, in 1794, where he was reared and educated. He had a thorough collegiate course and graduated with great credit. Among his classmates were General Longstreet, afterward of Confederate fame; Judge Lipscomb, afterward of the Supreme Court of Texas; A. P. Bagby, afterward governor of Alabama and other less distinguished, but very worthy men. He read medicine under the celebrated Dr. Waddell of South Carolina and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Bonner began his practice in St. Stephens County, Alabama, in 1817, and was in practice there and in Claiborne and Dallas Counties of that State until 1850 when he came to Texas. He first settled in Williamson County where he bought a large tract of land about seven miles north of the newly-created county seat of Fairfield, lying on Cottonwood Creek, and opened an extensive plantation, owning a large number of negroes. His time was entirely occupied with agricultural pursuits and he never practiced his profession after coming to this state, except among his relatives and close friends. From 1853 until the outbreak of the War he managed his large plantation, but he lost most of his property, especially his negroes and personal property, in the War. He then divided the land among his children and lived in retirement, dying at the home of his son, our subject, in 1879, in his eighty-fifth year. He ranked well as a physician and enjoyed a good practice. He was a cultured gentleman, largely imbued with those aristocratic views which were prevalent in that portion of the country at his time of life. Late in life he joined the Presbyterian Church, in which he had been reared, and lived consistently the rest of his life within its teaching.
Our subject's mother was ELIZA F. WILLIAMS. She was born in Fayettesville, North Carolina, but her parents moved to Clairborne County, Alabama, where she met and married Dr. JOHN BONNER. She died in Freestone County some years before her husband. JOHN and ELIZA BONNER had nine children, seven of whom became grown, the eldest being the subject of this sketch. Of the others: JOHN L., is a farmer of Freestone County; ANDREW died in 1865 from disease contracted in the Confederate Army; OLIVER A. and IRVIN H. are farmers and stockmen of Freestone County; ELIZA, the eldest daughter, died unmarried; and ARABELLA is now the wife of W. H. McCRERY of Freestone County.
..."
Dr. John Bonner, son of James Bonner and Mary Laird, was born 30 March 1794 in Abbeville, SC. As one of the younger children of this couple, he had several advantages one of which was an excellent education. After studying medicine at the Willington School, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He began to practice medicine in 1817 in Claiborne, AL. While there, he met Eliza Feribry Williams whom he married in 1825. In addition to practicing medicine, Dr. John Bonner operated two plantations---Bonner Plantation and Bonner Swamp Place---in Dallas and Wilcox Counties in Alabama. He raised race horses and had a mile-long track for their training. Dr. John Bonner and Eliza Feribry Williams were parents of 9 children: Mary Rachel; Dr. James Isaac; John Laird; William Theophilus; Andrew Samuel; Oliver Alexander; Eliza Jane; Irvine Hale; Arabella Williams. Because he thought his wife had tuberculosis, he moved his family from Alabama to Williamson Co., TX around 1850. A short time later they moved to Freestone County and he bought a very large tract of land along Cottonwood Creek in the area that became known as Bonnerville. He abandoned his medical practice and spent his time operating his plantation. He was a charter member of Harmony ARP Church at Stewards Mill. The Civil War stripped him of most of his wealth and he divided his land among his children before retiring. He died in Fairfield at the home of his son Dr. James Isaac Bonner on 14 November 1878. He was the last surviving child of his parents.
===============================
Book - Biographical Sketches from Limestone, Freestone, and Leon Counties, Texas. Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1893. p. 107-108.
"DR. J. I. BONNER. This most excellent gentleman and highly respected citizen is a physician and surgeon of Fairfield, Freestone County, Texas, and is a member of one of the largest, oldest and wealthiest families in the state.
He is the son of DR. JOHN BONNER. The latter was born in Abbeville District, South Carolina, in 1794, where he was reared and educated. He had a thorough collegiate course and graduated with great credit. Among his classmates were General Longstreet, afterward of Confederate fame; Judge Lipscomb, afterward of the Supreme Court of Texas; A. P. Bagby, afterward governor of Alabama and other less distinguished, but very worthy men. He read medicine under the celebrated Dr. Waddell of South Carolina and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Bonner began his practice in St. Stephens County, Alabama, in 1817, and was in practice there and in Claiborne and Dallas Counties of that State until 1850 when he came to Texas. He first settled in Williamson County where he bought a large tract of land about seven miles north of the newly-created county seat of Fairfield, lying on Cottonwood Creek, and opened an extensive plantation, owning a large number of negroes. His time was entirely occupied with agricultural pursuits and he never practiced his profession after coming to this state, except among his relatives and close friends. From 1853 until the outbreak of the War he managed his large plantation, but he lost most of his property, especially his negroes and personal property, in the War. He then divided the land among his children and lived in retirement, dying at the home of his son, our subject, in 1879, in his eighty-fifth year. He ranked well as a physician and enjoyed a good practice. He was a cultured gentleman, largely imbued with those aristocratic views which were prevalent in that portion of the country at his time of life. Late in life he joined the Presbyterian Church, in which he had been reared, and lived consistently the rest of his life within its teaching.
Our subject's mother was ELIZA F. WILLIAMS. She was born in Fayettesville, North Carolina, but her parents moved to Clairborne County, Alabama, where she met and married Dr. JOHN BONNER. She died in Freestone County some years before her husband. JOHN and ELIZA BONNER had nine children, seven of whom became grown, the eldest being the subject of this sketch. Of the others: JOHN L., is a farmer of Freestone County; ANDREW died in 1865 from disease contracted in the Confederate Army; OLIVER A. and IRVIN H. are farmers and stockmen of Freestone County; ELIZA, the eldest daughter, died unmarried; and ARABELLA is now the wife of W. H. McCRERY of Freestone County.
..."
===============================
Book - Biographical Sketches from Limestone, Freestone, and Leon Counties, Texas. Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1893. p. 107-108.
"DR. J. I. BONNER. This most excellent gentleman and highly respected citizen is a physician and surgeon of Fairfield, Freestone County, Texas, and is a member of one of the largest, oldest and wealthiest families in the state.
He is the son of DR. JOHN BONNER. The latter was born in Abbeville District, South Carolina, in 1794, where he was reared and educated. He had a thorough collegiate course and graduated with great credit. Among his classmates were General Longstreet, afterward of Confederate fame; Judge Lipscomb, afterward of the Supreme Court of Texas; A. P. Bagby, afterward governor of Alabama and other less distinguished, but very worthy men. He read medicine under the celebrated Dr. Waddell of South Carolina and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Bonner began his practice in St. Stephens County, Alabama, in 1817, and was in practice there and in Claiborne and Dallas Counties of that State until 1850 when he came to Texas. He first settled in Williamson County where he bought a large tract of land about seven miles north of the newly-created county seat of Fairfield, lying on Cottonwood Creek, and opened an extensive plantation, owning a large number of negroes. His time was entirely occupied with agricultural pursuits and he never practiced his profession after coming to this state, except among his relatives and close friends. From 1853 until the outbreak of the War he managed his large plantation, but he lost most of his property, especially his negroes and personal property, in the War. He then divided the land among his children and lived in retirement, dying at the home of his son, our subject, in 1879, in his eighty-fifth year. He ranked well as a physician and enjoyed a good practice. He was a cultured gentleman, largely imbued with those aristocratic views which were prevalent in that portion of the country at his time of life. Late in life he joined the Presbyterian Church, in which he had been reared, and lived consistently the rest of his life within its teaching.
Our subject's mother was ELIZA F. WILLIAMS. She was born in Fayettesville, North Carolina, but her parents moved to Clairborne County, Alabama, where she met and married Dr. JOHN BONNER. She died in Freestone County some years before her husband. JOHN and ELIZA BONNER had nine children, seven of whom became grown, the eldest being the subject of this sketch. Of the others: JOHN L., is a farmer of Freestone County; ANDREW died in 1865 from disease contracted in the Confederate Army; OLIVER A. and IRVIN H. are farmers and stockmen of Freestone County; ELIZA, the eldest daughter, died unmarried; and ARABELLA is now the wife of W. H. McCRERY of Freestone County.
..."
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