Rev. Malachiah Bonham, I

Reverend Malachiah Bonham was born about 1713 at Maidenhead, Hunterdon County, (now Lawrence, Mercer County) New Jersey. He was the son of Hezekiah Bonham and his second wife.

His first wife may have been Jemima or Deborah Harker (Harken). His children with his first wife included:

Zerviah Bonham, 

Daniel Bonham and 

Absalom Bonham (1739, married Jemima Harker). 

His first wife may have died in childbirth when Absalom was born.

In 1741 he was listed as a freeholder in Hunterdon County, resident in Maidenhead Township.

Malachia married again on July 19, 1751. Some reseachers including Olive Barrick Rowland and Ora Eugene Monnette, believe his second wife was the widow, Hannah Buckingham Heath. Her parents were John Buckingham and Hannah Brunsden. John and Hannah were active Baptists. Hannah Buckingham's first husband was John Heath. John Heath died in 1748. His will was written in 1747 in New Castle County, Delaware. It named his wife, Hannah, and daughter, Elizabeth.

Malachiah was brought up as a Seventh Day Baptist, but changed his opinion and became active in the Hopewell Baptist Church. He joined the Heights Town (Hightstown) church before becoming a member of the Kingwood Baptist Church where he was ordained pastor in 1749. Baptists did not recognize formal clergy so he had no more authority than other lay leader. He was also involved in the organization of the Rocksberry (Roxbury) Baptist Church in nearby Morris County.

In 1752, Malachiah sold a farm in Maidenhead to John Johnson, Sr., in 1752 which was the property settled by his father, Hezekiah Bonham, Sr. It would be unlikely that he as a younger son inherited his father's property. Malachiah's older brothers were in debt and involved in the Coxe lawsuit at the time of their father's death. The family may have conved the property to Malachiah to avoid estate complications.

An adultery scandal caused Malakiah to be excluded from the church. On February 3, 1757 twelve jurors ruled that

Malakiah Bonham. . . Yeoman, being a married man, on the first day of April in the 29th year of the Reign of our Now Sovereign Lord King George the Second at Kingwood . . . with one Mary Fox spinster then and there Adultery did commit. . . ." [Supreme Court Cases, Box 371 #20473, New Jersey Archives cited by Marfy Goodspeed].

Mary Fox was the daughter of George and Mary Fox. Malachai had been a witnesses to George Fox’s Will in 1754. Malachiah Bonham, Jr., being the son of Mary Fox.

In 1761, the church minutes noted,

Mr. Bonham cut off from privileges," and later that year, “Mr. Bonham appeared to express his desire for his place in the church which was denied him.

The final reference to Bonham appeared in the minutes from September 5th, “Mr. Bonham continued to be denied place in the church." Hannah Bonham requested and was given a letter of dismission. Hannah Buckingham Heath Bonham made a will in October of 1767, which was probated eleven years later, identifying her as the widow of Malachiah Bonham, Sr., and further indicating that they had no children

He was involved in the settlement of the estate of John Everitt in June, 1761.

He advertised his farm for sale in 1763 and 1764 and sold it at auction in 1765.

Records indicate that he was resident in Kingwood Township in 1776 and afterward.

He died in 1789 in Hunterdon County when he was seventy-six.

A freeholder is the owner of a freehold estate which is an interest in land that is not fixed by a specified period of time, but which may last during the lifetime of a person.

Children of Hezekiah Bonham:

•Mary Bonham •Samuel Bonham •Hannah Bonham Stout •Sarah Bonham Runyan •Hezekiah Bonham •Nehemiah Bonham •Zachariah Bonham •Zedekiah Bonham •Amariah Bonham •Temperance Bonham Ayres •Amaziah Bonham •Malachiah Bonham •Jeremiah Bonham •Ephriam Bonham •Josiah Bonham •Zephaniah Bonham •Uriah Bonham •Obadiah Bonham

* Residence: at the birth of his bastard, barred from church - 1757

• Residence: continues to be barred from church - 1761
  • Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Sep 23 2016, 15:09:29 UTC

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GEDCOM Note

Pastor of the Baptist Church in Hunterdon Co., New Jersey, from 1749 until 1763. Was living in Maryland during the Revolution but served with the N.J. troops. The Bonham Family by Samuel Jeremiah Bonham page 27.

• Residence: Locktown, Hunterdon, New Jersey, British Colonial America - 1757
  • Reference: FamilySearch Genealogy - SmartCopy: May 3 2021, 3:58:44 UTC