JOHN C. BONWELL, retired farmer of Viola Township, now a resident of Audubon, Iowa, was born in Highland County, Ohio, near Hillsborough, November 16, 1842. He is a son of Nathaniel and Charity (Lowman) Bonwell. The father was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, in 1792, but passed most of his youth in Kentucky, whither his parents removed when he was a child,he removed to Ohio and was there married, and settled in Highland County.There he carried on farming until his death, which occurred in 1865. His wife was a native of Pennsylvania. Late in life she came to Audubon County, where her death occurred in 1881. She was in her seventy second year. Arthur Bonwell, grandfather of our subject, was a native of Scotland. He emigrated to America and took part in the war of 1812. He removed from Virginia to Kentucky in 1797, and at one time owned a number of slaves, whom he afterward set free. John C. Bonwell was reared in his native county, receiving a common school education and acquiring a knowledge of all the details of practical farming.At the age of nineteen years he left the plow and volunteered in the defense of his country. He enlisted in the Sixtieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company F, and was assigned to the Army of the Potomac. He participated in several battles and skirmishes, the most noted being the second battle of Bull Run. After this battle he was taken prisoner and held for three days, when he was paroled, sent to Annapolis, thence to Baltimore, and thence to Chicago, where he was discharged in December, 1863. In August, 1864, Mr. Bonwell reenlisted in the One Hundred and Seventy fifth Ohio, and was sent to Camp Denison, near Cincinnati. He remained there two months, and from that time until June, 1865, he was guarding bridges and railroads in Tennessee and Kentucky. He was honorably discharged in June, 1865, and then returned to Highland County, Ohio. He then started a store in Lebanon, Ohio, which he managed three years. During this time he was married to Miss Mary E. Miller, the oldest daughter of Jacob and Eliza Miller. In the fall of 1869 Mr. Bonwell removed with his family to Marion County, Iowa, and during the first winter taught school at Wheeling. The following summer he removed to the town of Monroe, and there he dealt in real estate and taught school.In 1874 he purchased an interest in the First National Bank of Monroe, and was bookkeeper for that institution for some time. Disposing of his interest in the bank, he went to Exira, Audubon County, Iowa, in 1875, when he engaged in the drug trade. Selling out this business, he bought 400 acres of land in Viola Township, which he has improved by erecting a substantial residence and good buildings for stock and grain. Mr. Bonwell devotes his time to feeding and raising hogs and cattle, in which he has been very successful. He has added to his farm until it now contains 720 acres, in a high state of cultivation.In the spring of 1889 he removed his family to the town of Audubon, in order to give his children better educational advantages. Mr. and Mrs. Bonwell have three daughters Pauline V., Gertrude C. and Leora May. Mr. Bonwell has served several terms as justice of the peace in Viola Township. In politics he is a staunch Republican, taking an active interest in the party, often serving as a delegate to county, judicial, congressional and State conventions. Mr. Bonwell is a member of Veritas Lodge, No. 392, A. F. & A. M., and of Amity Chapter, No. 93, R. A. M. He is a member of Allison Post, G. A. R., and of the Red Men.He commenced life on a small capital, but by industry, good judgment and careful investments he has accumulated a large estate.
From: 1889 Biographical History of Shelby and Audubon counties, pp. 807-808. (Contributed by Uncloudy_Day.)