Fanny L. Bond

FANNY L. BOND 1887 -1964

Born in rural Appanoose County, south of Cincinnati, Iowa on the Missouri border, and given the name of Francis Levice Bozwell. One of the ten children of John Bozwell and Mary Vestile Bozwell. Her five brothers—Tom, Dave, Glen, Fred and Noeh—all preceded her in death; of her four sisters, Lenny and Myrtle preceded her in death, and Birdie and Isceil each succeeded her in death.

Fanny married Lewis D. Bond in 1903 and she gave birth to five children—four daughters, Mary Malinda, Edna June, Lula Easter and Doris Madaline, and one son, Herbert. She had eighteen grandchildren and thirty-two great-grandchildren and numerous great-great-grandchildren.

A true Iowa Pioneer Woman, a farmer, and coal miner’s wife in the Appanoose Valley in southern Iowa before moving by covered wagon, drawn by a team of horses north to Keokuk County. There, her husband Lewis was a farmer in the Ollie and Martinsburg area. After raising their children, Fanny and her husband moved from the countryside into Martinsburg proper.

Suffering from a genetic sight disorder, Fanny spent her later years practically blind. However, this or any of the hardships she incurred from the tough times in the poor regions of southern Iowa never dampened her spirit or weakened her character. She was always a shoulder to lean on, an ear to listen to your thoughts and dreams, and a strong will that was able to instill the value of right and wrong to all those who were associated with her.

As the youngest grandchild who was motherless, she took me in and gave me a home with what little she and her husband Lewis had. Although she was old and blind, she cared for me in my younger years, sacrificing her needs so I would not go without. She provided love and warmth and instilled the basic values of the Iowa farm family. Because of her, I will always feel a closeness for the state of Iowa and the values and character of the Iowa farm family. My only regret is that Fanny died before she could see the strong stock of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren that her ideals were carried on and that her dreams came true.

Stephen M. Bond
7/1/96