Bernt Bonn’s 1875 Sea Voyage to America

I discovered that great-grandfather Bernt Olsen Bonn (1856-1937) came to America on a different ship than the one I thought he had. A few years ago, I reported that Norwegian great-grandfather Bernt Olsen Bønsmoen emigrated on the S/S Trondhjem…

My Sundgau Ancestry: A Roman Catholic Twig

My ancestry is overwhelmingly Protestant.  I expected this since my father's heritage involves Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Quakers, Baptists, and other Protestant denominations, and my mother's family was primarily Lutheran; she was born…

Discovery: North Yorkshire Ancestors

While drafting my previous article about immigrant ancestors George Mason (1706-1774) and Jane Foord (1710-1789), I ended up digging into their roots in North Yorkshire, England.((See the post here.))  Because of online church registers, I…

House Built by 5th Great-Grandfather for Sale

A couple months ago, Lucia and I spent a weekend in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.  The mushroom capital of the world lies only three miles from Longwood Gardens and 10 miles from the site of the Battle of Brandywine Creek. Kennett Square…

Uncle Jack in World War I: The Kettering Bug

While researching Uncle Jack at Carlstrom Field in central Florida in 1919 and 1920, I came across an interesting bit of military history. Uncle Jack was born Orville P. Bonn on 18 September 1896 in Montevideo, Minnesota and died age 89 on…

Uncle Jack in World War I: Revising the Timeline

I need to report that I overlooked online copies of military muster rolls for World War I, which affect our understanding of the service of granduncle Orville P. Bonn (1896-1985), whom subsequent generations knew as Uncle Jack. I had assumed…

Uncle Jack in World War I: The Italian Connection

This is the fifth in a series of research articles about my granduncle Orville P. "Jack" Bonn (1896-1985). A Montevideo News article announcing Orville P. Bonn's return home in 1920 from three years of military service during World War I…

Uncle Jack in World War 1: Was He Injured?

Was Orville P. "Jack" Bonn (1896-1985) injured during World War I or anytime during his three years of military service?  As discussed in three previous posts, Bonn served in the U.S. Army Air Service 1917-1920.((See here, here, and here.)) Unfortunately,…

Uncle Jack in World War I: Was He an Aviator?

While I look into the reference to granduncle "Jack" Bonn serving in a special detachment that went to Italy, let's address the big question before us. Was Orville P. Bonn (1896-1985) a pilot in World War I? I believe the answer is no. …

Uncle Jack in World War 1: Uniform and Medals

In the last post, I began an exploration of my granduncle Jack Bonn’s service in the U.S. Army Air Service during World War I.  Orville Philip Bonn (1896-1985) was known to the Army as Orville or Orville P. Bonn.  We always knew him…