Welcome
Bond County ILGenWeb is a free genealogical site about the history of the
county. We hope you find helpful clues for your research of ancestors and
relatives of the county.
Please consider contributing your pieces of Bond county family history. YOUR
HELP IS NEEDED. Our combined efforts can make this a great site for all who
visit!
County Coordinator: Norma Hass normahass01@gmail.com
Co-Coordinator: YOU? Bond ILGenWeb needs a local co-coordinator. Are you familiar with the area? Do you have a family tree connection to the county? Are you experienced at researching in Bond County? If your answer to any one of these questions was "Yes," please volunteer to be a Co-Coordinator.
County Formation
Bond
County was organized in 1817, when Illinois was yet a Territory consisting
of less than a dozen counties.
The
original boundries were carved from Madison County and covered a long,
narrow, north-south strip down the center of Illinois. In 1821, the majority
of the land area was split off into the creation of Pike, Sangamon, and
Montomery counties. Another, small portion, went toward the creation of
Clinton county in 1824.
Bond County was named in honor of Shadrach Bond, who was the first representative of the area to become Illinois. He became the first governor of Illinois.
"Bond County, now one of the small Illinois counties, was among the
largest in 1818. As the county was organized before Illinois became a State
of the Union, it was represented in the Constitutional Convention of 1818 by
two delegates.
"In 1821 large slices of the county were shaved off to form Montgomery and
Fayette counties, and in 1825, another large section became Clinton County,
Bond County was then so small that a portion of Madison County was added to
it in 1843."
Stories from Illinois History, compiled by the Workers of the Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Illinois, page 84
