William Bond (Massachusetts politician)

William Bond (September 8, 1625–December 14, 1695) was the first Speaker of the Massachusetts Province House of Representatives in 1692 following unification of Plymouth Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691, he was the representative for Watertown a position he would be elected to several times after.

William Bond
1st Speaker of the Massachusetts Province House of Representatives
In office 1692–1692
Preceded by	Penn Townsend
In office 1693–1693
Succeeded by	Nehemiah Jewett
In office 1695–1695
Succeeded by	Penn Townsend
Personal details
Born	1625 England
Died	1695 Massachusetts
Residence	Watertown, Massachusetts

Early life

Bond was baptized September 8, 1625 in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, the son of Thomas Bond. He may have come to the American colonies in 1630 with his aunt Elizabeth, the wife of Deacon Ephraim Child, or he may have come at a later date. (See Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins, Immigrants to New England, 1620–1633, 3 vols. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995), 2098). In 1649 he married Sarah Biscoe, daughter of tanner Nathanial Biscoe, and were the parents of seven children.^[1]

Public service

Bond became a leading citizen of Massachusetts Bay,^[1] serving as a selectman and town clerk of Watertown, captain of the militia, Justice of the Peace, and member of the Council of Safety.^[2]

Speaker of the House

Following the unification of Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth in 1691 by the Second Royal Charter,^[3] William became the first speaker, holding the office in 1692-1693 and 1695.^[2]

Belmont

Coat of Arms of William Bond

The Bond farm was purchased from some of William Bond's descendants by China merchant John Perkins Cushing. Cushing used it as his estate where he built a mansion which he named Belmont. When the northern part of Watertown seceded they chose to name the town Belmont, Massachusetts after Cushing's estate there. ^[4]

References

1. " Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts: with a history of Worcester Society of Antiquity, Volume 3", Ellery Bicknell Crane. Lewis Pub., 1907. p. 97
2. "Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume 4", William Richard Cutter, William Frederick Adams. Lewis historical publishing company, 1910. p. 2433
3. "Genealogies of the families and descendants of the early settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts, including Waltham and Weston: to which is appended the early history of the town", Henry Bond, Horatio Gates Jones. N.E. Historic-genealogical Society. 1860. p. 47
4. Emmet, Alan (1997). So Fine a Prospect: Historic New England Gardens. UPNE. pp. 57–68. ISBN 9780874517743. Retrieved 20 June 2017.