Daily AncestorGuardian bond
A guardian bond is a promise backed by sureties that a court-appointed guardian will manage a minor's or ward's property honestly.
When a court appointed a guardian for a child or other ward, the guardian usually had to post a bond. Sureties, often relatives or neighbors, promised to pay if the guardian mismanaged the ward's property.
Guardian bonds name the ward, the guardian and the sureties, and sometimes the ward's age or dead parent. They often follow a father's death, even when the mother was alive.
As seen in a recordCounty probate court record, 1800s
Know all men that we, Jno. Webb, guardian of Polly and Sally Webb, orphans of Wm. Webb decd., and Saml. Kirk, security, are bound in $500.
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Daily Ancestor. "Guardian bond." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/legal-land/guardian-bond. Last checked 2026-10-01.