|
a.
|
Note: ÙCbÙD
The Bond's in SmithburgÙC/bÙD
These stories of the family are told as Mona Bond related them to me in 1980.
"Grandpa Bond (Benjamin Franklin Bond) was a little man and not very heavy. I don't suppose he ever weighed more than 125 or 130 pounds. He was only about five feet four tall. But, he was sinewy. He had big like hands and big like feet and muscled arms and hands you know, and he could be a blacksmith real easy. He was a young man when the civil war came along, and of course he thought he would have to go. So he decided he would go to Wheeling . There were several fellows who went and enlisted, and he would have enlisted on the confederate side. On the way going up to Wheeling, he got to thinking, "I don't want to fight. I'm not mad at anybody. Why do I want to fight." So, some place along the way before they got to Wheeling, he just jumped off the train and came back home.
"In the mean time though, he did join the national guards and they were stationed in different spots around and I think that's how he got to Doddridge County to the railroad bridge. What he always called M. I. Junction (The railroad bridge across Buckeye Run near the head of Middle Island Creek). It ran east and west and the northern soldiers didn't want the bridge blown up so they could move their troops into West Virginia when they came over the mountains and the southern soldiers didn't want the northern troops to blow up the bridge because if they got a chance to move into the southern side, they wanted to move their troops over the same railroad trestle. So the Southern troops were on one end of the bridge, and the northern troops on the other end of the bridge, And Grandfather said, "We just had the best time you ever saw visiting back and forth. We weren't mad at each other at all." But, they didn't blow up the bridge; neither side blew up the bridge. It stayed there. I didn't think the northern troops came that far into West Virginia. That's why he didn't fight in the Civil War, like.
"Later he was married and established this blacksmith shop right beside on the mill stream (Buckeye Run) that ran into Middle Island Creek, and they established their blacksmith shop there because the Jones' had a gristmill right across the creek from the blacksmith shop. People would bring their grist into be ground. They would want their horses shod or they would want a new chain made for their wagon someplace of would want a new tire made, and he could make all those things. He would take the measurement of their wheel and have it ready for them the next time they came back and put it on their wagon for then - besides making horse shoes and shoeing the horses. Eventually if got so he could buy horseshoes. That was what did there. Along with, in the summertime it was a right popular spot for all or them to get refreshed with a glass of apple cider. He! He! He! (Mona laughed. I assumed it was well seasoned cider.)
"Grandmother Bond was full blooded German and spoke very brokenly. And they all liked to get there to eat their meal because they liked to eat with the old German lady. She always had a great big long table in their kitchen with their wood fire. They could put wood and coal together. It was always loaded with food of the very best kind, just everything, cakes and pies, she just always had everything, So she would serve their meals maybe for maybe a quarter, maybe not that much, I don't know. They would always pay her something for serving their meals and usually she just about had a table full, because there was a big family of them too. She had to cook a lot, several of the boys were smaller, and she had a lot of food to cook. She raised a lot of stuff in her own garden because she - it looked more like a flower garden then a vegetable garden, because it was laid out in
. Her onion bed was a lovely shaped square just like a flower bed would be laid out, with a path between each bed. I've helped sweep those paths. We kept them nice and clean. You didn't stub your toe on a clod of dirt or something when you was walking through there. It looked like a path that was well trod all the time, It really was, I guess most of the time. Then all along the fence she had her gooseberries and her currents and all kinds of herbs growing. She had something, I've forgotten what it was, she used to fix up when we Kids had colds and it was the nastiest stuff you ever tasted in your life, She knew enough about herbs and things like that for medical purposes, and that's the way she mostly doctored her children when they'd be sick, She'd do her own doctoring with her children.
"I remember one thing about her big old long kitchen. That on each side of the door there was this long necked gourd, and she had sugar in one of them. A great big gourd with a hole cut in it, One was her sugar gourd and the other was her salt gourd.
"Underneath the big old long house, two story big square rooms, heated with wood stoves, double porch, a porch clear across the second floor and a porch clear across the second floor and a porch clear across the bottom floor, underneath of all that was like a basement. It was really a three story house, could have been. (as viewed from the down hill side). The underneath part was her cellar part and she had her pickle barrel under there under there, which was a full size stayed barrel full of pickles. She always had her pickles. I really don't know how she would know I was down there in the pickle barrel if she was busy with something, I would like those salted pickles, She had them down in brine. She would soak them out and put them in vinegar. She had a huge big stone jar that she had the ones in vinegar ready to but on the table, But, I liked the brine ones pretty well, I guess. I had a stomach that got upset pretty easily and I'd go down there to select me a pickle, and Grandma would say, "Monie, what are you doing' down there in that pickle barrel." I never did know how she would know I'd be in that pickle barrel. I stayed with her so much of the time, you know.
On her upper porch she had a great big walking spinning wheel. She grew her own flax. She grew flax, and she'd spin the flax, spin the cotton, and sin the wool. We didn't grow cotton. The flax made the linen. Nearly everything she had was made out of linen, the table clothes and everything. With the wool she'd make cloth for the kids clothes. Before the flood we had Pop's picture in his first little suit. Grandmother had spun the cloth and made his first little suit. I'd give my eye teeth for it. We lost so much in the flood.
And, Grandfather was prosperous in his blacksmithing, people came from all around. They were always happy. They seemed to have all the necessities of life. Then in those days it was really luxurious."
Benjamin was listed as being in the home guard in Doddridge County. He was listed as a Private in Capt. J. H. Bee A Co May 2,1863. There are other Bonds listed Thomas, Butler, Oliver and Wm. ÙCiÙDWV History ArchivesÙC/iÙD
He was living with his son James in Doddridge County in the 1910 census. His son Jacob was also a blacksmith who, even though blind and in his ninety's, would still practice his trade.
Obituary:
Benjamin Franklin Bond
The subject of this sketch was born at Centerville, Tyler county, April 27 1829, and died at Mole Hill, Ritchie county, Aug. 16th, 1919, at the ripe old age of 91 years 3 months and 20 days. In 1845 he was married to Nancy Sayer, who died in 1847. On the 5th of June 1853, he was married to Eliza Russell, to whom five boys and three girls were born who are all living, as follows: Mrs. Rebecca McConnell, of West Union; Susan Hicks, who lives in Wisconsin; James, of Mole Hill; Joseph of Smithton; Martin, of Grafton; Jacob of Virginia; George of Salem; and Hattie Dotson, of Pine Grove. His wife preceded him in death. He was converted to the Christian religion about 30 years ago, and has lived an exemplary life, was honest and generally esteemed. He moved to Smithton about 54 years ago and lived there until recently when he went to make his home with his son James, at Mole Hill. He is also survived by one sister, Mrs Deborah Kinney of West Union, the only one remaining of a family of seven children.
The funeral services were conducted at the Archbold Church at Smithton, Aug. 18th, by the Rev. Gaston, and interment was made in the Archbold cemetery, C. S. Pe(ace?) was in charge of the funeral.
|
