GEORGE BONHAM IS NOT THE FATHER OF NICHOLAS
I am making a bold statement, and if anybody wants to argue my point, I’ll be happy to accept any arguments that are documented.George Bonham of Plymouth could not possibly have been the father of Nicholas Bonham of MA and NJ.
George Bonham (Bonum), Sr. alleged father of Nicholas,was an indentured servant and had to work off his indenture after he arrived in America in 1635.It is not clear whether or not he could read nor write;however,I picked up on George Bonham (Bonum), Jr.'s illiteracywhen I saw he made his "mark" on the following:
In [Plymouth County Probate Records and Files, by Barbara Lambert Merrick, MD 49:2, Summer 2000, p. 155], is a listing of a probate docket that reads as follows:
[1:347: OS Docket #10,466]: The agreement for settlement of the estate of John Holmes, late of Plymouth, dated 29 September 1700, was made to John Holmes of Plymouth in ye County of Plymouth in New England, eldest son, who was to pay a yearly sum to teh widow, Patience Holmes, for life as her dower, and make full payment to each of the said children [of the deceased], that is to say: to Nathaniel, Ebenezer, Thomas, Joseph, and Desire, wife of John Churchill, who were of age to sign for themselves, and to Richard, Patience, Mehitable, Sarah and George, who were minors. The agreement was signed on 29 September 1701 by the mark of Pateience Holmes for herself and her minor children, the mark of George Bonum Jr., in behalf of Richard, Thomas Holmes, Nathaniel Holmes, Joseph Holmes, the mark of Desire Churchill, John Churchill and John Holmes.
If George, Sr. could read and write, then George, Jr. could.The reverse is also true.If George, Jr. could NOT read nor write, then his father George, Sr. couldn’t either.
So we have two generations of Bonhams/Bonums in Plymouth who probably cannot read nor write in addition to the father having been indentured and I might add...quick to anger. At least he was cited for a skirmish or two and had a rather basic personality. He was listed in one document as a "laborer" not a land owner. So we can establish that George was penniless when he shipped over with a lot of other penniless people.Nicholas, on the other hand, was more than likely capable of reading and writing.And I presume he had money;at least enough.
- -On 29 August 1640 George Bonham, also spelled Bonum, and Bonam, bought a house and land from Thomas Pope (PCR 12:61). On 5 January 1640/41 a dispute between Bonham and George Bower was sent to arbitration, with Manasseh Kempton and James Hurst on Bonham's side, and John Winslow and William Paddy on Bower's side (PCR 2:6). Bonham bought a house and land at Eel River from Richard Willis, who had recently purchased it from William Dennis (PCR 12:69). He married on 20 December 1644 Sarah Morton (PCR 2:79), daughter of George and Juliana (Carpenter) Morton. In 1649 he bought additional land at Eel River from John Barnes (PCR 12:166). In 1658 he became a freeman( why did it take 23 years?The process usually lasted about seven years) and was a grand juror (PCR 3:135, 137). In 1659 the court found Bonham's charges that John Smith had made opprobrious speeches against him to be frivolous, and ordered Bonham and Smith to choose some of their neighbors to hear the controversy and make an end to it (PCR 3:169). On 3 June 1662 he was on the list of ancient freeman and others to get land at Taunton (PCR 4:20), and on 7 June 1665 he was granted a thirty-acre share in land near the Nemasket River (PCR 4:94).“Plymouth Colony Records”.
We need to search for the crossing of Nicholas from England to America (or from Timbuktu for that matter).And where is it proven that Nicholas was a follower of Roger Williams?He married a preacher's daughter after all.Was Samuel Fuller also a follower of Roger Williams?I can't find Nicolas in any of Williams' locales before he moved to NJ.Did he come over with Roger Williams?He didn’t come with George.Did he come over on a family ship or a commercial ship?Did he come from England, France, Holland, or somewhere else?
I will accept any intelligent and documented input.Thank you.