Surname Saturday: SONNIER

SONNIER is the surname of my great-great-grandmother, Marie Alice (Sonnier) BONEAUX. She was my paternal grandfather's maternal grandmother. She was featured last Sunday in my Census Sunday post. In her older years, she lived in a little one-room house behind my great-grandparents house on Nelson St. in Vinton, Louisiana. I always thought that house was really cool when I was a kid because I had never seen such a small house, and it had a bunch of old stuff in it.

Marie Alice SONNIER

b. 07 Sep 1891 in Carencro, Lafayette, Louisiana
m. Maurice BONEAUX 10 Sep 1908 at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Carencro, Lafayette, Louisiana
m. Hymel POTIER aft. 1934
d. 07 May 1970 in Vinton, Calcasieu, Louisiana

Joseph Numa "Babe" SONNIER

b. 03 Jun 1862
bap. at St. John's Cathedral in Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana
m. Marie Edmonia DOMINGUE 22 Jan 1883 at St. John's Cathedral in Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana
d. probably bef. 1906, probably in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana

He has been quite the mystery for my cousin Cheryl and I. The rumor in Cheryl's line of the family was that he had committed suicide (Cheryl's grandfather and Marie Alice SONNIER were siblings). We had both come across a reference to a 1906 courthouse marriage record for a woman named Mrs. Edmonia DOMINGUE and Laurent ARCENEAUX, but there was no way to tell for sure if it was our Edmonia. Several years later, as my grandmother was digging around in a desk inherited from Edmonia's granddaughter, she came across the actual marriage record buried in the desk, which confirmed for us that this was likely our Edmonia.

Simeon SONNIER

b. 18 Feb 1830
bap. 01 May 1830 at St. John's Cathedral in Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana
m. Rosalie Basilisse Armigela DOMINGUE 05 Aug 1861 at St. John's Cathedral in Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana
d. 15 Aug 1871
bur. St. John Cemetery in Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana

Cyrille SONNIER

b. abt Sep 1794
bap. 10 May 1795 at St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church in St. Martinville, St. Martin, Louisiana
m. Susanne PARR 13 May 1822 at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Grand Coteau, St. Landry, Louisiana
d. 16 Apr 1859
bur. St. John Cemetery in Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana

Joseph SONNIER/SAULNIER

b. 30 Apr 1755
bap. 16 Nov 1755 in Petitcoudiac, Acadia
m. Marie THIBODEAUX 10 Jan 1779 at St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church in St. Martinville, St. Martin, Louisiana
d. 09 Oct 1820 in Carencro, Lafayette, Louisiana
bur. 10 Oct 1820 at St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery in Grand Coteau, St. Landry, Louisiana
Arrived in Louisiana in 1765 with his older sister, Madeleine. Read more about their journey here.

Etienne SONNIER/SAULNIER

b. abt 1702, probably in Minas, Acadia
m. Jeanne COMEAU abt 1729, prob. at Minas, Acadia
m. Anne Marie DAROIS 04 Jun 1740 in Beaubassin, Acadia (my line)
d. Unknown

Louis SONNIER/SAULNIER

b. abt 1663 in France
m. Louise BASTINEAU c. 1684 in Grand Pre, Acadia
d. abt 1730, probably at Minas, Acadia

Census Sunday: BONO/BONEAUX in 1920

This week I am featuring my great-great-grandparents, Maurice and Marie Alice (Sonnier) BONEAUX in the 1920 census for the Census Sunday post series. They were living in Police Jury Ward 1 of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, which I believe includes the present-day unincorporated area of Ossun. They were also living there in 1930. My family still owns this land. My great-grandmother, Beatrice, their only child, was age 9 at the time (though she is listed here as 10 years old). Their native tongue was French, and Marie could not read or write nor speak English. They had a 15-year-old servant named Joe Green living with them. Maurice was a farmer, so I am assuming Joe probably helped Maurice out on the farm. Joe's race is hard to determine. It looks like he was black, but someone tried to write either white or mulatto as well. I may have found Joe in the 1930 census living in Baton Rouge, and his race is listed as mulatto.

1920 U.S. census, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, Police Jury Ward 1, enumeration district (ED) 27, sheet 9B, dwelling 123, family 126, Maurice Bono household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 December 2011); citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 615.

Maurice Bono Head M W 37 M LA LA LA Farmer

Marie Bono Wife F W 27 M LA LA LA 

Beadrise Bono Daughter F W 10 S LA LA LA

Joe Green Servant M B(?) 15 S LA LA LA Servant for private family

Tombstone Tuesday: Arnold Frederick and Alvina Florence (Pemberton) Beedon DISTELRATH

Photograph by Edward Goscicki (FindAGrave)

DISTELRATH

ALVINA F.

1919-1997

ARNOLD F.

1915-1983

My great-great-aunt and uncle

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Cemetery

Lewiston, Montmorency, Michigan

Alvina was the younger sister of my great-grandfather, John Vital PEMBERTON. She was the tenth child and youngest child who survived to adulthood of Lovell Hugh PEMBERTON and Alvina Mary LESPERANCE. She was born 19 Apr 1919 in Marine City, St. Clair, Michigan, and died 12 Nov 1997 in Fort Gratiot, St. Clair, Michigan. She married her first husband, Daniel Robert "Bob" BEEDON, 11 May 1938 in Croswell, Sanilac, Michigan. They divorced in 1951. Interestingly, after divorcing Alvina, Bob married Alvina's widowed sister-in-law, Mabel (Crysler) PEMBERTON, who was my great-grandmother. From what I understand, this caused further tension between my great-grandmother and her Pemberton in-laws. There was already tension because my great-grandmother was not Catholic. Alvina then married Arnold Frederick DISTELRATH on 21 Jan 1956 in Angola, Steuben, Indiana. I presume they married in Indiana because there was no waiting requirement as there was in Michigan. Arnold was born 3 Dec 1915 in St. Clair, St. Clair, Michigan, to Frederick DISTELRATH and Anna VOSSEN. He died 4 May 1983 in Petoskey, Emmet, Michigan. In their later years, it appears that Arnold and Alvina retired to Northern Michigan.