BIOGRAPHIES: John BONETT, Cumberland, Barron County, WI ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, or the legal representative of the contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Vic Gulickson 8 November 2000 ==================================================================== John Bonett, early homesteader, sawmill man and merchant of Cumberland, was born in Vermont, and was there educated and grew to manhood. As a young man he married Alice Lynaugh, also a native of that state. In the late sixties they came to Wisconsin, and settled near Baldwin in St. Croix County. In 1878 he came to Barron County, and homesteaded 80 acres in Section 8, Cumberland Township. Later he bought other tracts, so that at one time he owned some three hundred acres, all near Cumberland. He started in as a pioneer, and opened up a farm. Not long after his arrival he built a sawmill, which he operated for many years, twice rebuilding it when it burned down. He opened one of the earliest general stores in Cumberland Village, and conducted it for quite a while. When he first opened the store, he was compelled to haul his goods overland from Menomonie. Later, he brought them in from Rice Lake. Mr. Bonett was a man of many activities, and was one of the best known men in this vicinity. After a long and useful life, he died March 12, 1919. His wife died Jan. 14, 1918. They were the parents of six children: John L. is in Everett, Wash. Fannie is the wife of Horace Seward, of Bloomingdale, Wash. Charles lives in Superior, Wis. Edward lives in Spokane, Wash. Nathan lives in Idaho. Mary is the wife of Jude Van Valkenburg, of Everett, Wash. --Taken from: History of Barron Co., Wisconsin, H. C. Cooper, Jr., & Co., 1922, pg. 320.