Representative Charles Grosvenor Bond

Charles Grosvenor Bond (May 29, 1877 – January 8, 1974) was a Republican United States Representative from the state of New York who served in the 67th United States Congress. A nephew of American Civil War general Charles H. Grosvenor, he was born in Columbus, Ohio, the son of William W. Bond and Frances (Currier) Bond. He attended the public schools of Columbus, where he received his early education before pursuing legal studies.

Bond graduated from the law department of Ohio State University at Columbus in 1899. In the same year he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Columbus, Ohio. Seeking broader professional opportunities, he moved to New York City in 1903 and continued the practice of law there. On June 27, 1905, he married Bertha Gildersleeve Paterson, establishing his family life while building his legal career in New York.

By the second decade of the twentieth century, Bond had become active in Republican politics in New York. Elected as a Republican, he served one term as U.S. Representative from New York’s eighth district in the Sixty-seventh United States Congress, holding office from March 4, 1921, to March 3, 1923. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, in the early post–World War I era, when the nation was adjusting to peacetime conditions and confronting economic and social change. As a member of the House of Representatives, Charles Grosvenor Bond participated in the legislative process, contributed to the work of the 67th Congress, and represented the interests of his New York constituents as part of the Republican Party.

Bond’s congressional career was limited to a single term. He was defeated for reelection in 1922 and left Congress at the conclusion of his term in March 1923. After his service in the House of Representatives, he resumed the practice of law in New York City. Among his notable legal work, he served as an attorney for the writer O. Henry, reflecting his continued prominence and connections within New York’s legal and cultural circles.

Remaining engaged in public affairs, Bond sought elective office again and made an unsuccessful bid for the borough presidency of Brooklyn in 1926. He continued to be active in Republican Party politics and was a delegate from New York to the Republican National Convention in 1936. His public service extended into administrative and regulatory roles at the municipal level, where he played a long-term part in the governance of New York City.

From 1934, Bond served as chairman of the Alcohol Beverage Control Board of New York City, a position he held for an exceptionally long tenure. He remained in that office until 1970, when he retired at 93 years of age. His decades of service on the Alcohol Beverage Control Board coincided with the post-Prohibition era and the evolving regulatory framework for alcoholic beverages in the city, giving him a sustained role in shaping and administering local alcohol policy.

Charles Grosvenor Bond died in Bound Brook, New Jersey, on January 8, 1974, at the age of 96 years and 224 days. He was cremated, and his ashes were interred at West Union Street Cemetery in Athens, Ohio, returning him in death to his native state. His family’s public profile continued into later generations; his granddaughter, Geraldine Bond Laybourne, became a prominent media executive, leading Nickelodeon’s growth in the 1970s and 1980s and later founding the Oxygen Network.