Hiram Bond was born May 10, 1838 in
Farmersville,
Cattaraugus County
Cattaraugus County (locally known as Catt County) is a county in Western New York, with one side bordering Pennsylvania. As of the United States 2020 census, the population was 77,042. The county seat is Little Valley. The county was created ...
, New York and died in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
March 29, 1906. He was a corporate lawyer, investment banker and an investor in various businesses including gold mining. His family are descended from
William Bond (Massachusetts politician) an early 17th-century immigrant from
Bury St. Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton ...
in
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in w ...
. He was the son of Hiram Bond M.D. and Almeda Slusser and was married to Laura Ann Higgins. He had two children- Louis Whitford Bond born in New York City, New York in 1865 and
Marshall Latham Bond born in
Orange, Virginia
Orange is a town and the county seat of Orange County, Virginia. The population was 4,721 at the 2010 census, representing a 14.5% increase since the 2000 census. Orange is northeast of Charlottesville, southwest of Washington, D.C., and ea ...
in 1867. He attended Rushford Academy,
Rushford, New York, and earned a bachelor's degree from
Hamilton College
Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...
. He earned much of the money for his own education as a distributor of maps and atlases. Among his successes were becoming a publisher, and taking over the rights to a map of the United States which had been prepared by
Matthew Fontaine Maury
Matthew Fontaine Maury (January 14, 1806February 1, 1873) was an American oceanographer and naval officer, serving the United States and then joining the Confederacy during the American Civil War.
He was nicknamed "Pathfinder of the Seas" and ...
, a Southerner who was a United States cartography officer. Maury, who decided to join the Confederacy, had left the work unpaid for in New York. He matriculated at
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class i ...
, but before graduation he was hired as a law clerk by
Chauncey Depew
Chauncey Mitchell Depew (April 23, 1834April 5, 1928) was an American attorney, businessman, and Republican politician. He is best remembered for his two terms as United States Senator from New York and for his work for Cornelius Vanderbilt, as ...
, a friend and neighbor of his father in law Michael Dunning Higgins of
Peekskill
Peekskill is a city in northwestern Westchester County, New York, United States, from New York City. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across from ...
.
Early investment career
Through Depew, he was introduced to and became a broker fo
John Tobin& Co., part of the powerful
Vanderbilt Organization. At Tobin & Co. he was the floor broker for
Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt and his son
William Henry Vanderbilt
William Henry Vanderbilt (May 8, 1821 – December 8, 1885) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the eldest son of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, an heir to his fortune and a prominent member of the Vanderbilt family. Vanderbi ...
on the
New York Gold Exchange
The New York Gold Exchange was an exchange formed shortly after the beginning of the American Civil War for the purpose of creating an open market for transactions involving gold and the government-created paper currency, the greenback. Establis ...
executing their trading in "greenbacks" and gold during the Civil War. The value of greenbacks against gold varied widely as investors altered their perception on the progress of the war. Greenbacks
United States Notes sold at a discounted price in comparison to gold. However, if chances of victory rose they became perceived as a business opportunity. For the most part however, if the war was dragging on, people wanted the security of gold. Vanderbilt employed a private intelligence network on the front line reporting early news. Hiram Bond's position led to his prominent contacts on Wall Street, in the military, and in politics. He is described by Professor Richard Lowe as having financial dealings during the Civil War with Gen.
Ulysses S. Grant.
Among the other investment houses acting in collaboration with Commodore Vanderbilt and Tobin, and that Hiram Bond was acquainted with, was that of
Leonard Jerome
Leonard Walter Jerome (November 3, 1817 – March 3, 1891) was an American financier in Brooklyn, New York, and the maternal grandfather of Winston Churchill.
Early life
Leonard Jerome was born in Pompey in Onondaga County, New York, on Novemb ...
who was the grandfather of
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
.
First National Petroleum
Towards the end of the Civil War Hiram Bond acted as the Treasurer in a company First National Petroleum formed to roll up oil leases in the state of West Virginia. The bankers for the company were
Duncan, Sherman & Company a boutique which had represented the London banking house of
George Peabody
George Peabody ( ; February 18, 1795 – November 4, 1869) was an American financier and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as the father of modern philanthropy.
Born into a poor family in Massachusetts, Peabody went into business in dry g ...
and
Junius Morgan.
John Pierpont Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...
had served his apprenticeship there previous to the death of Peabody but had left to form
J. P. Morgan and Company.
Judgeship
Hiram Bond was appointed to a federal judgeship in
Orange County, Virginia
Orange County is a county located in the Central Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 36,254. Its county seat is Orange. Orange County includes Montpelier, the estate of James Madison, the ...
in 1866 under Reconstruction. He was known as Judge Bond to many though his judicial offices ended in 1872. He was of importance in assisting a shift from an Accommodationist
Francis Harrison Pierpont
Francis Harrison Pierpont (January 25, 1814March 24, 1899), called the "Father of West Virginia," was an American lawyer and politician who achieved prominence during the American Civil War. During the conflict's first two years, Pierpont served ...
to a
Radical Republican
The Radical Republicans (later also known as " Stalwarts") were a faction within the Republican Party, originating from the party's founding in 1854, some 6 years before the Civil War, until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Re ...
Governor
Henry H. Wells. He was resented by many former Confederate Whites for his support of Civil Rights for Blacks. In 1868 he was appointed to the position of Master of Bankruptcy for the state of Virginia by President
Ulysses S. Grant. This position was based at the state capital,
Richmond, Va. While living there he hosted a visit by
Supreme Court Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase
Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist who served as the sixth chief justice of the United States. He also served as the 23rd governor of Ohio, represented Ohio in the United States Senate, ...
. His family remained living at
Mayhurst Plantation House in Orange.
Business dealings
Denver
In 1870 Judge Bond started visiting Denver and the other parts of Colorado on business. On the evening of January 14, 1872 he was among local notables invited by the Governor to be attendants at a ball held for
Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia. On the 15th the group hunted Buffalo with
Buffalo Bill
William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...
. Later in the year Hiram Bond purchased a small ranch on the outskirts of the town named
Villa Park, Denver,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
where he acted as a cattle broker. The same year he organized the
Denver Smelting and Refining Works
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...
with Joseph Miner and Denver Mayor
Joseph E. Bates processing ore into lead and gold for ingots for the
Denver Mint
The Denver Mint is a branch of the United States Mint that struck its first coins on February 1, 1906. The mint is still operating and producing coins for circulation, as well as mint sets and commemorative coins. Coins produced at the Denver Min ...
. The Villa Park property was sold to Helen Barnum Hurd Buchtel daughter of
P. T. Barnum
Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He wa ...
founder of
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1879. The Barnums then operated the Bond's Villa Park House as a hotel. Hiram Bond's Denver homesite and yard are now called Paco Sanchez Park. While engaged in cattle brokerage with his brother in law he also practiced law. Judge Hiram Bond practiced law specializing in mining and ranching, he also dealt in real estate.
The Grape Sugar Trust
In 1881 Judge Hiram Bond became involved with the
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
corn starch and glucose producer the New York Grape Sugar Corporation. The other founding officers include
Theodore Havemeyerof the Havemeyer Brothers led by
Henry O. Havemeyer the largest sugar refiners in the United States. Among the other principals were the New York State Republican Boss
Thomas C. Platt, patent lawye
Edward N. Dickerson a Philadelphia group composed of businessme
William West Frazierof
Rittenhouse Square
Rittenhouse Square is a neighborhood, including a public park, in Center City Philadelphia. The park is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century.
The neighbor ...
, Frazier's brother in law
William Crawford Sheldon and his son in la
Alfred Craven Harrison Frazier, Sheldon and Harrison had a banking business in New York and an established business
Franklin Sugar Company which imported and refined sugar in Pennsylvania. William Crawford Sheldon's daughter Gertrude was later the wife of
Richard Whitney President of the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...
. Judge Bond helped distribute the stock exchanging some wit
Charles D. Armsof Youngstown, Ohio for shares in Grand Central Mining. There was a resulting court case as to whether Judge Hiram Bond had exchanged those shares with Charles Arms as an individual or as a member of the partnership of Kimberly & Arms. This case eventually went all the way to the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. Federal tribunals in the United States, federal court cases, and over Stat ...
.
Kings County Elevated Railway
Between 1879 and 1887 Judge Hiram Bond was also chief officer of a firm financed by investors from Boston led by
Willard T. Sears and
Moses Kimball
Moses Kimball (October 24, 1809 – February 21, 1895) was a US politician and showman. Kimball was a close associate of P. T. Barnum, and public-spirited citizen of Boston, Massachusetts.
Biography
Kimball was descended from Richard and Ursu ...
. This firm had acquired rights to construct an urban transit system under the name
Kings County Elevated Railway
The Kings County Elevated Railway Company (KCERy) was a builder and operator of elevated railway lines in Kings County, New York. Kings County is now coextensive with the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, but at the time the railway started, ...
. This line was to run from the Fulton Ferry Terminal inland to the Queens border at City Line. Williard T. Sears was an architect who was able to add value designing the overpasses and bridges. Their package of rights and initial construction was eventually sold off to New York City investors led by Gen
James Jourdandue to the lack of support for the Bostonians by the local political leaders. Due to the persistence of Jourdan the project eventually got off the ground. The company directors besides Jourdan were
Edward A. AbbottHenry J. Davison Harvey Farrington,
Wendell Goodwin,
Henry J. Robinson,
James O. Sheldon and
William A. Read. William A. Read was the financier whose company Read & Company later became
Dillon, Read. Hiram's association with the KCER was so well known that it was commonly referred to as "Judge Bond's Road" according to the New York Times. During this period of time he was inducted into the
Players Club at
Gramercy Park
Gramercy ParkSometimes misspelled as Grammercy () is the name of both a small, fenced-in private park and the surrounding neighborhood that is referred to also as Gramercy, in the New York City borough of Manhattan in New York, United States.
T ...
founded by actor
Edwin Booth
Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was an American actor who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Theatre in New York. Some theatri ...
for actors and lovers of the theater. He was also a member of the
Union League Club of New York
The Union League Club is a private social club in New York City that was founded in 1863 in affiliation with the Union League. Its fourth and current clubhouse is located at 38 East 37th Street on the corner of Park Avenue, in the Murray Hil ...
and Lawyers Club of New York. During this time he maintained an office at 115 Broadway in Manhattan and a townhouse in Brooklyn.
Alabama; Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Co.
As a result of the ethical performance of his position being Master of Bankruptcy for Virginia he was respected there and in the South even by many former Confederates despite being a Radical Republican. This led to Judge Hiram Bonds involvement with the northern Alabama coal mining industry. He began by purchasing a house at Decatur and helping form a new company
Decatur Land Improvement and Furnace Company there in 1887 as vice president and general manager. This company was formed with Major
Eugene C. Gordon the brother of Governor
John Brown Gordon of Georgia. He then became involved with
Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company
The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company (1852–1952), also known as TCI and the Tennessee Company, was a major American steel manufacturer with interests in coal and iron ore mining and railroad operations. Originally based entirely withi ...
.
Judge Hiram Bond was the Chief Operating Officer of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company from 1889 to 1891. The TCI resulted from a combine of interests between a number of coal, coke and iron operations in Tennessee and Northern Alabama. Judge Bond was made an officer at the same time as
John C. Brown a former General and Governor of Tennessee. The largest holders of the company stock were in two groups, one being led by a Southerner
John H. Inman, the other group by New York State Republican Boss
Thomas C. Platt. On Gov. Brown's death he was replaced as President by Platt. The Southerners won out in time though due to discomfort the Northerners felt over
convict leasing
Convict leasing was a system of forced penal labor which was practiced historically in the Southern United States, the laborers being mainly African-American men; it was ended during the 20th century. (Convict labor in general continues; f ...
and the poor initial performance of the stock. The Inman's removed Bond from his office, but by then he was already doing projects in other places.
Seattle, Monte Cristo Mine
Hiram Bond became active in the mining and lumber industries and real estate in Washington in the early 1890s. Among his promotions were two companies based on mining near
Monte Cristo Peak
Monte Cristo Peak is a mountain peak in the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness in Washington state. Together with Columbia Peak and Kyes Peak it forms a basin that contains Columbia Glacier and Blanca Lake. The 1918 edition of '' The Mountaineer'' ...
in the Cascades
Monte Cristo Mining & Milling Co.and the
Everett and Monte Cristo Railway.
This package of corporations, real estate and mining patents was sold off to
John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller had his representatives execute development of the mine, a railroad extension to the mine and a town. Among those who participated later in the period of opportunity at Monte Cristo was
Frederick Trump (father of
Fred Trump
Frederick Christ Trump Sr. (October 11, 1905 – June 25, 1999) was an American real estate developer and businessman. A member of the Trump family, he was the father of Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States.
In partnership wi ...
and grandfather of
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
), who opened the first Trump Real Estate Office and Trump Hotel there. The lumber for the construction of that first Trump Hotel was purchased from Monte Cristo Mining & Milling while it was owned by Rockefeller. The mine there turned out to be marginal and Bond's sale showed good foresight.
Santa Clara Prune Industry
Beginning in 1895 Judge Hiram Bond and a younger brother
Elmer Monroe Bond a New York City wholesale produce dealer were involved in a fruit packing business in
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...
. There had been wide price swings in the price of prunes depending on the time since last harvest. Judge Bond constructed warehouses, set up a bank Citizens Bank of Santa Clara and he bought New Park Estate formerly the property of
James Pieronnet Pierce. A fruit industry association he helped found and headed
California Cured Fruit Association negotiated prices which increased due to storage and slow sale. The business succeeded until a bumper crop in 1903 proved too much to store. While in Santa Clara Hiram Bond was a cofounder of the Garden City Athletic Club (a gym). He was also a member of th
Saint Claire Clubof San Jose, th
Burlingame Country Clubof Burlingame and the
Pacific-Union Club in nearby San Francisco. At this time the Bonds also maintained a string of polo ponies among the Judge and his two sons playing at
Coyote Point Park in San Mateo. At the time of the
San Francisco earthquake
At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity s ...
of 1906 Santa Clara's water towers were knocked down and the community was supplied from the Bond's reservoir. He maintained an Irish coachman Nace, a carriage and a limousine which was used by his wife after his death whose California chauffeurs license number was 226.
New York Again, American Mechanical Cashier
Among his last positions was President of the American Mechanical Cashier Corporation which had a plant in Jersey City, New Jersey an office at
40 Wall Street
40 Wall Street, also known as the Trump Building, is a neo-Gothic skyscraper on Wall Street between Nassau and William streets in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. Erected in 1929–1930 as the headquarters of the Manha ...
and a flagship store on Broadway. AMCC provided a suite for him and to be used as a reward for the companies salespeople and clients at the
Waldorf Astoria Hotel Waldorf can have the following meanings:
People
* William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (1848–1919), financier and statesman
* Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor (1879–1952), businessman and politician
* Pappy Waldorf (1902–1981), 196 ...
in New York City. Among the others involved in the company were former Secretary of the U.S. Treasury
Charles S. Fairchild and investment banke
Henry L. Hortonfather in law of
Edward F. Hutton. The company was developing a proprietary cash register and had acquired the
Isaac S. Dement machine stenography patents. Among those friends of the family who considered investing in AMCC was
John Jacob Astor IV
John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American business magnate, real estate developer, investor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War, and a prominent member of the Astor family. He died in the sink ...
. The main near term business however was refurbishing some used registers made by the
NCR Corporation
NCR Corporation, previously known as National Cash Register, is an American software, consulting and technology company providing several professional services and electronic products. It manufactures self-service kiosks, point-of-sale termin ...
that users obtained title to at the end of their leases. NCR wanted clients to upgrade with new machines under a new lease from NCR. Col.
John H. Patterson financed
Thomas Watson to set up a front company Watsons which would compete in that market with predatory practices. So AMCC was driven into bankruptcy and acquired by Watson's. The matter generated an anti-trust action after which Watson left to set up
IBM. Among the injured investors in AMCC was
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
.
Jack London and the Bonds
Judge Bond is chiefly remembered as the basis for the character Judge Miller in
Jack London
John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...
's novel ''
The Call of the Wild
''The Call of the Wild'' is a short adventure novel by Jack London, published in 1903 and set in Yukon, Canada, during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, when strong sled dogs were in high demand. The central character of the novel is a dog named Bu ...
''. Judge Bond's sons were Louis Bond and Marshall Bond who were mining engineers educated at
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the worl ...
and
Stanford
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
. The Bonds owned the cabin and tent pitch overlooking
Dawson City
Dawson City, officially the City of Dawson, is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–99). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest town in Yuko ...
, in the
Northwest Territory
The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
where Jack London had lived on a work exchange during the Fall of 1897 and part of the Spring of 1898. The Bond brothers had also owned the sled dogs that London used in Dawson working for the Bonds and other of his clients. One of their dogs was the basis for the character Buck.
London visited Marshall Bond at New Park Judge Bond's Ranch in 1901 at
Santa Clara which included a plum orchard, vineyard and winery as well pasture for a string of polo ponies. ''The Call of the Wild'' begins with a description of the place.
''Buck lived at a big house in the sun-kissed Santa Clara Valley. Judge Miller's place, it was called. It stood back from the road, half-hidden among the trees, through which glimpses could be caught of the wide cool veranda that ran around its four sides. The house was approached by graveled driveways which wound about through wide-spreading lawns and under the interlacing boughs of tall poplars. At the rear things were on even a more spacious scale than at the front. There were great stables, where a dozen grooms and boys held forth, rows of vine-clad servants' cottages, an endless and orderly array of outhouses, long grape arbors, green pastures, orchards, and berry patches. Then there was the pumping plant for the artesian well, and the big cement tank where Judge Miller's boys took their morning plunge and kept cool in the hot afternoon.''
References
External links
Marshall Bond Papers Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
''Yale Beinecke Library Photo Judge Bond'''' Commodore Vanderbilt and the Jeromes''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bond, Hiram
1838 births
1906 deaths
Harvard Law School alumni
American judges
Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company
Virginia Republicans
Colorado Republicans
Alabama Republicans
New York (state) Republicans
California Republicans
People from Cattaraugus County, New York
19th-century American judges