Paul Norval Bonin was born on September 2, 1814 in Fausse Pointe, Iberia Parish, Louisiana to Joseph Baron Bonin and Euphrosine Louise (Borel) Bonin. Norval married Marie Coralie Hayes in Louisiana in 1835, and in 1852, the Bonins moved with several of their children and approximately fifty other French families to North Harris County, Texas. Bonin purchased 1253 acres, including this site, for $1250 in 1857. The Bonin family’s property was located at the heart of the area’s French settlement, and families such as Leleux, Melancon, and Pevateaux were neighbors. A 500-acre parcel was sold to Norval’s son-in-law Leon Leleux in 1859. Those buried here are descendants of Norval and Coralie Bonin and their spouses and in-laws. The earliest known grave marker in the cemetery states that Ofelait Bonin, three-year-old daughter of Joseph Telesphore Bonin and Marie Gertrude (Arceneaux) Bonin, died on September 9, 1865. Norval Bonin died in November 1868 and his wife, Coralie, died in February 1871; both were buried here. After the deaths of Norval and Coralie, the remaining family property passed to the five Bonin sons who survived their parents – Telesphore, Oneziphore, Zepherin, Ernst Adness and Alcide – and each received approximately 150 acres to farm. In 1987, Vernon Roland and Freddie Brill, together with other Bonin descendants, formed the Bonin Cemetery Association to oversee care and preservation of the site. The Bonin family cemetery remains active, and descendants meet each April to remember and honor their ancestors.
Bonin Family Cemetery
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Bonin Family Cemetery is a historical marker in Houston, Harris County, dedicated in 2010. It is one of 422 historical markers documented in Harris County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 849 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 30.1067, -95.5093 near Houston. The nearest cataloged historic site is Huckabee (cemetery), about 2.2 miles away. Others within a short drive include Willowcreek, Klein Memorial (Tomball), and Zion Lutheran Cemetery.
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507016747. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
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