William Hartshorn Bonsall

William Hartshorn Bonsall (February 10, 1846 – July 20, 1905) was an American military man, newspaper and magazine publisher, real-estate investor and insurance adjuster who was the effective manager of the California Veterans home in the 19th century and was a president of the Los Angeles City Council in the 20th.

Early life Bonsall was born on February 10, 1846, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Samuel Bonsall and Mary Mills. He went to school in Cincinnati and Ironton, Ohio.

In 1887 Bonsall was an investor in the Centinela Land Company, headed by developer Daniel Freeman, and the Redondo Beach Company, as well as the Anaheim Street Car Company, with Wiesendanger.

Public service

Veterans Home During the Republican president William McKinley's administration, Bonsall was appointed a member of the Board of Managers of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. Because he lived in Los Angeles County, the veterans home there came under his control as the effective local manager. He served for six years before resigning, his post being filled by former California Governor Henry Markham of Pasadena.

As a board member, Bonsall made trips to the East on business. He was in Buffalo, New York, the day President McKinley died, and with other board members he attended the funeral ceremonies in Washington, D.C., and Canton, Ohio.

He left the board in 1904, with this statement:

This Soldiers' Home business takes up a great deal of time. There is no salary nor other monetary compensation in it, and I think some other gentleman should have a chance to secure the honor for the next few years. I want to add that I cannot forget how gracefully ex-Gov. Markham acted six years ago, when he withdrew in my favor; and as his name is now mentioned among those of other distinguished gentlemen, I think it is a graceful thing in me to withdraw in his favor.

Other

In September 1890, Bonsall was chairman of the city's Board of Public Works, and in July 1891 he was temporary secretary of the Los Angeles County Highway and Forestry Association, which was working to establish and maintain "credible highways" in the county. In December 1892, he served as acting Mayor of Los Angeles for a week.

Personal life Bonsall was married on October 2, 1871, in Portsmouth, Ohio, to Ellen Doddridge McFarland of Los Angeles. They had five children, Samuel N., Albert M., Jennie (Mrs. Thomas P. Newton), Elisa (Mrs. Samuel M. Haskins) and Bessie (Mrs. Ernest C. Hamilton). at the age of 59. He had complained of a heart ailment ten days previously, and been ill all that time. Besides his wife and children, he was survived by two brothers and three sisters – Charles and Edward Bonsall of Ohio and Mrs. Morenci of Los Angeles and Mrs. William Higgins and Mrs. B.F. Richardson of Ohio.

Although Bonsall was a member of the Christian Science Church at the time of his death, Some three hundred veterans were brought by private railroad car via the Los Angeles-Pacific Electric Company from the Sawtelle depot to attend.

Legacy Bonsall's family home on West Adams Boulevard, by then in decrepit condition, was rescued from demolition in 1980. At least one developer wanted to raze the building, which by 1980 had been divided into cheap apartments, and construct low-cost, government-subsidized public housing. The deal, however, fell through, and the building remains a multiple-family structure.

Bonsallo Avenue was named for him. He lived less than a mile from the street's northern segment (near the corner of West Adams Blvd and Vermont Avenue).

Another street, Bonsall Avenue, on the campus of the West Los Angeles Medical Center, was also named in his honor.

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