Josephine Bonniwell Lyerly (1879–1964)

Josephine Bonniwell Lyerly

Josephine Bonniwell was born on the eleventh of February 1879, in Catawba County, North Carolina. Her father, George Capes Bonniwell (1837-1912), manufacturer, builder, architect, New York native and a graduate in architecture of Cooper Institute of New York (now Cooper Union). By 1880 Bonniwell was living in Lovelady, North Carolina, near the Western North Carolina Railroad town of Hickory. He was listed in that year’s census as a millwright and head of a household that included his second wife Catherine (Kate) Snedeker and four children. The two older children had been born in New York, while the two youngest, daughters Norma (aged 3) and Josephine (aged 1) were born in North Carolina.

In 1877 Bonniwell co-founded the Hickory Hub and Wheel Works that soon grew to build full wagons., leading Bonniwell in 1882 to change the name to Piedmont Wagon Company which became one of Hickory’s leading industries at that time. In 1881 he had also added the Hickory Manufacturing Company which produced sash, blinds, doors, trim, and other building materials, and it soon went into construction. The October 11, 1884 State Chronicle (out of Raleigh NC) reported that he was the superintendent and “architect” of this company, which did all kinds of building work.

An especially intriguing aspect of the family was the involvement of Kate and George’s daughters, Norma and Josephine, in the family building business — an unusual situation for the time. And, that the Bonniwell daughters had their father’s support and promotion is all the more interesting. George Bonniwell trained three of his children in architecture, not just his son James Gaither but also his daughters Norma and Josephine. According to family history, Norma (1877-1961) and Josephine attended Claremont Female College in Hickory. Norma and Josephine both worked in conjunction with their father, although Josephine is thought by the family to have been more of an artist than an architect. According to the family, as one example, Norma and Josephine together did design work for the First Presbyterian Church in Hickory. George often advertised the firm as “Bonniwell and Daughter.”

Although their architectural careers were brief, with both of them discontinuing that work after marriage, Norma and Josephine Bonniwell were among the first North Carolina women to pursue the profession of architect. (There may have been other women practicing architects at the time, but if so, they have not been discovered.) Norma Bonniwell was identified as an architect for several building in the 1890s and worked briefly in Raleigh in an architectural office along with her sister Josephine.

In 1903 Josephine married Eubert Lyerly, a prominent businessman who ran a hosiery mill in Hickory and had family there. She lived in Hickory for the rest of her long life, leaving generations of family in the community.

According to Josephine’s descendants, the Craftsman style Lyerly House (1912) in Hickory was designed by George Bonniwell and his son James Gaither, and was built for Josephine and Eubert Lyerly. Josephine is credited with painting the “Tree of Life” oak tree border in the home's dining room. The building remained in the family until 2004, when the Lyerly family arranged for the Historical Association of Catawba County to acquire the building for preservation.

Josephine played a significant supportive role in the founding of Hickory Museum of Art , earning the title of Honorary Vice President as listed on the museum’s 1951 letterhead Her husband was the mayor of Hickory, owner and president of Elliott Knitting Mills, and president of Clay Printing Company.

Josephine Bonniwell Lyerly died 11 Jan 1964 (aged 84) in Hickory, Catawba County, North Carolina, USA.

She is buried in Hickory’s Oakwood Cemetery in the Lyerly family plot.

Josephine and Eubert Lyerly’s daughter Josephine Lyerly Hambrick (1904-2003) 98 was born in Hickory where she lived her whole life.
A lifelong member of First Presbyterian Church of Hickory, she was, among a number of other involvements, an honorary trustee of the Hickory Museum of Art.  Among Hambrick’s granddaughters are Margaret H. Glaze who as Josephine Bonniwell Lyerly’s great-granddaughter was one of the memory contributors on the 2024  Women Behind HMA video.

References
George Capes Bonniwell biography by William B. Bushong, Angie Clifton. Contributor: Laura A. W. Phillips. Update: Catherine W. Bishir. From the North Carolina Architects and Builders Biographical Dictionary. Published 2009. https://ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu/people/P000141

Wood, Jeremy. "Harper House/Hickory History Center." Clio: Your Guide to History. December 1, 2019. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.theclio.com/entry/90198

Josephine Lyerly Hambrick obituary. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/charlotte/name/josephine-hambrick-obituary?id=15576471