History: John Boone, Blind Musician Index

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John Bonn (Boone), The Blind Musician

NOTE: Readers will note that in quoting several articles from local newspapers, the surname name is stated differently in the articles. The name Boone over the years apparently became Americanized which was common for immigrants to assimilate quickly into the lifestyle of their new country.

Erma writes: When I was given a box of family pictures of the Bonn family, I found one that reminded me of a story that was told to me years ago by the late Florence Proenneke. Her mother was Laura Bonn and she married William Proenneke. Laura had two uncles who were blind musicians. John and Michael were sons of George Bonn who homesteaded near Primrose where Jerry and Janet McCarty now live. In the 1860 census, John was 26 years old and living in West Point. He was a music teacher, probably in the Catholic school. His housekeeper was Barbara Benjamin and her family was also members of the French settlement.

John never married. Although he was born handicapped, he shared his God-given musical gift with others and played the organ in the Catholic Church in Farmington for years. In searching for information on him, I found a small clipping from an old paper (source unknown). The article reads: “Blind Boone and his company gave a concert at the Whitely Opera House Thursday evening to a fair-sized audience. This great musician is a general favorite and is a wonderful man in many respects, especially his memory. In the latter part of the concert he always gives an opportunity for any person to play a selection which he will copy, no matter how difficult it may be. In the Bonaparte concert, Miss Chaminade Blackford, 10 years old, was requested to play for him. She promptly and nicely rendered a little classical selection. Boone copied it and then stated that the selection was difficult and he said she had played well. Bone, being somewhat of a vocalist himself was assisted by Miss Emma Smith and Jessie Brosius in solos, duets and trios.

Two other articles were found in the Ft. Madison Weekly Democrat dated Wednesday April 23, 1884. Following are excerpts from the two articles: “John Bonn a month ago fell victim to a throat disease and by death through starvation, departed this life…. His sufferings and trials were great, and by the will of the High Ruler he had always been deprived of his eyesight…. He was a member of the Catholic Church of which he remained a consistent member until his death. His remains were interred in the West Point Cemetery (Calvary), April 10th….”

The other article compared Boone to Blind Tom stating that he “was recognized as an equal to Blind Tom, if not superior…. He has displayed his talent before crowded houses and won the peoples’ approbation. And now he has left for a larger stage where all is music and all are artists.”

Next month: In this story, John Bonn was compared to Blind Tom. So who was Blind Tom? Tune in next month to read the story of his “equal” as a musician.

 

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