Mildred A. Bonham

Mildred A. Bonham
"A Woman of the Century"
Born	Mildred Amanda Baker (1840-08-06)August 6, 1840 Magnolia, Illinois, U.S.
Died	July 28, 1907(1907-07-28) (aged 66) Salem, Oregon, U.S.
Pen name	Mizpah
Occupation	travel writer
Spouse	Judge Benjamin F. Bonham

Mildred A. Bonham (née Baker; known by her pen name Mizpah; August 6, 1840 – July 28, 1907) was a 19th-century American travel writer from Illinois. In 1858, she married Judge Benjamin F. Bonham, later removing to Calcutta where her descriptions in the letters she wrote to the Oregon Statesman were eagerly read and highly commended. Her vivid stories clearly portrayed the beauties of that city and the social relations of the people.^[1] Bonham did some work among the women of India, and succeeded in raising US$1,000 to found a scholarship for women in one of the schools in India.^[2]

Mildred Amanda Baker was born in Magnolia, Illinois, in August, 1840, her ancestors being from Virginia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. She was the eldest child of John Baker, an Oregon pioneer of 1847.^[1] Her parents removed to Oregon in 1847, settling in the Willamette Valley.^[3]

In 1858, she married Judge Benjamin F. Bonham, of Salem, Oregon. In 1885, Judge Bonham was appointed Consul-General to British India, and removed his family to Calcutta the same year.^[3] There were seven children from her marriage, only two of whom survived, Raphael P. Bonham, United States Immigration Inspector, stationed at Astoria, Oregon, and Mrs. Winona Larkins, of Salem.^[1][4]

Bonham always had a liking for literary work, but the cares of a large family and social duties gave her little leisure time, and it was not until her residence abroad that the opportunity came. During five years, her letters over the name " Mizpah" attracted much attention and were widely circulated by the Oregon and California press. Bonham had a gift of observing closely, and her descriptions of foreign scenes made a valuable addition to the knowledge of Anglo-Indian life and customs. Her letters from the Himalayas, Ceylon and other far-off places were considered the best. After returning to the United States, she gave several lectures on her experiences in the far East and life among the Zenanas.^[3]

Bonham died July 28, 1907, in Salem, one of the oldest pioneer residents of that city. Her papers are held in the Special Collections of the University of California, Santa Barbara.^[5]

• This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Hines, Harvey Kimball (1893). An Illustrated History of the State of Oregon: Containing a History of Oregon from the Earliest Period of Its Discovery to the Present Time, Together with Glimpses of Its Auspicious Future; Illustrations and Full-page Portraits of Some of Its Eminent Men and Biographical Mention of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Citizens of To-day (Public domain ed.). Lewis Publishing Company. p. 528. ISBN 9780665152344.
• This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Logan, Mrs. John A. (1912). "Bonham, Mildred A.". The Part Taken by Women in American History (Public domain ed.). Perry-Nalle publishing Company. p. 537.
• This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1897). "Bonham, Mildred A.". American Women: Fifteen Hundred Biographies with Over 1,400 Portraits : a Comprehensive Encyclopedia of the Lives and Achievements of American Women During the Nineteenth Century (Public domain ed.). Mast, Crowell & Kirkpatrick. p. 105.

• Works related to Woman of the Century/Mildred A. Bonham at Wikisource
• Works by or about Mildred A. Bonham at the Internet Archive