DEATH OF DR. BOND.

A Leading Citizen of Lithonia Passes Away Today.

Special to the Journal.

LITHONIA, July 15--Dr. Bond, one of the leading citizens of this place, died this morning. He was 66 years old and represented this district in the senate in 1881 and 1882. Later he represented this county in the legislature and was a noted prohibition leader. The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, GA), 15 July 1898, p. 2

William Parks Bond was a younger son of Joseph Ballenger Bond, Jr., and his wife Sarah (Baker) Bond. He was named for Rev. William Justice Parks (1799-1873), the pastor who founded Rock Chapel Methodist Church in DeKalb County, Georgia. William's father, Joseph Ballenger Bond, Jr., gave the land for the church.

William married twice. His first wife was Sarah Ann Born, daughter of John Morgan Born and Emily Morris, whom he married on 13 Mar 1855 in DeKalb County. They had three children John Edgar Bond, Clara Emily (Bond) Almand, and Joseph Herbert Bond. His second wife was Sarah Ann Lamkin Harris, daughter of Benjamin H. Lamkin and Permelia Niblack, and widow of Daniel Harris. William married her on 31 Oct 1877 in Gwinnett County, and they had just one child, daughter Annie Parks (Bond) Matthews.

W. P. Bond studied medicine under a Dr. Reagan of Lithonia for two years before attending the Georgia Medical College at Augusta. He graduated in 1855, returned to DeKalb County, and practiced medicine there for the rest of his life. When he died, it was said that he was one of the most widely known citizens of the county because he had ministered to nearly every family.

Besides his practice, Dr. Bond was a good businessman, owning extensive farming interests, and he was also active in politics. He served as both state senator (1880-1881) and state representative (1884-1885). While in the legislature, he was influential in passage of a bill to enlarge and improve the state insane asylum. Back home, he was a county commissioner for years although he never would accept pay for the position.

A lifelong Methodist, Dr. Bond was active in the Rock Chapel Church, teaching Sunday school classes when he was younger. Once he was living in Lithonia, he helped to establish a Methodist church there, a leader in it until his death.

In Rock Chapel Historic Cemetery, there is a monument to Dr. William Parks Bond, where he is buried with his first wife and two sons, Edgar and Herbert. His second wife is buried in Redan Cemetery, DeKalb County, next to their daughter Annie Parks (Bond) Matthews.