Hugh Wilmer Bonham - Mattie Mae's Youngest Brother

Hugh Wilmer Bonham born 19 March 1886, youngest child of Stephen Harrison Bonham and Frances Ann Wagner.

Written by himself

I was born on my mother's birthday and my father passed away on my birthday in 1911. My youth memories are not too pleasant, losing my mother when I needed a mother's loving care is pretty hard to endure. I was 4 1/2 when she died. Our first stepmother, Rose Leteer was an old maid and not used to children and I being the youngest gave her a bad time. She caused me to get many spankings.

I attended elementary and grammar schools in Roringbrook, Pennsylvania and a teachers school in summer at Pleasant Hill Academy and in 1903 went to Strondsburg Normal school. In the fall of 1904 started at Bloomsburg Normal, after one month I quit school and left for Pittsburg, Pennsylvania where I found employment and stayed there till April, 1905. In the meantime a pal of mine, John Austin, joined me and full of wanderlust we left Pittsburg for Detroit, Chicago, Peoria, and St. Louis for about six weeks then went to Granite City, Illinois where I stayed, working at American Steel Company as an overhead crane operator until the depression of 1907-08 when I returned home to Pennsylvania until sometime in 1908. Was called back to my old job at the foundry. After a few months I met Grace Orrick at an amusement part. After a brief courtship we were married in Alton, Illinois on January 1, 1909. On November 1, 1909 our son Worth Orrick was born.

We each liked to travel so in 1911 we decided to seek a new location. We sold our accumulation of furniture. Grace stayed with her mother at Ironton, Missouri while I looked for that ideal spot. I went to Phoenix, Arizona and worked as an auto mechanic at New State Auto Areal Company. Of course it was pretty hot there. Grace thought it would be bad for our baby so we decided to go to San Diego, then Los Angeles, next Seattle and then to Vancouver, British Columbia. I obtained employment there and sent for my wife and son. We stayed until the following summer then came to Portland in June during the Rose Festival celebration. Found a furnished house in a nice district for $12.00 a month. On August 2nd of that year 1914 our daughter Winefred was born in Milwaukie, Oregon. That next spring we bought some suburban acreage. One acre for $1,250.00 and built a shack and moved to the country. Over the years as time went on we accumulated more property and decided to try farming. We had 8 1/2 acres and three houses to sell. One a three bedroom dutch colonial on 1 1/2 acres, and two smaller places, one acre each and a five acre unimproved tract.

In 1942 we bought our 40 acre farm that we very much enjoyed.

We have three grandsons, our daughters one son and our son has two sons. We enjoy them and are proud of them and their families.