I am always looking for additional information to continue my family history research. To date I have traced over 800 family members dating back to 1650. The majority of these hailed from the counties of Warwickshire and Staffordshire , England. Occupations are always interesting to lean about and among my forbearers were artists, stone masons, glassblowers, publicans, servants, agricultural labourers, gunsmiths, music hall artists, coachmen and soldiers. (And many others) Any information on the name of Bonehill and its' variants (Bonehil, Bonhill, Bonnell, Bonell, Bonel, Boonel, Bonill, Bonil) is of interest. Of particular interest at present is information on the following;

CORNELIUS BONELL
I require Cornelius’s birth date (about 1650) and location . Also his marriage date and location to Mary.

MOSES BONELL
Moses Bonell married Hannah Reeves on the 20th June 1825 in Sedgley , Staffordshire. I need Moses’s birth date and location .

BESSIE BONEHILL. 1855-1902.
Any information gratefully received on Bessie Bonehill a famous Music Hall artist. Bessie started as a coon singer and clog dancer with her two sisters . She became very famous in both The United Kingdom and in America as one of the first male impersonators. Her particular forté was the singing of patriotic songs warning foreigners - particularly the Russians - to keep their hands off our Empire. At the height of her fame she owned a 600 acre estate on Long Island , New York so information from the U.S.A. would be of particular interest. Also required photographs , music sheets etc. , in fact anything.

HARRY BEST BONEHILL 1873 - ?
Harry Best Bonehill was the illegitimate son of Jane one of Bessie Bonehill’s sisters. He married Julia Edwards in 1900 and had five daughters . He was a talented musician and is known to have worked on White Star liners . He was also at one time a Lunatic Asylum Organist. He disappeared on the outbreak of World War One and was never heard of again. It is possible he joined the armed forces under an assumed name . Any information would be most welcome.

CHRISTOPHER GEORGE BONEHILL. 1831 -1920.
Christopher George Bonehill was a well known gunsmith working in Birmingham , England. In 1851 he established his own firm which manufactured shotguns, big game rifles, air rifles and other firearms. He was a prolific inventor and took out many patents on his inventions. In 1900 he offered his customers an enormous catalogue that was almost 300 pages long. He was a well respected figure in the gun trade and a guardian of The Birmingham Proof House for many years. Any information would be of interest specially catalogues , photographs etc..

Richard & Lynne Bonehill,
The Bosuns Nest,
Carthew Way ,
St.Ives ,
Cornwall,
TR26 1RH.

Telephone ; 01736 793213.
email; richard@bonehill3.freeserve.co.uk
web site; www.bonehill3.freeserve.co.uk