Joel Bonar was born in 1814 to Charles Van Bonar and Charlotte Charity Pribble in Menzie Bottoms, Pendleton County, Kentucky. He married Elizabeth "Betsy" Pribble.
They had children:
Lucinda Samantha Bonar, born in 1848.
Jane Amilda Bonar
Ethelene Buckner Bonar
Margaret A "Maggie" Bonar
He was appointed US Postmaster of Wright's Station, Kentucky on October 4, 1859.
He died on August 2, 1864 in Menzie Bottoms, Pendleton County, Kentucky.