THE BONNIWELL FAMILY

The English Bonniwell family took a circuitous route to Mequon. They left England in the early 1830s and migrated first—briefly—to Lower Canada (Quebec), then lived several years in various parts of New York state, and finally moved, as a large, extended family, to Wisconsin Territory. They arrived in Milwaukee in 1839, met Peter Turck, and followed his advice to settle in Mequon. 

The adult members of the family all bought land near the Clark House; the area quickly became known as the Bonniwell Settlement. Many members of the family were active in the development of the local community and the surrounding Washington (later Ozaukee) county, none more so than William T. Bonniwell, Jr.