I have already mentioned my great-great grandfather Hugh Bonner briefly in the blog post ‘Finding a Breakthrough” and in this one I will talk about the rest of his wider family in more detail. According to the 1911 Scottish Census Hugh is supposed to be one of 14 children but at the moment I have only been able to account for 11 children. At that time only six of them were still alive. Hugh’s parents were Owen Bonner, b. 1839, and Ann “Nancy” Gallagher, b. 1840 to Michael Gallagher and Ann Sharkey. At some point in the 1860s, for reasons currently unknown, Owen and Nancy moved to the United States. They are listed on the 1870 US Census as living in Pennsylvania with four of their children but it seems that they didn’t stay for very long because they are back in Donegal by 1875. You can imagine that it is quite the journey just to travel to the United States let alone make a return trip back to Ireland and then travel to Scotland several years later.
Owen and Nancy’s children are as follows:
1. Hugh Bonner b. 1st August 1876 in Donegal, m. Sarah Boyle on 10th December 1903 in Donegal and d. 21st June 1912 at the age of 35 in Linlithgow, Scotland. The cause of death was acute pneumonia.
2. Catherine “Kate” Bonner b. 1st May 1875 in Donegal
3. James Bonner b. 5th March 1880 in Donegal
4. Manus Bonner b. 5th June 1881 in Donegal, m. Fanny Russell on 14th February 1911 in Donegal and d. 10th April 1953 in Donegal. There was a daughter Annie Bonner b. 5th March 1913 who died in infancy and a son John Bonner. Manus is buried in Annagry Graveyard with his wife Fanny, daughter Annie and a Dominic Sharkey who died in 1952.
5. Mary Anne Bonner b. 1868 – I suspect in the USA, m. Charles Sharkey 4th October 1889 in New Jersey. I believe they might have had six children, four of whom died in infancy, but I can only account for three:
• Charles Sharkey b. 1895 in USA
• Sharkey (Female) b. 17th September 1890 in Bayonne, Hudson, New Jersey
• Bridget Sharkey b. 6th March 1897 in Donegal
Charles Sharkey Snr died on 13th August 1896 in Bayonne leaving his wife with a very young son and on top of that she’s two months pregnant with daughter Bridget. The story is that Mary Ann came back to Donegal and eventually moved to Scotland with the rest of her family. I believe Mary Ann is buried in Linlithgow cemetery along with her brother Hugh and several other family members.
6. Owen Bonner b. 1870 – USA (I think), m. Anna Boyle on 30th January 1894 in Donegal and d. 21st July 1942. Owen and Anna had at least four children:
• Mary Bonner b. 23rd November 1896
• Teague Bonner b. 11th July 1898, m. Anna Bonner
• Bridget Bonner b. 29th August 1899
• Patrick Bonner b. 10th December 1894
Owen is buried in Kincassalgh Cemetery along with his wife Anna, his father-in-law Teague Boyle, his sister-in-law and several other members of Anna's family.
7. Ellen Bonner b. 1865 in Pennsylvania, m. Hugh Gallagher on 17th February 1885. They had four children, all of whom were born in Donegal:
• Hugh Gallagher b. 20th January 1891
• Kate Gallagher b. 16th March 1892
• Bridget Gallagher b. 18th December 1894
• Mary Gallagher b. 27th April 1898
8. Patrick Bonner b. 1867 – Pennsylvania, m. Bridget Mulhern on 18th January 1891 in Bayonne. They had one daughter Mary E. Bonner b. 1st February 1897 in Bayonne.
9. Bridget Bonner b. 1886, m. Richard Keogh in 1919 (Linlithgow)
10. Bonner (male) b. 19th April 1885
11. John Bonner b. about 1869 in Pennsylvania
Nancy Bonner (Gallagher) died on 25th June 1914 at the age of 74; the cause of death was heart disease. Husband Owen returned to Donegal and he died on 6th December 1917 at the age of 75
