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R. B. Pollard, a native of Georgia, came to Texas in
1850, settling for a time in Hopkins County where he engaged in cattle
raising and built the first cotton gin in that county. He
accumulated considerable wealth and owned a good many slaves.
Following his settlement on the Brazos River in Palo Pinto County, he
took part in defense of the citizens from Indians and took part with
General Ross in the fight with the Comanche on Pease River in
1858. He was a friend of the family of Cynthia Ann Parker.
Pollard died in 1866 and his wife, Avilene Barton Pollard, died in 1882,
and both are buried at Millsap.
John B. Pollard, son of the R. B. Pollards, was born in Morgan County,
Georgia in 1831, and attended school in a log school house in
Georgiaville, Mississippi. By the time he was 18, he was acting as
overseer for his father but went to Sevier County, Arkansas, and worked
until he had earned $300 then came to Texas, living from 1849 until 1855
in Hopkins County. There he married Miss Josephine Dean, a native
of Red River County, and they moved to Parker County, spending a year
there before moving into Palo Pinto County. By that time he had
500 head of cattle and they were driven to New Orleans to market,
sometimes taking as many as 1300 head on a trip. During the Civil
War he, like many others, lost heavily and at one time Indian raids
became so common that he moved his family to Weatherford.
Descendants remember hearing him speak of trading a slave for $1,200
worth of cattle.
The couple had 10 children. He was a lifelong Democrat and a member
of the Baptist Church and the IOOF Lodge.
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