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- [S23] article, Brooklyn Eagle, Brooklyn, Kings, NY,,, 11 July 1902. p. 7.
See main entry under Bessie Bonehill.
- [S1346] Richard Bonehill, "," e-mail message from [e-mail for private use] ([street address for private use], St.Ives , Cornwall, TR26 1RJ. United Kingdom), to , ., Bessie Bonehill of Sayville, Long Island, NY & William Seeley, her husband; EMail; 4 January 2010; John Deitz.
It was a real pleasure to receive your email . It is always good to hear from someone with a mutual interest. You will be pleased to hear that I can confirm much of your information , correct a little and hopefully add a little. All my familystory information is based on documentation.
Firstly I can confirm that William R Seeley was the second husband of Bessie Bonehill . When I first started researching Bessie I was rather confused because of the use of stage names and nicknames but I was eventually able to establish the trh. William R Seeley was the stage name of William Robert Smith and Bessie Bonehill was the name used by Betsey Bonehill (Christened Betsey not Elizabeth) and buried as Betsey Smith otherwise Bessie Bonehill.
The basic details are as follows ;
Elias Bonehill m Rebecca Rodway 1846
They had five children including Betsey Bonehill b 17 February 1855 West Bromwich.
Betsey married Louis William Abrahams 20 September 1877 Shoreditch.
They had three children ; Selina Abrahams 1878 ( aka Lena Hilbon)
Michael Elias Abrahams 1880 (aka Jack West)
Marion Rebecca Bessie Abrahams 1881 (aka Dappa Grey)
In 14 September 1890 Betsey married William Robert Smith in Saint Pauls Episcopal Church , Buffalo , Erie , New York.
They had one child ; William Smith b about 1891
Other information ;
Bessie Bonehill died 21 August 1902 in Portsmouth , England and was buried as Betsey Smith otherwise Bessie Bonehill . I can confirm that the double act Seeley and West comprised of William Robert Smith and Michael Elias Abrahams (please seetograph attached)
I have been researching the Bonehill family history (when time allows) for the past thirty years and have a great deal of information but I hope the above is of interest . To date I have been able to trace my family back to 1650 . In 2003 I puished a book entitled ‘England's Gem’ (now out of print ) the story of Bessie Bonehill. Following additional research I hope to finish the ‘all dancing and singing’ 2nd Edition this year . This research took me to Sayville , New York and Washington in 2006 . The trip proved to be very useful which included a trip to The Smithsonian Institute who have a couple of Bessie's stage costumes .
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