This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: compudrill Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.bonnell/258.3.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Sometime around December 2008 I started looking for information on Ora "Orie" Stephen Bonnell and his relationship to Ethel Edith Watson-VanDevender, my grandmother. To date this is what I have found out: Ora "Orie" Stephen Bonnell; Born 8 May 1883 in McClellan, Doddridge County, West Virginia; Died 23 February, 1959 at 118 Chestnut Street, Elkins, Randolph County, West Virginia. oFather - Lehi Bonnell; Born 31 Aug 1860 in Doddridge, West Virginia; Died 10 March 1946 in Parkersburg, West Virginia oMother - Mahala E Pitts; Born 28 Oct 1864 in Doddridge, West Virginia; Died 14 Oct 1929 in Elkins, Randolph, West Virginia oWife - Florence Belle Stackpole;Born 1 May 1880 in McClellan, Doddridge County, West Virginia; Died May 1972 in Hagerstown, Washington, Maryland MOrie married Florence Belle Stackpole on 30 July 1901 at the residence of Enos Stackpole, Florence's brother. To this union were born 6 children: 1. Berlin Bonnell, born abt. 1904; 2. Densil/Denzel "Dennis" Bonnell, born abt 1907; 3. Flora Bonnell, born abt 1908; 4. Stanley Bonnell, born 17 May 1910, died 8 Apr 1996 in Elkins, Randolph County, West Virginia; 5. Alcin Bonnell, born abt 1913; 6. Leona V. Bonnell-Stultz, born 15 Nov 1917 in Beverly, Randolph County, West Virginia, died 3 Nov 1997 in Falling Waters, Berkeley County, West Virginia. My mother Pauline VanDevender-LeCompte-Stone, born 23 Jul 1934 in Elkins, Randolph County, West Virginia, died 18 Nov 1996 in Aransas Pass, San Patricio County, Texas always related to us as we were growing up that her real father was Orie Bonnell. She even had an oil painting of him made in either the late 50's or early 60's that was placed in my Grandmother's house and when she passed on my mother kept it but never displayed it rather keeping it under cover in storage. My older brother claimed it when my mother passed on but having little respect of its value lost it over the years. My mother even named one of my brothers born in 1966 after the Bonnell family "Timothy Bonnell LeCompte". The story goes that my Grandmother and Orie carried on an affair that sired at least 4 children including my mother although each remained married to their respective spouses. Some time before Orie's death in 1959 he divorced Florence Stackpole. Orie worked as the Section Foreman for the WM Railroad in 1915. The Western Maryland Railway was an American Class I railroad which operated in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It was there that he met my Great Grandfather Sylvanus VanDevender and became friends with his family that included his wife Olive Texica Stalnaker and his children Howard Alston VanDevender and Opal VanDevender. Orie's WWI Draft Registration Card was signed by my Great Grandfather Sylvanus VanDevender on 12 Sept 1918 as the person who signed up Orie. Sylvanus VanDevender was one of the people who sat on the local Draft Board in Elkins West Virginia. They are both listed on the same 1920 Census for the Beverly Magisterial District, Randolph County, West Virginia, dated 15 and 16 January 1920 with Orie on page 13 and Sylvanus VanDevender on page 14 which made them very close neighbors. Sylvanus had a son, Howard Alston VanDevender born on 28 January, 1903 which would become my Grandfather. The 1930 Census for the Beverly Magisterial District, Randolph County, West Virginia, dated 8 April 1930 page 3 shows my Grandmother Ethel Edith Watson aged 23, married for 2 years living with her parents Norval Asbury Watson and Nancy Jane Sachs-Watson. She would have had one son at that time, Norval Alston VanDevender born 31 July, 1929 which would have made him 8 months and 1 week old at the time of the census. He is not listed on the census so he may have been living with relatives at that time or because often the census takers did not write down complete information he may have been missed. My Great Aunt Beulah is listed on the same census as also as living with my Great Grandparents, also married for one year but listed under her married name and her husband is also listed as living there as the son-in-law so it is possible that my grandfather also lived there but was not counted on the census. My Aunt Betty Jane VanDevender was born on 31 April 1931 just over 1 year ! after the 1930 census was enumerated so that is how I figure that my Grandparents were still together at that time and living with my Great Grandparents. Orie's WWII Draft Registration Card where Orie Bonnell listed that the Name and Address of Person That Will Always Know Your Address as Mrs. Ethel VanDevender of Elkins, West Virginia who was my Grandmother. This area of the card was reserved for the name and address of the person registering and someone that lived with them or their closest relative that could contact them. I recently talked to my Grand Aunt Thelma Watson-Rizer who lived with my Grandparents until she was about 12 years old or until somewhere around 1936 and she related to me that Orie Bonnell moved in with my Grandparents around 1931 or 32. My Grandfather Howard was a Circuit Preacher who travelled around the countryside most of the time on horseback but sometimes by automobile going from small town to small town spreading the gospel. Sometimes he would be gone for weeks and even months at a time and this left my grandmother and Orie alone in the hills with just each other. My Grand Aunt Thelma relates that they came to console each other and began a relationship that was to last up to the time of Orie's death in 1959. According to my Grand Aunt Thelma who lived with them and has firsthand and personal knowledge of this my Grandmother and Orie Bonnell conceived the following children: 1. Howard Junior VanDevender born 23 Jan 1933 2. Pauline Ethel VanDevender born 23 Jul 1934 (my Mother) 3. James Lee VanDevender born 14 Jan 1936 and died 15 Sep 1936 of dysentery 4. Luella and Orvella VanDevender twin sisters born 27 Nov 1937 and died 28 Nov 1937 born two and a half months pre-mature (notice that Orvella's name is a derivetive of ORA) 5. Armstead Dean VanDevender born 11 Feb 1939 and died 2 Jul 1939 of a Black Widow bite 6. Jewell Phay and Gloria Kay VanDevender (twins) born 16 Oct 1944 According to my Grand Aunt Thelma my Grandfather Howard left my Grandmother after she took up with Orie never to live with my Grandmother again. Howard introduced them around 1932 and through time they must have fallen in love. My Granddad Howard actually worked for Orie at the Phil Williams Coal Mines at the time and as Orie was 20 years older than my Grandfather and a close family friend he must have looked on him more as a father than a friend. The reason why all of the kids born to Orie and Ethel carried the last name of VanDevender was because Howard and Ethel never divorced and in those days it was unheard of for a woman to have children out of wedlock. This of course is a partially buried secret that my family carried all these years and just spoke about hesitantly and with hushed tones with their children and never quite openly during family gatherings. Every bit of the above was recently also confirmed by my Great Aunt Burnice when I recently talked to her. She also said that the reason all of the kids carried the VanDevender name was because even though Granddad Howard left my Grandmother in or around 1932 that she refused to divorce him because she strongly did not believe in divorce as she had not been brought up that way. I have all of this documented with copies of the cencuses, copies of Orie's birth record (which lists his parents), the WWI and WWII Draft Registrations, his marriage certificate to Florence Stackpole, a copy of his Death Certificate that shows that he died on 23 Feb 1959 at 118 Chesdtnut Street in Elkins WV (NOTE: 118 Chestnut Street in Elkins WV is a large Victorian style house that is referred to as "The Gathering Place" and has been owned by the Watson Family for well over 125 years (my Grandmother's family) and is still owned by them to this day and finally I have a photo of Orie with my Uncle Norval VanDevender, Aunt Betty VanDevender (neither were his own children), my Uncle Howard VanDevender and my mother Pauline VanDevender {both of which are his children) taken some time in the mid 50's. So there you have it. It appears that with all of the documentation that I have found that Ora "Orie" Stephen Bonnell and of course the photo that he is indeed actually my Grandfather. If you are the Grandson of Bernard Ray Bonnell; Born 3 Mar 1898 in West Virginia; Died 14 Dec 1939 in Glady, West Virginia then we would be directly linked with a common Great-Grandfather in Lehi "Lee" Bonnell; Born 31 Aug 1860 in Doddridge, West Virginia; Died 10 March 1946 in Parkersburg, West Virginia which would make us 2nd Cousins. I can add you to the Bonnell Family Tree that I have set up on Ancestry.com if you like and will send me your email address. I have a lot of documentation on the Bonnell family that you might like to have including on your Grandfather. If you know of any of the other Bonnell clan still around (I believe that Orie still has two living children that I would love to contact) and you are in contact with them please pass this on to them and tell them that they can contact me at compudrill@hotmail.com or link to me on Facebook. They can locate me by typing my full name Michael Stephen LeCompte. Hope to hear from you again. 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