- Died
- before 1925
- Eras
- Irish eraModern era
- Concepts
- fishingmaritimeagriculturesettlementirish-arranmoretoponymy
- Within
- Beaver Island
- Media
- Beaver Island History Map, 1978 revision
Summary
John “Black John” Bonner was an Irish fisherman, mariner, and early post-Strang settler of Beaver Island. A contemporary 1890 report identifies Captain John Bonner aboard the schooner Sophia A. Bonner. Later farm and oral-history accounts associate him with Gull Island fishing, migration to Beaver Island in 1856, an 1857 farm purchase, a dock, Bonner’s Landing, and Bonner’s Bluff.
The 1856 migration tradition
The broad tradition is well represented but its route is not uniform. A 1963 Beacon account says Bonner learned at Gull Island that Strang had been shot and sailed into Saint James. Helen Collar preserved one recollection that he was first to return permanently and landed at Bonner’s Bluff, but also Pat Bonner’s contrary version that he entered the harbor. A quoted biographical account instead places John and Sophia first at French Bay in August 1856 and at the farm-and-dock tract in 1857.
The 1978 map’s vivid phrase that he “rushed from Gull Island” therefore compresses several later traditions. It should not be treated as a documented voyage sequence without a contemporary 1856 letter, log, or deed.
Open questions
- Can the 1857 Farrell-to-Bonner deed and the later Centennial Farm application be obtained and reconciled with a 1980 report that prints 1867?
- Which shoreline feature was the historical dock, and when did Bonner’s Landing and Bonner’s Bluff first appear by name?
- Can civil, parish, cemetery, or probate records fix John Bonner’s vital dates?
See also
Sources
- “Celebration at Beaver Harbor, July 5th, 1890,” contemporary local report in the Charlevoix newspaper corpus.Identifies Captain John Bonner aboard the schooner Sophia A. Bonner during the 1890 regatta. It directly establishes his maritime activity but does not discuss the 1856 migration or Bonner’s Landing. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
- Retrospective family/farm account says John Bonner fished from Gull Island during Strang’s rule, learned in June 1856 that Strang had been shot, entered Saint James without hostility, and purchased an 80-acre farm in 1857. It is later testimony, not a contemporary 1856 account or deed.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1963-09_Beaver-Beacon
- Preserves conflicting island testimony: Lawrence recalled Bonner as first to return permanently and landing at Bonner’s Bluff, while Pat Bonner said he entered the harbor; another quoted biography says he moved his wife to French Bay in August 1856 and acquired an 1857 tract where he built a dock. The conflict prevents a single “rushed from Gull Island” route from being treated as established.web · collar_biographical_papers
- Described in this archive: Beaver Island History Map, 1978 revision.Groups Bonner’s Landing, Bluff, and Farm and says John Bonner rushed from Gull Island when the Mormons departed in 1856. Later local accounts support the broad Gull Island-to-Beaver migration but disagree on his initial landing and residence.
Added 7 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “John “Black John” Bonner”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/john-black-john-bonner/, accessed [date], citing “Celebration at Beaver Harbor, July 5th, 1890,” contemporary local report in the Charlevoix newspaper corpus. (and 3 further sources listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-07. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
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