photo collection of
bonnie venhaus
background -- bonnie's table rock connections
Bonnie's Bowen family in Table Rock begins with Aylors, Bowens, and Hortons. She has three sets of great grandparents buried in the Table Rock Cemetery: John & Eleanor Aylor, Silas & Effie Bowen, and Benjamin & Cornelia Horton. There are many, many descendants of those couples who are also buried in the Table Rock Cemetery. In sum, Bonnie is related somehow or another to all of the Aylors, Bowens, and Hortons of Table Rock.
The Aylors
Bonnie's great grandparents John Michael & Eleanor Aylor both died in 1914, John (1828-1914) and Eleanor (1832-1914). They came to Table Rock in 1900, according to Eleanor's obituary. John & Eleanor had eight children: Georgia Aylor Irwin (1858-1931); Olive Aylor McIntosh (1861-1941); Zella Bell Aylor Covault (1863-1948); Ella Aylor Mort (1865-1953); Mary Effie Aylor Bowen (1867-1918); John L. Aylor (1870-1963); Charles W. Aylor (1873-1935); and Alvah Norris Aylor (1876-1960).
Many of John & Eleanor's descendants are well known in Table Rock. Their daughter Zella married John L. Covault, and their children included Lucy Covault Mertes (mother of Leonard Mertes) and John Alexander Covault, who married Bessie Herrick and had six children -- Lloyd, Richard, Veda, Wayne, Delmar, and Lillian. John & Eleanor's son Alvah Norris Aylor, Sr.'s children were Lorna Aylor Gold, Cleo Aylor Deubelbeiss, Laura Aylor Day, and Alva Aylor, Jr.
The Bowens
John & Eleanor Aylor's daughter Mary Effie -- she went by Effie -- married Silas Bowen, and they had six children, including Bonnie's grandfather Ralph Bowen and her great aunts Della and Stella. The others died in childhood. Their children: Ralph (1887-1949), a baby (1889-1889), a little girl Mabel (1890-1898), a little boy Alva Loyd (1898-1899), and twin girls born in 1904, Estella (Stella) and Della. Stella lived to 1981, Della until 1994.
Silas Bowen farmed near Table Rock. He was killed in 1905 at the age of 42 while he and his son Ralph were coming in from the fields. A storm hit and they headed for home. They each were driving a team. Lighting struck, killing Silas and and knocking his team down, and knocking Ralph unconscious and killing the team that he had been driving. When Ralph came to, he found his father dead, and hurried to the house and then to a neighbor's for help. Ralph was 18, the oldest of the children.
After Silas died, Effie married Cass Davis. She died in 1918 at the age of 51 in the influenza pandemic, which took many lives in Table Rock.
Bonnie's grandmother Grace Horton Bowen remarried after the death of her husband, Bonnie's grandfather Ralph. Her second husband was Jim Doyle.
The Hortons
Finally, there are Bonnie's great grandparents Benjamin and Cornelia Horton. Benjamin was a Civil War veteran. They had at least 10 children, which included Bonnie's grandmother Grace Horton, who married her grandfather Ralph Bowen. Grace's siblings: George, Elvey, Ludell, Sidney, Daisy, Art, Willie, Nellie Horton Alderman, and Fred. Grace was the youngest and married her grandfather Ralph Bowen.
The Aylors
Bonnie's great grandparents John Michael & Eleanor Aylor both died in 1914, John (1828-1914) and Eleanor (1832-1914). They came to Table Rock in 1900, according to Eleanor's obituary. John & Eleanor had eight children: Georgia Aylor Irwin (1858-1931); Olive Aylor McIntosh (1861-1941); Zella Bell Aylor Covault (1863-1948); Ella Aylor Mort (1865-1953); Mary Effie Aylor Bowen (1867-1918); John L. Aylor (1870-1963); Charles W. Aylor (1873-1935); and Alvah Norris Aylor (1876-1960).
Many of John & Eleanor's descendants are well known in Table Rock. Their daughter Zella married John L. Covault, and their children included Lucy Covault Mertes (mother of Leonard Mertes) and John Alexander Covault, who married Bessie Herrick and had six children -- Lloyd, Richard, Veda, Wayne, Delmar, and Lillian. John & Eleanor's son Alvah Norris Aylor, Sr.'s children were Lorna Aylor Gold, Cleo Aylor Deubelbeiss, Laura Aylor Day, and Alva Aylor, Jr.
The Bowens
John & Eleanor Aylor's daughter Mary Effie -- she went by Effie -- married Silas Bowen, and they had six children, including Bonnie's grandfather Ralph Bowen and her great aunts Della and Stella. The others died in childhood. Their children: Ralph (1887-1949), a baby (1889-1889), a little girl Mabel (1890-1898), a little boy Alva Loyd (1898-1899), and twin girls born in 1904, Estella (Stella) and Della. Stella lived to 1981, Della until 1994.
Silas Bowen farmed near Table Rock. He was killed in 1905 at the age of 42 while he and his son Ralph were coming in from the fields. A storm hit and they headed for home. They each were driving a team. Lighting struck, killing Silas and and knocking his team down, and knocking Ralph unconscious and killing the team that he had been driving. When Ralph came to, he found his father dead, and hurried to the house and then to a neighbor's for help. Ralph was 18, the oldest of the children.
After Silas died, Effie married Cass Davis. She died in 1918 at the age of 51 in the influenza pandemic, which took many lives in Table Rock.
Bonnie's grandmother Grace Horton Bowen remarried after the death of her husband, Bonnie's grandfather Ralph. Her second husband was Jim Doyle.
The Hortons
Finally, there are Bonnie's great grandparents Benjamin and Cornelia Horton. Benjamin was a Civil War veteran. They had at least 10 children, which included Bonnie's grandmother Grace Horton, who married her grandfather Ralph Bowen. Grace's siblings: George, Elvey, Ludell, Sidney, Daisy, Art, Willie, Nellie Horton Alderman, and Fred. Grace was the youngest and married her grandfather Ralph Bowen.
bonnie's pictures
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These are Bonnie's great aunts, Della and Stella Bowen. They were twins, born April 27, 1904. Della Bowen Giles Holliman and Stella Bowen Olna Currant. Photo 3586.
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Grace and Ralph Bowen with their sons Lloyd and Raymond. Photo 3579
Taken in 1956: William Alderman, Esther Bowen, Myrtle Alderman, Grace Bowen Doyle, and Jim Doyle. Bonnie says of Esther Bowen, "She was my father’s (Raymond Bowen) second wife. She was a wonderful step-mother. My biological mother deserted me when I was two and my grandmother, Grace Bowen, raised me until I was 10 when my father remarried)."
Photo 3580.
Little Bonnie with her grandparents Grace and Ralph Bowen. Photo 3581.
This photo is of a house on 7th and Pennsylvania. When the photo was taken in 1945, Bonnie says, "It was the home of my grandmother Grace’s sister, Myrtle and her husband, Will Alderman. Will was the school custodian at the time. Myrtle was a fantastic cook."
Taken in 1945 -- Home, 7th and Pennsylvania
Taken May 23, 1966. Grace Doyle, Jim Doyle, Bea Bowen, William Alderman, Lloyd Bowen, and -- Bonnie is not sure of the last person, possible Grace's brother, Art Horton. As to Bea Bowen, Bonnie says that Bea was her uncle Lloyd’s wife.
Taken in 1989 at Lucy Aylor's home in Table Rock - Della Holliman, Cleo Deubelbeiss, Lucy Aylor, and Bonnie Venhaus