Notes A birth registration was found for John William Bonwick; Year of Registration: 1894; Quarter of Registration: Oct-Nov-Dec; District: Romford; County: Essex; Volume: 4a; Page: 457.
In 1901, John Wm. Bonwick, 6 years of age, was residing at 40 St. Marys Road, Barking, Essex, England. Other family members included: Alexander Bonwick, 2; Annie E[lizabeth Soper] Bonwick, 26; Annie May Bonwick, 10 months; John A. Bonwick, 23 (age is incorrect--John Alexander Bonwick was born in 1868 and was actually 33), District Council (road) labourer; William J. Bonwick, 4; and a boarder, William R. Pryor, 34, general labourer. (Source: 1901 Census of England; Class: RG13; Piece: 1655; Folio: 80; Page: 36.)
A death registration was found for John Alexander Bonwick; Estimated Birth Year: abt 1868; Year of Registration: 1902; Quarter of Registration: Apr-May-Jun; Age at Death: 34; District: Romford; County: Essex; Volume: 4a; Page: 251. (EDITORS NOTE: An interesting side note was that Annie Elizabeth Bonwick married her boarder, William R. Pryor in 1903 in Romford, Essex, England.)
In 1905, the Kensington docked at Halifax, then Portland, where 269 boys, including John Bonwick, 10, and his brother, William James Bonwick, 8, disembarked. The original list was lost and a list prepared in 1934 appears on the reel.
In 1911, John Bonwick, 17, is shown as a servant / domestic for Joseph Armstrong and family in Tecumseth, Simcoe, Ontario, Canada. His date of birth was shown as November 1893 and his immigration year as 1905.
In March, 1917, John Bonwick, 21, attempted to enter the United States through Port Huron, Michigan, but was debarred from doing so. He declared that he was a farm labourer; that he resided in Perry Sound, Ontario, Canada; that his nearest relation in Canada was his brother, William, who resided in Collingwood, Ontario, Canada; that his final destination was Mt. Clemens, Michigan; that he was born in Barking, England. The landing information states "L.P.C." (Stands for "Likely Public Charge." The LPC exclusion was introduced to US immigration law in 1891 and was the most common cause of detention and grounds for exclusion/deportation. Immigrants were most likely considered a likely public charge if they had little money AND no family, friends, or prospects, OR if they were disabled in some way that would prevent them from earning their own living); and that he has chronic arthritis / rheumatism.