Good morning everyone! You might recall I told you I wasn't directly descended from any Bond family. But after I became interested in genealogy and began my family search and learned of the inspiring Bond link I couldn't seem to satisfy my thirst for more information on this family. When I was a small child I can remember hearing my Grandmother speak of her Bonds. These Bonds all lived in CA and I don't recall ever meeting any of them but in the 1960's my Mother did visit with them. I will begin with my Grandmother's Aunt who married John Luther Bond 14 Dec 1853 in Knightstown, Henry, IN. He married 14 Sept 1875 Dublin, Wayne, IN Sarah Suphronia "Phronia" Alger 10 Feb 1860 Trenton, Grundy, MO You might wonder how a young man from a small town in IN meet and marry a young girl from a small town in MO? It is a very interesting story. Phronia's parents, maternal grandparents and maternal gr-grandparents were following Joseph Smith(of Mormon fame). Her father was born in OH while the family and all the other Mormons were encamped at Kirtland, OH. While the group was in MO her father was serving with the Union Army during the Civil War. There were five children born previous to Phronia. When Phronia was two years old, her father was killed in battle at Chillicothe, Livingston, Mo. Three months after his death, another child was born. By this time Phronia's grandparents were in SLC, having followed Brigham Young and their now widowed daughter-in-law desired to follow them. I don't know why she made the decision not to take her two year old with her and her other children but that is what happened. Her husband's sister, Frances "Fanny" (Alger) Custer, along with her 8 yr old son, Lafayette F. Custer took the train to St Louis (family history states the train was pulled by cable across the Mississippi River. How they arrived at Trenton, I don't know) and brought the little two year old to live with her family. She was raised as a daughter/sister when actually she was niece/cousin. One of her new brothers, Benjamin Franklin Custer, is father of my grandmother, therefore my grandmother considered Phronia as her Aunt. Therefore Phronia and John Luther Bond's children are considered cousins. Phronia and Luther Bond had two sons Clyde 1877 and Wilson Claude 1879. About 1900 they ventured to CA. They might have spent time in St Louis where one or both might have met and married their spouses. In CA Clyde was a motorman for city railway and Claude spent 48 yrs as an engineer for the Santa Fe Railway. Clyde's only child, Lawrence, was born 1904 and Clyde's wife died in childbirth soon after. Lawrence died in 1936, no children. Clyde remarried 1920 but his wife died in 1922 no children Claude was the father of two daughters End of this Bond direct line. When Clyde's first wife died his parents traveled to CA to help take care of his son, On their way to CA they stopped in AZ to visit with Phronia's mother, whom she hadn't seen in 42 yrs! Her mother had remarried and had two more children. Her mother passed away soon after this visit. In letters that were written by Phronia to my grandmother, she mentions her younger sister, who was born in 1862 and her half-sister and half-brother and how they have all become very good friends in CA. These letters were very interesting and contained much family history. Thank you for reading about my Bond connection. Jo Kester kester@saber.udayton.edu