The Bondurant Family
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Compiled by Wiley B. Grinnell, Sr.
A Private Printing, Beaumont, Texas, 1979
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T H E B O N D U R A N T F A M I L Y
A GENEALOGICAL MANUSCRIPT, IN NARRATIVE FORM, STARTING WITH DR. JOSEPH BONDURANT IN FRANCE
DURING THE YEAR 1650 AND GOING THROUGH THE LIFE OF ELISHA RICHARD BONDURANT, HIS
DESCENDANTS AND MANY RELATIVES.
******************
Twelve Generations
******************
Compiled by
WILEY B. GRINNELL, SR.
A Private Printing
Beaumont, Texas
1979
p00a
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Introduction and Credits---------------------------- I
Dedication----------------------------------------- II
Genealogical Code------------------------------_____ 1
Chart of Ancestors and Descendants of James Henry
Bondurant and Annie Almetta (Bondurant) Grinnell- 2
The Bondurant Family in France---------------------- 3
The First Bondurant in America, Dr. John Pierre,
the Huguenot------------------------------------- 4
John Peter Bondurant, II---------------------------- 5
John Bondurant, III--------------------------------- 6
John Wesley Bondurant------------------------------- 6
Richard Bondurant. Some of his Descendants, Bon-
durant, Iowa------------------------------------- 6
Thomas Miles Bondurant. Some of his Descendants,
Bondurant, Wyoming------------------------------- 8
Joseph Darby Bondurant. Some of his Descendants---- 15
A Brief History of Brandenburg, Kentucky----------- 17
The Bondurants of Brandenburg---------------------- 19
Lewis Bourbon Bondurant---------------------------- 22
Carlton Webb Bondurant. Some of his Descendants---- 25
Elisha Richard Bondurant--------------------------- 27
SUB TABLE_OF_CONTENTS I
Descendants of Elisha Richard and Lucinda (Fenwick)
Bondurant---------------------------------------- 33
SUBTABLE_OF_CONTENTS II
Descendants of Elisha Richard and Laura Ann (Carey)
Bondurant---------------------------------------- 64
Conclusion------------------------------------------ 118
Selected References and Bibliography---------------- 130
p00b
PICTURES,_SKETCHES,_EXCERPTS,_STORIES,_POEMS
Page
Poem --- -"Acrostic" of Bondurant, Wyoming---------- 11
Picture---Sunset on the Ohio, Brandenburg, Kentucky- 20
Picture---Main Street, Brandenburg, Kentucky-------- 20
Picture---Barge on the Ohio, at Brandenburg--------- 21
Picture---The River Boat "Tell City"---------------- 21
Sketch----Bondurant Property, Brandenburg----------- 23
Picture---"Twin Oaks," 1905------------------------- 28
Picture---Elisha Richard Bondurant------------------ 30
Sketch----Floor Plan, "Twin Oaks"------------------- 31
Poem------"Twin Oaks"------------------------------- 32
Picture---James Henry Bondurant--------------------- 34
Picture---James Henry and Minnie (Bland) Bondurant
and
Family-------------------------------- 35
Excerpts--From letters to Wiley Grinnell from James
William
Bondurant------------------------- 38
Story-----"Bless This House"------------------------ 40
Poem------"Song for Morning"------------------------ 42
Story-----"My Former Grocery Route"----------------- 44
Picture---Joe Bondurant's Drive-in Drug Store------- 53
Picture and Story--Lewis Bondurant. "Disasters Are
his
Business"----------------------------- 63
Picture---Laura Ann (Garey)Bondurant---------------- 66
Picture---Annie (Bondurant) Grinnell---------------- 67
Picture and Poem---Annie (Bondurant) Grinnell------- 68
Picture---Annie (Bondurant) Grinnell and her
Family------------------------------------ 69
Story-----An Impression of Brandenburg at Age Ten--- 76
Story-----"The House Party at Twin Oaks"------------ 99
Pictures--Imogene Bondurant, Carlton Webb Bondurant,
William Harvey
Bondurant------------------ 107
Picture---Elisha Bondurant-------------------------- 112
Picture---Bourbon Patch Bondurant------------------- 117
p00c
INTRODUCTION AND CREDITS
This book deals primarily with the ancestors and descend ants of Elisha Richard and
Lucinda (Fenwick) Bondurant, his first wife, and after her death, Laura Ann (Carey)
Bondurant, his second wife. As data became available on other Bondurants, many of these
interesting relatives were given a place herein. This, however, only skims the surface as
a presentation of this proud family.
It will be noted that the female line of Bondurants, and their descendants, is included
inasmuch as data became available.
No guarantee of all materials being 100% genealogically correct, nor of all dates being
proper is offered by this writer.
Several years ago, my cousin Minnie Alice (Bondurant) Scott, wrote a book about the
Bondurant family for her father, James William Bondurant. I have borrowed freely from her
very fine work, with her permission, (some of it verbatim) and without her help this book
would have never been printed. Much credit is also due to Minnie Alices' father. Her book,
help from many other Bondurants, and a little research on my part has resulted in what I
sincerely hope will be informative and pleasant reading.
And to my very sweet wife, Frances, is due much credit for proofreading, checking details,
and for all of the picture layouts.
Wiley B. Grinnell, Sr.
page I
D_E D_I_C_A T I O N
To my grandfather, Elisha Richard Bondurant, who had left this life before I was born and
to my grandmother, Laura Ann (Garey) Bondurant, who was as much like an angel as was her
daughter, Annie, who was my mother.
page II
GENEALOGICAL CODE
1. Number above the name indicates order of descent. Example:
(1)
(2)
Dr. Joseph Bondurant above Jean Pierre Bondurant. Dr. Joseph is Jean's father. And further
down the line, example:
(7)
Elisha Richard Bondurant is the seventh generation from
Dr. Joseph.
2. The letter "M" indicates married, with date beside it.
3. Birth date will be found before name and date of death after name.
1
ANCESTRY AND DESCENDANTS OF:
JAMES HENRY BONDURANT AND ANNIE ALMETTA (BONDURANT) GRINNELL
(1)
1650-Dr. Joseph Bondurant
M
Elizabeth Ann Chastaigner (Chastain)
(2)
1678-Jean Pierre Bondurant, I - (Anglicized to John Peter, I, after he
M-1708 migrated to America)
1688-Ann Faure' L' Orange
(3) (3) (3)
1711-Peter Jacob-1735 1710-John Dondurant, II 1720-Joseph-1806
M-1729 M-1744
Amy 1711-Sarah Moseley Agnes Radford
(Migrated early to Buckingham(4)
County, Virginia) 1737-John Bondurant,III-1807 (Forerunner of the Bondurants who
M moved from Virginia to Kentucky)
Martha Allen
1
(5)
1791-John Wesley Bondurant
M-1816
1798-Nancy Stiff
(6)
1818-Lewis Bourbon Bondurant-1854 - (First of the Meade County and
M-1840 Brandenburg, Kentucky, Bondurants)
Lydia Ann Webb
(7)
1847-Elisha Richard Bondurant-1909
M
Lucinda Fenwick-1878
M
1858-Laura Ann Garey-1942
(8) (8)
1877-James Henry Bondurant-1956 1881-Annie Almetta Bondurant-1962
1883-Cariton Webb Bondurant-1918
1885-Clay Bondurant-1887
1889-Imogene Bondurant-1914
1892-William Harvey Bondurant-1952
1895-Elisha Richard Bondurant
1898-Bourbon Patch Bondurant-1971
FOR DESCENDANTS: FOR DESCENDANTS:
REFER TO PAGE 33 REFER TO PAGE 64-65
Ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth generations. Ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth
generations.
2
T H E B O N D U R A N T F A M I L Y
I N F R A N C E
According to Monsieur Jean Favier, Director General of the Archives of France, (in Paris):
"The family name of BONDURANT is a patronymic formation from two elements. There was
some one with the name of DURAND who was nicknamed BON (good, kind, loveable) because of a
particular moral philosophy. The name BONDURANT resulted." The Bondurant pedigree
dates back far before the birth of either Lafayette or Napoleon Bonapart. To our
knowledge, the first family by this name had as its head:
( 1 )
DR._JOSEPH_BONDURANT, who was born in Lyon France about 1650. He married Elizabeth Ann
Chastaigner. (Chastain) The City of Lyon, where the Bondurant family lived, lies in
Southern France at the junction of the Rhone and Saone Rivers. In the valley in the old
days, as now, were vineyards, olive groves, pear, plum peach, and cherry orchards.
Mulberry trees were cultivated for the making of silk. Sheep and goats roamed the
hillsides, and their milk was used to make Roquefortcheese, which was aged in the cool
caves in the sides of the hills. Wild flowers were abundant, and there were many chestnut
trees. The art of spin ning and dyeing cloth brought fame to the Lyon area in the 1400's
and these skills have lived on.
The people of Lyon have always been most proud of the Cathedral of St. Jean, a fine
example of Gothic architecture, begun in 1110. Many other old buildings have survived, and
provide a rich architectural heritage for the French people.
This happy land, then, became one of bitterness when civil and religious strife arose, but
those who left forever their homeland would always remember: "The cornfields green,
and sunny vines, Oh pleasant land of France."
Dr. Joseph Bondurant and Elizabeth Ann had a son:
(2)
JEAN_PIERRE_BONDURANTE THE FIRST. He was born near Lyon in 1678 and followed in his
father's footsteps to also become a doctor. He left France in 1698 to avoid religious
persecution and his travels took him first to Germany, then to England and then to
Virginia.
3
IN AMERICA
F R E N C H H U G U E N O T S I N V I R G I N I A
"I, Daniel Perroin, Commander of ye above named vessel, PETER AND ANTHONY, certified
that ye above 175 passengers- French refugees--were embarked in London in my said ship:
men, women and children of several ages full freight for their passage in London to
Virginia the sum of 775 pounds sterling and have given receipt in England for same."
Signed by.
Daniel Perroin
James Town in Virginia
Ye 20th Day of September, 1700
One of the 175 passengers of the vessel PETER AND ANTHONY was Dr. Jean Pierre Bondurant,
who had fled France as a Frenh Huguenot. He settled at Manakin Town, Virginia seven miles
above Richmond on the James River, September 20, 1700. This territory today is in Henrico
County, of which Richmond is the County Seat. After coming to America the name JOHN PIERRE
was Anglicized to JOHN PETER. A full roster of the first set tlers is preserved. There are
too many names to be reproduced here but some of them in their Anglicized forms are so
promi nent and so familiar in America today that a few must be men tioned. Some of the
family names associated with the Manakin Town settlers were Daval, Cottrell, de Guillieume
(Gilliam), Michaux, Flournoy, St. Clair, Treillian, Forloynes, Myre, BONDURANT,
Latine, Maupin and Lanier. The refugees were of the Best blood of France, many of the
nobility, and some had royal blood in their veins.
It is proper here to give a brief account of that very remarkable and important migration
to the new world. In 1698, Colonel William Byrd was largely responsible for a special
invitation for a number of Huguenots in England to come to Virginia where they settled
some twenty miles above the James River and the new colony was called Manakin Town. The
French utilized the village and cleared land abandoned by the Monacan Indians.
By an Act of the Assembly in December, 1700, King William Parish was set aside as their
parish and the parishioners were exempt from all taxes, except parish taxes, for seven
years. In 1714 there were only 291 persons, according to the parish records. In 1726 there
were only 130 titheables. Many moved to other parts of Virginia and to other colonies.
The Virginia Government gave them a tract of land on both sides of the river which
consisted of 19,033 acres when surveyed by the Henrico Surveyors and the object was to
give each
4
family 133 acres. A plot of Manakin Town still exists. It was intended that the French
should build an industrial com munity there, but this proved impractical and the French
spread themselves to the farms. These industrial and pious Huguenots were not only
valuable in developing the lands of wealthy grantees living farther down the river but
they also formed a bullwark against the Indians. It seems that Nathaniel Bacon crushed the
Indians but there is no actual record of any clashes between the red man and the
Huguenots.
In 1708 Dr. John Peter Bondurant married Ann Faure L' Orange, who was born in 1688 in
Buckingham County, Virginia. They were married in Manakin Town. Dr. Bondurant made his
will September 25, 1734. He died January 25, 1735, in Gooch land County, Virginia. Dr.
John Peter and Ann had five child ren. They were:
(3)
1. John Peter, the second, born in 1710, Manakin Town, Virgin
ia. Died there in 1744.
2. Peter Jacob, born in 1711, Manakin Town, Virginia and died
there in 1735.
3. Elizabeth Ann, born in 1714 in Manakin Town. Date of death
unknown. She married James Ford, of Henrico, in 1734 and
they had eleven children, five boys and six girls.
4. Frances Jane was born in Manakin Town in 1717 and died in
1777. she married Jean Perreau. They had six children,
four boys and two girls.
5. Dr. Joseph Augustine was born in 1720 and died in Bucking
ham County, Virginia, August 11, 1806. He married Agnes
Radford in 1744. They had eleven children, five boys and
six girls. The family lived in King William and Bucking
ham Counties.
(3)
JOHN PETER BONDURANT, the second, son of Dr. John Peter and
Ann Bondurant, married Sarah Moseley, widow of Robert L. Moseley, in 1729. In a 1748
record, John Peter Bondurant was listed as a vestryman in King William Parish. In 1734
John's name was the first mentioned in his father's will. John Peter and his wife Sarah
lived in Goochland County, Virginia and later in Cumberland County. On March 9, 1758, he
deeded his son, John Peter the third, of Albemarle County, 200 acres of land. After county
lines changed, this was in Buckingham County. The names of members of the family of John
are found frequently in early court and Church records. Recorded, also , are many land
grants from Royal Governors to the Bondurants. Here began a lineage of Bondurants who
became prominent citi zens in Buckingham County and today includes many of distinc tion,
scattered all over the United States.
John Peter Bondurant, the second, and Sarah Rachel Mosely had four sons. They were:
(4)
1. John Peter, the third, born in 1737 in Manakin Town. Died
5
in Adairlo County, 1807.
2. Richard, born in 1740 in Manakin Town.
3. Thomas Miles, born in 1744. Died in Buckingham County in 1829.
4. Darby, born January 1, 1749. Died November 1, 1828.
(4)
JOHN BONDURANT III, son of John, II, and Sarah Moseley Bondur-
ant married Martha Allen, daughter of David and Martha Allen.
John, III, was the forerunner of the Bondurants who went to
Bedford County, Virginia, and later to Kentucky in 1781. His
family name remained on the tax list there until 1805. In 1795
Martha, John's wife, relinquished her dower in 200 acres of
land which her husband sold.
Bedford County, Virginia, was formed from Lunenburg and
Albermarle Counties in 1753. The area is one of natural pine
thickets and rolling land with a few little hills.
The only known child of John, III, and Martha Allen Bon
durant was:
(5)
JOHN WESLEY BONDURANT, born April 4, 1791, in Bedford County.
He married Nancy Stiff, who was born October 10, 1798. Census
records show that John Wesley and Nancy (Stiff) Bondurant had
eleven children. They were:
(6)
1. Lewis Bourbon, born 1818 and died in 1854. (Cont. on p. 22)
2. Jesse Green, born 1820 and died in 1896. He was married to Martha Ann Wright and later
to Elizabeth Latham.
3. Mildred, born 1825. She married Abner Wills of Bedford in 1841.
4. John Archer, born 1827.
5. James H., born 1829 in Bedford.
6. Mary, born 1830, died 1904.
7. Martha Susan, born 1832. She married William Hammock in 1848.
8. Clay, born 1834.
9. Richard, born 1836.
10. Sarah, born 1839.
11. William, born 1839.
(4)
RICHARD BONDURANT, the second son of John, II, and Sarah
Moseley Bondurant was born August 22, 1740, in Manakin Town. He married Cecelia Ann Hall
and they had three children. Their first born, Thomas, married Margaret Drury and they
went to Boone County, Kentucky, in 1820. Frances, their only girl, married Jacob Holsclaw
and they too went to Boone County. Their third child was Joseph, who married Martha Tharp.
Joseph and Martha moved westward and one of their sons, Alexander Connelly Bondurant,
founded the town of Bondurant, Iowa.
6
************************************************************
BONDURANT, IOWA
Alexander Connelly Bondurant, son of Joseph and Martha (Tharp) Bondurant, was born
September 1, 1829 in Sangamon County, Illinois. He married Margaret Brooks October 27,
1861. From this marriage eight children were born. One of the eight was Florence, whose
son, Fred Lingenfelter, lives today in Rochelle, Illinois
Mr. Bondurant joined the immigration from Illinois to Iowa in 1857 and laid claim to 320
acres of land on Section 31, Franklin Township. He later bought 320 more acres at $1.25
per acre, adding to that until owning 2,500 acres. In 1882 the Chicago Great Western
Railroad built a station on his land and named it Bondurant, Iowa.
Mr. Bondurant himself platted the town and gave a lot to anyone who would build a home or
business there. He gave lots for the building of churches and schools. He was a deeply
religious man and also had a great interest in educational matters. He was at one time on
the Board of Trustees of Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa.
The first business to open in Bondurant was a store which occupied the lower story of the
building with the upstairs being used as a church. In 1885 the first school opened with
thirty-five scholars. In 1886 Mr. Bondurant donated thirty acres of land to be used as an
aid to a local church. The church members planted crops, tended and gathered, followed by
a husking bee. In 1909 he offered free sites for manufac turing industries. Shops
factories, grain elevators, two hotels, a bank and newspaper called the "Bondurant
Journal." Today, Bondurant is a small but thriving community. Mr. Bondurant died in
Bondurant, Iowa, September 16, 1899.
7
(4)
THOMAS MILES BONDURANT was the third son of John Peter, II, and Sarah Bondurant. He was
born in 1744 and died in Bucking- I ham County in 1829. He became the Reverend Thomas
Miles Bon durant and a man of note, marrying Rhoda Agee, who was born about 1750 and died
June 21, 1845, in Buckingham County. The Reverend and Sarah Bondurant had ten children.
(5)
1771 - Margaret ---- 1840
1773 - John----
1776 - Jacob-------- 1819
1779 - James Agee--- 1846
1781 - Noah--------
1782 - Joseph------- 1806
1783 - Thomas------- 1849
1784 - Mary--------
1786 - Annie-------
1787 - Sarah-------- 1861
One of the daughters of James Agee Bondurant was named Martha Somseetah Najela Powantonama
Lavona, after an Indian Princess.
A chart on Page 9 carries the Reverend Bondurant's line through the ninth generation, from
one of his ten children, Noah Bondurant. Of Noah's eleven children we carry on through one
of his sons, Edward Jackson Bondurant, and from Edward's fifteen children we take only one
son, Benjamin Franklin Bon durant, (1861-1927) who had seven children who lived to matur
ity.
This great grandson of Reverend Thomas Bondurant was born near Bethany, Missouri, on the
day President Lincoln became the leader of our nation. Mr. Bondurant was a pioneer and
trail blazer in the true sense of the word. He married Sarah Ellen Goucher (1864-1927).
After leaving Missouri, Benjamin Franklin and Sarah spent several years in Nebraska and
Oregon. In 1898 they moved to the famous country known as Jackson Hole, Wyoming. They
found this beautiful valley near the Teton Mountain Range and homesteaded 160 acres. Their
possessions were brought in covered wagons, drawn by oxen teams and called "prairie
schooners."
Their house was built of logs cut from the nearby moun tains and was two stories high, the
first floor having a kit chen, store room, dining room and living room. Later, one other
room was added and made into a combination store and Post Office. The upper floor was
reserved for bedrooms for the family and any wayfarers or hunters who came for elk each
fall. Part of this grand old home still stands, though ravaged by the merciless elements
of time.
At that time there were no roads except those made by wagons and those roads wandered from
ranch to ranch. In some places the creeks had to be forded in order to get to one's
8
(2)
Dr. Jean Plerro Bondurant I r Coll Wm. Bondurant
Ann (Ford) lauro L'Orange children /Hernett Laure Ronfeld
(3) / (9)
John 'e~cer Bondurant II ~ G children / Vern Marn,uerlte Bondumnt
Mrs. Sarah Rachol (Taylor) Plosoloy / / I 86fiC ,m. Ralney
(4)
Rev. Thomas Milon Bondurant / (8)
Rhoda ARe. ----10 children Perle Oscar Bondurant
(5) ary Lucilo Willime
Hoah ondurant---ll children / I \
Hartha t / l I (g)
/ I Robert Lester Bondurant
(6) / I Marlo-Loule Carollne Goulon
EdwarB Jacknon Bondurant-15 children | (9)
Kezah Monroe Ma8ee / l ~ ellle Bonduront
Hartha A. Stark / l Charles Bourquln
I () / I . . (g)
Bendin Franklin Bondurant | W Lnlfred Elaino Bondurant
Sarah Ellen Goucher \ \ | Bob btozum
1 \ \ Il ()
\ \ Juno Ellen Bondurant
\ \ Wm. Lythgoe, Jr.
I \ ()
| | \ Clare EdRar Bondurant
Rollo Grover Bondurant
| Haz.1 Iva Comatock\\ \ (9)
\ \ Jona LaRoy Bondurant
(8) \ \ Sylls tI. Reove 8
Orly A. Bondurant \ \ Gladys Ireno Dalrymple
\ (g)
(8) \ Juanita Hondurant
Lura M. Bondursnt \ Cone Roberonta
l \ (g)
I , (8) ppal Bondurant
| H erachel Bondurant \ Estrello
| Dewey HaddRnham t\\\ (9)
| . 1\\\ \ Jsmea Oliver BondurAnt
t8) \\\ \ \ Wanda
Easie Vonnle Bonduran, :1\ \ \ \
Prank Hilo Haneen \\ \ \ (g)
\\ \ \ F-anklin Herechel Bondurant
, (9) \\ \ \ Bertha Dernard
l Ella Hansen \\ (9)
I (9) \ \ Alice Laurine Bondurent
| P' ~ulino HanAQn I \ \ llorman John Bloamer
| Howard J. B.ker \ (9)
(9) I \ Cllnton Perle Bondurant
Doris Hansen \ Sally Keiting
Archie Alexandor (9)
| Prancia Julfus Bondurant
Ann Comatock
(g)
Georgo Wilson Bondurane
Mary Ellen Hurley
(g)
Lloyd Grant Bondurant
Marlyn Alexandra
9
destination. Snow did not melt in the winter and would be come five to six feet deep on a
level. People had to bring in enough staple food to last for about a year.
After the family had lived there for four or five years, they applied for a Post Office
and Mrs. Bondurant was post mistress for twenty-six years before she gave up her duties
due to poor health. She also ran a boarding house, in her home, and Mr. Bondurant and his
boys were guides for the dudes for hunting and fishing. During those years immigrants were
gradually coming in to homestead and as the elk hunting became more famous the Bondurants
built a business of furnish ed horses, hunting equipment and guides to elk, deer, mountain
sheep and bear hunters. That was in addition to their own ranching, as they owned and
operated the Triangle F Ranch.
Mr. Bondurant met an untimely death while visiting friends in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The
newspaper, THE KEMMERER, on October 19, 1927, had this to say about Mr. Bondurant's death:
INJURIES FATAL TO B. F. BONDURANT
Benjamin Franklin Bondurant, familiarly and affec tionately known by hundreds of friends
as "Bandy," pioneer trapper, hunter, guide, dude rancher, sage and philosopher
of the Hoback country, passed away at L.C.M. hospital Saturday, last, at 5:15 o'clock, the
result of an accident suffered two weeks pre viously, when he fell into a cellar
excavation in South Kemmerer. The death of Mr. Bondurant marks the passing of a pioneer
character who links the old West with the new, for it was nearly thirty years ago that he
settled on a homestead in the Hoback Basin, the last of the western frontier, inhabited
then mainly by the big game animals, making their last stand against the inroads of
civilization and by a few trappers besides himself.
***********************************************************
B O N D U R A N T, W Y O M I N G
Bondurant, Wyoming, was founded on the property of Benja min Franklin Bondurant. Today it
is a conglomeration of ranches and properties, with a school, library, Post Office and a
Community Church.
**********************************************************
There are many descendants of Benjamin Franklin Bondurant throughout Wyoming and many
other states. Among them is a grandson, Robert Lester Bondurant, of Casper, Wyoming.
Robert,
10
ACROSTIC_OF_BONDURANT, WYOMING
F orests contain many natural and great sights.
A 11 things seem very pleasing to mankind.
L ive animals of the different kinds including the
L ynx, have their different habitats along the
R iver, and other tributaries, some on the mountains,
I n holes in the ground, and rock, others are
V ery intelligent in building their homes in
E very shape and style people would not suspect.
R elieving them of the great danger of
B eing trapped, or killed by the tourist who
A re out on their pleasure trips, enjoying them
S elves viewing old Mother Nature and fishing
I n the whirl pool at the foot of Granite Falls
N ever regretting taking baths in the hot springs.
B ondurant, Wyoming, is located on the Lincoln Highway
O ver which many people travel in wagon and auto
N ever once thinking of what they are missing
D uring their trip to Yellow Stone Park by not
U rging some of the guides to show them sceneries
R ound here which beats most anything to be found
A ny where in the mountains which contains
N ot only the finest hunting and fishing sports
T ending to cheer the sickly, but to cure them.
W hen the people once learn the God-given joy that
Y oming contains and holds most dear to young and
O ld, then and not until then, will very many
M inds understand the real meaning of being out
I n the open enjoying the pure fresh air.
N at ever thinking how easy it is to regain strength
G oing over to the hot springs and taking baths.
******* ********************* ************************ ***
Written by BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BONDURANT,founder of BONDURANT, WYOMING.
11
born in 1921, married Marie Louise Goulon of Versailles, France.
Robert Lester Bondurant works for the American Oil Com pany and has over thirty years of
service with them. He spent three years in the Army during World War Two with two years of
that time being in Europe. He was stationed in England, France, Holland, Luxembourg,
Belgium and Germany. His battle stars are for "Normandy," "N. France,"
"Rhineland," "Ardennes," and "Central Europe."
In Casper he has served as a Deputy Sheriff, President of the Natrona County Sheriff's
Posse and Governor of the Moose Lodge. He is quite a "rock hound," makes
jewelry, loads am munition, makes rock and plastic tables, drills for mineral and loves to
hunt and fish. He is an expert with a snowmobile, does his own mechanical work and plays
music for his own en tertainment. Mr. Bondurant has four sisters living in Wyom ing, one
in West Lake, Louisiana and a brother in Moscow, Idaho.
* * *
A great granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin Bondurant, Sylvia Doreen (Bondurant) Evett,
lives in Monmouth, Oregon. She is with the Salem, Oregon Statesman newspaper and leads a
busy life in connection with her job.
* * *
Another interesting descendant of Benjamin Franklin Bon durant is Clinton P. Bondurant,
Jr., of Tampa, Florida, whose father is a thirty-year Army Veteran who saw action in World
War Two (Pacific Area), Korean Conflict and Viet Nam. Clinton, Sr., was born in LaBarge,
Wyoming, in 1920. Clint, Jr., was born in Los Angeles January 11, 1953. His father's
various posts of duty enabled him to live coast to coast in the United States plus seven
years in Germany. Most of his high school education was received at Kaiserstautean
American High School in Germany. From August 31, 1972, to August 15, 1975, he was in the
Army. After leaving the service, Clint worked for the Veteran's Administration in Atlanta
and was transferred to St. Petersburg, Florida, in February, 1978.
He was married to Charlotte Elaine Otwell, of Atlanta, on June 4, 1977, in Douglasville,
Georgia. Clint is a scuba diver of note and he especially enjoys diving for shark's teeth
off of Vennis Beach, Florida. Clint and Elaine collect antiques and coins; they both emjoy
the outdoors, with fossil hunting high on their list of hobbies. Elaine has a talent for
drawing. The most important thing in the lives of this young couple, however, is their
religion, as members of Fow ler Avenue Baptist Church in Tampa.
* * *
A great, great grandson of the Reverend Thomas Bondurant is Mr. Rush W. Bondurant of Port
Charlotte, Florida. His descent is from James Agee Bondurant, one of the Reverend's sons.
James Agee Bondurant had married Phoebe Ford and after her death, Sarah Josephine Watson
(1791-1882). James and Sarah had 12 children, one of whom was named for the Indian
12
Princess. (Page 8 ) James and Sarah and their family lived on a farm about ten miles south
of Rice, in Price Edward County, Virginia. James' son, Samuel Bondurant, married Maria
Louise Walton in 1851. Among their 10 children was James Alva Bondurant and from his
marriage to Octavia Walton were 4 children, one of whom was Rush W. Bondurant, Sr. Rush,
Sr., married Gladys Virginia Coburn December 21, 1921, in Norfolk County, Virginia, which
is today Chesapeake, Virginia. Gladys died in 1947. Rush Bondurant, Jr., was born in
Norfolk June 28, 1932. He married Mary Carolyn Leggett in 1952.
Rush Bondurant, Sr., is a graduate with a B.A. degree from Hampden-Sidney College,
Virginia. He served with the 72nd Engineer Regiment in World War One. In October, 1962, he
re tired as Plant Manager of Olin Corporation in Williamstown, North Carolina, and moved
with his second wife, Edna, to Port Charlotte, Florda. Rush and Edna were married June 18,
1948. Rush Bondurant, Jr., graduated with a B.S. degree from North Carolina University,
Raleigh, and is now Assistant Plant Man ager of Continental Can Company's paper mill in
Augusta, Georgia.
* * *
Another descendant of Rev. Thomas Miles Bondurant, through the Reverend's son, James Agee
Bondurant, is John Alva Bondur ant who lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
* * *
Another descendant of Rev. Thomas Miles Bondurant was William Walton Bondurant, son of
Samuel Watson and Maria (Wal ton) Bondurant. Born about 1875, he graduated with a B.A.
degree in 1899 and an M.A. degree in 1900 from Hampden-Sydney College of Virginia and did
graduate work at the University of Chicago. From 1902 to 1906 he was on the faculty of
Austin College, in Sherman, Texas, teaching literature and Latin. In 1906 he moved to San
Antonio, where he purchased San Antonio Academy, an exclusive Protestant school for boys,
established by Dr. W. B. Seeley in 1886. Another pioneer school for boys in San Antonio
was West Texas Military Academy, founded by an Episcopal Bishop, the Rt. Reverend J. S.
Johnston in 1893. In 1926 these two historic schools consolidated, with the creation of
entirely separate schools for older and younger boys. At that time the name of West Texas
Military Academy was changed to Texas Military Institute, with facilities for older boys
only, while San Antonio Academy became an outstanding school for junior boys. In 1943 Dr.
Bondurant sold his interest in S.A.A. and in 1947 he retired as superintendent of T.M.I.
Listed in Who's Who (1958-59): William Walton Bondurant, born Rice, Virginia; Literature,
D, Austin College, 1924; Married Lily Walton, September 6, 1904 (deceased 1948); in
structor in Latin and Greek, Hogue Academy, Blackstone, Vir ginia 1900-02; honorable Latin
scholarship, Yale, 1903, John Hopkins, 1904; principal of San Antonio Academy, 1906, super
intendent, 1906-43; superintendent Texas Military Institute 1926-47, superintendent
emeritus, 1952; member of Texas Com mission on secondary schools, 1927-35; organizer and
president of Texas Association of Private Schools; member of N.E.A.
13
Classical Association of Middle West and South. Presbyterian. Democrat. Mr. Bondurant died
in 1959.
* * *
William Walton Bondurant, Jr., son of William Walton and Lily Bondurant was born in Dallas
June 22, 1905. He received his B.A. degree from Austin College, Sherman, in 1925 and his
M.D. degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston in 1929, where he
taught from 1931 to 1933. Except for three years service in World War II, where he
attained the rank of Lt. Colonel in the Army Medical Corps, he has practiced Internal
Medicine in San Antonio. He is a member of the staff of Nix Memorial, Robert B. Green and
Baptist Memorial hospitals;! a consultant at the V. A. Hospital; was a member of the
Commun ity Welfare Council (1949-55), president 1955; president of Community Nursing
Service 1952-54; Trustee of Austin College, 1957-64; national governor of Arthritis and
Rheumatism Founda tion; member of A.M.A. Bexar County Medical Society, (presi dent, 1949),
San Antonio Heart Association, (president 1957), Chamber of Commerce director (1954-57).
Dr. Bondurant was listed in Who's Who in 1967-68. He is Presbyterian. He mar ried Martha
Nieminen on March 6, 1931. She died in 1964. Their children are Judith Spencer, William
Walton, III, Edward Vaughn and Charles Julius. Grandchildren are Norman Stuart Spencer,
III, Martha Louise Spencer, Laura Elizabeth Bondurant, Charles Hamilton Bondurant and
Sarah Pauline Bondurant. On August 11, 1965, Dr: Bondurant married Katherine Carlisle. She
died in 1977.
**
Colonel William Thomas Bondurant was from the lineage of Rev. Thomas Miles Bondurant. Born
in the old family home in Rice, Prince County, Virginia, in 1895 Col. Bondurant attended
Hampden-Sydney College until he enlisted in the Army at the beginning of World War One in
1917. Soon afterward he was made First Sergeant of First Company, 4th Regiment A.S. Camp
Green, North Carolina. After the Armistice was signed, he availed him self of the
opportunity of a period of study in Paris and was sent to Sorbonne University. He was
discharged from service as a member of the Officer's Reserve, July 26, 1918, as a Se cond
Lieutenant. He received his degree from Hampden-Sydney College and became professor of
French and English in the Chamberlayne School, Richmond, Virginia. In 1920 he went to San
Antonio where he became commandant and instructor of Eng lish at San Antonio Academy and
acted in that capacity until the consolidation of S.A.A. with West Texas Military Academy
in 1926, at which time he assumed the position of Headmaster and Commandant of S.A.A. In
1943 he was made President of Texas Military Institute and remained in that position until
1952. He was a very civic-minded leader and participated on the boards of various
institutions. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of San Antonio.
He married first, in 1922, Gladys Tinsley and in 1943 Helen Downie. Gladys (Tinsley) and
Col. Bondurant had two children, William Thomas, Jr., and Gladys. Col. Bondurant died in
1977.
* * *
14
Colonel William Thomas Bondurant, Jr., was born in San Antonio in 1926. He attended
Hampden-Sydney College, graduat ing in 1949. In 1944-46 he was in the U.S. Navy during
World War Two. After graduating from college he became associated with San Antonio
Academy, teaching math, English, Latin, and history. He was assistant to his father, Col.
W. T. Bondurant, Sr., until the board elected his father Chairman and him Presi dent of
the School. After the death of his father he was elected Chairman of the Board,
shouldering this responsibility as well as being President. His won, William Thomas, III,
is carrying on the family tradition at S.A.A. as Director of Development and Treasurer.
Col. Bondurant is an Elder in the Presbyterian Church and a Col. in the Texas State Guard,
re tired.
In 1947 he married Kathryn Lucille Baldwin, of Farmville, Virginia. Their children are
William Thomas, III, Carol Bald win, and Linda Baughan.
(4)
JOSEPH_DARBY_BONDURANT was the last son of John Peter, II, and
Sara5-Bondurant. He was born January 1, 1749, and died Novem
ber 1, 1828. Darby married first, on October 16, 1771, Ruth
Agee. Darby and Ruth had five children. After Ruth's death
he married Lucy Hall July 12, 1786. From this union were born
two children. Some other known descendants are:
* * *
Donald E. Bondurant, whose lineage is from Joseph Darby Bondurant, was born in Charleston,
Missouri, July 11, 1908. He graduated from the University of Missouri in 1931 with the de
gree of B.S. in Civil Engineering. He married Kathryn Clark Tipton, of Hickman, Kentucky,
August 13, 1932. She died in 1972. Their daughters are Judy, born July 4, 1935, and Sue,
born January 8, 1938. Judy is now Mrs. Michael Gertz and she and her husband are Physical
Therapists with their own clinic in Tampa, Florida. Sue, Mrs. R. L. Tatterson, is in the
insur ance business in Foster City, California. There are five grandchildren. Mr.
Bondurant retired in 1972 and now lives in Heber Springs, Arkansas.
* * *
Dr. Wiley M. Bondurant, a descendant of Joseph Darby Bon durant, was born in Cayce,
Kentucky, June 2, 1915, and has de grees from the University of Oklahoma, University of
Houston, St. Michael's College, and Georgetown Law School. A very ver satile man, he was
admitted to practice law before the Texas Supreme Court and Federal Courts. He is a
retired Lt. Col. U. S. Air Force, a flying officer with several decorations. He is now a
Professor of Accounting at St. Mary's University in San Antonio. He and his wife,
Catherine, travel extensively. In May, 1978, they were on an Alaskan Cruise. Their home is
at 4031 City View Drive, San Antonio.
* * *
Joseph Eugene Bondurant, also a descendant of Darby Bon
15
durant, was born in Fulton, Kentucky, August ll, 1929. Son of Sidney Eugene and Maud Ruby
(Chatham) Bondurant, he attended high school in Cayce, Kentucky, and graduated from
Georgia Tech University in 1957. He had married Sarah Garner of Law renceville, Georgia,
on September 15, 1956, in Atlanta. Mr. Bondurant was employed by Union Carbide in Paducah,
Kentucky, for three months before accepting a position with Gulf States Utilities Company
in Beaumont, Texas, as an engineer in the transmission and distributing department. In
1967 he was sent to the company's Lake Charles, Louisiana, division as operating
supervisor. During the next few years he became operating superintendent, manager, and in
1975, vice president. At that time the family moved back to Beaumont and in early 1978 Mr.
Bondurant became senior vice-president of division operations and system engineering. The
Bondurants have two daughters. Alyson Ann, born May 26, 1961, is a senior in Kelly High
School and plans to attend Southern Methodist University. Tammy Jo, born April 28, 1963,
is a Kelly High School sophomore. Mr. Bondurant's parents and his grandmother Lou (Roper)
Bondurant (age 97) are still living in Fulton, Kentucky.
16
A BRIEF HISTORY OF BRANDENBURG, KENTUCKY
On December 17, 1800, George Oldham purchased a tract of 3,000 acres at Falling Springs
from Richard Barbour. In 1804 Solomon Brandenburg made his first purchase of land in the
county from George Oldham. It was a tract near Flippin's Run, east of the ferry landing
that connected Brandenburg with In diana for many years. At a later date he purchased the
Fal ling Springs tract from Mr. Oldham. At that time the two hills of Brandenburg were
covered with large black walnut trees which stood until the early days of the last
century. On the sight where court houses were later built Mr. Brandenburg built a double
log house of walnut logs which became known as the "Old Walnut Log Tavern." The
stone chimney was still stand ing when a court house was built there during 1872 and 1873.
The Tavern was famous for roast pig. Among its famous visi tors were General James
Wilkinson, Aaron Burr, John Audubon, the great ornithologist, and many others.
Solomon Brandenburg had many diverse activities such as fishing, hunting, farming, and
flatboating on the Ohio. He cleared a field on East Hill and raised a crop of corn which
was the topic of conversation for years.
On May 9, 1807, Mr. Brandenburg and Mrs. Elizabeth Swan Kennedy, a widow, were married. To
this union eight children were born. In 1845 Mr. Brandenburg died in Mississippi, hav ing
moved there in 1839 with the family of his daughter, Louisiana Brandenburg Calhoun.
In 1814 the second steamboat built in the west was con structed at the Brandenburg
Landing. She was christened the "Elizabeth" and was completed only three years
after the "Or leans" had been completed in Pittsburg. The "Elizabeth,"
owned by a company of Hardin County citizens, was not a finan cial success and the boat
was sold at New Orleans by its cap tain, Benjamin Shacklett.
In 1816 a second steamboat, the "Hornet," was completed. A third, the
"Grecian," was built in 1822. All were financial failures. Although Solomon
Brandenburg, Shacklett, Atwill, and others were experienced flatboat men, they were not
suc cessful with steamboats.
The wars that have been fought throughout the history of Brandenburg have naturally
affected the town in many ways, but not too harshly. The most terrifying thing to ever
happen to this lovely, happy little town was the vicious tornado that
17
struck there on April 3, 1974. In one stroke nature devastated Brandenburg.
The French families were some of the people who exerted the most influence on Brandenburg.
Some of these families were: Foshee (Foushee), Fontaine, Bondurant (Bon-Durand), Ditto
(Ditteau), Grinnell (Grenelle), and Shacklette (Jacquelet).
18
TH E B O N D U R A N T S
O F
BRANDENBURG K E N T U C KY
19
Brandenburg, Kentucky from the 1971 monthly newspaper "Hi-Line News" -serving
Meade County.
So much for the history of a town full of romance and tradition to ones who can see
beneath the surface of weeds and dust in sunnier, and naked bareness in winter,
into the simple lives of those who built for us, barely escaping poverty but with all
their simile needs bountifully supplied by an uncomplex existence which made for a lot of
happiness. Now water works, electricity, concrete walks replacing rocks which were in turn
replaced by plank talks, paved streets, daily truck and bus service, automobiles in nearly
every garage, Greater educational advantages, have not made this a modern city.
Individuality still demands space around each home once occupied by garden and cow
pasture. One is reminded of a child who rev erts to baby ways in spite of its mature body
or an older person who still has days of youthfulness. What of the future. Will not the
to~m's solid foundation of thrift morals, industry,wholesomeness, ideals, make a
background upon which better, easier finer, happier living conditions will be built?
Main Street, Brandenburg, about the turn of the century.
20
The Ohio River at Brandenburg --1915
Brandenburg --1915
The " Tell City'' .
21
Continued from Page 6
(6)
LEWIS BOURBON BONDURANT, son of John Wesley and Nancy (Stiff)
Bondurant, was the ancestor of the Meade County, Kentucky,
Bondurants. He was born in 1818 in Bedford County, Virginia.
Thus, the Bondurants of Bedford are the link between the early
French immigrants and the Bondurants who went to Meade County.
The 1850 Census of Meade County shows at least part of the fam
ily of Lewis Bondurant's father had moved to Meade County.
Lewis Bourbon was a part of the movement which swept across the
great Appalachian Mountains to new lands beyond. Mr. Bondur
ant married Lydia Ann Webb, daughter of Ezekiel and Nancy Webb.
Lydia was a member of the Baptist Church of Brandenburg, Kentucky.
Lewis Bourbon was a builder and in 1845 built the Bondur ant home in Brandenburg,
Kentucky. He chose a site on a knoll where there were oak and maple trees. Deep in the
corner of the large front yard were two large oak trees which the family called "Twin
Oaks." This name caught on as time moved along and the Bondurant home became known as
"Twin Oaks" to Mr. Bon durant's descendants. The house was first constructed of
logs and later it was weatherboarded with white planks. The two story structure with small
paned windows had the simple dig nity of old country houses of Virginia. The front
entrance was one of the prettiest in the area. The large west wall of the front porch was
three quarter inch plaster held together with hog hair over hand-hewn laths. This wall was
white wash ed once a year. Double doors were framed with small panes of glass, three rows
across the top and a row down each side. This entrance was not centered in the front of
the house, but was on the left side. It led into a hallway where the stair case went up.
The house had the usual fireplaces of that time and there was a lower ell of rooms where
the kitchen was later added. Under the dining room was a cellar which was walled with big
white washed rocks. The dirt floor was hard packed.
The entire Bondurant property was about 20 acres. The front yard was very large. The south
part of the lawn, in later years, was the scene of many croquet games among family,
relatives and friends. Nice yards were on each side of the house and there was a smaller
back yard. To the south of the front yard was a garden spot big enough to raise all kinds
of vegetables for the large family. Then past the garden was the barn lot on which stood a
large barn with high loft to hold much hay and other feed for the livestock. At ground
level were horse and cow stalls on each side with a long hallway be tween. The livestock
consisted of 2 to 3 cows, a steer, and several horses. In 1923 this building was torn down
and a smaller one erected. The automobile had made its advent and the new building served
as a part garage and small barn. On past the barn lot was a fenced in lot of about an
acre, which extended to the line fence of the adjoining property. At the west end of the
fenced in area was the ice pit, about 12 or 14
22
* Pasture
* Apple Orchard
* Approximately 5 to 6 acres
Pond
* 'E
* E
* Approximately Small Small Yard
5 to 6 acres Woodshed
* Cider Mill ~* *Cottage *PEE
* Pasture *
Pit * Small back yard
* Fenced in * ** Side * BONDURANTS * Side ** E
** Lot * * Yard * "Twin Oaks" *Yard *
mately
* 1 acre * **Large* * a -*x Croquet Large x- x Grape x
* Barn * * r ** Grounds Front *** Arbor ,
* Yard Cistern *
* * Large Gate E
Towards Main Street and down town Brandenburg
Twin Oaks, built by Lewis Bourbon Bondurant about 1845. Total acreage, approximately 20
acres.
23
feet square and 8 feet deep. It was lined with straw during the winter and hugh blocks of
ice cut from the Ohio River were placed around the inside of the walls and more straw was
placed over the ice. As the weather became warmer, food stuffs sub ject to spoiling were
kept there. A simple ladder was used to get to the bottom of the pit and the top was a
removable cov ering made of wood and insulated with straw. Back of the house was a
five-acre apple orchard which produced the Ben Davis, the Winesap, Early Harvest, and the
Maiden's Blush apples. The orchard had its own cider mill. In the fall of the year, when
the apples had ripened, the cider mill was a busy place. To the north of the orchard was a
five-acre pasture covered with beautiful Kentucky Blue Grass. In the middle of the pasture
was a large pond where the horses and cows were watered. To the north of the pasture was a
small fenced off portion of the land extending to the very front of the 20 acres. On this
strip of land, about 75 yards back from the main house, was a small cottage with a nice
front and back yard. To the left rear of the cottage was a small woodshed and storeroom.
It was in this cottage that Annie (Bondurant) and Beall Grinnell lived. Charlie Bondurant
Grinnell, first child of Annie and Beall, was born there. It was later the home of James
Henry and Minnie Alice (Bland) Bondurant. In the north portion of the front yard of the
Twin Oaks Homestead was a grape arbor and a water cistern and many Bondurants said that
this was the best and coldest water they ever drank.
In 1965 Twin Oaks was torn down in order to provide space for commercial buildings. The
old dirt road in front of the house had become a busy highway. Some of the acreage is now
owned by Minnie Alice (Bondurant) Scott, great-great grand daughter of Lewis Bourbon
Bondurant.
Lewis Bourbon Bondurant assisted in the building of the First Methodist Church, in
Brandenburg. It is still a white structure with simple grace. Built in 1854, it was used
for quartering Union soldiers a few years later during the War be tween the States. Those
Union soldiers were led by General John Hunt Morgan. The church is still in use today,
although some additions to the original structure have been built.
Lewis Bourbon died of cholera at the early age of thirty six. He was buried in Meade
County, near Midway. The family plot, sometimes called the Henry Graveyard, is in a wooded
area, and the grave is in a clump of cedars. His gravestone has a Masonic emblem on it and
the inscription reads:
LEWIS B. BONDURANT DIED NOVEMBER 2, 1854. AGE 36 YEARS, 8 MONTHS, 23 DAYS.
The children of Lewis Bourbon and Lydia Ann Bondurant were:
(7)
1. Nancy (Nannie). She married Harvey Leslie.
24
2. Ellen. She married Joseph Board. They had a son, Henry.
3. Mary.
4. James.
5. John. He married Elizabeth Elder.
6. George. Lived only three years.
7. Ezekiel. Born 1846. He was unmarried and joined the Union
Army during the Civil War. On February 15, 1864, he was
killed in action at Knoxville.
8. Elisha Richard, born April 26, 1847. Died 1909.
9. Carlton Webb, born 1854. Died May 28, 1936.
Little is known about the personalities and activities of the nine children of Lewis
Bourbon and Lydia Ann Bondurant, except for Elisha Richard and Carlton Webb.
(7) CARLTON WEBB BONDURANT was a man with the usual Bondurant characteristics exaggerated.
He was tall and ruggedly hand some and enjoyed life to the fullest. He liked to take
groups of friends to the opera house for musical shows, after which they all went to the
Bondurant home to sing. Often Carlton would mimic the show's performers for the pleasure
and delight of his guests. Many years later stories were told of those happy times spent
in that hospitable home. On December 12, 1877, he married Nancy Elizabeth Waller, born May
18, 1860, died November 9, 1929. Carlton Webb and Nancy Elizabeth (Waller) Bondurant had
seven children.
(8)
1. William Bourbon, born February 20, 1879. Died June 16, 1945.
2. Annie Pearl, born October 12, 1881. Died August 23, 1955.
3. Baby, born October 23, 1889. Died March 1, 1891.
4. Mary Lillian, born June 13, 1892. Died June 13, 1960.
5. Ruth, born August 7, 1895.
6. Carlton Waller, born November 29, 1897. Died January 11,
1967~.
7. Aaron Leslie, born June 13, 1900. Died August 16, 1963.
(8)
WILLIAM BOURBON_BONDURANT, son of Carlton and Mary Elizabeth
Waller) Bondurant married Ora Strange October 9, 1900. His second marriage was to Minnie
Fowler. William and Ora (Strange) Bondurant had one child:
(9)
1. Margaret, born November 12, 1902.
(8)
ANNIE PEARL BONDURANT, daughter of Carlton and Mary Elizabeth
(Waller) Bondurant married Rives Waller (born 1874 and died
1956) on May 10, 1898. They had one child:
25
(7)
ELISHA RICHARD BONDURANT, son of Lewis Bourbon and Lydia Ann
Bondurant, went at the age of fourteen to Owensboro to join the Union Army. He knew that
Captain Wash Webb, a relative, was stationed there with his men. Captain Webb, knowing
that Elisha was too young, sent him home to his family in Meade County. Running away again
when he was fifteen, Elisha pert suaded Captain Webb to keep him. He was in Company C,
12th Kentucky Cavalry. Elisha returned home and later went to Union County with his
brother Carlton. In Union County, Elisha met and married Miss Lucinda Fenwick, daughter of
Robert and Eliza beth Burch Fenwick. Mr. Fenwick was a successful and promi nent farmer in
Union County, one of the richest farmlands in Kentucky. The characteristics for which
Lucinda was best re membered were her ability as a horsewoman, her striking red hair, and
her devotion to her church. ! In letters-to members of the family she frequently mentioned
her prayers and devo tions especially hoping that her home would be pleasing to God. She
mentioned, too, their farming activities, planting corn and raising calves. Years later,
her sister Mary Ellen told her grandchildren that "Lu could ride anything on four
feet. She was an excellent horsewoman. I can remember her sitting on a side saddle finer
than any woman ever sat a horse."
Three children were born to Elisha and Lucinda, the first two dying in infancy. Their
third child, James Henry, was 10 months old when his young mother died. She was buried in
St. Vincent's Cemetery, Union County. Elisha took his little son back to the Bondurant
home in Brandenburg where his grandmother, Lydia Ann, cared for him. On December 23, 1879,
Elisha married Laura Ann Carey, of Mauckport, Indiana. Laura Ann was born in 1358. Their
seven children were:
(8)
1881 - Annie Almetta - 1962
1883 - Carlton Webb - 1918
1885 - Clay - 1887
1889 - Imogene - 1914
1892 - William Harvey - 1952
1895 - Elisha Richard -
1898 - Bourbon Patch - 1971
All of the children of Elisha and Laura were born and reared in the ancestral Bondurant
home, "Twin Oaks," in Bran denburg. James Henry, Elisha's son by Lucinda, was
reared with the family. Elisha was a fine physical specimen and very
27
1905
Bondurants and Grinnells in front of "TWIN OAKS,"built by Lewis Bourbon Bondurant in 1845.
On_horse: Elisha Bondurant (age 10)
In chairs on porch: Laura Ann (Garey) Bondurant (age 47)
Carlton Bondurant (age 22)
Willie Bondurant (age 13)
Minnie Alice (Bland) Bondurant (age 24)
In chair on ground: Elisha Richard Bondurant (age 58)
On steps: Charlie Grinnell
(age 4)
Laura Grinnell (age 2)
Bourbon Bondurant (age 7)
Sitting on edge of porch: Annie (Bondurant) Grinnell (age 24)
Beall Grinnell age 25)
James William Bondurant (age 3)
James Henry Bondurant (age 28)
Standing:
Imogene Bondurant (age 16)
29
courageous. His children were known to have said: "He wasn't afraid of the
devil." Laura told the children that Elisha always liked to drink from thin glasses
and eat with real sil ver. He was a respected citizen and was jailer for Meade County He
also worked a 180-acre farm near Brandenburg. His death came suddenly on October 12, 1909.
He went to the Post Office for the morning mail and died upon returning home. After the
death of her husband, Laura Ann spent most of her winters with her daughter, Annie
(Bondurant) Grinnell, in Sherman, Texas. Laura lived until November 6, 1942.
ELISHA RICHARD BONDURANT
( 1847--1909)
30
Floor Plan of the Bondurant Home Place
"TWIN OAKS"
Sketched from Memory by
Minnie Elizabeth (Long) Young,
Daughter of Imogene Bondurant
31
T_W_I_N___O_A_K_S
I drove past the place I remember so well,
"Twin Oaks" was the name, and a story it tells.
"Twin Oaks" stood stately and proud for so long,
I can still hear the laughter and a child's pretty song.
The Bondurants played all the long day,
They would challenge all others to a game of croquet.
A large twin oak stood there in the breeze,
A cool green lawn under the shadow of its leaves.
In the middle of the oak's trunks, children sat in between,
On a seat put there by sweet Imogene.
It was truly a place where dreams were made,
While sitting and thinking in the Twin Oak's shade.
When the evening shadows danced all around,
Not a happier group on earth could be found,
The years have passed and everyone is gone,
"Twin Oaks" is torn down, but its memory lives on.
Composed by:
Mary Ellen Worsham, daughter of Annie Laura (Long) Meers.
Granddaughter of Imogene (Bondurant) Long.
August 5, 1965.
"Twin Oaks," the Bondurant homestead, was located in Brandenburg, Kentucky.
32
SUB TABLE_OF_CONTENTS I
DESCENDENTS OF:
ELISHA RICHARD AND LUCINDA (FENWICK) BONDURANT
Page
BLESS THIS HOUSE
The big timber would not move from across the splintered desk drawer. It was almost dark
and I knew I had to leave this place of shock and sadness while I could still see to crawl
among the network of fallen powerlines and broken trees. But in that drawer was the sheet
of music, "Bless This House," the song our family had always sung at gatherings
in the old par lor--the birthday times, summer visits, happy childhood Christ mases. I
could not move the timber.
Coming up the hill in the shadows, two men, a deputy sheriff and a man in a khaki uniform
flashed a light toward me. I toll them that this was my family's home and assured them
that I would be leaving soon. It was hardly more than three hours since the thing had
happened and I tried to decide which of the battered objects that I had dug out of the
shattered ruin would fit into my pocket and my arms for carrying away and keeping. And I
knew then that you don't really ever have any thing to keep.
The Raggedy Ann doll lay among crumbled plaster bits, soggy from the rain, her button eyes
looking forever skyward; a photograph of my nephew, Richard Bondurant, smiling in his
Sunday clothes, was under a tree branch; a quilt with its red and blue handsewn squares in
the old Sunshine and Shadow pat tern lay muddy and torn. Just this morning the beds had
been
40
neatly made, and the smell of coffee and warm bread had been in the kitchen. Two pairs of
doves had eaten by the side porch as they did every day, finishing after the cardinals.
And the sun had come in through the wavy glass of old window panes as it had in all the
Aprils since the house had been built by a Mr. Fontaine on this green hill overlooking the
river in the early 1800's. But that was this morning.
I picked up the doll and put her down again; I took a small gold object, a piece of
Mother's jewelry, from the mud and put it in my pocket. Books were scattered about among
the founda tion stones: horse books, Little Golden Books, "A Child's Gar den of
Verses," an old geography, books of meditation. The library table where Daddy had sat
to read was gone. But near by in the wet debris, his Bible was open, open to a Psalm of
David. I looked away.
Down the street, the ruin of the Baptist Church echoed in the tragic twilight its final
evensong--and just for that instant I could hear the choir once more singing "I Am
Thine, O Lord, I Have Heard Thy Voice And It Told Thy Love For Me." Sirens were
sounding loudly now and small groups gathered to carry a way the injured and the dead in
the neighborhood.
Here we had lived, known the proverbial joys and sorrows, pick ed brilliant yellow
jonquils in the front yard, made fragrant clover chains, asked daisy petals about our
childish loves. And in my stunned fantasy, time did not exist. A fiddle play ed lilting
music for the revelry of an infare held here in the year following the Civil War; how
often we had heard the story. Again tonight crinoline and taffeta and satin and lace
graced the old halls; winter winds blew cold and vapors of camphor brought healing to
ailing bodies. In timeless springtimes purple iris bloomed; wartime soldiers said sad
farewells. Win ter bobsleds with laughing riders flew down snowy hillsides, and always in
the kaleidoscopic pattern, the ferry, a squared off craft, angled to the current as it
crossed the river for ever.
A home is more than a house; a house is shelter. A town is more than buildings; it is a
gathering of human beings for the common good. Our home, yes, our house is still standing.
Not in walls of brick and wood, but it is standing in a more real form than it ever had
before. It now stands in the ancient context of a house--an extension of the lives of all
of us into the greater world, albeit into the lives of our fellow man.
As darkness falls, I can see the evening star. I cannot move this heavy timber. But it
really doesn't matter. We all know the words and any of us can play the chords to
"Bless This House."
Minnie Alice Bondurant Scott
41
SONG FOR MORNING
It is not ours to turn Direction of the phantom winds Across green April's orchards.
Gathering of a thousand thunderheads That clash wild sounds of bitter cymbals In harsh
metallic keening, dissonant, Thinned to a spiral edge cutting. Pummelling into splintered
chaos Our sometime ordered world.
Slivered shadows Of moonlight in disarray Catch broken red cedars Offering up their sad
fragrance In dark empty places.
Here is no triumph No consolation No response.
But in the stillness of gone
1 o s s bewilderment
A stirring seeks a stirring.
This I keep-
Divine affinity of seeking-
And question not again
The falling aside of old harmonies
The crush of appleblossoms
Baring smooth pearl of new fruit
Promise firm, intact.
Ours is a new song Set on old and measured melodies: A song for morning.
Minnie Alice Bondurant Scott
42
MY FORMER GROCERY ROUTE
(Condensed)
by JOHN J. SCOTT
At 5:45 p.m. on April 3rd, 1974, I was stopped at the first roadblock going into
Brandenburg, where a state trooper asked me what my business was in town.
I told him that I was concerned about my grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Bondurant. Their
home was in the center of West Hill in Brandenburg, and according to radio reports, that
area had been hit pretty hard. But my concern and business went further than that. Many of
the residents of Brandenburg were old friends to me. Our friendship had begun on visits to
my Grandparent's grocery store in the summers and on holidays as I was growing up. Later
on I had spent five years working at their store sacking groceries and making deliveries,
and this was when I really came to know Brandenburg and her citizens.
It was my old delivery knowledge that got me into Brandenburg proper that night. I was
backed up in a line of traffic in front of the bank. At that point, an officer was
stopping all traffic and repeating the same message to each anxious driver, "The road
to downtown is closed." As he spoke, ambulances and army emergency vehicles screamed
past,taking the injured to Fort Knox and Elizabethtown. Their presence only made me more
determined to get to West Hill. Being blocked from going down the main hill, I decided to
take a right next to Davis Florist Shop and see if I could circle around and come out by
the Meth odist Church. I had been that way several times in years past delivering
groceries to Prit and Dolly Wardrip, the Woodson Brown's, and the many other customers on
East Hill. I had no trouble getting around the tennis courts and playground, and thus
ended up by the library. The next thing I saw was a scene I shall never forget. There on
West Hill, as if it had been prepared for a bombed-out devastation setting in a war movie,
was the destruction you read about that happens to other places, but never to your own
town. The only familiar landmark was the remains of the Phillips Memorial Baptist Church
where I had been ring bearer 20 years earlier in my Aunt Mary's wed ding, and where my
great grandmother Bondurant had been eulo gized after 85 glorious years. I didn't linger
to gaze at the unrecognizable wreckage in the distance. Darkness would set i before long
and I wanted to find out what I could about my grandparents' home and their neighbors
before the town was closed for the night. I had already received word that my grandparents
were safe, though slightly injured.
44
In the next block had been my grandfather's store. That after noon the wind had taken the
roof off the store and only the crumbling walls remained on a building that had stood for
qual ity merchandise for over twenty years.
One of the major goals in growing up as a grandchild of the Bondurants was being old
enough to walk from the house to the store by yourself. This only involved a journey of
two short blocks, and the crossing of one street, but it was a mark of maturity when you
achieved the privilege of making this trip alone. But on Wednesday, April 3rd, in
retracing the same steps back from the store to where my grandparents' home had been, I
felt more apprehension than I had ever known as a child. Splintered utility poles and
dangling cables cries-crossed the street between Billy Hamilton's house and my great
grandparents' home. Mr. Hamilton's house was apparently in shambles. Sur prisingly, my
great-grandparents' home, which I associated with cigar smoke and pictures of Kentucky
Statesmen on the walls, was still in relatively good shape. But a sickening terror hit me
when I searched for my grandparents' home. The hill was empty. Oh, there were snags and
debris humped here and there, but the two story white brick where I had awakened every
childhood Christmas morning was gone. Then I found some perspective on noticing the old
dinner bell post in the side yard. It stood by--goggling against the sky--a pointer to
show the direction the storm had taken.
I shall not dwell on material losses of my loved ones, for those are not really important.
And, besides, what can you really say about a house that knew the laughter of 19
grandchildren; that had the room for three simultaneous Rook games following a
Thanksgiving dinner for 30; that was surrounded by rolling hills and fertile pasture for
livestock; that had good neigh bors in all directions and the highest vantage point in
town. Because of the trees between my grandparents' street and the river, you had never
been able to see the Ohio River from my grandparents' home before. But that evening, as I
stood on the stairway amidst the wreckage, I could see the river, and much more--more than
I wanted to see. I could look across the garden down towards Applegate and English's
garage--now a mass of twisted steel.
I turned down the hill on the pavement behind the church,and although this was a short
street, I knew it well for two very steady customers had lived there. One house was where
Miss Emma Wilson, and her sister, Miss Bertha Foote had lived. Miss Bertha had most likely
been in the store every day since it had opened, for her daily walks around town led by
our door way. That evening, Mrs. Wilson and her other sister, Mrs. John Bircher, lay
buried beneath the broken timbers in the general vicinity of where the house had stood.
The destruction along this street was so terrible that all the homes merged into one great
swathe of debris, as if a blender had mixed them all to gether and then frosted the earth
with the mixture.
April 3rd was more than a tragic day for Meade County. It seemed that all of the
catastrophies in the world had descended on Brandenburg that afternoon.
45
In the Old Testament, in the Book of Ecclesiastes, it is said that there is "a time
to every purpose under the heaven--," "a time to break down--," "a
time to die--," "a time to weep--,' and "a time to mourn--." But the
verse goes on--just as the people of Brandenburg did--those same people I had known and
befriended on my delivery rounds. Through courage and hard work they have now found
"a time to build up--," "a time to heal."
(9)
MILDRED_ALICE_BONDURANT, daughter of James Henry and Minnie
Alice (Bland) Bondurant, was born November 5, 1908, in Branden
burg. Mildred was the "Tom Boy" of the family. Coming home
from school one day she came across a baseball game in progress.
(all boys) Having just left basketball practice, she still had
on her bloomers under her skirt. She took off her skirt, hung
it on a fence and joined the game. She graduated from high
school in 1925. She received her B.S. degree from Nazareth
College in 1963.
On October 20, 1927, she married William Riley Gentry, II, in Brandenburg, the wedding
taking place in the home of her parents. Mr. Gentry was born June 13, 1902, in Louisville.
He had come to Brandenburg in 1925 to practice law, after his grad uation from Jefferson
school of law. From 1927-33 he was Coun ty Attorney of Meade County. During the years
1933-35 he was connected with the Federal Land Bank, in Louisville, moving to Bardstown in
November of 1935 to again practice law. He was County Judge (Nelson County) for two years
and Circuit Judge 10th Judicial District from January 1, 1952, until January 4, 1970, the
day of his retirement. William died in Bardstown April 2, 1976.
Mildred taught school for 25 years, first at Wolfe Creek (Meade County), 1926-27, teaching
the first through the fourth grades, and then in Brandenburg, 1927-28, teaching first and
second grades. From 1946-69 she taught in the City Schools in Bardstown, these years all
being with first grade pupils. One year she put on a "Big Time Circus,"
involving 65 children, all costumed. She retired in 1969.
Mildred and William Gentry had two children.
65
LAURA ANN (GAREY) BONDURANT
( 185 8--1942 )
66
ANNIE ALMETTA ( BONDURANT ) GRINELL
( 1881-1962)
67
ANNIE (BONDURANT) GRINNELL WITH HER FIRST two GRANDCHILDREN AND ONE OF HER FAVORITE POEMS,
REPRODUCED IN HER OWN HANDWRITING.
68
NOVEMBER 19, 1949. A GRINNELL FAMILY XE-UNION IN SHERMAN.
STANDING: MABEL (GRINNELL) FERGUSON, LAURA (GRINNELL) COLBURN.
ANNIE (BONDURANT) GRINNELL, CHARLIE
BNDURANT GRINNELL.
SEATED: IMOGENE (GRINNELL) DAY, WILEY GRINNELL, JULIA (GRINNELL) BAHRAIN.
69
DE S C E N D A N T S O F:
E L I S H A R I C H A R D A N D
L A U R A A N N (G A R E Y) B O N D U R A N T
(8)
ANNIE ALMETTA BONDURANT was the first born of Elisha Richard
and Laura Ann Bondurant's seven children. Born in Brandenburg
June 30, 1881, she attended the public schools there. She
loved to skate on the frozen Ohio River and sleigh ride from
the top of the hill on Main Street practically to the shores
of the Ohio. She was a member of the XV Club, a social club
for the young ladies of Brandenburg. She was an active member
of the Methodist Church. On May 20, 1900, she married Beall
Grinnell, who was born February 11, 1880, in Brandenburg. Mr.
Grinnell was working for one of Brandenburg's largest "gener
al stores," owned by Mr. McIntire and operated by Mr. H. C.
Woodson. Annie and Beall set up housekeeping in a small cot
tage on the Bondurant property about one fourth mile from the
Bondurant home "Twin Oaks." Their first child, Charles Bon
durant, was born there.
On July 28, 1902, the family moved to Louisville where Mr. Grinnell had accepted a job
with Belknap Hardware and Man ufacturing Company. In October of 1904 the family made a
bold move to what was then "far away Texas," where Belknap sent Mr. Grinnell to
represent them by calling on the retail hardware trade in North Texas and Southern
Oklahoma. When Annie said goodbye to her mother, both were crying and her mother said,
"I'll never see you again." The Grinnells settled in Sherman, Texas, which was a
central location for the trade territory. In a few years the family returned to
Brandenburg during the summer to visit at "Twin Oaks," where many happy times
were had by the members of both families. There was croquet in the front yard, card games,
swimming in the river and hiking in the surrounding woods.
On Christmas day during the early twenties Beall gave his wife a beautiful player piano.
The family gathered around as Annie played the first music on that piano and the tune was
"My Old Kentucky Home."
Annie's first allegiance was to her God and then to her family, to whom she devoted her
entire adult life. Always op timistic, never complaining, she was truly a gracious and won
derful person. Beall died August 22, 1929, and Annie died December 15, 1962.
Annie (Bondurant) and Beall Grinnell had six children.
(9)
1. Charles Bondurant, born in Brandenburg, Kentucky, March 29,
1901. Died in Little Rock, Arkansas, June 18, 1952.
70
2. Laura Louise, born in Louisville, Kentucky, October 17, 1903. 3. Mabel Spencer, born in
Sherman, Texas, March 10, 1906. 4. Wiley Beall, born in Sherman, Texas, September 21,
1911. 5. Julia Ann, born in Sherman, Texas, September 13, 1913. 6. Imogene, born in
Sherman, Texas, April 24, 1918.
(Bondurant)
Mrs. Annie Grinnell
DURING WORLD WAR TWO
Radio Station KRRV-------Sherman, Texas
Continuity Department
CLIENT: W. J. McGEE INSURANCE AGENCY
PROGRAM: VICTORY MOTHERS
DATE_OF_BROADCAST: JUNE 11, 1944.
Opened by orchestra playing: "MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME."
Our salute for today goes to a daughter of the Blue Grass State who came to Texas soon
after her marriage and has lived in Sherman for many years. She is the mother of an Air
Corps Lieutenant and of a Red Cross Recreational worker now on for eign duty. LADIES AND
GENTLEMEN--we give you as our Victory Mother on this June Sunday Annie (Bondurant)
Grinnell, or as we better know her, Mrs. Beall Grinnell. Mr. Grinnell, who represented a
Louisville, Kentucky, hardware firm died sever al years ago. For some time Mrs. Grinnell
has been handi capped with deafness, but this has not handicapped her smile or glow in her
eyes. She has that same gentle voice and soft accent that she brought from old Kentucky.
There is not a per son in Sherman who is more alert, who has more friends and visits more
agreeably with them than this lady of the South land. And that Kentucky background is
right, according to tradition--for one of Mrs. Grinnell's brothers was recently made a
Kentucky Colonel by the Governor of that state---Sen ator Jim Bondurant is now Col.
Bondurant--and that title of a Colonel, well, that just settles that with those from the
Blue Grass State.
During the last few weeks Mrs. Grinnell has been anxious ly awaiting mail from England,
the mail that invasion orders held up. For Gene Grinnell is one of two Sherman girls who
is on foreign duty with the American Red Cross. Gene, a trained recreation worker has been
over seas for some time with a hospital unit. Before going over seas she was station ed at
several hospitals in the States. She is well prepared for the work by her activities as
Camp Fire Girls worker and executive, her training in college and her experience as Phy
sical Training Instructor at Sherman High School. Latest news from Gene says that she has
been training vigorously for some time on strict military discipline and a tough program
of ex ercise of precision and drill. So it looks like G. I. Grinnell, as she calls
herself, may be joining the invasion forces.
71
Wiley Grinnell, remembered in Sherman as quite a football player with both Sherman
High School and Austin College teams, is a First Lieutenant in the Army Air Force and is
now on duty in San Marcos as a Physical Training Instructor. When he en listed, Lt.
Grinnell was football coach of the Bonham High Warriors, Bonham, Texas.
The Grinnell family has always been a fixture at the Trav is Street Methodist Church, with
the children growing up in the Sunday School and Mrs. Grinnell in her pew on Sunday morn
ings. This daughter and son in war service have three sisters and a brother. Charles
Bondurant Grinnell, the oldest, lives with his family in Dallas. Julia (Grinnell) Bahan
lives in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Mabel (Grinnell) Penn lives in Sherman, and her little son is
one of those attractive children who have been furnishing the programs given by the
kindergarten class. The oldest daughter of the Grinnell family is Laura Louise (Grinnell)
Miller, now a Camp Fire Executive in Orange, Texas. She expects to be in New York for the
summer taking special training for her Camp Fire position. Our VICTORY MOTHER is a
grandmother to 10 boys and girls. The youngest is the four month old baby of Lt. and Mrs.
Frances Grinnell. Mrs. Beall Grinnell lives at 403 South Hazelwood, in Sherman, in the
family home.
(9)
CHARLES BONDURANT_GRINNELL, son of Annie (Bondurant) and Beall
Grinnell, received his education in the public schools of Sher
man, Texas, graduating from Sherman High School as salutato
rian of his class. Charlie played the drums in the original
TEXAS_JAZZERS, a musical group formed by two of his best friends,
Charlie Bob and Smith Ballew. They played for many dances in
and around Sherman and later became famous throughout Texas.
He attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas for two years where he pledged Kappa
Alpha Fraternity and was
student manager of the baseball team. During his sophomore
year he was Assistant Editor of The_Campus_Staff, the college
paper. and a member of the Campus Press Club. During the sum
mers while at S.M.U., he worked at Yellowstone National Park
as a guide, entertainer, and general handyman.
For a while Charles worked for Pool Mfg. Co. in Sherman, and in the fall of 1922 he was
employed by Belknap in Louisville. At the same time his sister, Laura, was teaching
,school in Brandenburg and living with her grandmother Bondurant. Charlie spent most week
ends and all holidays in Brandenburg visiting with his sister and his grandmother at the
Bondurant home place, "Twin Oaks." In 1923 he was promoted
to a sales position, with headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas.
On June 10, 1925, he married Eleanor Seastrunk, daughter of Dr. Horace Earl and Ellen
9eastrunk of Orange, Texas. Eleanor
72
was Laura Grinnell's roommate at the University of Texas. Both parents of Eleanor died
before she was six years old. Charlie's marriage to Eleanor took place in the home of
Eleanor's grand father, Dr. J. C. Seastrunk, in Orange. Charlie and Eleanor spent their
honeymoon in Brandenburg.
The first year of their marriage was spent in Celina, Texas, where Charlie worked in
his father's hardware store as co-manager, having resigned his position with Belknap. In
1926 he became employed by Higginbotham Perlstone Hardware Company in Dallas and became
city sales manager until he ac cepted a position with Peaslee Gaulbert Company for whom he
worked for fifteen years. In 1945 the Grinnells moved to Little Rock where Charlie became
vice-president and general manager of Gunn Distributing Company.
Charles Bondurant Grinnell died in Little Rock on June 18, 1952, and is buried in West
Hill Cemetery in Sherman.
After her husband's death, Eleanor held the position as Head Resident at the University of
Illinois for 16 years. She worked for seven summers at camps in New Hampshire for the
National Council of Churches, and for six summers at a Y.M.C.A. Camp at Estes Park,
Colorado. In 1970 she took a position as freshman dormitory resident at Sam Houston State
University, a position she held for three years. She retired in 1973 and is now residing
in Boulder.
Anne (Miller) White's visit to Brandenburg in 1937.
76
81
A group of Irlsh business men bestowed this honor on Wiley by making him an
Admiral in the mythical Irish Village Navy
INCORPORATED
NINE-NINETY KILOCYCLES
BEAUMONT, TEXAS
"Kovering Texas' Richest Maricet"
82
THE HOUSE PARTY AT TWIN OAKS
"The House Party at Twin Oaks" is direct from the journal kept by Annie Laura
(Long) Meers. It was written when she was fifteen years old and living in Brandenburg,
Kentucky. "Twin Oaks," the Bondurant homestead, is the scene of the many happy
incidents related herein.
On Tuesday, the 30th of June 1925, the Grinnell family from Sherman, Texas, arrived. They
were: Uncle Beall, Aunt Annie, Charlie and his bride, Eleanor; Mabel, Wiley, Julia and
Imogene (Gene). They arrived about 2:30 in two cars, a Hudson and a Studebaker. After
refreshing themselves, Mabel, Julia, Martha, Minnie and I walked downtown. A showboat,
"The Water Queen" was at the wharf and we went down to see it. After supper we
went riding and intended going to the showboat, but the travelers were tired, so we came
home and played the piano.
Wednesday evening we went swimming over the river. I can't remember what we did during the
day but we danced that night.
99
Thursday morning, Uncle Beall, Aunt Annie, Charlie and Eleanor went to Louisville. In the
evening about seven thirty, Wiley took us downtown and treated us and we picked up Rose,
Mary and W. F. All of us went down to see the boat, "The Kosmosdale" and then
Rose, Mary and W. F. came home with us. After we took them home Mabel, Wiley, Julie,
Minnie and I went out to meet the eleven train. As we started to greet Uncle Beall and
Aunt Annie, we saw a tall figure loom up in the dark ness, and recognizing him to be our
dear Uncle Bourbon, we simply yelled in our delight. And there was sweet Aunt Martha, too.
We sure did have one joyous greeting and when we arrived home the lights went out but
Julia played the piano and we danced and sang until midnight, being too happy to sleep.
Friday morning we got up about eight, and after breakfast Uncle Bourbon, Wiley, Julia,
Minnie, Gene, and I went swimming. In the afternoon Charlie and Eleanor arrived with
Richard,III. In the evening we rested out under the great shady oaks and Julia played the
banjo-uke that Uncle Bourbon brought with him. About five thirty we went in swimming and
it began raining about the time we got in. It was lots of fun swimming in the rain and we
had a fine time. On the way home over the river, the waves were as high as I've ever seen
them and we sure did "ride the waves." At night we played the uke and watched
the folks play bridge. Turned in about eleven.
Saturday, the "Fourth O' July," Uncle Elisha and Aunt Marie came this morning
and what a house full we have. It's just like one big family and we're having a perfectly
lovely time. After lunch we rested and around three thirty all of us went to the picnic at
Sulphur Wells. I saw Forest and he took Alline Burch's and my picture. We didn't stay long
out there as we wanted to take a plunge. At five, the family went across the river and had
a good time in swimming. That night, For est and Ellis Blake, a Mr. Shain, Walter
Claycomb, Henry Brown and Uncle Jim's folks came out. We shot fireworks and danced.
Sunday, all of us (sixteen) went to Sunday School and some of them stayed to Church. In
the afternoon Wiley, Mary, Harry Applegate and I went out riding. Again at five, the folks
went in swimming. Went to church that night.
Monday afternoon Mabel, W. F., Julia, Minnie and I went fishing. Wiley took us, and we
wore our knickers. Caught one little fish and that was all. Uncle Bourbon, Aunt Martha,
and Wiley went in swimming that evening and the rest of us stayed home. Mary Grinnell
invited us down to her house that night. Julia took the banjo along and we sat on the
porch upstairs and sang. Then some of us danced. W. F. brought up a nice, big box of
chocolates and ice cream cones. About nine thirty Mrs. Grinnell served delicious
refreshments. We had the love liest time there.
Tuesday morning, Wiley made a golf hole in one shot and Uncle Bourbon gave him a dollar
for being the first one to make
100
it. About four thirty, the Grinnell family started to Lietch field to visit for a few
days. Uncle Bourbon, Aunt Mottle, Minnie and I went swimming. I stayed downtown for the up
mail. And coming down the street with Mary and Emma Dink Apple gate, who did I see but--My
Cousins--that had started to Lietchfield. The roads were so slick and muddy they decided
not to attempt the trip until morning. We went to church in the tent to hear Brother L. E.
Squires.
Wednesday morning, Minnie and I went to church and then down after the mail. I think Wiley
got the long looked for and much desired letter this a.m. from "Eloise." Haven't
done anything this afternoon except write a few entries in this journal. The Grinnells
attempted the trip again this morning, and they haven't gotten back yet, so we suppose
they made it alright.
Wednesday--two weeks later--I haven't written in my jour nal for two solid weeks. Have
been doing so much that I haven't had time to write in it.
The guests have gone and it is so lonesome without them. I enjoyed every minute of their
stay and only wish that it could have been weeks longer. They are ideal cousins and I sure
do love them all. They left yesterday morning and suppose they have arrived in Sherman
about now.
As it has been two weeks since I've written in my journal, I can't fully remember
everything we did, but will make an outline as to what happened in that time.
1. Uncle Beall was operated upon the 17th. Improving rapidly.
2. Went in swimming often.
3. Danced and sang.
4. Went to Old Mill Springs.
5. Mabel and Julia visited in Louisville.
6. Uncle Bourbon, Aunt Mottle and Wiley left for Michigan.
7. Went down to Fern Street.
8. Went to church nearly every night.
That was the program and there was lots more that I haven't stated. But that is a resume
of our happy times together. I enjoyed every minute of their stay and will always keep
"The House Party at Twin Oaks" in my memory as one of the most en joyable
vacations I ever had.
Finis
signed: Annie Laura Long
101
106
IMOGENE BONDURANT
(1889-1914)
CARLTON WEBB BONDURANT
(1883-1918)
WILLIAM HARVEY BONDURANT
(1892-1952)
107
(8)
WILLIAM HARVEY BONDURANT, son of Elisha Richard and Laura Ann Bondurant, was born in
Brandenburg, Kentucky, December 15, 1892. Before the age of 20 Willie, as he was called,
moved to Sherman, Texas. For awhile he lived with his sister, Annie (Bondurant) Grinnell.
He was employed by the Razor Brothers Ranch for a short time and then became a lineman for
the Gray son County Telephone Co. in Sherman. He later took a job with the Bell Telephone
Co. in Ballinger, Texas. There he met Bar bara Ellen Golden, who was employed by the same
company. Willie and Barbara were married in San Angelo, Texas, in February of 1916. She
was born in Alvord, Texas, November 23, 1893.
In 1919 Mr. Bondurant left the phone company and decided to try his skills as a farmer. He
and Barbara moved to a farm near Maverick, Texas, which was owned by Barbara's parents,
Mr. and Mrs. W. M. Golden. Willie and Mrs. Golden's younger brother, Jim, worked the farm
together.
In the fall of 1920 the family moved to Celina, Texas, where Willie went to work for his
brother-in-law, Beall Grin nell of Sherman, who owned a hardware store there. After three
years he returned to Bell Telephone in Big Spring, Texas,and worked for them the rest of
his life.
Mrs. Bondurant's health began to fail and it was found that she had an inoperable ulcer.
Her husband sent her to many doctors for relief. She was at one time in a sanatorium in
Glen Rose, Texas. Barbara Bondurant died July 11, 1927, in Ballinger, where she is buried.
She was a lovely person and a wonderful wife and mother.
In 1929 Willie married Helen Newman in Pecos, Texas, where he had been transferred. In
1933 Willie was moved to Weatherford, Texas, by his company. He and Helen were divorced in
Weatherford in 1934. She died in 1950. In 1937 he married Lillian (last name unknown).
They were divorced in 1939. In 1940 he married Eunice Dobbs of Weatherford. This was a
happy union which lasted for twelve years. Willie died May 3, 1952, after a heart attack.
He is buried in Weatherford.
Barbara (Golden) and William Bondurant had two children.
111
ELISHA RICHARD BONDURANT
(1895--)
112
April 30, 1962
E. R. BONDURANT
TRIBUTE TO A GRAND FELLOW
It is not often that any of us have a chance to pay TRIBUTE to such a grand gentleman
and one who has been with Belknap since 1911 .. 51 years .. Mr. E. R. Bondurant.
"Bonny", as he is familiarly known to the most of us here and many of the
salesmen, will retire JUNE 10.
It was my grand pleasure to work under Bonny when he was Sales Manager of the Western
Division and then I had the privilege of following him in that position when he was made
the Buyer of Department 5 in 1947.
All of us would like to see MAY be his LARGEST MONTH since it is his last month with
Belknap. With your help we can make it a MILLION DOLLAR MONTH in his Department alone,
which would be a grand tribute to one of the finest gentlemen known to any of us.
You now have out a number of "specials" in his Department and with June coming
up, and that being the top month for brides, it is naturally one of our big appliance
months.
Would you put some extra push behind his Department this month and let's see if we can't
give him a GRAND GOING AWAY PRESENT OF A MILLION DOLLAR VOLUME.
I know Bonny would like to hear from you, so why not just take a minute to drop him a note
and then put that PUSH ON FOR MAY.
Wm. R. Caskey
PW V.P. & GEN. SALES DIRECTOR
113
(8) BOURBON PATCH BONDURANT, son of Elisha Richard and Laura Ann Bondurant, was born in
Brandenburg in 1898. With a big, strong and well co-ordinated physique, he swam in the
Ohio River, was handy with the row boats and could conquer just about any com petitive
sport. He moved to Sherman, Texas, when only 16 and lived with his sister, Mrs. Beall
Grinnell. He worked for C. D. Pierce Grocery Company in Sherman as a grocery delivery boy
while attending Sherman High School. He was an outstanding football player. He attended
Austin College in Sherman for two years and while there became well enough known in
athletics to attract the attention of pro football scouts. However, Uncle Sam stepped into
Bourbon's life at that time. He went to see a troop train that had stopped at a local
station for a few hours. Many citizens were there to encourage the troops. The band played
and morale was high. It is well remembered that Bourbon said: "I'll enlist
tomorrow!" And indeed he did and spent the rest of World War I in France and Germany.
After his discharge from the Army, he became associated with the American food relief
mission in Europe in a civilian capacity. Later Bourbon enrolled at DePaul University in
Chicago, at that time a national football power. The pro scouts had not forgotten and
after a year of stardom as an outstanding tackle, he signed a contract with Jim Thorpe's
Barnstorming All-Star football team. He later played with the Canton Bulldogs, a team
belonging to a pro league which was the fore-runner of what is today the National Football
League.
In 1924 Bourbon married Martha (Mottle) McDuffie of Dallas. They moved to Kentucky and
lived in Brandenburg with Bondy's mother while a duplex was being built for them. After a
few
114
months Bondy sold the duplex to his brother Jim and he and Mottie moved to Michigan. Bondy
worked for Aetna Life Insur ance Company. He began to play golf seriously and won several
tournaments.
Copied from the Sherman Daily Democrat are two golf articles about Bondy.
FORMER SHERMAN BOY WINS GOLF TOURNAMENT
Bourbon Bondurant, brother of Mrs. Beall Grinnell, and a former Sherman boy, was
successful in a golf tournament in Grand Rapids, Michigan, according to information
received by Sherman relatives.
Mr. Bondurant attended Sherman High School, Austin College and DePaul University. Since
his marriage he has resided in Grand Rapids, where he has exten sive business interest.
His many friends, espec ially those who have the "golf bug" will be inter ested
to know of his success in Grand Rapids Tour nament.
BONDURANT TAKES MEDALIST HONORS IN LINKS TOURNAMENT
Bourbon Boundurant, prominent Cedar Crest golfer, (Dallas) won medalist honors in the
Construction Industries golf tournament at Parkdale Country Club. Mr. Bondurant navigated
the thirty-six hole test round in 150 strokes.
In the late 1920's Bourbon and Mottie returned to Dallas where Bourbon was again in the
insurance business. In 1944 he accepted a position with the U. S. Relief and
Rehabilitation Agency with headquarters in Rome, Italy. After about one year he became
employed as a civil engineer.
Mottie and Bondy were divorced in 1946 and the same year he married Countess Anna Marie
Marzano in Rome, Italy. In the meantime he had become employed by Lublin, McGaughy and
Cie, a firm of architects and consulting engineers, in Rome. Bourbon had 18 years of
happiness with Anna Marie before she died of cancer on November 22, 1964.
After Anna Marie's death, Bourbon retired and returned to the States. It was in Arizona,
while there for a golf tourna ment, that he met an old friend, Audrey Bainbridge Wenger.
Audrey and Bourbon were married in Sherman on January 13, 1966, at the Methodist Church.
They went to Scottsdale, Arizona, to make their home and it was there, after six years of
marriage,
115
that Bourbon Bondurant died in 1971.
Just like his father's brother, Carlton, Bourbon was rug gedly handsome, charming, and
always the life of the party. Playing bridge and golf were his main pleasures. He lived
life to the fullest, and just like his Uncle Carlton, he delighted his friends by his very
presence.
116
BOURBON PATCH BONDURANT
(1898-1971)
Brandenburg, Ohio River
1925
Beaumont, Texas
1956
117
C_O_N_C_L_U_S_I_ON
Within the next several pages will be found inter esting copies of old land grants,
deeds, abstracts, public claims papers, and wills pertaining to var ious members of early
Bondurant families, followed by selected references and bibliography used in pre paring
this book.
118
Letter written by Mrs. Mary Bondurant Epling
National Registrar of the Huguenot
Society of America
MRS. RAYMOND W. EPLING
Beechwood
Route 1, Box 266 A1
Huddlesson, Virginia 24104
31 March 1973
Mr. Lawrence Mason, Rector
Manakin Episcopal Church
Midlothian, Virginia 23113
Dear Mr. Mason:
It is my pleasure to enclose a check for $300.00 made payable to the Manakin Episcopal
Church for a memorial to Dr. Jean Pierre Bondurant. The memorial to be a bronze plaque to
be placed on the first or second pew door on the front left side.
We, the donors to this memorial, thank the, Officers, Members of the Parish and
you, Mr. Mson, for making this memorial possible.
Us also thank you for the dedication of this memorial, to be conducted on May 19, 1973.
Attached, you will find a 1ist of the donors to this memorial.
Thank. you again for your consideration and cooperation during the past four years of my
conducting this campaign for funds.
Most sincerely yours,
Mary B. Ipling (Mrs. R.W.)
119
THE STATUTES AT LARGE...OF VIRGINIA, Volume 3, 1684-1710, Hening
AN ACT MAKING THE FRENCH REFUGEES INHABITING AT THE MANAKIN TOWNE AND PARTS ADJACENT A
DISTINCT PARRISH BY THEMSELVES, AND EXEMPTING THEM FROM THE PAYMENT OF PUBLICK AND COUNTY
LEVYES FOR SEAVEN YEARS. Passed December 1700.
Whereas a considerable number of French protestant refugees have been lately imported into
his majesty's colony and dominion sever all of which refugees have seated themselves above
the falls of James River at or near to a place comonly cared and known by the name of the
Manakin tonne, for the encouragement of the said refu gees to settle and romaine together
as near as may be to the said Manakin tonne, Be it enacted...that the said refugees
inhabiting at the said Mana kin towne and the parts adjacent, shall be accounted and
taken for inhabitants of a DISTINCT PARRISH BY THEMSELVES and the land which they now do
or shall hereafter posses at or adjacent to the said Manakin towne, shall be and is hereby
declared to be a parish of itselfe, distinct from any other parish to be cared and knowne
by the name of KING WILLIAMS PARISH in the COUNTY OF HENRICO, and NOT LYABLE TO THE
PAYMENT OF PARISH LEVIES IN ANY OTHER PARISH WHATSO EVER.
VIRGINIA'S NATURALIZATION LAWS,
AND THE HUGUENOT MIGRATION TO VIRGINIA 1700
Many of us descend from families founded by non-British immigrants to the colony of
Virginia. Since the accuracy of our lineage re search in part depends on knowing the laws
applicable to foreign arrivals, here is a digest of naturalization laws, taken from
Hening's THE STATUTES AT LARGE OF VIRGINIA. Names of foreigners naturalized as seen in
Hening's volumes and the Supplement are also included.
THE STATUTES AT LARGE...OF VIRGINIA, Volume 2, 1660-1682, page 95, Hening. Passed March
1661/2 tl662]
GRANTS OF LAND
Bee it hereby enacted that any person or persons clayming land as DUE BY IMPORTATION OF
SERVANTS shall FIRST PROVE THEIR TITLE or just right before the GOVERNOR AND COUNCELL, or
produce certificate from the COUNTY COURT to the Secretarys office BEFORE ANY SURVEY be
made or grant admitted, it being unreasonable that others furnish" with rights,
should be debarred, by presence of survey which in it selfe is noe title.
THE STATUTES AT LARGE...OF VIRGINIA, Volume 2, 1660-1682, pages 289-9Q, Hening. Passed
September 1671.
AN ACT FOR NATURALIZATION
Whereas nothing can tend more to the advancement of a new plantation either to its defence
or prosperity, nor nothing more to add to the glory of a prince than being a gratious
master of many subjects, nor any better way to produce those effects then the inviteing of
people of OTHER NATIONS TO RESIDE AMONGE US, by communication of priviledges, Be it
therefore enacted...that any stranger desireing to make this country the place of their
CONSTANT RESIDENCE, may upon their PETITION TO THE GRAND ASSEMBLY AND TAKEING THE OATHS OF
ALLEGIANCE AND SUPREMACY TO HIS MAJESTIE BE ADMITTED TO A NATURALIZATION
1 2 0
AN ACT*--NATURALIZATION OF FRENCH HUGUENOTS----1705
Laws of Virginia--by Waverly Winfree--(Pub. 1971) pp. 39, 40, 41- (Re-arranged and
alphabetized by Charles H. Hamlin, C.C.)
Amonet, Jacob
Aubry, Andrew
Belivet, James
Bering, Francis
Bernard, David
Blovet, Daniel
Bocard, Peter
Bondurand, John Peter
Bossard, John
Brandonneau, Henry
Brok, Moses
Brousse, James
Cabany, Henry
Callot, Joseph
Calvet, John
Cambel, John
Cantepie, Michel
Capon, Jacob
Castige, Paul
Chambon, Gedeon
Champagns, James
Chastain, Stephen
Chataigmer, Peter
Chatain, Peter
Chermeson, Joseph
Clapier, Francis
Claud, Philipe
Cocke, Andreas
Decoppet, John Francis
Delaune, Joan
Delony, Jacob
Delony, John
Dep. John
De Richebourg, Claud Phillipe
De Rosseaux, Theodire
De Vesez, Paul
Duchomin, Daniel
Du Clos, John Oger
Du Fertre, Lewis
Du Foy, Peter
Du Mass, Jeremiah
DuPre, John
Du Pre, Thomas
Dupuy, Barthlomy
Farey, John
Fauire, Daniel
Faure, Peter
Fellon, Peter
Figuier, Isaac
Flournois, Jacob
Flournoy, Francois
Flournoy, Jaques
Fongall, Peter
Fonvielle, John
Forquerand, John
Gaudovin, Isaac
Gevandon, Anthony
Gori, John
Gori, Peter
Guerant, John
Guerin, John
Guil, John
Guil, Joseph
Guil, Stephen
Hungaute, Simon
Hungazel, Samuel
Imbert, John
Joanny, John
Korner, Gaspard
Korneu, John
Lacaze, James
La Fite, Isaac
La Forio, Rene Massomeau
Lagrand, James
Langlade, Daniel
Lapierre, Charles
121
122
In thra name 0! Cod and amen, I, John Meter Bo~:dura~ being sick and but of good sold
desposi~lg mind and memory, all praise be E,i~;en to Cod for it, and sour minding to
settle sir worldly estate ~ ich it pleased God to bestow upon me before I depart this
life, I do Mayo and appoint this by last will ad tes~nt in finer and fovea fo'lc~gs
FIrst, ~ give ~ say to God that gave it and nor body to the Earth from which it ~ take-e
to be decently buried according to the discretion Of Or executors hereafter mentioned, .
Item. I give and beneath unto by son Joy Bor_d~ar~t one hundred ad torty-fiYe acres of
lens Mach he ~ dwelleth on and one horse and one hog and blanket ~ rug and sheet and hide
"d bed cord and ores frou pot and dish and bash arxl three plates and One cow and cay
that is now possessed of nix and to his heirs forever.
Item, I =he Ad bequeath unto my son Peter Bondurant, one hundred and city acres of lacy on
Agee Creek and up along thro~:s~ creek Coos, and a horse named smoker and one color and
calf and two sons ark four sl;c'~te-sa AL ore Dyer dish and one bask and one porrlnger and
six pat spoons and one frou rot and one rug ant blanket and one sheet ard broffn lining to
make him a bed, to. him arid HIS heirs LO begotten forever, but if ye or all of By tiro
sons die without issue then to the s,~i70r al his }weirs lay begotten forever.
Item, I give and bequeath unto mar son Joseph 30ndura~c, one hundred and fifty acres of
lane with the p~an~nces belonging thereto where he now d*al~et'n and one co-ed and calf in
the possession of Jame Ford, and two savers and four shoatea and one ram sheep And one
mare' With he horse colta that she has id the Hair file to return to me and t,~ro dishes,
one large and one sma:L:L. one bask am1 six plates and one Porridge and one plaint pot and
one saver and four shoals, to hi and his hairs forestry
Item, } give and bequeath to my daughter Ann Ford one heifer eighteen months old ad one
soar and pigs to her and her heirs forever.
Item, ~ give ark bequeath to ~ daughter Prawes Salle one heifer at the age of eighteen
months and one roar and pigs to her and her heirs forever.
And I do give unto Or son Peter Bondurant, all Or Oaring clother ad it is ~ desire thy Or
~e shall keep then and let him have the a an she thinks fit and Or ca renter tools and
shoe ~aaker tools and cross cut saw ad wagon I lead for the use of y rife ad two sons and
their heirs be no -end or mole~- tation of an;r person or parson whatso ever.
Item, I give to Or loved To Ann Bondura~:t after ~;y Just
Debts and floral charges and legacies are ~d, at1 the rescinder
of by estate real and personal In this place or also wherever to her
arid her heirs former, and I do allow ~ loving trite Len Bond~ant
whol arid sole Bccutor of Clips fly last arid and testament,
revolts all other ~1} bar non made heretofore as witness ~ hark
and fir fly seal this 25th day of September, 1731~.
Test J. P. ,- ondurant (Seal)
o~ c - k
his
James (x) Ford
Ark
John Bond~rant
123
LAND GRANT TO JOHN PETER BONDURANT
Thomas Jefferson Esq., Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia: To all ~ to Whom these
present 5h~11 cone treating, know ye that in consideration of the compensation of fire (5)
pounds & fifteen (15) shillings sterlings paid by John Peter Bondurant unto the
treasury for the co=~oa~ealth there is granted ny the said commonwealth to the said John
Peter ~ondur?nt, a certain tract or parcel of land containing by surlier hearing date the
16th day of October 1755, one thousand & one Hundred &
twenty-five (1~125) acres of land lying .P' being in the county of Ilbemarle among the
head branches at Pointers on 'I. Babers line running thence north & 'a
branch to the beginning with its appurtenances to have & to hold the said tract or
parcel of. land & to the said John Peter Bondurant ~ heirs forever. TO scantness
hQreof the said Thomas Jefferson Esq. & Governor of the cowmon wealth of Virginia bath
Into set his hand & caused the seal of the sa-.d cn-mcu~ealth to be affixed at
Richmond Virginia on 17th day of duty 17bo of our Lord.
Thomas Jefferson, Governor.
IONS GRANT TO RICHARD BONDURANT
James Monroe Es<,., Governor of the Cc~mon~ealth of Virginia: To all to whom these
present shall-come greetings, know ye, that by virtue of land office Treasury warrents
number (2113) two thousand & one hundred & thirteen & the 11th day of
February, one thousand seven hundred & ninety-seven (year 1797), ther is granted by
the said commonwealth unto Richard BonJurant a certain tract or parcel of land containing
one hundred and -',hirt~r-five (135) acres bar survey bearing date October tth, year 1797,
lying ~ being in the county of Buck~ngha~ ~ bounded as follows, to wit: beginning at a
pane, at corner between Gad Blanksenship and Elizabeth trowel's line south & with
its a?perten ances to the said Richard Bondurant ~ his heirs forever, I witness
Whereof the said James No,nroe Esq., Governor for the co.~on~ealth of ir2tni~ &
that here set his hand ~ caused the seal of said Co~om-isalth of Virginia to be
affixed at Richmond on the 2Sth day of Larch year of our Lord loOO ~ of the
cc=mo~.vealth the 28th
James Monroe, Governor Virginia
124
125
JE_N_PIE_RE_BONDURANT
PROOF that Jean Pierre Bondurant was a Medical Doctor
practicing in Henrico County, Virginia 1700.
Henrico County Deed 1697-1703, p. 332 June, 1703.
The estate of Will Chambers to be paid to
Dr. Bondurant for Phisick. . . . 00 - 07 - 00
Henrico County Orders (1707-1709) :
p. 66, 2 August 1708 John Pierre Bondurant, Plaintiff John Bolling, Gent.
John Pierre Bondurant, Plaintiff
Francis Patram
John Pierre Bondurant, Plaintiff
Richard Holland
p. 153
Contract of sale, Jean Pierre Bondurant to John Wilson,
200 acres on Ole Town Creek.
126
BONDURANT NOTES
Public Claim Papers of Buckingham County Va.
Above at State Archives, Richmond, A.
Court Booklet page 2: - 1781
To Dr._Joseph Bondurant To dressing and boarding
Thomas Ham~leton Brannion on a wounded Continental
Soldier for the term of five (5) weeks.
5: 0; O
Ibid page 36 Joseph Bondurant to be paid for 625 lbs.
Of grass fed Beef. 1782.
Lists page 3 15 August 1781 Joseph Bondurant for 625 lb. Grass beef, for use of the
Army.
Note: The supplies were taken in 1780 and 1781 and the Legislature passed a law to make
payment for the same in 1782; hence the difference in the dates.
Goochland County, Va.
Deed Book 5, p. 248
Deed of Gift - 19 May 1747 -
John Radford of Goochland County, Parish_of Southam to Joseph_Bondurant_and Agnes, his
wife, daughter of said John Radiord. - "For the natural love and affection which he
bath for his daughter, Agnes Bondurant, 125 acres in Goochland County on the north side of
Jone's Creek, adjoining Colonel William Mayo, dec'd and the said John Radford, it being
part of a larger tract patented by Daniel Thomas, dec'd, dated 16 June 1727.
Signed - John Radford (Seal)
Witnesses:
James Ford
William Lax
Marmaduke Hix
Recorded - Goochland County May 19, 1747
127
Dr._Joseph Bondurant, France, married Elizabeth_Chastain Castaignier) daughter of Jean
Francois Chastain and Frances Jane Reno or Regnault (Re-naut) daughter of Charles Reno and
wife Ann. Dr. Joseph Bondurant was father of JEAN PIERRE BONDURANT the immigrant.
CHASTAIN GENEALOGY
The early spelling of the family name Chastain was Chastaignier, which meant a lord, a
count or nobleman.
1. Chateigner, Seigneur de la Chateignier, lived in France in about 1084 A D.
2. Jean Chateigner, Chevalier Sgr. de la Me.
3. Gilbert Chateigner, Chevalier (first of the name Gilbert), was living in 1246.
4. Gilbert Chateigner, Chevalier, Sgr. de la Melleraie et de Reaumur (second of the name
Gilbert), died 1318, m. Jeanne Barrabin.
5. Jean Chateigner, Sgr. de la Melleraie, living in 1304.
6. Simor Chastain (Chateign), Sire de St. Georges et de Rexe, was living in 1322. He
married Letice de la Guerche.
7. Jean Chastain, Chevalier, Sgr. de Reaumur,m. Isabeau Jousseraude.
8. Jean Chastain, Chevalier, m. the young Isabeau de Gourville, living in 1364.
9. Helie Chastain, Sire de St. Georges, died in 1396; m. Phillippe de la Rochefatou.
10. Geoffroi Chastain, Chevalier, killed in the battle of Patai, Oct. 29, 1429, with four
of his brothers. He m. Louise de Preuilly.
11. Pierre Chastain, Chevalier, m. Jeanne de Varere, their marriage contract being signed
March 20, 1443.
12. Gui Chastain, Chevalier, Marechal de France, m. Madelene Du Pui (DuPuy) January 4,
1502.
13. Jean Chastain, Chevalier, was in the siege of Pairre, 1522; m. Claude de Mohleon.
14. Jean (or Janet or John) Chastain, Genrilhomme, d. at Poitier, Jan. 6, 1581; m. Jeanne
de Villiers, 1564.
15. Francois Chastain, m. Louise de Foutlebou, 1605.
16. Rene Chastain, Page to Louis XIII., King of France from 1610 to 1643.
17. Rene Chastain, m. Marie Madeliene Helen de Dampiere. He was the father of Pierre
Chastain the emigrant.
18. Pierre Chastain (1660-1729), b. in Province of Dauphiny, in southeastern France, m.
Marie Madeline de la Rochefaucald, of Doffine (Dauphiny). Jean Chastain served for several
years as a member of the City Council in his native town in France. He was an attor ney
and served as clerk of King Williams' Parish from 1726
128
to 1754.
John Francis Chastain of France married Frances Jane Reno or Regnault (Re-Naut), daughter
of Charles Reno and wife Ann.
Issue: Elizabeth Anne married Dr. Joseph Bondurant (France)
Mary Ann married Daniel Isaac Faure (Fore)
Judith
Charles Reno married mobed to Virginia
Frances Jane married James Frances Bryant, Sr.
(Francis)
Capt. Peter James married Mary Magdalene De Rochefou
Mary Magdalene Varreiut, widow of Sir Anthony Traube.
Elizabeth Ann Chastain married Dr. Joseph Bondurant, their
son JEAN PIERRE BONDURANT emigrated to America and became
forebearer of the Bondurants in America.
Note 1.
Jean Pierre BoNduraNt was a Physician serving Henrico and
Goochland Counties 1700 - 1734.
Note 2. Chastain Genealogy copied from History_of_the Huguenots and Three Family Trees by
Dr. James Garvin Chastain.
Note 3.
Chastain Genealogy and all Bondurant notes, wills and
records are typed exactly as worded and spelled in all
original records.
129
SELECTED REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy. The First Families of America. Frederick
Virkus. Volume Two 1926. Page 273.
2. Agee Family, by P. M. Agee. Page 163.
3. Autobiography_of_Beniamin_Franklin_Bondurant, Bondur ant, Wyoming. Wyoming State
Historical Research and Publica tion Division, Cheyenne, Wyoming.
4. Bondurant----Minnie Alice (Bondurant) Scott. Her papers about the Bondurant family.
5. Bondurant Relatives. Many letters and phone calls.
6. City of Bondurant, Iowa. Portrait_and_Biographical Album of Polk County, Iowa.
7. Goochland County Wills. Book Two, page 56.
8. Hi-Line News, August 1971 Edition. Serving Breckenridge, Ohio, Grayson, Hardin and
Meade Counties, Kentucky.
9. History of Bondurant, Wyoming Area by Mrs. P. O. Bondurant, 1959.
10. History_of_the_Early_Settlers_of Sangamon_County Illinois. By John Carroll Power,
1876. (Centennial Record) Virginia State Library, Page 12.
11. __~_e_ot_Emigratio__to_VirJ~inia. Brock.
12. Huguenot Magazine. Volume 6, page 131.
13. San_Antonio_Academy_Catalog, San Antonio, Texas. Letters from Col. Bill Bondurant.
14. Since April Third. Published by Meade County Messenger, Meade County, Kentucky.
15. Twelve Virginia Counties Where the Western Migration Began. John H. Guathmey, Pages
215-240.
130