Johannes (Bantzer) Bonser (1750 - abt. 1825)

Born 9 Apr 1750 in Hoof, Schauenburg, Hesse-Cassel, Holy Roman Empire

Ancestors

Husband of Christina Barbara (Donner) Bonser — married 22 Jun 1778 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Descendants

Died about 10 Jul 1825 at about age 75 in Ross County, Ohio

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Biography

Johannes Bantzer was born in the village of Hoof in the German state of Hesse-Cassel in 1750, son of Johann Heinrich Bantzer and Anna Gertrud Meile, and confirmed in the Lutheran church at Hoof in 1763, age 13. ^[1] By the spring of 1776 Johannes was a cannonier in the Third Artillery Regiment of the Hessian Army and his unit was sent to North America to help the British suppress the rebellious colonies. ^[2] His unit fought in the Battle of Trenton in December 1776, and many of the Hessian troops were killed or captured. However, the Third Artillery managed to retreat to New Jersey, and in 1777 joined back up with British forces and occupied Philadelphia in the winter of 1777-78. Stationed in Philadelphia, the Hessian soldiers had free time to mingle with and enjoy the company of the large German speaking population of the city, and as often happens, romantic attachments were the result. Such an attachment would explain why Johannes Bantzer decided to desert his unit and remain or return to Philadelphia, when the British and Hessian forces withdrew from the city in June 1778. This assertion is based on the fact that Johannes and Christina Barbara Donner were married at the German Reform Church in Philadelphia, 22 June 1778. ^[3] Evidence indicates that the young couple left for the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia soon after the marriage. ^[4] It made sense to get as far away as possible as quickly as possible, at least until the war was over. Until then he could have been detained by American patriots and placed in captivity with other captured Hessian prisoners, or if he were caught by the British, he would have been returned to his unit and severely punished. In Virginia they could blend into the large German speaking population in the Shenandoah Valley easily and would be far from British occupying forces.

They definitely kept a low profile in Berkeley County (now West Virginia), the northern most county in the Shenandoah Valley, where "John Bonser" is listed in the enhanced personal property tax schedule of 1787, sometimes referred to as the "1787 Census of Virginia."^[5] "John Ponser" also appears in the personal property tax list of Berkeley County in 1790. ^[6] On April 27, 1791 "John Boncer" and two other men were arraigned and tried in the Berkeley County Court for stealing the property of another man. All three were found guilty and sentenced to "39 lashes on their bare backs." ^[7] John does not appear again in Berkeley County personal property tax records until 1797, when he is listed in the eastern district of the county. ^[8] By 1800 the three known children of John and Barbara were living further south in Shenandoah County, Virginia, where his daughter Margaret married in 1800, son Henry, "orphan of John Pontzer," was appointed a guardian in 1803 and son, John, born about 1783, married in 1804. ^[9] Bonser (also spelled Bonsor) continues to appear in Berkeley County personal property tax lists from 1797 through 1801. The eastern section of Berkeley was formed into Jefferson County and he is listed in Jefferson County records from 1802 through 1804.

It is obvious, however, that John was not deceased, when his son Henry was appointed a guardian, in Virginia, but that he had remarried a much younger woman about 1794, had several children and moved into Washington County in western Pennsylvania, in late 1804, after his older children moved to Shenandoah County, Virginia. Why did John's older children move into Shenandoah County, when he moved to Pennsylvania? The two oldest were of age and free to make that decision, but Henry was still underage when he went with them. It is obvious that they did not want to join their father's new family, but they could have remained in Berkeley County instead of moving further south. Perhaps they had relatives on their mother's side in Shenandoah County, but at this point that is only speculation. John Bonser was living in Amwell Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, in 1810 and the census indicated one male over 45, one female, 26-44, one male 10-14, one female 10-14 and three males under 10. ^[10] This is very consistent with the known birth records of his second wife and five children. By 1820 "John Boncer" was living in Scioto Township, Pickaway County, Ohio, and the census shows one male and one female over age 45, one male 16-18, one male 10-15 and one female, 16-25. ^[11] Again, this is very consistent with the 1810 census and the fact that his son, Jacob, born about 1795, was living in Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio in 1820. According to a family account found in the biography of a great grandson, John and his family moved to Ross County (adjoining Pickaway County) Ohio, after 1810, where he died. ^[12] He is buried in Mount Union Cemetery, Chillicothe (Ross County), Ohio. ^[13]

Sources

• Kirchenbuch (Parish Register), Evangelische Kirche Gemeinde Hoof, Breitenbach, Elmshagen, 1725-1774. Kurhessen-Waldeck Landeskirchliches Archiv (Kassel). Accessed at archion.de.
• HETRINA, Database of Hessian Troops in America.
• Shenandoah County, Virginia Public Records.
• Personal Property Tax lists of Berkeley and Jefferson County (now West Virginia), accessed at FamilySearch.
• United States Census records, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia.

Footnotes

1. ↑ Kirchenbuch (Parish Register), Evangelische Kirche Gemeinde Hoof, Breitenbach, Elmshagen, 1725-1774. Birth, p. 62, entry #20. Confirmation, p. 144a, top of page. His name is written as "Johannes Pantzer" in the confirmation record. Hoof is a small village now part of the town of Schauenburg, about six miles southwest of the city of Kassel.
2. ↑ HETRINA, Database of Hessian Troops in America, at Hessisches Landesamt für geschichtliche Landeskunde. https://www.lagis-hessen.de/en/subjects/gsrec/current/2/sn/hetrina?q=Bantzer
3. ↑ "Marriage Records of the German Reformed Church, Philadelphia" Pennsylvania Archives, Sixth Series, Volume I, p. 665. Transcript at FamilySearch: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2WF-5TH6
4. ↑ John's daughter Margaret, born in 1781, stated in the 1850 and 1860 censuses that she was born in Virginia. His son, Henry, born in 1788, also stated in the 1850 census that he was born Virginia. The oldest son, John Jr. died in Ohio before 1840, but John's oldest daughter, stated in the 1880 census that her father was born in Virginia.
5. ↑ Nettie Schreiner Yantis and Florene Speakman Love, compilers, The 1787 Census of Virginia, Volume II, p. 1400. Springfield, VA (1987).
6. ↑ Berkeley County, Virginia Personal Property Tax Lists, 1790-1799, List of James Watson, unpaged. Digital image #38 at FamilySearch.org: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQQ-XZC9?i=37&cat=775696 (upper right side).
7. ↑ Berkeley County Minute Books, 1772-1792, FHL microfilm #831279, image #925 at FamilySearch.org: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSM7-N4DG-F?i=924&cat=80520
8. ↑ Berkeley County Virginia Personal Property Tax Lists, 1790-1799. Digital image #510 at FamilySearch.org: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQQ-XZV5?i=509&cat=775696
9. ↑ Vogt and Kethley, Virginia Historic Marriage Register, Shenandoah County, Virginia Marriage Bonds, 1772-1850, Athens, GA (1983), pp. 238 and 343. Indenture of Henry Pontzer, orphan of John, Shenandoah County, Virginia Circuit Court Minute Book, 1800-1803, Court of March 1803.
10. ↑ United States Census, 1810, Pennsylvania, Washington County, Amwell Township, p. 633. Digital image at FamilySearch.org: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YB8-279?view=index&personArk=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AXH22-6YR&action=view
11. ↑ United States Census 1820, Ohio, Pickaway County, Scioto Township, p. 176. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHL9-1V5 (Indexed as "Boneer.")
12. ↑ Biographical sketch of Alfred C. Bonser in: George Wanamaker, History of Harrison County, Missouri, Indianapolis, IN (1921), p. 567.
13. ↑ Tombstone inscription, Find A Grave: Memorial #100964594 There is no photograph of the stone, which is apparently badly eroded. The date listed in the memorial is "July 13, 1828, age 74," but there is a note that an earlier transcription has the date as 'July 10, 1825. This is the date used in this profile because this transcription is an older source, and the age is more consistent with the 1750 birthdate found in the Hoof Church records. The earlier transcription can be found in "Records of Mount Union Presbyterian Church" Ohio Genealogical Express at http://www.ohiogenealogyexpress.com/ross/rossco_cems/rossco_cem_mtunionpresby.html

Research Notes

The following documents were key to identifying the Hessian soldier, Johannes Bantzer / Pantzer, born 1750 at Hoof Dilwig Dist, Hesse-Kassel as the father of the Bonsers / Ponsers / Pontzers of Shenandoah County, Virginia, and John Bonser, who died in Ross County in 1825, as the same person.

Hessian Troops in America, accessed at LAGIS (Hessian Landesgeschichtliches Informationsystems), Online: Johannes Bantzer / Pantzer (* 1749), Origin-Hoof/Dalwigk District. Enrolled 6-1776, rank private, cannonier Unit- 3d Artillery Deserted, 6-1778. Deserted on army's march over the Jersey. He is the only Bantzer or other variation of the name in the database.

"Marriage Records of the German Reformed Church of Philadelphia," Pennsylvania Archives, Sixth Series, Volume I, p. 665. Accessed at FamilySearch.org: "1778, June 22, Johannes Bantzer, Christina Barb. Donner."

Nettie Schreiner Yantis and Florene Love, The 1787 Census of Virginia, Springfield, VA (1987), Volume II, p. 1400. John Bonser, listed in the personal property tax list of Berkeley County, Virginia. He is the only Bonser or any variation of the name in the entire three volume census. He also appears in other Berkeley tax records as John Ponser and in Court minutes as John Boncer.

Biographical sketch of Alfred C. Bonser, in George Wanamaker, History of Harrison County, Missouri, Indianapolis IN (1921), p. 567. "The Bonser family records begin in Hesse Castle [sic], Germany, where John Bonser, the great-grandfather of Alfred C. Bonser was born. He came to America during the Revolutionary War and was married in Virginia to Elizabeth Bensyl, a native of Virginia. They located in Chillicothe, Ohio, where John Bonser died. His son, John Bonser, Jr., was born in Pennsylvania and died April 19, 1865."

The children of the first marriage lived in Shenandoah County, Virginia which still had a large German speaking community and so their children and descendants continued to pronounce the name with a stronger German accent and frequently spelled it "Pontzer." The children of his second marriage grew up Ohio, among predominently English speakers, and consequently tended to pronounce the name with a softer accent and spelled it "Bonser."