In his early thirties, Early Andrew Jackson Pounds was a widower with two toddlers. How could he work the farm and raise two children alone? He decided he couldn’t do it.

Second Marriage

On 21 September 1872, Early obtained a license to marry Miss Odelia Jane Burgess.

To any Minister of the Gospel Judge or Justice lawfully authorized to celebrate the Rites of Matrimony, you are hereby authorized to celebrate the Rites of Matrimony between E. A. J. Pounds + O. J. Burgess and for so doing this shall be your warrant. Given under my name and seal this 21st day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight-hundred and seventy two.
W. R. Hunnicutt
Judge of Probate

Curiously, though there was ample space left below the license to record the marriage, no marriage was recorded. Odelia’s Find a Grave memorial states the marriage took place on 23 September 1872.

The Judge of Probate that issued the license was William Randolph Hunnicutt, uncle of Jesse Flournoy Graham, which gives us our tenuous Graham connection.

The 1880 Census enumerated the Pounds family in Abernathy, Cleburne County. Here Early was recorded as E. A. J. Pounds, age 39, married white farmer. Odelia was 26 and keeping home.

The next two listed were Early’s children from his first marriage to Eliza Scott, son Newman, 10, and daughter Margaret, 9. Both were attending school.

The next three were the children of Early and Odelia: Osker J, age 5, son; Nancy O, age 3, daughter; unnamed son, age 9/12. The unnamed son would later be christened Henry Pounds.

Not enumerated here was John William Pounds, age 6, who was staying with his grandparents John and Nancy Burgess on their farm elsewhere in Abernathy.

Odelia died from typhoid fever on 20 September 1894. She was 40 years old. She was buried at Harmony Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery in Abernathy.

Bibliography

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 July 2020), memorial page for Early Andrew Jackson “Dack” Pounds (5 Aug 1840–6 Oct 1921), Find a Grave Memorial no. 41565675, citing Pine Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, Heflin, Cleburne County, Alabama, USA ; Maintained by Jan Wigley (contributor 47026255) .

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 15 July 2020), memorial page for Odelia Jane Burgess Pounds (8 Jan 1854–20 Sep 1894), Find a Grave Memorial no. 14227868, citing Harmony Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Abernathy, Cleburne County, Alabama, USA ; Maintained by Sarah Johnson (contributor 47287914) .

“Alabama County Marriages, 1809-1950,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XT47-PYM : 4 November 2017), E A J Pounds and O J Burgess, 21 Sep 1872; citing Cleburne, Alabama, United States, County Probate Courts, Alabama; FHL microfilm 1,031,047.

Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1880 United States Federal Census (Online publication – Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. All use is subject to the limited ), Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com, Year: 1880; Census Place: Abernathy, Cleburne, Alabama; Roll: 8; Page: 183B; Enumeration District: 043. Record for John W. L. Pounds. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=6742&h=39829672&indiv=try.

Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1880 United States Federal Census (Online publication – Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. All use is subject to the limited ), Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com, Year: 1880; Census Place: Abernathy, Cleburne, Alabama; Roll: 8; Page: 190C; Enumeration District: 044. Record for E. A. J. Pounds. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=6742&h=5822909&indiv=try.