Three brothers, Daniel, James and
Abner Ponder came from Scotland
to America in the 1700’s
settling in Virginia and South Carolina. Abner Ponder established his home in South Carolina and had
at least two children, James and Amos.
After serving in the American Revolution, Amos moved his family to Oglethorpe, Georgia
in 1802. He was the father of eight
children, the youngest being Abner Bennett Ponder. Abner Bennett Ponder and his wife, Lavina
Tipton, were the parents of nine children
Their sixth child, Clisby Evans
(1837-1918), served as a confederate soldier during the Civil War. In 1880, he moved from Mississippi
to Texas,
bringing his wife, Sarah Stegall (1840-1915) and nine children and at least
three grand children. The train included
six wagons and a herd of cattle. The
trip, which took four months, was a tiresome one for the older children who
walked and drove the cattle. The family
settled first near Georgetown in Williamson County.
Four years later, in 1884, the
elder Ponder, a son, James Wesley, his wife, Annie Carson Ponder and their
three small children, Arthur, Luther and Monte, moved to North Tarrant County,
near the Double Springs Community.
The family purchased a farm from Jim
McCarty, payment being made with horses. This was the Ponder homestead until the early
1900’s. The land is known now as the
Harmonson place. Here another daughter,
Era, was born to the James Henry Ponders.
When she was twenty months old, the mother died and was buried in Bourland Cemetery.
Clisby Evans Ponder tells this
story: He had a calf that he wanted to
sell, but couldn’t be at home when the buyer came to see. He told his wife to tell the buyer that he
wanted $10.00 for the calf, but if the buyer wouldn’t pay $10.00, then let him
have it for $5.00. When the buyer came
he asked Grandma how much they wanted for the calf. She said, “Clisby said he wanted $10.00 for
the calf, but if you wouldn’t pay that, then let you have it for $5.00.”
The children of Clisby Evans Ponder
and Sarah Stegall Ponder are as follows:
1)
Jennie Ponder was married to Herb Rackley.
2)
Dorothy (Dot) Ponder was married to Ben Ray.
3)
James Wesley Ponder was married to Annie Carson, she
died in 1892. He then married Katie
Benton.
4)
William Clisby Ponder married Elizabeth Ann Griffin.
5)
Charles Edgar Ponder, born in 1869 and died October 5,
1940. He was married to Amanda Jane
Hill, born May 22, 1872 and died March 9, 1912, November 15, 1891. She was the daughter of Eli Hill and
Catherine Edwards Hill. Charles and
Amanda are buried in Bourland
Cemetery. Their children
are:
a.
Cecil L. Ponder, he never married.
b.
Beatrice B. Ponder who married Seth Robert Brookshier.
c.
Leo A. Ponder married Elda Hudson and Mae Johnson.
d.
Ona A. Ponder married Felix Kincaid.
e.
Rex A. Ponder married Pearl Hammer.
f.
Eli Clisby Ponder married Margaret King.
g.
Mada L. Ponder married Everett George.
h.
Vada J. Ponder married J.O. George.
i.
Virgie M. Ponder married Paul Lowe and Chester
Anderson.
6)
Maud Ponder married James King.
7)
Ora Ponder married Sebron Moore.
8)
May Ponder married Thomas Ball.
9)
Lela Ponder married Tom Prown.
Source: Vada Ponder George.
