One of my goals for this upcoming year is to transcribe as much as possible of the old files left to me by the daughter of David M. McFarland. Many of these files deal with the Bonsall family as well, as he was married to Julia Bonsall, daughter of Ellwood, and there are also lots of old letters between the various family members which help to pinpoint family lines. Some of these letters are quite poignant, such as the one sent by David to his father explaining why he feels the need to enlist in the service during World War One rather than being drafted; others are more mundane but are still of interest. David did serve in the military apparently, as one of the files included in this collection is his Honorable Discharge dated from 1919.

One of the most interesting bits of the collection are two old pages from a family bible from the Bonsall side. The latest entries date from the 1920’s and there are numerous different handwritings on the pages, with the earliest appearing to be from the mid 1800’s.

There is also a very old autograph book belonging to Eliza Veazey prior to her marriage to Thomas Bonsall. Though most of the entries are undated there are a few from the early part of the 1800’s. Scanning the book will hopefully make it possible to read some of the entries, even after all this time.