San
Joaquin County
Biographies
RICHARD W. BONNEY
A native son of California who is
prominently connected with various military organizations is Richard W. Bonney,
who was born in Stockton, August 5, 1871, the son of John A. and Ann Elizabeth
(Yelland) Bonney, natives
of Eastport, Maine, and Cornwall, England, respectively. John A. Bonney crossed the plains to
California by way of the Salt Lake route in 1854 and upon his arrival he
followed mining, built quartz mills, etc., until 1867, making his headquarters
in Reno and Carson City, Nevada. During
1867 he entered the employ of the Central Pacific Railroad as foreman of the
bridge-building department and was engaged in building stations, tanks, bridges
at various points on the line. He lived
in Stockton until 1872, when he moved to Merced and was in charge of the
pumping plant at that station for the Central Pacific. Later he returned to the vicinity of Stockton
and tried his luck in running a ranch near the fairgrounds, but this was not to
his liking and during the interim was employed by the paper mill. Then he moved into town and took up the
trades of millwright and carpenter, doing a great deal of work for the Sperry
Flour Company and for the old Shippee Harvester
Works. Mr. Bonney, in October, 1870, had
married at Stockton, Miss Ann Elizabeth Yelland and
six children were born to them: Richard
W., was the oldest; Ida Scott, is now the widow of James M. Wright and lives in
Pacific Grove; Ethelind M., is a teacher in the
Stockton schools; Orpha O., died in infancy; Mabel
Y., the next in order of birth, died at eighteen months; Ruth Allen is now Mrs.
H. E. Lewis, also of Pacific Grove. The
wife and mother died in 1920, while Mr. Bonney died on October 4, 1914. The last twenty-three years of his life were
spent at Pacific Grove, where he was a member of the local Grand Army
Post. He was in Nevada during the Civil
War and joined Company E, First Nevada Cavalry, and spent one year fighting the
Indians. He was a member of Rawlins Post,
G. A. R., later being transferred to the Pacific Grove Post.
Richard W. Bonney attended the
Nightingale district school and after moving to Stockton, the Jefferson school
and finished with a business course at the Stockton Business College. When he was fifteen he worked in a tannery,
later at the blacksmithing trade, then began at the printing business, which he
followed for a quarter of a century, excepting the time he was in military
service. He first worked for B. H. Berdine, then in 1890 started with the Stockton Mail,
continuing there as a printing pressman until 1914. For short periods of time he worked on the Monterey
Cypress and the Pacific Grove Review. On
November 1, 1913, he took the civil service examination and in 1914 became an
employee of the postal department in Stockton, later became a letter carrier,
and is now in the parcel post department in the local post office. When the members of the board of freeholders
were elected to frame the present operating charter of Stockton, Mr. Bonney was
one of those elected.
The marriage of Mr. Bonney, on June
27, 1900, at Stockton, united him with Miss Katherine Desmond, born near
Lawrence, Massachusetts, a daughter of Michael and Bridget Desmond, both natives
of Ireland. In 1892, Miss Desmond came
to California to join a brother and two aunts.
The following children have been born to Mrs. and Mrs. Bonney: Mary V., Loyola C., Richard W., Jr., and
Christina D., who died at the age of twenty-one months.
Mr. Bonney has an interesting record
as a soldier which began when he entered Company A, Sixth Infantry, Third
Brigade, N. G. C. on June 8, 1891, and saw service for twenty-four days during
July, 1894, at the time of the A. R. U. strike; and in 1895 he was promoted to
be a corporal, then became sergeant in 1898, just before the Maine was blown
up. When war was declared against Spain,
Company A enlisted in the volunteer service.
Mr. Bonney went to San Francisco with his company, where they completed
their muster into the United States Volunteer Service. The captains of each company were instructed
to appoint their own non-commissioned officers and Mr. Bonney was appointed
company quartermaster sergeant and was stationed at Alcatraz until September,
1898, then transferred to Fort Point and served until he was mustered out of
service of the United States on December 15, 1898. He was given orders to report back to the N.
G. C. on May 25, 1899, at which time he was given a company discharge for promotion
and became regimental quartermaster sergeant for the Sixth Regiment, N. G. C.
on June 10, 1901. In 1905 he reenlisted
in Company A, N. G. C., was appointed Company Q. M.
S., during that enlistment Company A was called for duty in San Francisco at
the time of the fire in 1906, and Mr. Bonney was on duty 30 days. After a record of ten years of service, he
was given a certificate of discharge and a decoration. Mr. Bonney was one of the organizers and
mustering officers of Commodore Stockton Camp, No. 281, Spanish-American War
Veterans on August 29, 1902. On January
4, 1904, it was re-chartered as Commodore Stockton Camp, No. 4, Department of
California, United Spanish War Veterans; when organized there were seventeen
charter members and now there are fifty-four, Mr. Bonney being adjutant. When Weber Auxiliary No. 38 was organized
Mrs. Bonney was made the first president.
On November 13, 1917, Hiram W. Johnson Garrison No. 33, Army and Navy
Union of U. S. A., was organized with twenty charter members, Mr. Bonney again
being mustering-in officer. He is
commander of Gen. Thomas E. Ketcham Camp No. 11,
Division of California and Pacific of Sons of Veterans, U. S. A.; member of Court
Stockton No. 56, F. & A.; Stockton Printing Pressman’s Union No. 132 of
which he is past president, and honorary member of Luneta
Post No 52, V. of F. W. of U. S. A. In
politics he is a Republican.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
677-678. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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