Rolf Wallace Bond

Or perhaps, Wallace Rolf Bond.  Or, Rolfe Wallace Bond.  Or Bonde.  Between several documents he is listed in different ways.


Not all family stories are Happily Ever After.  Sometimes the people in our families do not always act with integrity and honor.  Sometimes people are selfish.  Sometimes people walk away from their families.  People's motives, especially after their deaths, are a matter of memory of those they may have wronged.  There are two sides to every story.  The purpose of my blog is not to right wrongs or prove anything one way or another, it is to present the history of my family.  Good or bad.


That being said, this is my great-grandfather, Rolf Wallace Bond.

I have always been told was kind of a loser.  He left his family when my grandfather, Richard Bond, was fairly young.  Pre-teen anyway.  No one seems to remember why.  My grandfather didn't talk about him much, so my mother doesn't remember much about him either.


This is what I do know. . .


Rolf Wallace Bond was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming on 28 July 1887 to Frank and Henrietta Wallace Bond.  This photo was taken in front of their home in about 1891, making Rolf about 3-4 years old.

Henrietta, Rolf and Frank Bond

This photo was taken of Rolf in the spring of 1895, just before he turned eight years old.

The next time Rolf shows up is on the 1910 United States Federal Census, living with his parents in Washington DC.  He is on line 29 and his age is 22 years and his occupation is listed as a Surveyor.

It is not clear at this point how Rolf ends up clear across the country, but on 10 March 1914 he is marrying Miriam Griffiths in Twin Falls, Idaho.  On the Marriage Certificate, his name is written as Wallace R. Bonde.  He was 26 and Miriam is 21.

This is an undated photo of Wallace/Rolf and Miriam.

This photo was taken in 1914, and on the reverse it read: "To Mrs. Miriam Bond, from your Devoted Husband, All Yours and Yours Alone.  Wallace R. Bonde"

Wallace/Rolf Bond's Military Registration card, dated 5 June 1917

Now Wallace/Rolf is a married man, and within three years of their marriage, they have two children.  The oldest is my grandfather, Richard Griffiths Bond, born 26 December 1914 in Twin Falls, Idaho, and the youngest is Evalyn Ruth, born 17 August 1916 in Salt Lake City, Utah.  On his Military Registration card he lists his wife and two children.  He describes himself as being tall and slender with gray eyes and dark brown hair.  He lists his occupations as Clergyman, and a Laborer for the Oregon Short Line, North Yards in Salt Lake City, Utah.  He was 29 years old.

Ruth, Wallace/Rolf, Miriam and Richard Bond taken 18 August 1918

There is virtually no information on Wallace/Rolf, until his death in 1947.  He is mentioned in a affidavit in 1945 where a Sereno B. Tuttle swears, deposed and says that he knew Rolf when he was born and knew him all his life and that he is a citizen of the United States, etc.  It is unclear what the affidavit was for.

Rolfe W Bond's death certificate

Rolfe/Wallace/Rolf died in Santa Rosa, Sonoma, California on 16 March 1947.  If anyone can decipher the writing to see what he died of, I would be grateful.  Any doctors out there?  To me it looks like he died of Shork due to Pulmonary mumblemumble.  I don't know, I can't tell. Haha!

Interestingly enough, he is listed as separated from his wife, Miriam, but she had remarried twice before his death, the second time being prior to February of 1945.  It is unclear where the hospital got that information, so either there was a divorce in there somewhere, or Miriam remarried without a divorce.  (My mother thinks that is entirely a possibility.)

Rolf/Rolfe/Wallace/Rolf was cremated and buried with his parents in the Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington DC.

A little over a week ago, the 1940 Census became available and I am interested to see if I can find Rolf there to find another small piece of the puzzle of his life.

Direct Line Ancestry: Rolf Wallace Bond --> Richard Griffiths Bond --> Kathryn Bond Berkowitz --> Lora Marshall Nehring

Ann Chatterly Macfarlane - Heroic Rescue of a Squaw and her Papoose

Ann Chatterly Macfarlane in 1891

Ann C. Macfarlane has told her grandchildren about the various tribes of Indians who would steal young papooses to sell to distant tribes.  Squaws near Cedar [Utah] knew of this danger and guarded their papooses closely.  They also knew and trusted "Grand Mac".  She told me of one, in the spring of 1855, who came running with her papoose, said Indians were after her.  Grandma opened a trap door in the floor - had the squaw and child get quickly into the small cellar and said neither one must make a sound.  Just as she covered the trap door with a rug, put a chair on it and sat at a table, Indians on horses rode up to the door.  They demanded the squaw and papoose.  Grandma pretended not to understand them - nor to know what they wanted - the Indians became very angry, but she bravely kept up her act and the Indians left.  Fearing they might return she kept the squaw out of sight for quite a while.

Many stories have been written about the many papooses of Ann C. Macfarlane saved - some stories have been published.  No doubt they are all based on fact with a bit of fiction added by the author to make a good story.  In the early days of Iron County, the pioneers were warned not to buy the papooses but a few did in order to save the lives of the helpless, frightened babies.  The only ones I heard about were in Parowan. 
                (From a biography by Ann's granddaughter, Ruth M. Penrose)

A photo of a Parowan Chief - Ute 1867-69

from the website www.firstpeople.us

(First People is a child friendly site about Native Americans and members of the First Nations. 1400+ legends, 400+ agreements and treaties, 10,000+ pictures, clipart, Native American Books, Posters, Seed Bead Earrings, Native American Jewelry, Possible Bags and more.)

Direct line ancestry: Ann Chatterly Macfarlane --> Charlotte Ann Macfarlane McQuarrie --> Ruth McQuarrie Penrose --> Lu Penrose Bond --> Kathryn Bond Berkowitz --> Lora Marshall Nehring

The Summoner

My mother was here visiting me a few weeks ago to help me with my surgery and recovery.  She brought me a gift of a doll called The Summoner.  Besides being a stunning and amazing doll, there was a reason she chose it for me.  She said I am the summoner for our family history, photos and artifacts. I am the gatherer of information and history, I summon them to me.  I really like that!  It is something that I love and which defines who I am.  I am a part of my history.  


And, my mom knows me really well!! : )


One of my restrictions during my recovery is that I am not allowed to pick anything up.  Nothing!  My surgeon was very clear on that! So, since my Family History stuff is plentiful, and therefore, heavy, I can't even work on Family History.  Sigh.  Only three and a half more weeks!!

The cardboard box

My Aunt Lindi has ended up with a LOT of "stuff" over the years from her Aunt Esther, her dad, Richard Marshall and her mother, Willie Linenbach.  She has taken such good care of them and managed all the details that go with caring for the elderly.  This last month she completed a goal she has been trying to get to for several years, and went through all of the papers, photos and things that have been in storage.  When I saw her a few weeks ago, so gave me a cardboard box of things to look through.

Life gets busy and the box has been sitting in my living room for several weeks.  She even asked me the other day if I had gone through it, and I said I would get to it soon.  Today, on a whim, I opened the box...

WOW!!!!

There is an absolute treasure trove of wonderful things in this box!!  I want to share a few of those things I found in this box today...

Look at this absolutely gorgeous photo of my Gma Willie!!  I have never seen this before!  I think this may have been around the time that she graduated from high school, so circa 1940.  Very glamorous!

This is a small, black leather folder that has great-grandfather, Wilber Love's, 

WWI military info in it.  It may have been his military ID.  (You can read more 

about his military service HERE)  I absolutely love it that things such as these 

make it through moves and garages and storage units and are still intact and amazing!!

My grandmother was quite a good shot with a rifle.  Here is one of her targets, and 

her patch from the Rifle Team at Herbert Hoover High School in Glendale, CA.  

It is so neat that she kept these!!

(You can read more about this HERE)

The was my Gma WIllie's writing when she was 5 1/2 years old.  

It was on the back of a Mother's Day card.  It is amazing to imagine my 

90 year old Gma scratching out her name with an ink pen when she was 

younger than my youngest daughter.

This is a record with an interview with Wilbur and Faye Love on it from 1942.  

The Bride and Groom may have been Willie and my Gpa Caman.  They were 

married 28 June 1942.  I hope to be able to make a digital recording of it.

This is my Gma Willie's high school graduation certificate from 1940!!

This is a picture of Willie and Linn Linenbach on their wedding day.  I had not ever 

seen this before!  They were married in the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1974.

This is a photo of me and my dad that I have never seen before. 

 I believe I was about a year old.  Aren't I adorable?! : )

This photo of me and my dad and mom was dated August 1969, 

which would make me a little over six months old.

This is a photo of my brother, Jordan, when he was two weeks old, taken 16 June 1971.  

An this one is of my baby brother, Jeremy, who is a foot taller than me, by the way, 

taken when he was  about two weeks old, so about March 1973.

There is a lot more in the box and I have a LOT of scanning to do!! : )  I love seeing photos and memorabilia that connects me to my family!  What a joy!

Sergeant Richard Marshall

My grandfather, Richard Allen Marshall, died back in October, but today my Aunt Lindi, Uncle Rich and I attended the Memorial Ceremony for him at San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery in Santa Nella, California.

At this ceremony they were honoring the fifty-four people who had been buried there in the last three months.  Before it began one of the Chaplains came around to ask us who we were there to honor.

The weather had been rainy, windy and cold, but the rain stopped before the ceremony began.  The ceremony was outside and the wind continued to blow hard, and I took this photo to remember how hard it was blowing.  It was cold too.  And windy!

They started the ceremony with a reading of Psalm 23 by one of the Chaplains.

There was a woman who sang two songs that she had written.  They were pretty good songs, especially the second one, but she sang them in a kind of airport-lounge-singer type way and for me it kind of took away from their impact.  The words were a very fitting tribute to those who we were there to honor.

Then a Chaplain from the VFW in Fresno read the names of those that were being honored.  When he got to Gpa's he said, "Sergeant Richard Marshall, another veteran of World War II, from the greatest generation."

Then the Marines took the flag that was folded up on the stand and unfolded it.  They held it up as the Merced County VFW Honor Guard fired the twenty-one gun salute.  Even when you know it is coming, that first shot always makes you jump a mile!  Then, behind us, another soldier played Taps on the bugle.  Then they refolded the flag and placed it back onto the stand.

Lindi donated the flag that honored Richard Marshall to the cemetery for their Avenue of Flags on Memorial Day.

When the ceremony ended, we thanked everyone, and one of the members of the honor guard came around with brass from the twenty-one gun salute and asked if we wanted to have one of them.  Lindi and I each took one and we felt it was very nice of them to offer us those!

We went to find the headstone, which is in Section 3-13, site 516.  The grass was not put in yet, so our shoes got good and muddy, but we got some good photos of Gpa's headstone.

Lindi and Gpa Marshall's headstone

I am glad we had this opportunity to honor my grandfather.

Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains

It's Christmas time.  I am swamped with shopping, school programs, Christmas parties, making gifts, and all the other daily things that make us busy.  And, this year, my business is growing, so thankfully I am busy from that as well.

Basically, my family history focus has been dimmed the past few months.  I hate it when that happens.  But, life goes on, and I fit it in where I can.

With Christmas comes music!  I love Christmas carols!  They are fun and uplifting and beautiful!  I have several favorites!  My mother has told me that at the hospital in Provo where I was born, they would broadcast the BYU games over the intercom.  But, on the day I was born there was no games, so they were playing Christmas carols instead.  "I Saw Three Ships" was playing as I was born, so as a default, it is one of my favorites. : )  And, how she had the presence of mind to remember that is beyond me!! Haha!!  There are songs that my mother sang when I was a child that are special to me, "I Wonder As I Wander" and "The Coventry Carol".  I love the carol "Angels from the Realms of Glory" that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing every year at their Christmas Concert.  I love the "Carol of the Bells" (and I can play it pretty decently on the piano now!).  I absolutely love "O Holy Night" and have sung it many times with a quartet of friends.  I should stop now, or this post is going to be all about me.

One of my favorites is "Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains."  It is a Christmas Carol written by my 3rd great-grandfather, John Menzies Macfarlane.  Over the years I have heard the story of how it was that he wrote this hymn.

John Menzies Macfarlane

"It was during the pre-holiday season of 1869 that John M. Macfarlane began to think about the approaching Christmas program.  He didn't much care for the Christmas songs he had for the choir to sing.  Why not make the highlight of the program a new song?  Time passed and began to be pressing.  Finally, in prayer, he spoke to God, but still his brain remained barren.

"The one night it came, suddenly, in a dream.

"John was awake instantly.  He shook Ann into wakefulness, crying out, 'Ann, Ann, I have the words for a song, and I think I have the music too!'

"Together they got up.  Ann lighted the bitch [a twisted piece of flannel in a dish of oil] and held it so he could see.  He hummed, wrote, erased, and wrote again, quite oblivious to the chill in the room.  Ann, clad only in her thin nightgown, looked longingly at her warm feather tick and thought aloud, 'Let it go for now, John, and finish in the morning.'  But he, fired by the Muse, gave her only a wave of the hand in reply.  At last, after what must have seemed to Ann a very long time, John leaned back, laid down his pencil, and pronounced the task finished.

"It would have been no surprise to the composer if the little Christmas carol he had composed had never been heard again after the Christmas program of 1869, but such was not to be the case.  Its simplicity, its swinging rhythm, the workmanship evident in each measure all insured its appeal to those who heard it or sang it.  But most importantly, it appealed to the highest good that resides in the human heart.

"At first, 'Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains' was sung occasionally, then again, and again.  Finally it spilled out of Dixie to be sung at Christmas time throughout the Church, to become known and loved by every Latter-day Saint.  Eventually it was destined to spread beyond the protecting mountains of Zion.  It would be sung in far-off places and in other churches.  It would become the possession of every soul who had ever thrilled over the story and message of Christmas.

"John never wrote both the words and music to another song.  Music was his talent.

" 'Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains' was published for the first time into the Juvenile Instructor on December 15, 1889, twenty years after it was composed.  It first found it's way into the L.D.S. Hymnal in the July 1, 1896 revision, four years after the death of the composer and twenty-seven years after it was written."

From Yours Sincerely, John M Macfarlane, pages 96-101

A copy of "Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains" as it originally appeared in the Juvenile Instructor.

A depiction of John Macfarlane writing the song.  

From the notes in the book Yours Sincerely, John M Macfarlane it says: "On the cover of the Instructor of December, 1961, there is reproduced a picture of Grandfather Macfarlane composing 'Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains.'  This picture, which without question was meant as a tribute to both him and his Christmas carol, contains the most remarkable errors; but then, that is poetic license.  It shows John M. Macfarlane clothed in his Sunday best, seated at an ornate parlor organ, recording the notes with a quill pen.  The light by which is writing comes from a beautiful kerosene lamp, and the inspiration for his composition emanates from the outline of the St. George Temple glowing through the window."  The author goes on to say that he should have been in a nightshirt, no one used quills any more, and the St. George Temple was not completed until ten years after the song was written. 

"Hasten the time, when from every clime,

Men shall unite in the strains sublime."

I am sure it still does his heart good to hear the generations that followed him, and people around the world, uniting in strains sublime to sing his beautiful Christmas carol.

Merry Christmas!!

Direct line ancestry: John Menzies Macfarlane --> Charlotte Ann Macfarlane --> Ruth McQuarrie --> Lulu Penrose --> Kathryn Bond --> Lora Marshall Nehring

Happy Birthday Gma Lu!!

I miss my grandmother.  She was a wonderful lady.  Today would have been her 99th birthday!  She died in 1997 right before my oldest daughter was born.  The last time I saw my Gma Lu, I told her that I really wanted my children to know her, but knowing she was going to be dying soon (I was told by the hospice nurse that she had been waiting for me to visit her before she died), she and I agreed that it was now my responsibility to make sure that my children knew her.  Hence, one of the reason for this blog.  

So, in honor of my Gma Lu's birthday, I am sharing some photos, and a story she told about one of her birthdays.

Lu Penrose - Senior photo

Lu right around the time of her marriage to Richard Bond - 1941

Lu Penrose Bond - October 1983

Lu and her granddaughters in 1993 - back: Lora Marshall, DeeDee Castle, Jennifer Castle

front: Laurel Castle, Lu Penrose Bond, Kristen Castle

My photos of Gma Lu from when she was young (that are not in profile) are copies of copies and are horrible.  If anyone has actual photos I would be so grateful to have a copy of them.

Gma talked about one of her birthdays:

One of my birthdays stands out in my mind, and I think it must have been when I was about twelve, because I invited bit girls and boys to my party for the first time, and because my birthday in close to Halloween, I had a Halloween costume party.  And everybody was coming to dinner and party and in costumes and one person came in particularly early, which we weren't too thrilled about, but we were polite, but I didn't know who the person was, but I was ashamed to admit that I didn't know who it was, and I said, "Come in."

"Am I early?"

"Well, yes, a little, but that's alright."

The rest of them were coming.  Well, so we had out dinner and played games and I kept thinking, "Who is that girl?  I don't know who she is, but I must have invited her."  And, I think, "Oh, that crazy Joe, he probably forgot the party was tonight.  His birthday is tomorrow and maybe he didn't even care about coming to the party tonight.  Well, he's the loser."

Anyway, we played games and did all those things, like bobbing for apples in a big wash tub thing and we had pumpkins with candles in them for lights.  We played spin the bottle and all those exciting games.  Had birthday cake and ice cream and when all the kids were ready to leave to go home, this girl came over tome and she says, "You don't recognize me, do you?"  Put me right not he spot, and I said, "No, I don't.  At first I thought you were so-and-so and then I thought, no I didn't invite her."  It was this Joe that I thought had forgotten to come to the party and he was in costume made up like a girl, everything about his costume and his makeup was so perfect nobody recognized him.  Nobody knew that the girl was a boy.  And that was Joe Paytrick that lived two houses away from me all my life, till I grew up and got married,  He was invited tot eh party and I thought he didn't come.  Nobody knew who that strange girl was who came to the party in a dress and long hair.  Absolutely perfect, and I think one of his sisters must have helped him.  Maybe he was wearing one of their dresses, who knows.  But that's the only party I remember from when I was young."

  (transcribed by Lora Nehring from a cassette tape recorded by Marji Castle 2 May 1982)

Here are pages from our family scrapbook that I made when Gma died.

Direct line ancestry: Lu Penrose Bond --> Kathryn Bond Berkowitz --> Lora Marshall Nehring

Gpa Marshall

My Gpa, Richard Allen Marshall, passed away today.  He was 93.  He lived a long, full life and I am glad I got to share it with him.

I love you Gpa!

Google Maps

The internet can be so cool!  Just for fun I have been entering addresses on Google Maps of great and great-great grandparents, whose homes I have photos of, to see if their homes are still there.  A lot of them are, and some are now parking lots or convenience stores.

When I was living in Arizona, my mom came to visit me and we found one of the homes that my mom had lived in as a child.  There really wasn't that much difference in the photos, other than an overhang.  And, yes, the house is still there.  I checked Googled Maps.  The overhang has been shabbily filled in to make another room.

1830 Indianola, Phoenix (Maricopa), AZ - 

My mom said she lived in this house when she was in the 1st grade, which would make this photo taken about 1949.

This photo was taken in 1992

I also looked up the home of my great-great grandparents, Frank and Henrietta Bond in Washington DC.  

This is a photo of Henrietta and Frank in front of their home in 1939.  

This is their home on 3127 Newark Street in Washington DC, probably taken around the same time frame.

I looked it up on Google Maps, and there it is!  It is s a lot closer to the road than it appears in this photo, but all the elements of the house are still there.

Unfortunately there is no way to save the maps on Google Maps, so if you are so inclined, you can always put the address in to see it for yourself.

Trick or Treat

I have been busy.  And I hate it when busy keeps me away from the things that I love to do.  Thankfully most of the busy has been with things that I love to do. : )

One of the things I have been doing this month is visiting my Gma Willie.  She is not doing very well.  She just turned 89 (I am sorry I missed her birthday on here!) and her memory is gone and she is having a hard time completing coherent sentences.  She hasn't said my name for a very long time, but last week she was moved to a new home, and she introduced me to the nurse as her grand-daughter.  I was very happy to hear her say that!

It is still hot here in California.  Fall doesn't actually start here until December, no matter what the calendar says.  We carve pumpkins the day before Halloween so they don't collapse into moldy globs of goo before the Trick -or-Treaters arrive at the door.  Costumes have to be thin so you don't sweat to death in them.  Ironically, I grew up in Alaska where my parents drove us door to door or we went Trick-or-Treating at the mall because it was too cold to walk.  I don't mean we were wimps kind of cold, I mean your breath froze in your throat kind of cold.

Anyway, in honor of Halloween and all the other things that come with the month of October, here are a few photos of my Gma Willie in Halloween costumes as a child.  These are circa 1925.

Willie Love in a cat costume in 1925

In the book, "Grandma, Tell Me Your Memories. . ." Willie said: "[Dressing up in a costume] was my favorite thing when I was little.  My mom was really good in letting us use her things to 'look older'.  Also Halloween called for costumes.  (The knee socks are the kind that we always rolled down when we weren't near home.)  Trick or Treat wasn't around when I was growing up.  We had parties and rang doorbells and ran.  It did always call for a costume."

Willie and her sister, Juanita.

It is always a "treat" to be able to share all these photos and stories.