John was born in the village of Hipswell, near Richmond in the East Riding of Yorkshire. His surname is based on the local settlement and family seat: John of ‘Wycliffe’.
Andrew marked the beginnings of the Spirit's work with him in 1828, and he started a diary in that year to help him in his…
In 1839, Bonar accompanied his friend Robert Murray M'Cheyne on a mission to Palestine to inquire after the condition of Jews there.
Isabella died shortly after the birth of the Bonar's 6th child and 4th daughter.