Henry Butler Bonta, 1846-1934.  Susan Semones Bonta, 1847-1934.  Bethel Cumberland Presbyterian Cemetery, Mercer County, Kentucky.

The Harrodsburg Herald, Mercer County, Kentucky

Friday, May 11, 1934

Funeral services for Henry Butler Bonta, 87, retired Washington county farmer, were held at 2 o’clock Friday afternoon at Bethel Presbyterian church with burial in Bethel cemetery. Mr. Bonta died Thursday morning, May 3, 1934, at his home in Mount Zion after an illness of two weeks.

Mr. Bonta, born near the Perryville Battlefield, carried water for officers and wounded men and assisted in burying the hundreds of soldiers slain in the historic battle there.

On June 11, 1871, Mr. Bonta was united in marriage with Miss Susan Semones of Bethel, Mercer County, which union was blessed with six daughters. Mrs. Bonta celebrated her eighty-seventh birthday anniversary on March 31. She had been confined to her home for several months by illness and survives him. Daughters surviving are Mrs. S. H. Bishop and Mrs. J. S. Moran, Lawrenceburg; Mrs. George Tewmey and Mrs. Vallas Pinkston, Mt. Zion; Mrs. Harvey Glasscock, Shelbyville, and Mrs. William Hatfield, Louisville. He was the last member of a family of seven children.

During the sixty-three years of the Bonta’s married life there had not been a death in the immediate family, his death being the first break in the blood line. Of the six daughters, sixteen grand-children and five great-grandchildren were born, all living, a record believed without parallel in the state.

Mr. Bonta was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church at Bethel, Mercer county. He had been engaged in farming all his life, having lived at his late home during the past thirty-four years.

Mr. Bonta was a great-uncle of Arthur Bonta, College street, and an uncle of Mrs. Roy Tewmey, Chiles street.

The Harrodsburg Herald, Mercer County, Kentucky

Friday, June 8, 1934

Mrs. Susan Semones Bonta, 87, widow of Henry Butler Bonta, retired Washington county farmer, died at 7:50 o’clock Sunday night, June 3, 1934, at her home at Mt. Zion, Washington county. She had been ill a year.

Funeral services were conducted at 11 o’clock Tuesday morning at Bethel Cumberland Presbyterian church by Rev. G. W. Hoffman, Mt. Zion, and Rev. J. R. McAfee, Springfield. Burial was in the church cemetery beside her husband who died a month ago at the age of 87.

The daughter of William and Avarilla Semones, Mrs. Bonta was born near Bethel, Mercer county and lived there until her marriage June 11, 1871. She was a member of the Bethel church and had been living in the house where she died for the last 34 years. Her ancestral home was within a short distance of the famous Perryville Battlefield and she was intimately acquainted with the history of the War Between the States.

Until her husband died, there had not been a death in their immediate family during their married life of 63 years. She is survived by six daughters, Mrs. S. H. Bishop and Mrs. J. S. Moran, Springfield; Mrs. William Hatfield, Louisville; Mrs. Harvey Glasscock, Shelbyville, and Mrs. George Tewmey and Mrs. Vallas Pinkston, Mt. Zion. A brother, Garret Semones, Mercer county; 16 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren also survive.