Mildred Kaler was born in Moose Lake, Minnesota in 1933 to Irene and Charles Kaler. She had one sister, Dori Hisle. When she met Shafi, she already had one son, Steven Wesley Joy, who’s father she wed while still in Minnesota. She gave birth to Steven on July 14th 1951. We lost contact of Steven, and Rashida searched and found he was deceased, and died on January 28th, 2009, at the age of 57. Rashida also passed away at the age of 57.

Mildred met Shafi Hadi in Minnesota and they moved to New York, NY and lived at 123 West 44th Street, NY, NY when she gave birth to Rashida born in 1957. Three years later she gave birth to Jamilla born in 1960.

See below of your ancestors that came to America on the Mayflower. There were 51 out of the 102 passengers on the Mayflower had children, and, per www.findmypast.com, 12 or 16 generations later, there’s an estimated 35 million who can trace their ancestory to one of these pilgrims.

Below, Lynne, our maternal’s historian, says we “brought” land from the native Americans. This can be debated, if you look at historians that put a more sinister light on the pilgrims. We come from a dichotomy of Africans brought to America to be enslaven, and Europeans who came and claimed (took, stolen, brought?) land from the native Americans.

There is room for more discovery.

Photos above: Steven in the Navy, Steven’s H.S. graduation picture, Rashida and Jamilla with Missy, our childhood dog.

Mayfair Society Line

We received historical information regarding our lineage on our maternal side. Read below to learn more about our history, provided by Lynne Stobbe – I think she is the cousin of Mildred:

To Family:                                                                                                                           

Regarding Mayflower Society Line from John Alden

The process of applying for membership in the Mayflower Society has changed since 1953, and they now require more documentation.  What we found is that once they started requiring this – they found out that some of their members were not really Mayflower Descendants.

             When we first contacted the Minnesota chapter of the Mayflower Society in January 2003, our family lineage was documented through to the fifth generation.  Even though we had distant relatives in Illinois that were members (10th, 11th, & 12th Generations), but the General Society expected us to get our own documentation.  When we first sent for an application we found out that mom’s 1st cousin Beth Kaler had sent for an application the year before.  Thankfully we now have the Internet to help with our searches, and we sure understand why mom did not go through with her application in the mid 1970’s.

 We descend from three men who came over on the Mayflower:

  • John Alden
  • William Mullens
  • Peter Browne

John Alden married Pricilla Mullens; who was the daughter of William and Alice Mullens.  Peter Browne’s grandson Joseph Snow married Hopestill Alden, the granddaughter of John Alden.  The Mayflower Society does our documentation through John Alden.

DOCUMENTATION

             The Mayflower Society has copies of what is known as the “Bonney Bible” or the Ellen Bonney Bidwell Bible.  Ellen (7th Generation) was the daughter of Jarius Bonney, and Jane Elkins.  The original Bible was supposed to be given to the Mayflower Society years ago, but it has since been lost.

             The major missing link was tying in the 5th Generation to the 8th Generation.  The documentation that best helped with this is the “Thomas Bonney Genealogy” book by Richard W. Bonney – on file at the Library of Congress.  This book is based on “The Bonney Family” by Charles L. Bonney.  You would need to supply the cover page, pages 1-50, and index to your state if they do not have this on file.  This genealogy documents:

                                     4th Generation                       Perez Bonney and Ruth Snow

                                    5th Generation                       Jarius Bonney and Ann Brown

                                    6th Generation                       Jarius Abijah Bonney/Irena Larned/Jane Elkins

                                    7th Generation                       Mary Bonney and Joseph Henry Kaler

             The Mayflower Society rates documentation from “C1 to C3”, with “C1” being the best. A “C1” would be birth, marriage, and death certificates.  They also like to see wills, probate records, or obituaries from newspaper archives.  Most of the previous documentation on the 5th, 6th, and 7th generations were considered to be “C3”.

6th Generation:  Jarius A. Bonney/ Irena Larned/Jane Elkins

-Best documentation is the “Thomas Bonney Book”

 -There is a family tree book called the “Spirit of Pioneers” (Bonney-Bolon/Heard-Millard Families) by L. A. Millard (Vancover).  Mr. Millard wrote about his search, and there is an interesting record of Jarius Bonney, and his second wife Jane’s wagon train migration west.  Not all the dates or names are accurate for our branch of the family tree.  The General Society does not accept written notes, unpublished books, family trees, or family trees off of the Internet to be used as documentation. 

 -The west coast branch of the Bonney’s have Jarius born in New York City, but all of the vital records indicate that he was born in Connecticut.  The Mayflower Society, Alden Kindred of America, and the”Thomas Bonney Genealogy” book all have his birthplace as Connecticut.

-The “Fulton County Illinois Heritage” book written for the 1987 Bicentennial of the Northwest Ordinance (Fulton County); and to observe the signing of the constitution; has several stories documenting our family’s histories.  Story number F73 documents Jarius Bonney (II), and members of his family, including Mary Bonney.

 For the descendants of Jarius Abijah Bonney (Kaler line):  How much American Indian do we have in us…well probably enough to start our own casino (per both Beth & another I met at a Mayflower dinner). The research is difficult because at that time it was not written down, and it was not considered acceptable to be Indian, and people would not claim their Indian heritage.  A cousin de Bolon Dege (Ella’s daughter) claims Native American status on her employment info.  De is convinced that Ella was Cherokee.

 So for those of us descended from the Bonney/Kaler line – we are:

British (Alden/Mullen/Brown), French Huguenot (Bonney/originally De-Bonnay),  German (Kaler), Wampanoag (Browne), Shawnee  & Cherokee.

  

7th Generation:  Mary Bonney & Joseph Henry Kaler

-Best documentation:  “Thomas Bonney Genealogy” book.

 

-The Illinois Historical Society records show that Mary Bonney died in the Illinois State Hospital  (Mental) in Jacksonville, Illinois.  There is only a record with her entry date, death date, and county.  She was buried on the hospital grounds – no marker.

 

-1987 “Fulton County Illinois Heritage” book:  F73,  F71 (Mary’s sister Louisa), F422 (Kaler-Bayless Family), and T26 (Mentions Mary’s children:  Henry, Joseph, and Sarah as members of the Howard Church, Cass Township in 1863).

 -I was able to find an 1850 Census showing Joseph, Mary, and their first three children.  This is now on file through the Minnesota Mayflower Chapter. 

1850 Census; Fulton Co., IL; Lewistown; line 178

Joseph Kaler age 27 Cooper 400PA

Mary Kaler    age 25 OH

Henry Kaler age 5 IL

Joseph Kaler age 3 IL                                  (Joseph Franklin Kaler)

William Kaler           age 8 mos. IL             (Note: Must be William Oscar Kaler)

 

-1860 Census; Deerfield Twp., Fulton Co., IL.; household #2823

Kaler, Joseph 37 PA Cooper $400

Henry                         16 IL.

Joseph                                    13 IL.

Oscar                          10 IL

Sarah                          9   IL.

Catherine                   63 PA.

 

Note:  Joseph’s mother Catherine must have moved in to help take care of the children, the census was taken six years after Mary went into the hospital, and 3 years after she died.

            Mary Bonney Kaler’s mother was Irena Larned (Learned).  Mary’s mother died when she was 5 years old.  According to the Illinois and Michigan branch of the family – Mary lived a very hard life, and it is believed that she died by suicide on Christmas Eve.  What has been learned is that Mary was held responsible for the death of her youngest child (5th), who died of consumption just before Mary went into the hospital.  Her mental state was reported as insane with the first episode in 1850.  The year of 1850 is when her husband Joseph Kaler decided to leave his family without any means of support, and go to California.  For the California GOLD RUSH!   He was gone for over a year.  Mary was left to care for her young children alone with no means of support.  According to one report she sometimes took the children to the home of family members who would give the children some bread, and butter before bedtime.  She may have also been pregnant; between 1850 and 1854 another child was born and died.  No grave has been found for the fifth child of Mary and Joseph.  Mary’s father Jarius died in Oregon in 1856, while Mary was in the hospital – it is believed that the loss of her father, and being separated from her children was extremely difficult for Mary.

 

            Joseph Henry Kaler died in 1904.  His parents were John Kaler, and Catherine Henry Kaler from Pennsylvania.  Joseph’s obituary stated that his parents moved to Fulton County when he was 18 years old.  His first marriage was to Mary Bonney. Five children were born to them.  Three were deceased.  The two living were Mrs. Sarah Johnson of St. Jo, Champaign Co., IL. And Joseph Kaler (Joseph Franklin) of Deerfield Township.  His second marriage was to Harriet Eliott, they had seven children.  In 1850 Joseph went with some men to California during the gold rush. They crossed the plains with ox teams, walking the entire distance.  He spent one year there, returning home via the Pacific Ocean, and crossing the Isthmus of Panama.  He ended up at Boston Harbor, and walked back to Fulton County, Illinois.

 

            On Mary and Joseph’s marriage certificate the name is misspelled as Keeler in one place, and in another place as Kaler.  (Some branches of the family go by Keeler)

  

8th Generation:  Joseph Franklin Kaler & Nancy Paulina Bayless

-There are no existing birth or death certificates for Joseph.  The Minnesota chapter was sent a picture of his gravesite, supplied to us from Illinois relatives.

 http://www.illinoisancestors.org/fulton/family_histories/bonneygedcom/bonney_data.html

 For additional information on this site please visit the:  Bayless, Goodell, Helle & Kaler family histories web pages in the Family History Section.

 -Documentation came from “Jesse Braman and Nancy Ward” by Thelma A. Rockwell of San Jose, California (1973).  Nancy was the daughter of Lodema Braman (1805-1895) and Joseph Bayless(1812-1848), and the granddaughter of Jesse Braman (1782-1839) and Nancy Ward (1783-1859).

 -Joseph and Nancy had seven children:  Henry Oscar, Mary Alice, Charles Franklin, Ida Lodema, Joseph William, Nellie Paulina, and Bertha Ethel.

____________________________________

             You will notice that some people record the Jarius Bonney’s as I & II or Sr. & Jr.,

same with the Joseph Kaler’s.  The vital records do not indicate this – it seems to be a way of keeping track of who is who.  Many of our ancestors went by their middle names, which makes documentation difficult.  For instance Joseph Franklin Kaler’s son:  Joseph William Kaler was known as Willy or Bill.  Mary Bonney Kaler’s third son was listed in a census when he was about 8 months old as William, and ten years later he is listed in the next census as Oscar.  We assume that his full name was William Oscar Kaler. 

 

            The earlier families moved west across the UNITED STATES, and especially once people migrated across the Mississippi river – the less documentation is available. 

Many did not have any education, which is why we often see names in the same family misspelled or spelled differently, and in some cases the names were “Americanized” on birth certificates.  Nicknames have also made documentation difficult.  For instance Jarius and Irena Bonney’s daughter Lydia Louise Bonney (7th Gen.) is listed by the west coast branch of the family as Lizzie Louise Bonney.  In some documents Kaler became Keeler for some branches of the family, and Aarvig became Arvig, Larned became Learned…and so on.

 

Relatives’ known to be members of the Mayflower Society:

(10th Generation)     Ella Kaler                  (State #1408/GS #33,507)

                                                                                                            (Henry O. Kaler/Joseph F. Kaler/Mary Bonney/Jarius

  1. Bonney/ Jarius Bonney/ Ruth Snow/James Snow/

Hopestill Alden/ Joseph Alden/John Alden)

 

(10th Generation)     Nellie Pauline Kaler (State#889/GS #22,202)

 

(11th Generation)     Mabel Alice Deakin Graham (Daughter of Nellie)

 

Relatives’ known to be members of the Alden Kindred of America:

(11th Generation)     Janice Arlene (Helle) {Law} Mills            (Arkansas)

                                                                                                            (Walter Helle/Ida Lodema Kaler/ Joseph F. Kaler…)

 Source Info

            Regarding the 1987 “Fulton County Illinois Heritage” book – the stories were indexed by story number not page number.  T=Topical Section, B=Business Section, and F=Family Section.  There were several stories that chronicled our descendants:

 

F17, F18, F19:  Ault Family:  Joseph W. Kaler’s (9th Gen.) wife Grace Craft came from the Aults. Her grandparents were Lebbeaus B. Ault, and Margaret Ann (Sexton) Ault.

 

F37:  Is about Lodema Braman Bayless – she is the mother of Nancy Bayless Kaler who married Joseph Franklin Kaler (8th Generation)

 

F70 & F72:  Bolon-Kaler Family:  Howard Bolon & Ella Kaler Bolon (10th Generation)

F71:  Bolon-Lasswell Family:  William Bolon married Louisa Bonney (7th Gen) daughter of  Jarius & Irena Bonney, and sister of Mary Bonney Kaler.

 

F73: Bonney Family:  Chronicles Jarius Bonney (II), his family, and mentions his daughter Mary Bonney Kaler (6th & 7th Generations).

F422:  Kaler-Bayless Family:  Mentions family from 6th to 9th Generations

 

T26:  Howard Church, Cass Township in 1863:  mentions three of Mary Bonney Kaler’s children as members.  Joseph F. Kaler, Henry Kaler, and Sarah Kaler.

__________________________________________________

Many thanks must be given to mom’s cousin Beth Kaler – who helped us with information. Beth is also doing a search of our American Indian roots.  Remember the family saying:  “Half came over on the Mayflower and the other half met them.”  It will be interesting to see what she finds out.  Through our Mayflower ancestor Peter Browne’s second wife – we have Wampanoag Indian in us.  Beth has also found out that we have Shawnee in us. Beth did some genetic testing, and the 11th generation is 1/8th Shawnee.  It sounds like this came through the Kaler branch of the family.  A cousin – De Bolon Dege – Ella’s daughter claims Native American status on her employment info.  She is convinced that Ella was Cherokee.  It is hard to track these records, because years ago it was not acceptable to be Indian, and people would not claim or deny their heritage.  Beth says we probably have enough Indian in us to start our own casino.

We also need to thank mom and Beth’s second cousin from Michigan – Sharon Bearce.  Sharon has been a great source, and she has put our family tree on the web.  It is in rootsweb.com under the database: ourfamily2003.  She has put a lot of work into this web site.   It is through her that we were able to find out so much information regarding Mary Bonney.

(We might have to check with Sharon to see if she has changed this data base

We sent the Mayflower historian reams of paper, but the Mayflower Society will continue to ask family members who are applying for membership for more documentation.  They are looking for U.S. censuses that tie the different generations together.  Such as Mary Bonney (7th) to her father Jarius Bonney (6th).  We were unable to find birth or death records for Mary Bonney.  She was probably born at home, and the Illinois branch of the family has been unable to get her death records.  They were sealed years ago, and might have been destroyed.  We have been unable to find a birth certificate for Joseph Henry Kaler (7th).  Also missing are the birth and death certificates for Joseph Franklin Kaler (8th), and the birth certificate for Grace Craft (9th) (Joseph W. Kaler’s wife).

Janice Arvig Stobbe’s application was submitted in July 2003 to the Mayflower General Society.  The Minnesota Mayflower Historian approved it on the state level on July 20th.  It takes 3+ months to find out if the GS approves her application.  When they do; the state will first assign Jan a Minnesota state number, and then it will go back to the GS to have them assign a GS number.  The Minnesota branch will wait to see if Jan’s application is approved before they accept any more additional applications from our family.

Janice Arvig Stobbe – 11th Generation (John Alden)

10th Generation (William Mullens) & 11th (Peter Brown)

             Jan was approved for a member on October 3, 2003, and her general society number was forwarded to us on October 28, 2003.

Jan’s State Number:  MN#1,042                 General Society Number:  GS#72,420

Janice Arvig Stobbe

January 22, 1938-November 15, 2014

We hope this information helps anyone who is interested in our family history, or in belonging to the Mayflower Society.

Lynne Stobbe

3056 Dakota Ave. So.                                                                       

St. Louis Park, Minnesota 55416                                       

(952)922-0893/(612)730-5413 Cell                                      

lynnestobbe@gmail.com                 

Mayflower  Society  Line

From  John  Alden

John Alden, born 1599-1687. In 1622 he married Pricilla Mullens, born 1602-1685.  John came from Harwich, Essex, England, and was hired to be the cooper maker for the Mayflower’s voyage in 1620.  Pricilla was born in Dorking, Surrey, England, and was the daughter of William & Alice Mullens.  William Mullins was a shoe & boot dealer, William, Alice, & their son, Joseph, died in the new world the first year.  John and Pricilla lived in Plymouth until the 1630’s, when they helped found the neighboring town of Duxbury.  They both died in Duxbury.

In the autumn of 1621 for the Wampanoag it was “Keepunumuk” – 

The time of harvest.  In a small colony on the edge of the sea

More than 90 Wampanoag men shared their food with 52 English people.

 

Joseph Alden (1g), born 1627, married Mary Simmons in 1659.  Joseph Moved to Bridgewater – where he was a farmer on land purchased earlier from the Indians by his father & Myles Standish.

Hopestill Alden (2g), born August 1667/1668 at Duxbury Massachusetts, died at Bridgewater, MA. about 18 Dec 1753. Married Joseph Snow about 1689 in Bridgewater, MA.  Joseph born about 1664, died 18 Dec. 1753.  Joseph Snow is the son of William Snow and Rebecca Browne.  Grandson of Peter Browne  who came over on the Mayflower.  About 1630 Peter Browne  married his second wife – Mary, and the mother of Rebecca Browne, who was an Indian princess of the Wampanoag Indian Tribe.  Peter Browne,  John  Alden, and William Mullins were all signers of the Mayflower Compact on 11 November 1620 on board the Mayflower while it was anchored in Provincetown Harbor. 

James Snow (3g), born August 16, 1693 at Bridgewater, MA., died at Bridgewater MA. About 19 March 1760. Married on 17 Jan. 1718 to Ruth Shaw, born 25 Jan. 1698 at Bridgewater, MA.  Ruth Shaw’s great-grandfather Abraham Shaw founded Dedham, Massachusetts.

Ruth Snow (4g), born May 12, 1720 in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.  Ruth died June 4, 1789 at Goshen, Connecticut.  Married Perez Bonney, April 20, 1739 at Plymouth MA. Perez born 10 march 1709 at Pembroke, MA., died 9 May 1792 at Cornwall, Ct.

Perez Bonney is the son of John Bonney (1664-1745) and Elizabeth Bishop (1673-1732).  Perez is the grandson of Thomas Bonney born in England about 1604, and who came from Sandwich, England to Duxbury, Massachusetts on the Hercules  in 1634.  The Bonney’s descended from the French Huguenots, originally DeBonnay – the first of the name being Arnold, Lord of Bonney, Knight, who married Jane de Saulzy in 1263.

After four generations born in America of the descendants  of 

John  &  Pricilla  Alden, 

and 156 years  after  they  arrived  On  the  Mayflower –

The  “Declaration  of  Independence” was signed in Congress on 4th of July 1776

Jarius Bonney (5g), born February 14, 1747 in Pembroke, Massachusetts. Jarius died about 1826 in Ohio.  Married Ann Brown in Brunswick, Maine on December 9, 1780. Ann Brown born in 1751 in Brunswick Maine, died in 1827.

Jarius and Ann’s daughter Lydia died along with her two daughters and their husbands on the ill-fated steamer the “Griffith” which burned in sight of Cleveland, Ohio in the 1840’s.  Two of their sons Jarius, and Truman migrated westward on wagon trains.

Jarius Abijah Bonney (6g), born October 14, 1793 in Litchfield County, Connecticut. He first married Irena Larned, January 31, 1814.  Irena was born 13 May 1787 in New Hampshire; Died 20 June 1827 in Conneaut, OH.  Irena Larned Bonney’s father was Abijah Larned who fought in the Revolutionary War.  Jarius’s second marriage was to Jane Elkins, May 17, 1830 in Erie County, Pennsylvania.  In 1836 migrated from Ohio to Illinois. Jarius was 52 in1845 when they migrated to California.  Intended on going to Oregon on the Barlow/Welch wagon train, but switched to the Greenwood train to Sutters Fort, California.  Arrived at California in the fall, migrated to Oregon in the spring of 1846.  Jarius’s first five children are with Irena Larned.  Ellen Francisco Bonney was born at Sutters Fort, and was the first child born in California of parents who were American citizens. Jarius Bonney took his family to Oregon because the Republic of Mexico wanted them to give up their American citizenship to stay.  Jarius died 16 April/May 1856 in Marion County, Oregon.  Jarius had over 100 grandchildren.

Mary Bonney (7g), born September 11, 1822 in Conneaut, Ohio, died at Jacksonville, Illinois State Hospital, on 24 Dec. 1857.   Married Joseph Henry Kaler Sr. on 25 Jan. 1844 on Fulton Co. Ill.  Joseph, born 16 April 1821 at Crawford Co., Penn., died 2 Jan. 1904 in Deerfield, Ill.  Mary Bonney & Joseph Kaler had 5 children; Joseph Kaler had a second marriage in 1862 to Harriet Sutton. They had 7 Children.  Joseph Kaler was the son of John Kaler (1791 PA-1858 ILL) and Catherine Henry Kaler (1796 PA-1871 ILL).

Joseph Franklin Kaler (8g), born December 14, 1846 in Lewiston, Fulton Cty., Illinois, died 4 Feb. 1923 in Fulton Co., Illinois.  Married Nancy Paulina Bayless, born November 20, 1844.  Married on January 5, 1868.  Nancy died May 29, 1935   in Fulton Co. ILL.  Nancy had a twin sister Mary, and were daughters of Lodema Braman (1805-1895) and Joseph Bayless (1812-1848), and the granddaughter of Jesse Bramam (1782-1839) and Nancy Ward (1783-1859).  Joseph and Nancy farmed by her parents in Cass Township, near Lost Grove Creek.  They had seven children, and 61 grand- children.  All seven of their children attended Henderson School, which their grandmother Lodema started in 1849.  Five generations of Lodema’s descendants attended this school. 

Joseph William Kaler (9g), born November 6, 1880, Fulton County, Illinois. Died September 30, 1974 in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Married February 11, 1906 to Grace Craft, born January 3, 1888, Stuttgart, Arkansas, died January 20, 1967.  Grace was the daughter of Charles Bailey Craft (1857-1941) and Rachel Ann Ault (Anna 1863-1953), and the granddaughter of Lebbeus Bigelow Ault (1821-1857) and Margart Ann Sexton (1841-1917). Joseph(Bill/Willy) and Grace lived on a farm near Smithfield, Fulton County, Illinois.  In 1914 Bill, and his brother Charlie boarded their families on an immigrant train bound west.  Charlie road the immigrant car with their cattle.  They farmed in Staples, Minnesota until 1924, always keeping large herds of dairy cattle.  Bill decided to move his family to the Ozarks in the fall of 1924.  He bought his first automobile, a model T, and moved his family to a farm near West Plains, MO.  In the early 1930’s Bill moved back and settled on a farm near Motley, Minnesota.  Bill and Grace went from horse and buggies to their first plane ride by jet to California in 1965.

 

Helen Marie Kaler (10g), born March 24, 1914 in Fulton County, Illinois.  Married January 23, 1937 in Staples, Minnesota to Orville Stanley Arvig, born May 6, 1912 in Dodge County, Minnesota.  Helen died August 6, 2014.  Orville died October 18, 1975 in Rochester, Minnesota.   Helen worked at 3M until she retired.  Orville was an electrician at Armor & Company.  Helen and Orv raised their children on Tanners Lake in Oakdale, Minnesota.  Orville was the son of Burton Aarvig (1873-1923) who married on 31 August 1898 to Isabel Elizabeth Johnson (1879-1933).  Both Burton & Elizabeth are buried at Claremont Street Cemetery, Minnesota.   Burton Aarvig was the son of Ole H. Aarvig (1847-  ), and Rachel Nygaard.  Ole was born at a small farm called “Skogen” (now “Bjoerkelund”), district of Aarvig (Aarvik, now Arvik), Trysvaer, Rogaland County, Norway.  Ole was one of nine brothers and sisters who immigrated to the USA, and two of them returned to Norway.  Isabelle was the daughter of Ole Sondenaa Johnson (1846-1893) and Enger Christine Tysver Johnson (1847-1926).  Ole H. Aarvig was the son of Ole Olsen Arvig & Britta Knutsdatter.