Alfred Bonsanko, one of Belleville's oldest and most illustrious coal miners, died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. R. M. Hathaway of 319 North Eighth street, with whom he made his home, at 8:30 o'clock Friday night. His death came after a serious illness of only four days, though he had been suffering from asthma for quite some time.
Alfred Bosanko, 82 years old last March 2, was one of the last of the race of pioneer coal men who instituted modern methods in mining. He always was successful in sinking shafts - his record a mine near Odin that was 700 feet deep - but his greatest reputation was derived by salvaging properties that others had declared were hopelessly lost.
Mr. Bosanko developed into his life's work naturally, for he was born in County Cornwall, England, and as a boy worked in the tin and copper mines of that region, although there, mining principles were different than those used in the coal mines here. Those mines did not have shafts but tunnels that gradually wound deeper into the ground and cable cars were used to haul the ore to the surface. Some of the mines were as much as 2400 feet deep and the inclined railway made the tunnels very dangerous, but they were all taken as a matter of course in connection with the daily run of work.
After a few years Mr. Bosanko and several companions decided to leave their native land and set out for America. For a short time Mr. Bosanko lived in Dover, N. J., in 1870, after which he worked in the mines of Pennsylvania and Indiana, finally settling at Edwardsville, Ill. He moved to this city in 1873.
A year later he again moved, this time to Freeburg where he met Miss Margaret Jane Hood, who on January 24, 1874, became his wife. They lived in Sparta until 1881 [census records show living in Freeburg in 1880] at which time they established their home in Belleville at the corner of C and Third street.
Since the death of Mrs. Bosanko, May 5, 1923, Mr. Bosanko had been making his home with his youngest daughter, Mrs. R. M. Hathaway, at 319 North Eighth street.
Ten children were born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Bosanko. The surviving children are:
Thomas W. Bosanko, Sacramento, Calif
Mrs. Jane Van Hoose, Edgemont Station, Ill.
Isreal W. Bosanko, at home
Eugene A. Bosanko , St. Louis, Mo.
Henry Bosanko, living with his brother, Isreal
Alonzo C. Bosanko, Staff Sergeant of the Second Engineers, stationed Fort Logan, Denver, Co.
Ruth Inez, wife of Robert M. Hathaway, 319 North Eighth St., Belleville
(Two sons, Alfred and John died in infancy; a daughter, Lulla died at the age of five years.)
He also leaves 19 grandchildren and five great grand-children.
Funeral services will be conducted probably Monday afternoon from Renner-Schneider Funeral Chapel to Walnut Hill Cemetery.
Belleville News Democrat
November 12, 1932
NOTE:
~ A son, Alfred, died in infancy. (born about 1875)
Alfred Bosanko, 82 years old last March 2, was one of the last of the race of pioneer coal men who instituted modern methods in mining. He always was successful in sinking shafts - his record a mine near Odin that was 700 feet deep - but his greatest reputation was derived by salvaging properties that others had declared were hopelessly lost.
Mr. Bosanko developed into his life's work naturally, for he was born in County Cornwall, England, and as a boy worked in the tin and copper mines of that region, although there, mining principles were different than those used in the coal mines here. Those mines did not have shafts but tunnels that gradually wound deeper into the ground and cable cars were used to haul the ore to the surface. Some of the mines were as much as 2400 feet deep and the inclined railway made the tunnels very dangerous, but they were all taken as a matter of course in connection with the daily run of work.
After a few years Mr. Bosanko and several companions decided to leave their native land and set out for America. For a short time Mr. Bosanko lived in Dover, N. J., in 1870, after which he worked in the mines of Pennsylvania and Indiana, finally settling at Edwardsville, Ill. He moved to this city in 1873.
A year later he again moved, this time to Freeburg where he met Miss Margaret Jane Hood, who on January 24, 1874, became his wife. They lived in Sparta until 1881 [census records show living in Freeburg in 1880] at which time they established their home in Belleville at the corner of C and Third street.
Since the death of Mrs. Bosanko, May 5, 1923, Mr. Bosanko had been making his home with his youngest daughter, Mrs. R. M. Hathaway, at 319 North Eighth street.
Ten children were born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Bosanko. The surviving children are:
Thomas W. Bosanko, Sacramento, Calif
Mrs. Jane Van Hoose, Edgemont Station, Ill.
Isreal W. Bosanko, at home
Eugene A. Bosanko , St. Louis, Mo.
Henry Bosanko, living with his brother, Isreal
Alonzo C. Bosanko, Staff Sergeant of the Second Engineers, stationed Fort Logan, Denver, Co.
Ruth Inez, wife of Robert M. Hathaway, 319 North Eighth St., Belleville
(Two sons, Alfred and John died in infancy; a daughter, Lulla died at the age of five years.)
He also leaves 19 grandchildren and five great grand-children.
Funeral services will be conducted probably Monday afternoon from Renner-Schneider Funeral Chapel to Walnut Hill Cemetery.
Belleville News Democrat
November 12, 1932
NOTE:
~ A son, Alfred, died in infancy. (born about 1875)
Alfred Bonsanko, one of Belleville's oldest and most illustrious coal miners, died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. R. M. Hathaway of 319 North Eighth street, with whom he made his home, at 8:30 o'clock Friday night. His death came after a serious illness of only four days, though he had been suffering from asthma for quite some time.
Alfred Bosanko, 82 years old last March 2, was one of the last of the race of pioneer coal men who instituted modern methods in mining. He always was successful in sinking shafts - his record a mine near Odin that was 700 feet deep - but his greatest reputation was derived by salvaging properties that others had declared were hopelessly lost.
Mr. Bosanko developed into his life's work naturally, for he was born in County Cornwall, England, and as a boy worked in the tin and copper mines of that region, although there, mining principles were different than those used in the coal mines here. Those mines did not have shafts but tunnels that gradually wound deeper into the ground and cable cars were used to haul the ore to the surface. Some of the mines were as much as 2400 feet deep and the inclined railway made the tunnels very dangerous, but they were all taken as a matter of course in connection with the daily run of work.
After a few years Mr. Bosanko and several companions decided to leave their native land and set out for America. For a short time Mr. Bosanko lived in Dover, N. J., in 1870, after which he worked in the mines of Pennsylvania and Indiana, finally settling at Edwardsville, Ill. He moved to this city in 1873.
A year later he again moved, this time to Freeburg where he met Miss Margaret Jane Hood, who on January 24, 1874, became his wife. They lived in Sparta until 1881 [census records show living in Freeburg in 1880] at which time they established their home in Belleville at the corner of C and Third street.
Since the death of Mrs. Bosanko, May 5, 1923, Mr. Bosanko had been making his home with his youngest daughter, Mrs. R. M. Hathaway, at 319 North Eighth street.
Ten children were born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Bosanko. The surviving children are:
Thomas W. Bosanko, Sacramento, Calif
Mrs. Jane Van Hoose, Edgemont Station, Ill.
Isreal W. Bosanko, at home
Eugene A. Bosanko , St. Louis, Mo.
Henry Bosanko, living with his brother, Isreal
Alonzo C. Bosanko, Staff Sergeant of the Second Engineers, stationed Fort Logan, Denver, Co.
Ruth Inez, wife of Robert M. Hathaway, 319 North Eighth St., Belleville
(Two sons, Alfred and John died in infancy; a daughter, Lulla died at the age of five years.)
He also leaves 19 grandchildren and five great grand-children.
Funeral services will be conducted probably Monday afternoon from Renner-Schneider Funeral Chapel to Walnut Hill Cemetery.
Belleville News Democrat
November 12, 1932
NOTE:
~ A son, Alfred, died in infancy. (born about 1875)
Alfred Bosanko, 82 years old last March 2, was one of the last of the race of pioneer coal men who instituted modern methods in mining. He always was successful in sinking shafts - his record a mine near Odin that was 700 feet deep - but his greatest reputation was derived by salvaging properties that others had declared were hopelessly lost.
Mr. Bosanko developed into his life's work naturally, for he was born in County Cornwall, England, and as a boy worked in the tin and copper mines of that region, although there, mining principles were different than those used in the coal mines here. Those mines did not have shafts but tunnels that gradually wound deeper into the ground and cable cars were used to haul the ore to the surface. Some of the mines were as much as 2400 feet deep and the inclined railway made the tunnels very dangerous, but they were all taken as a matter of course in connection with the daily run of work.
After a few years Mr. Bosanko and several companions decided to leave their native land and set out for America. For a short time Mr. Bosanko lived in Dover, N. J., in 1870, after which he worked in the mines of Pennsylvania and Indiana, finally settling at Edwardsville, Ill. He moved to this city in 1873.
A year later he again moved, this time to Freeburg where he met Miss Margaret Jane Hood, who on January 24, 1874, became his wife. They lived in Sparta until 1881 [census records show living in Freeburg in 1880] at which time they established their home in Belleville at the corner of C and Third street.
Since the death of Mrs. Bosanko, May 5, 1923, Mr. Bosanko had been making his home with his youngest daughter, Mrs. R. M. Hathaway, at 319 North Eighth street.
Ten children were born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Bosanko. The surviving children are:
Thomas W. Bosanko, Sacramento, Calif
Mrs. Jane Van Hoose, Edgemont Station, Ill.
Isreal W. Bosanko, at home
Eugene A. Bosanko , St. Louis, Mo.
Henry Bosanko, living with his brother, Isreal
Alonzo C. Bosanko, Staff Sergeant of the Second Engineers, stationed Fort Logan, Denver, Co.
Ruth Inez, wife of Robert M. Hathaway, 319 North Eighth St., Belleville
(Two sons, Alfred and John died in infancy; a daughter, Lulla died at the age of five years.)
He also leaves 19 grandchildren and five great grand-children.
Funeral services will be conducted probably Monday afternoon from Renner-Schneider Funeral Chapel to Walnut Hill Cemetery.
Belleville News Democrat
November 12, 1932
NOTE:
~ A son, Alfred, died in infancy. (born about 1875)
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
