Francis Bates Pond was a Republican politician from the state of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. He was

Ohio Attorney General The Ohio attorney general is the chief legal officer of the state of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio attorney general is Republican Dave Yost. History The office of the att ...

from 1870 to 1874. Pond was born August 9, 1825, at Ellisburg,

Jefferson County, New York Jefferson County is a county on the northern border of the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 116,721. Its county seat is Watertown. The county is named after Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United S ...

. He entered

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

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, in 1841, and graduated with honors in 1846. He spent the next three years in

Kent, Ohio Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County, Ohio, Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeast Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 28,215 at the 2020 United States ...

, one year as a teacher and two as a book-keeper for Charles and Marvin Kent. Robertson 1886 : 259-261 In 1850 he went to Harmar, Ohio and taught classics at the Harmar Academy. He began study of law in 1849 in Cleveland, and continued in Marietta in 1850. He was admitted to the bar 1852 at

Malta, Ohio Malta is a village in Morgan County, Ohio, United States. The population was 559 at the 2020 census. History Malta was laid out in 1816. The village was named after the European island of Malta. Geography Malta is located on the west side of ...

, and three years later elected Prosecuting Attorney of

Morgan County, Ohio Morgan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of 2023, the population was 13,646, making it the third-least populous county in Ohio. Its county seat is McConnelsville. The county was created in 1817 and later organized in ...

. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, he served as a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

with the Sixty-second Ohio Infantry, and August, 1864, at the Battle of Deep River, he was wounded, and lost sight in his left eye. He resigned in November of that year. In 1867, he was elected to represent Morgan County in the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

for the Fifty-eighth General Assembly. In 1869 and 1871 he won election as Ohio Attorney General. In 1879 he was elected to the

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from the Fourteenth district (

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, Morgan and part of Noble County), for the Sixty-fourth General Assembly, and re-elected to the Sixty-fifth in 1881. Ohio 1917 : 244,247 He died November 2, 1883, at his home in Malta, Ohio. Smith 1898 : 270 He died as a result of the wound he received near his eye in the Civil War which he had suffered with for nineteen years. Pond was married to Eliza A. Corner of Malta in 1854. She died on January 13, 1866. On May 21, 1867, he married his first wife's sister, Emma. She died March 18, 1870. He married Janet Alexander of

Washington County, Pennsylvania Washington County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 209,349. Its county seat is Washington, Pe ...

in 1876. His first wife had children named Mary Blanche and George Charles. His second wife had a son named Francis Newell, who died in infancy.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pond, Francis Bates People from Malta, Ohio Union army colonels Ohio attorneys general Ohio lawyers Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Republican Party Ohio state senators Oberlin College alumni 1883 deaths People of Ohio in the American Civil War Ohio Constitutional Convention (1873) County district attorneys in Ohio 1825 births People from Ellisburg, New York Politicians from Jefferson County, New York 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly