For future generations,Since its founding in 1829, Decatur Illinois has been a mid-sized, working-middle-class city that has held to the values family and hard work. . “At the time I moved here, Decatur was very wealthy and it was a great place to raise a family,” my great-grandmother Mildred explained. Grandma Mildred was born as Mildred Ligon in Brownsville, Tennessee, on October 5, 1936. It wasn't until November 10, 1955, that 19-year-old high school graduate Mildred and her husband, Albert-Lee, married. traveled north to Decatur. looking for better job opportunities and to start a new generation of love. Just days before moving to Decatur, the couple had obtained a marriage license and declared their love for each other in a small town in Mississippi. To this day, Mildred has no idea why they had to get married in Mississippi, she had no prior knowledge of the state and assumed it had something to do with the limited number of places where black people could go to get their marriage license at that time. . Coincidentally, the time period that Mildred and Albert-Lee were heading to Decatur was in the same time period as the Great Migration. Mildred had no idea she would be part of such a migration. To her, she was simply moving north for the sake of her husband's new job. Before moving to Decatur, Albert-Lee was first scheduled to visit Decatur where he would stay with close friends who had already moved to Decatur from the south. Once Albert-Lee found a home and got his job at Wagner's Casting Company, he then returned to Brownsville, Tennessee to collect his wife. Thus, the beginning of the Bond family was created. “Once we got to Decatur, we didn’t have much; we were as poor as possible... middle of paper ... He played a key role in the re-development of Mildred's spiritual being and taught her everything she needed to know about her presidency of the Church. board of directors, as well as the many other leadership positions she will assume in the future. “He always had the best advice on personal problems,” Mildred added. Bishop Morgan often made house calls to keep his spirituality and morals true. The bishop would also be the one to assist her in the growth of her two boys, as her husband, Albert-Lee, would soon pass away in 1993 due to heart failure. To this day, Mildred Ligon-Bond, 77, is an inspiration, leader, disciplinarian and mother to many. She is the last living relative of her immediate family, consisting of her two parents and 8 other siblings. The legacy of this powerful woman will live on for many generations to come..