An American Family History

George Bonham was born in 1655 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. His parents were George Bonham and Sarah Morton.

He married Elizabeth Jenney in 1683. Elizabeth was born on December 5, 1660 in Plymouth. Her parents were Samuel Jenney and Anne Lettice.

George and Elizabeth's children included:
Elizabeth Bonham Nye (1684, married Ichabod Nye),
Samuel Bonham (1686, died young),
Ruth Bonham Nye (1688, married Jabez Nye),
Ann Bonham 1690),
Sarah Bonham (1693)
Lydia Bonham (1696),
Ebenezer Bonham (1699) and
Susanna Bonham (1700).

George died on April 27, 1748 in Plympton and Elizabeth died February 28, 1754 in North Carver, Plymouth. They were buried at Lakenham Cemetery.

Tombstones of George Bonham and Elizabeth Jenny

Mister ( Mr.) was derived from master and Mrs. and Miss were derived from mistress. They indicated people of superior social status in colonial America.

Old Style Calendar Before 1752 the year began on Lady Day, March 25th,. Dates between January 1st and March 24th were at the end of the year. Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) are used to indicate whether the year has been adjusted. Often both dates are used.

from The Giles Memorial by John Adams Vinton

Ichabod Nye in 1720 and previously, lived where Sampson's Tavern now is (or was in 1836) in Middleborough. Here his son Ichabod was born in 1719. In 1722, he sold his place and purchased a farm in Rochester, not far from where Ebenezer Holmes lived in 1836. His wife was a Bonum, a name now apparently extinct, unless Burnham has succeeded to it. Her grandfather lived in Plymouth. Here Mr. Nye lived and died; and his grave-stone is still to be seen in the Old Cemetery at Little Neck, so called, in Rochester, with three other grave-stones, bearing the name of Ichabod Nye; father, son grandson and great grandson.

From A Genealogy of the Nye Family, Volume 1 by Robert Glen Nye, Luther Bert Nye

Jabez Nye (Jonathan, Benjamin1, born in Sandwich, Mass., married May 31, 1711, Ruth Bonum, and resided in Plymouth, Mass., where he died in 1745.

First printed in Boston 1745

from Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts, Volume 3, by J.H. Beers & Co

The Jenney family. . .is an old and well-known family of New England. The name was spelled Jenne as far down as the days of the Revolutionary war.

(I) John Jenney, brewer, the first American ancestor and progenitor of these Jenneys, was a resident of Norwich, England. He went early to Holland, and at Leyden, Nov. 1, 1614, married Sarah Carey, of Monkston, England, and lived afterward at Rotterdam. He and his wife with their three children came in the "James," arriving in August, 1623. The "James" was a little vessel of forty-four tons burden, built for the Pilgrims of Leyden, and it arrived at the same time as the "Ann." Mr. Jenney was a highly respected and useful citizen of Plymouth and a man of considerable substance; was assistant—one of the governor's council—in 1637 and 1639, and representative in 1641. He died in 1644, his wife surviving.

The children of John and Sarah were: Samuel, Abigail. Sarah (came with parents to New England), Susanna and John. The father and son Samuel were in the list of those able to bear arms in 1643.

Of these children Samuel [Jenny] married Ann Lettice, daughter of Thomas and Ann; Abigail married Henry Wood; Sarah married Thomas Pope; John also married. The mother became one of the original purchasers of Dartmouth and here they removed and were among the earliest settlers of the new territory and here became a numerous and prominent family, and were among the largest land holders, deriving this interest from the mother's purchase. . .

Settlements were made on the site of Fairhaven village coincident with those of New Bedford, and shared to some extent in the early whale fishery and other industries of the latter place. Lettice, Samuel and Mark Jenne were early settlers here. . . .

The name was perpetuated through (II) Samuel Jenney, who removed early to Dartmouth. He married Ann Lettice, daughter of Thomas and Ann, and their children were: Samuel, Mark, John, Sarah, Ruth and Lettice. [Elizabeth?]

Ancient Landmarks of Plymouth by William Thomas Davis

Bonham or Bonum, George, appeared early in Plymouth, and m., 1644, Sarah, d. of George Morton. His children were
Ruth, m. Robert Barrow;
Patience, m. Richard Willis;
Sarah, 1653;
and George.

George [Bonham], son of above, m., 1683, Elizabeth, d. of Samuel Jenney, and had
Samuel, 1680;
Ruth, 1688;
Elizabeth, 1689;
Ann, 1690;
Sarah, 1693;
Lydia, 1690;
Ebenezer, 1699;
Susanna, 1700.