born 1894 — Born April 1894 (Lowell Sun, 14 April 1894); death date not yet established.
Also recorded as: Bonney L. Dunbar; Mrs. Philip R. Dunbar; Bonney Lilley Dunbar.
Bonney’s granddaughter and heir, married at the house in 1917; the "Bonney L. Dunbar" who sold it in 1925.[sources]
Born three months before her mother died, Clara Bonney Lilley was raised in the house by her father. She attended Rogers Hall in Lowell and graduated from Wellesley College in 1915. Her wedding to the Boston lawyer Philip R. Dunbar was held at home in June 1917.
Four years later her father died. In 1925, as "Bonney L. Dunbar, wife of Philip R. Dunbar, of Newton", she conveyed the estate to Charles Brooks Stevens — ending the family’s thirty-eight years on the hill. Earlier compilations confused her with her mother or called her Lilley’s sister; the wedding notice and the deed settle the identity.
Three months after the birth of her daughter, Clara dies at her home on Sherman Street "after a long and painful illness". The funeral is held from her father’s house on Fairmount Street. The Sun called her "sympathetic and generous to a rare degree".[source]
DocumentedClara (Bonney) LilleyClara Bonney (Lilley) Dunbar
What is uncertain: The cause of death given in modern accounts (pyaemia, a form of sepsis) has not yet been checked against the certificate.
The city’s published tax lists show Charles S. Lilley at 236 Fairmount Street and the property assessed to Bonney’s heirs — the judge living in a house held for his daughter.[source]
AttributedCharles Sumner LilleyClara Bonney (Lilley) Dunbar
What is uncertain: Read from newspaper tax columns; the probate and deed chain for 1896–1925 has not yet been pulled.
Bonney’s granddaughter, a Wellesley graduate of 1915, marries a Boston lawyer "at the home of the bride", given away by her father Judge Lilley. The house "was decorated in an artistic manner".[source]
"Bonney L. Dunbar, wife of Philip R. Dunbar, of Newton" conveys the property to Charles Brooks and Edith Ames Stevens of Tewksbury. Stevens was a textile manufacturer; whether the family ever lived here is not established.[sources]
DocumentedClara Bonney (Lilley) DunbarCharles Brooks Stevens
Research notes for this profile: C-049, C-016, C-047. See Sources for the records behind each note.
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