Stephen Washington Bond was named for his paternal grandfather. He was my first cousin, three times removed.
It's been hard to account for how he spent his life. His father didn't die until 1948, and stayed close to home. Very close to home. Ulysses Grant Bond is buried in the same cemetery as his parents, five year old daughter, siblings and grand nieces and nephews in Caneyville, Grayson Co., KY.
Stephen could have stayed closer to his dad, but seems to have had some wanderlust that took him all the way across the country.
In the 1910 census, he was employed at the Hot Lake Sanitarium in Union Co., OR.
On 12 Sep 1918, Stephen registered for the World War I in Santa Barbara Co., CA. He gave his occupation at that time as an oil pipeline worker for Associate Oil Co of he same county. He listed his dad as his next of kin on the card.
And after that, I could not find him in the 1920, 1930 or 1940 censuses, which leaves me to believe that my cousin may have been what was then called a hobo.
The next time I was able to locate Stephen was due to a news article about his tragic death.
MAN IS CRUSHED TO DEATH IN PIT - PENSIONER PERISHES ON RAILS OF ENGINE TURNTABLE
LEWISTON, ID, NOV 11, 1951 (AP)
An elderly pensioner was crushed beyond recognition last night under a locomotive turntable in the rail yards of East Lewiston.
The victim was identified as Stephen Washington Bond, 65. He lived in a shack about 150 feet from the turntable.
Police theorized that Bond slipped and fell into the turntable pit sometime after 10:30 last night. He was last seen alive leaving a Lewiston tavern at that time.
LAY ON TRACK
Officers said Bond had apparently struck his head on a rail in the pit. They believe he was seriously injured by the blow but that he managed to drag himself 77 feet across the pit where he collapsed.
He lay beside the track upon which the turntable revolves as it swing around the reverse [of] the direction of the locomotive.
The table was used during the night, and Bond was crushed by the tremendous weight of the table and the engine it carried.
William Hart, turntable operator, found the body early this morning when he noticed some coins and a shoe beside the turntable. A hat and an unopened can of coffee were lying beside the crushed body.
Source: The Spokesman-Review, 12 NOV 1951
Perhaps Stephen chose to live in that little shack by the railroad because of his memories of the sanitarium where he worked in 1910. Maybe he was just very poor or anti-social - or a combination of those or other things. Telling the story of the orphan relatives is never easy.
It's been hard to account for how he spent his life. His father didn't die until 1948, and stayed close to home. Very close to home. Ulysses Grant Bond is buried in the same cemetery as his parents, five year old daughter, siblings and grand nieces and nephews in Caneyville, Grayson Co., KY.
Stephen could have stayed closer to his dad, but seems to have had some wanderlust that took him all the way across the country.
In the 1910 census, he was employed at the Hot Lake Sanitarium in Union Co., OR.
On 12 Sep 1918, Stephen registered for the World War I in Santa Barbara Co., CA. He gave his occupation at that time as an oil pipeline worker for Associate Oil Co of he same county. He listed his dad as his next of kin on the card.
And after that, I could not find him in the 1920, 1930 or 1940 censuses, which leaves me to believe that my cousin may have been what was then called a hobo.
The next time I was able to locate Stephen was due to a news article about his tragic death.
MAN IS CRUSHED TO DEATH IN PIT - PENSIONER PERISHES ON RAILS OF ENGINE TURNTABLE
LEWISTON, ID, NOV 11, 1951 (AP)
An elderly pensioner was crushed beyond recognition last night under a locomotive turntable in the rail yards of East Lewiston.
The victim was identified as Stephen Washington Bond, 65. He lived in a shack about 150 feet from the turntable.
Police theorized that Bond slipped and fell into the turntable pit sometime after 10:30 last night. He was last seen alive leaving a Lewiston tavern at that time.
LAY ON TRACK
Officers said Bond had apparently struck his head on a rail in the pit. They believe he was seriously injured by the blow but that he managed to drag himself 77 feet across the pit where he collapsed.
He lay beside the track upon which the turntable revolves as it swing around the reverse [of] the direction of the locomotive.
The table was used during the night, and Bond was crushed by the tremendous weight of the table and the engine it carried.
William Hart, turntable operator, found the body early this morning when he noticed some coins and a shoe beside the turntable. A hat and an unopened can of coffee were lying beside the crushed body.
Source: The Spokesman-Review, 12 NOV 1951
Perhaps Stephen chose to live in that little shack by the railroad because of his memories of the sanitarium where he worked in 1910. Maybe he was just very poor or anti-social - or a combination of those or other things. Telling the story of the orphan relatives is never easy.
Stephen Washington Bond was named for his paternal grandfather. He was my first cousin, three times removed.
It's been hard to account for how he spent his life. His father didn't die until 1948, and stayed close to home. Very close to home. Ulysses Grant Bond is buried in the same cemetery as his parents, five year old daughter, siblings and grand nieces and nephews in Caneyville, Grayson Co., KY.
Stephen could have stayed closer to his dad, but seems to have had some wanderlust that took him all the way across the country.
In the 1910 census, he was employed at the Hot Lake Sanitarium in Union Co., OR.
On 12 Sep 1918, Stephen registered for the World War I in Santa Barbara Co., CA. He gave his occupation at that time as an oil pipeline worker for Associate Oil Co of he same county. He listed his dad as his next of kin on the card.
And after that, I could not find him in the 1920, 1930 or 1940 censuses, which leaves me to believe that my cousin may have been what was then called a hobo.
The next time I was able to locate Stephen was due to a news article about his tragic death.
MAN IS CRUSHED TO DEATH IN PIT - PENSIONER PERISHES ON RAILS OF ENGINE TURNTABLE
LEWISTON, ID, NOV 11, 1951 (AP)
An elderly pensioner was crushed beyond recognition last night under a locomotive turntable in the rail yards of East Lewiston.
The victim was identified as Stephen Washington Bond, 65. He lived in a shack about 150 feet from the turntable.
Police theorized that Bond slipped and fell into the turntable pit sometime after 10:30 last night. He was last seen alive leaving a Lewiston tavern at that time.
LAY ON TRACK
Officers said Bond had apparently struck his head on a rail in the pit. They believe he was seriously injured by the blow but that he managed to drag himself 77 feet across the pit where he collapsed.
He lay beside the track upon which the turntable revolves as it swing around the reverse [of] the direction of the locomotive.
The table was used during the night, and Bond was crushed by the tremendous weight of the table and the engine it carried.
William Hart, turntable operator, found the body early this morning when he noticed some coins and a shoe beside the turntable. A hat and an unopened can of coffee were lying beside the crushed body.
Source: The Spokesman-Review, 12 NOV 1951
Perhaps Stephen chose to live in that little shack by the railroad because of his memories of the sanitarium where he worked in 1910. Maybe he was just very poor or anti-social - or a combination of those or other things. Telling the story of the orphan relatives is never easy.
It's been hard to account for how he spent his life. His father didn't die until 1948, and stayed close to home. Very close to home. Ulysses Grant Bond is buried in the same cemetery as his parents, five year old daughter, siblings and grand nieces and nephews in Caneyville, Grayson Co., KY.
Stephen could have stayed closer to his dad, but seems to have had some wanderlust that took him all the way across the country.
In the 1910 census, he was employed at the Hot Lake Sanitarium in Union Co., OR.
On 12 Sep 1918, Stephen registered for the World War I in Santa Barbara Co., CA. He gave his occupation at that time as an oil pipeline worker for Associate Oil Co of he same county. He listed his dad as his next of kin on the card.
And after that, I could not find him in the 1920, 1930 or 1940 censuses, which leaves me to believe that my cousin may have been what was then called a hobo.
The next time I was able to locate Stephen was due to a news article about his tragic death.
MAN IS CRUSHED TO DEATH IN PIT - PENSIONER PERISHES ON RAILS OF ENGINE TURNTABLE
LEWISTON, ID, NOV 11, 1951 (AP)
An elderly pensioner was crushed beyond recognition last night under a locomotive turntable in the rail yards of East Lewiston.
The victim was identified as Stephen Washington Bond, 65. He lived in a shack about 150 feet from the turntable.
Police theorized that Bond slipped and fell into the turntable pit sometime after 10:30 last night. He was last seen alive leaving a Lewiston tavern at that time.
LAY ON TRACK
Officers said Bond had apparently struck his head on a rail in the pit. They believe he was seriously injured by the blow but that he managed to drag himself 77 feet across the pit where he collapsed.
He lay beside the track upon which the turntable revolves as it swing around the reverse [of] the direction of the locomotive.
The table was used during the night, and Bond was crushed by the tremendous weight of the table and the engine it carried.
William Hart, turntable operator, found the body early this morning when he noticed some coins and a shoe beside the turntable. A hat and an unopened can of coffee were lying beside the crushed body.
Source: The Spokesman-Review, 12 NOV 1951
Perhaps Stephen chose to live in that little shack by the railroad because of his memories of the sanitarium where he worked in 1910. Maybe he was just very poor or anti-social - or a combination of those or other things. Telling the story of the orphan relatives is never easy.
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