James M. Bond

Bond, James M.

• Birth Year : 1863
• Death Year : 1929

From Notable Kentucky African Americans Database

James M. Bond was born in Lawrenceburg, KY. He was a slave the first two years of his life. When he was 16 years old, Bond walked to Berea College, where he was a student in the primary grades and continued up to the time he graduated from college in 1892. He was also a graduate from Oberlin College, where he earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree. He returned to Kentucky and led the fund-raising for Lincoln Institute, the school provided for African Americans after the segregation of Berea College. He was in charge of the YMCA work with the soldiers at Camp Taylor. Bond was also the first director of the Kentucky Commission on Interracial Cooperation, and in that position he spoke out against segregation. James M. Bond was the brother of Henry Bond; they were the sons of Jane Arthur, a slave, and Reverend Preston Bond. James Bond was the husband of Jane A. Browne Bond, the father of J. Max Bond, Sr., Thomas Bond, and Horace Bond, and the grandfather of Julian Bond, civil rights leader and former Georgia senator and representative. For more see The Bonds, by R. M. Williams; and the article and picture of James M. Bond and his three sons on p. 228 of The Crisis, vol. 27, issue 5 (March 1924) [available online at Google Book Search].

Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Fathers, Freedom, Grandparents, YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) Geographic Region: Lawrenceburg, Anderson County, Kentucky / Lincoln Ridge, Shelby County, Kentucky / Berea, Madison County, Kentucky

Dr. James W. Bond was the son of Preston Bond (1824-1896) and Jane Crockett Arthur (1833-1922). His father Preston was born in Lawrenceburg, Anderson Co., KY and lived his entire life there. His mother Jane was born in Knox Co., KY and died in Depot, Whitley Co., KY. Both she and James were born into slavery.

James was born on a farm near Lawrenceburg, KY but by 1880 he and his brother Henry were living with an aunt and uncle in Brush Creek, Knox Co., Kentucky. A few years later James left Knox Co. to attend Berea College in Berea, Madison Co., KY. It is said that he walked all the way to Berea.

After graduating from Berea College in 1892 he then attended Oberlin College in Ohio and earned a divinity degree. By 1896 he was a trustee at Berea College. While a trustee he led a fundraising campaign to found Lincoln Institute in Simpsonville, Shelby Co., KY, a prominent all-black boarding school (1912-1966).

James was an ordained preacher in the United Church of Christ, a denomination that believed strongly in interracial harmony. He is known to have pastored churches in Birmingham, Atlanta and Nashville.

On the day before Christmas in 1895 James married Jane Alice Browne. She was born in Washington, DC, the daughter of Gilbert Dodson Browne (1832-1904).

James and Jane were married for 34 years and had six known children. In order of their birth they were Gilbert Dodson Bond, James Palmer Bond, Thomas Moore Bond, James Maxwell Bond, Horace Mann Bond and Lucy Jane Bond.

The 1900 census shows James living with his wife Jane and their two small children in Knoxville, Tennessee where he pastored a church.

The 1910 census shows James and his family (wife, 6 children & sister-in-law) living in Depot, Whitley Co., KY. His race, as well as his wife's race, is listed as "Mulatto", an archaic term for "mixed race".

The Bond family eventually moved to Louisville, KY where James was a well respected and influential supporter of civil rights. Their modest home located at 2549 Magazine is still standing.

James died in 1929 and was buried in the Louisville Cemetery on Popular Level Road. His wife Jane was buried there in 1937.

• Updated from Find A Grave Memorial via father Rev Preston Bond by SmartCopy: Aug 17 2015, 10:32:13 UTC
• Residence: 1910 - Depot, Whitley, Kentucky, USA
• Race: Multiple
• Ethnicity: American
  • Updated from 1910 United States Federal Census via son Horace Ja? Bond by SmartCopy: Aug 18 2015, 17:05:58 UTC
• Updated from Find A Grave Memorial by SmartCopy: Aug 18 2015, 17:16:24 UTC