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I have made a similar posting on the Bonham Family Genealogy Forum under a line of postings originally relating to Phoebe and Benjamin Bonham. However, I am re-posting the information here since I do not know if I am related to Phoebe and Benjamin Bonham and this posting might not be seen there.
I am a descendant of Samuel Bonham (born in Frederick County Virginia in 1832 and died in Grayson County, Texas, in 1922), who was a son of Daniel S. Bonham (1806-1869) and Ann C. Eaty (born in 1827) and a brother of Emma Virginia Bonham and Sebastian E Bonham, among others.
Emma Virginia Bonham is a very interesting person because of the famous fight that took place at Colonel Daniel Bonham's home in 1865 between a Yankee officer and five of Mosby's men. I researched this fight in depth and published an article about it in the magazine, "America's Civil War" in 2001.
Capt. Eugene Ferris of the 30th Massachusetts Infantry, which was camped nearby at the railroad bridge over Opequon Creek, came to pay a social call upon Miss Emma Virginia. While sitting in the parlor with her and her father, Col. Daniel S. Bonham, Ferris's visit was interrupted by the arrival of Lt. Charlie Wiltshire and four other members of Mosby's command. Capt. Ferris ran to get his horse, and then, a pistol in each hand, shot his way out of the Bonham stable yard, killing two of the Confederates and wounding two others. Ferris made his escape back to camp with his orderly, and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor about 30 years after the War for this feat of arms due to the efforts of someone who read about this fight in John Scott's 1867 book "Partisan Life of Col. John S. Mosby". Your ancestor, Emma Virginia Bonham, wrote a letter to the War Dept. in support of the award in the 1890's attesting that "no braver soldier ever wore the uniform" or words to that effect.
You can read about our Bonham ancestors in E. B. Hazie's book, which is in the Library of Congress. Unfortunately, it doesn't really help very much back beyond Samuel Bonham and Mary Ann Sowers (married about 1805 in Frederick County, Virginia), the parents of Daniel S. Bonham, although Hazie does try to piece things together.
According to his obituary in the Confederate Veteran magazine, vol. XXX (1922), p. 310, my great-great grandfather, Samuel Bonham (1832-1922), left Virginia at age 22 for Missouri, then Kansas, where he engaged in surveying and was captured by Pawnee Indians while surveying for the state of Kansas. After surveying for 3 years in Nebraska, he settled in Sherman, Texas in 1859. Apparently he was accompanied to Sherman by his brother, John Bonham, who died in 1860. Samuel Bonham's father, Daniel S. Bonham (1806-1869) was the County Surveyor of Clarke County, Virginia, surveying the line with Frederick County when Clarke County was created in 1838. Samuel Bonham was the County Surveyor of Grayson County, Texas.
Daniel S. Bonham's wife was Ann C. Eaty (born in 1827). I beieve that she was the daughter of Sebastian Eaty who was at one time the Sheriff of Jefferson County, Virginia (now West Virginia). Daniel S. Bonham's father was Samuel Bonham, born in Virginia about 1788, according to his age of 62 shown on the 1850 U.S. Census for Clarke County, whose wife, Mary Ann Sowers, was born in Virgnia in about 1785, according to her age of 65 shown on the same census. Samuel Bonham served as Superintendent of Schools for Clarke County at one time. I have not been able to figure out who were the parents of this Samuel Bonham (born about 1788 in Virginia) and I would appreciate any help on this subject that anyone could give me.
According to E. B. Hazie's book, Daniel S. Bonham and Ann C. Eaty had eleven children:
1. Mary Frances Bonham (1828-1858) Mar: Geo. Bonham 1850
2. Lucy Cornelia Bonham (1830-1860) Mar: W. B. Sowers
3. Samuel Bonham (1832-1922) Mar: Martha Melton
4. Ann Maria Bonham(1834- ) Mar: Henry Messmer, Va.
5. Jonh Ackley Bonham (1838-1860) died in Sherman, TX
6. Sebastian E. Bonham (1840-1863)
7. Emma Virginia Bonham (1844-1907) Mar: Wm. Perry, DD, NYC
8. Edward Bonham (1846-1907)Mar: Mary Hamilton, Dennison, TX
9. Charles D. Bonham (1852- ) Mar: Hattie Ziegler, Ohio
10. Rose Bonham (1855- ) Mar: E.B. Perry, Exira, Iowa
11. Alice Bonham (1857- ) Mar: J.A. Walker, Dennison, TX
Sebastian E. Bonham, nicknamed "Bass", was 1st Seargent of Co. I, the "Clarke Rifles" of the 2nd Virginia Infantry Regiment, Stonewall Brigade. Bass Bonham was mortally wounded on May 3, 1863, at the battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia, and died on May 10, 1863.
I hope this provides some of you with new information.
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