[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 17, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1282]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1282]]
                 A SALUTE TO THE BONSALL FAMILY REUNION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. CURT WELDON

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 17, 2003

  Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, family reunions are an 
important part of our personal histories. On June 21 and 22, 2003, the 
Bonsall Family Reunion will be held at Stagecoach Farm in Cheyney, 
Pennsylvania in the 7th Congressional District of Pennsylvania. This 
will be the 320th anniversary of Richard, Mary and Obadiah Bonsall 
sailing out of Liverpool, England to America, arriving on the Duke of 
Yorke in the spring of 1683. I am proud to salute the Bonsall family on 
this important occasion.
  Their story begins when Richard Bonsall and his wife, Mary (nee Wood) 
and their five young daughters ages 1 to 6 boarded a sailing vessel in 
Liverpool and endured a six to ten week voyage across the Atlantic 
Ocean with great hardships and danger. They arrived in Chester, 
Pennsylvania in the spring of 1683. Richard had received a Land Grant 
from William Penn in the area east of Chester Creek in what is now part 
of Lansdowne and part of Darby, Pennsylvania. Mary's parents had 
arrived in 1682 and had landed next to Richard's family. Richard built 
a dam on Chester Creek and established a Grain and Saw Mill. Richard 
and Mary added three sons and another daughter to the family. Richard 
and their other Quaker neighbors established the Darby Friends Meeting 
in 1699. Their children produced sixty-one (61) grandchildren and so 
started a very large family, many of whom served in every war that the 
United States was involved in from the Revolution to the recent 
conflict in Iraq.
  Reuben Fayette Bonsall, a seventh generation descendant of Richard 
was born and raised just outside of Media, Pennsylvania in what is now 
Elwyn and had a large family of fourteen (14) children. In 1934 the 
descendants of Reuben held their first Reunion in honor of their 
parents. The tradition has continued each year since 1934 and is now 
held at Peggy Bonsall's home called Stagecoach Farm on Tanguy Road in 
Cheyney, Pennsylvania on the Sunday following Father's Day. In 1983 a 
worldwide reunion was held at Rose Tree Park and it was attended by 
nearly 1,000 descendants and family. There were genealogy displays, 
skits depicting some outstanding Bonsall's, Amos (explorer, soldier), 
Joseph (librarian, third library in America), Philip (last U.S. 
Ambassador to Cuba), bus tours to the ancestral homes (many are still 
being occupied), games for all ages and a dinner at Springton School.

  After the reunion a committee was formed to establish a plan to keep 
the family aware of their heritage and contributions to America. It was 
decided to continue the regional yearly reunion and plan a U.S.A. 
reunion every ten years. The first ten year reunion was held in 1993, 
celebrating 310 years since Richard came to America and now we are 
celebrating the second ten-year Reunion on June 21 and 22, 2003 at 
Stagecoach Farm, 87 Tanguy Road, Cheyney, Pennsylvania. The program 
will include entertainment, games, genealogy displays, speakers, 
singers and depictions of famous Americans, William Penn, Ben Franklin 
and George Washington, all of whom knew Bonsall in early America.
  The Bonsall's are planning for 300 descendants and family to attend 
this 320th anniversary of Richard and Mary (Wood) Bonsall arriving in 
America. These committed descendants represent nearly every state in 
our country. I am pleased that a very large population of Bonsall's 
still live, work and play in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. There are 
over 35 streets named after various Bonsalls in the Delaware Valley. 
There are three states that have towns named Bonsall or Bonsal.
  Mr. Speaker, family reunions offer a special time for families to 
come together for celebration and renewal of the ties that bind them. 
Although the Bonsall Family has endured trials and tribulations over 
the years, the family has maintained their love, devotion, and 
commitment to one another. I am certain that this year's reunion will 
be a very special and joyous occasion.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join with me in extending best 
wishes to the entire Bonsall Family for a successful and heartwarming 
family reunion.

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