William Bond of Kensington, NH & Lewiston, Maine
From a Lewiston Newspaper 10 Apr 1873 from the
collection of clippings of the late Robert Taylor of
Limington & Danville, Maine.

Contributed by David C. Young
Copyright. All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm


Death of the Oldest Lewiston Schoolmaster

We recently noted the death of "Master" William
Bond, the ancient and revered pedagogue of Lewiston
(Maine), half a century ago. Mr. Bond was born in
Kensington, NH in 1786, From there he was taken at
the age of nine years, to Fayette, Maine. In 1804,
he went to Freeport, "to cast for himself," where he
lived one year with Thomas Haskell. Thence he
proceeded to Brunswick, and remained two years with
Dr. Page. The bookish atmosphere of Brunswick was
contagious and young Bond took to his books
wonderfully. He actually had four months at "the
Academy." He mastered Walker's arithmetic without
an instructor, and then went to old Fryeburg
Academy, where he spent six months of 1807, studying
grammar, He took the teacher's post for a few weeks
in the absence of that functionary, and in 1809 the
sprightly pedagogue made his advent in Lewiston,
armed to the teeth with grammar, bristling with
arithmetic, and absolutely invincible in spelling.

But it is not good for man to be alone. In the young
pedagogue's bosom there a rose a tenderness for a
Lewiston damsel, which not all the "sums" in the
arithmetic could exaggerate, and in 1815 good Master
Bond was married by that functionary of fragrant
memory, Dan Reade Esq. to Mary Wright, the youngest
child and only Daughter of Dr. Joel Wright. It was
ever conceded that in that act he did just the
Wright thing. The father of Mrs. Bond was one of the
first dispensers of physic in Lewiston (Maine) and
one of the first settlers. He (Mr. Wright) came to
Lewiston in 1776. Master Bond is well and feelingly
remembered by many of our old citizens. He was a
famous instructor, and after a blameless and useful
life, has gone to his reward, ripe in years and in
graces. It does not become the men of the new
generation to underrate the great service rendered
the cause of education by such carnets men as he. To
the last, his faculties were perfect. Some specimens
of his handwriting in his last days are remarkably
find for one over four score years. The record of
his life, is likewise legible and honorable!