Bonney, Charles

Singer

Collection date: Jul 1914

Area: Somerset - Bridgwater Town

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Charles Bonney at Bridgwater Workhouse (1844-1915): age 71, 1 song ‘Three Maidens a milking’ (FT3007) on 11 Jly 1914: Charles Bonney was born in 1844 in Bridgwater, son of Henry & Charlotte Bonney. His surname in the censuses varies from Boney to Bonny to Bonney.

He was a brickmaker/tilemaker all his life. He married Amelia Union, a servant, at Holy Trinity Bridgwater on 6/11/1869. Neither could sign their name. Soon afterwards they had a child Eliza (bp 11/3/1870 St Mary’s) but then Amelia died of smallpox (buried on 16/10/1871 St Mary’s). Charles was remarried to a widow Catherine Anderson at Holy Trinity on 3/9/1876. She already had 4 children but in the 1881 census only her youngest child Reginald was still with her. Charles and Catherine had 2 more children together. They were living in St John’s St, Eastover, Bridgwater in 1901 (RG13/2283 f122 p37).

Catherine died in 1903, aged 62, and Charles was later admitted into the Union Workhouse and was listed there, aged 69 in the 1911 census (RG14/14295). He died October qr 1915 (5c 411).

Charles was the great uncle of Irene & Dorothy Bonney, two children who sang 10 children's games to Sharp in Apr 1907 (FT1322-31). They were friends of Lily Porter (see sep profile). Their father was a railway employee. Irene was born on 18 Jan 1897, married George Lovelace, a clerk, and died in 1966. Her sister Dorothy was born on 3 Dec 1898, married Raymond Singleton, a cane chair maker, and died in 1992.