A portion from
AN ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE SECOND ANNUAL REUNION OF THE BOND FAMILY, BY ITS PRESIDENT, H.S. BOND, AT TURNER, OREGON, SUNDAY, AUGUST 21, 1938.
Of those whom we honor today, the first to come to Oregon was the Rev. James Bond. He arrived here in 1847. He was the youngest of the brothers, having been born in Henry county Kentucky, February 14, 1821. Soon after coming to Oregon he began to preach in a little church at Skipanon in Clatsop county. He organized Sunday schools there and at Astoria. On February 18, 1849, he was accidentally shot; as a result of which he died, and his death contributed to the death of the little church where he had preached. Rev. Ch. Matoon, in his book, Baptist Annals of Oregon, says of him, “His death wan an irreparable loss to the little church. He had already given evidence of unusual talent and ability, and was full of zeal for the cause.” So far as know, Uncle James was the first Baptist to die in Oregon, the first Baptist to be buried in Oregon soil. He has a daughter and a grand-daughter now living at Hubbard.