John Bard was born in Hyde Park, New York in 1819 as the eleventh of fourteen children. Bard was descended from a family of physicians and professors. His father, William Bard, was an attorney who was a pioneer in life insurance in this country.
John Bard was also the grandson of Samuel Bard, a prominent doctor, a founder of Columbia University"s medical school, and physician to George Washington.
John Bard was also the nephew of the Review John McVickar, a professor at Columbia University. Bard worked as president of the New York Life Insurance and Trust Company.
Bard was a devout Christian and wanted to help improve the quality of life of the poor and to encourage more ministers to be trained.
The Bards were committed to many educational projects in their community and other nearby neighborhoods. In 1854, John and Margaret established a parish school on their estate in order to educate the area"s children with a small building Bard Hall, serving as a school on weekdays and a chapel on weekends.
The Church suggested that he found a theological college. The Bards also collaborated with James Starr Clark from Tivoli to found the Trinity Church and School, and also Trinity Academy, a school for young boys.
With the promise of outside financial support, John Bard donated the unfinished Chapel, and the surrounding 18 acres, to the diocese in November 1858.
In March 1860, Saint Stephen"s College was founded. In 1861, construction began on the first Saint Stephen"s College building, a stone collegiate gothic dormitory called Aspinwall. John Bard died in 1899 but remained involved with the institutions he helped found until his death.
He is buried in the Bard cemetery.
