On this date in our family history . . . the 7th day of September . . . in the year 1964 . . . Emma Patience Muston nee Nettles dies in Rockdale, Milam County . . . in the family photo in this collage, Emma is standing between her daughter, Ima Lois Pounders nee Muston (1906-1999), and Ima's son, Forrest Lee Pounders (1926-1996) . . .
Forrest Lee -- aka Fuzzy -- is my dear Dad, and Ima is the grandma who lived right next door during my entire childhood . . . Ima never learned to drive (though I do have memories of my Dad trying to teach her), and she was widowed in 1957 . . . on Sunday afternoons (after church) we (being the entire family of Mom and Dad and us three girls) frequently took Grandma to Lexington to visit her mother, Emma, and other family members . . .
Emma and Ima and Fuzzy are all at rest in this little country cemetery, as well as Emma's parents, Joseph Helidorah Nettles (1832-1890) and Mary Annie Nettles nee West (1852-1939), and a multitude of assorted kith and kin . . .
Funeral services for Mrs. Emma Patience Muston, 82, were held Tuesday [08 Sept 1964] at the Phillips & Luckey chapel in Rockdale. Burial was in the Tanglewood cemetery, with Rev. James M. Frazier, of the Methodist Church, Lexington, officiating. Mrs. Muston died Monday [07 Sept 1964] at the Richards hospital in Rockdale. For the past two and one-half years she had been in a Rockdale rest home. Most of her life was spent in the Cole Springs / Tanglewood community and in Lexington. She was born June 18, 1882, in Lee County, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Nettles. She was married to Charlie G. Muston, who preceded her in death when the children were young.
Surviving are seven daughters, Mrs. Joe Tomkins, Mrs. Alvin Jones, Mrs. Ben Reynolds, and Mrs. B. R. Taylor, all of Houston; Mrs. Dean Quinney of Lexington, Mrs. John Taylor of Lexington, and Mrs. J. E. Pounders of Rockdale; and one sister, Mrs. Oscar Peebles of Houston; also 18 grandchildren and 38 great grandchildren. Pall bearers were [grandsons] F.L. Pounders, K.D. Quinney, E.P. Lerche, A.D. Quinney, A.D. Pounders, and S.D. Quinney. Rockdale Reporter, September 1964
Rockdale Reporter
Rockdale, Texas
May 4, 1939
Monday, May 1 at 1:10 p.m. marked the passing of one of earth's dearest and sweetest little mothers, Mrs. M.A. Nettles. She was born near Starkville, Mississippi, October 24, 1852, daughter of Richard and Sarah Mildred (Carter) West, and christened Mary Annie, but known practically all her life as Mollie. She was nine years old when the Civil War began and many were the interesting tales she told concerning it. In 1869 her family, together with several other families, came to Texas in wagons drawn by oxen and settled in and near Lexington.
The following year she married Joseph H. Nettles who had a woodworking shop in connection with the Hester Blacksmith Shop. They soon moved to Williamson County, but a few years later moved back to Lee County and bought a home in the Cole Springs community, near Tanglewood, where a son, Will, still lives. On May 1, 1890, her husband passed to his reward, preceding her by forty-nine years to the day. Of the ten children born to this union, six survive her, two boys and two girls dying in infancy. The surviving children are --
She had lived on the home place with her eldest son, Will, until February of this year, when she went to Lott to make her home with her youngest child, Joe, and family. It was here, following an illness of bronchial pneumonia, that she passed to her reward. The last six or eight months of her life was spent mainly in bed, but she was given loving and careful attention and was a sweet and patient sufferer. From the wisdom of her years she gave counsel, advice and help to all who sought it, and truly will she be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.
All of her children, all but five of her twenty-seven grandchildren, and many of her forty-four great-grandchildren were present for the last rites, besides a great host of other relatives and friends. Services were conducted at the Baptist Church in Tanglewood Tuesday afternoon, May 2, 1939, by the Rev. O.J. Morgan, a former pastor of hers. She was a member of the Baptist church, joining in her early girlhood. Interment was in the family plat at the Tanglewood cemetery with Phillips & Luckey of Rockdale in charge. Those coming from Lott for the funeral were --
- Mr. and Mrs. Ed Phillips
- Dr. and Mrs. Patton
- Mr. and Mrs. Luther Reaves and daughter, Dorothy
- Mrs. Claud Day
- Mrs. Grover Stucky
- D. Watkins
- Judge Smith
- Pat Carter and son, Pat Jr.
- Dewey Wright
- Miss Annie Lou Gibbs
The last named was her constant attendant after moving to Lott, and truly a grand-daughter could have been no sweeter to her own grandmother than Annie Lou was to Grandma, who lovingly called her my girl. Present also was Mrs. Richard Mundine Sr. of Taylor, an old friend of the family.
On Saturday, March 20th, 1999, the sun rose at 6:32 a.m. A short time later, as that sun continued to rise steadily over the fields of Texas wildflowers and peeked through the east-facing window of Room 203 at Richards Memorial Hospital in Rockdale, Ima Lois Pounders nee Muston breathed her final raspy breath here on this earth.
According to the UT-McDonald Observatory, the sun seldom rises precisely in the east or sets precisely in the west. But on this, the day of Grandma's final Homegoing, the sun rose due east and set due west, because this day was the vernal equinox ~ the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere.
The following information was printed in the memorial bulletin which was distributed at Grandma's memorial service. It is downright impossible to condense nearly a century of living into a four-page leaflet, but this serves as a very brief summary of my Grandmother's life.
THE YEAR WAS 1906. And . . . the President of the United States was Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt. O'Henry's The Gift of the Magi was published. School Days & Anchors Aweigh were popular songs. Shirtwaist dresses were in fashion. And . . . the second of seven daughters was born to Charlie and Emma Patience (Nettles) Muston at their home in rural Lee County, Texas. Charlie and Emma named their new baby girl Ima Lois. Over the next ten years, Ima and her big sister, Erma, would be joined by Mollie, Stella, Nona, Gladys and Pauline.
YOUTH. Charlie and Emma and their seven little girls were living in Wharton County, Texas in 1915 when Charlie died. Ima was nine years old at the time. Emma and her seven young daughters returned to Lee County to be near Emma's widowed mother, Mollie, at Cole Springs. They made that journey home in a wagon which was pulled by a gray mule named "Jack" and a gray horse named "Bill". A cousin would later state that, "...I can yet visualize the old log house down the slope and the house across the swale where the widowed Aunt Emma Muston resided with her daughters." When Ima spoke of her youth, she remembered the good times as well as the hard times. There were her Grandma Nettles' cookies, trips into town on Saturday, dances in the homes of friends and neighbors, church services under the brush arbor, Sunday dinners, and many, many more.
MARRIAGE. On 20 October 1926, Ima became the bride of Jacob Edmund Forrest Pounders (1902~1957). Their children were Forrest Lee Pounders (1927~1996), Dovie Louise (Pounders) Green (1929~1999), and Arlin Dee Pounders (1936~1988).
OTHER. Ima spent many hours crocheting while sitting in her favorite chair by the window in a corner of her kitchen. She enjoyed working with multicolored threads which were as varied as the colors of the flowers she delighted in growing in her yard. Five of Ima's crocheted doilies were incorporated as nosegays in the family spray which was placed on her casket. That same floral display also featured mock orange, english ivy and bridal wreath from Ima's yard.
As a young girl, Ima attended the Cole Springs Baptist Church in rural Lee County. After moving to Rockdale, she became a faithful supporter of the First Christian Church. Ima was employed by Linwood Mehaffey for over 50 years. Her friendship with the Mehaffey's continued until her death.
DEATH. Ima made her final journey "Home" on the first day of spring in the year of our Lord, nineteen hundred and ninety-nine. Her earthly remains were laid to rest beside her husband and their two sons in the Hugh Wilson Cemetery in Tanglewood. On the day of Ima's funeral, the cemetery was covered with bluebonnets, wild phlox and Indian paintbrushes. It is the same country cemetery where Ima's mother, her maternal grandparents, as well as numerous other kith and kin are buried. Ima's Page at Find-a-Grave
On this date in our family history . . . the 29th day of November . . . in the year 1957 (which was the Friday morning after Thanksgiving) . . . Jacob E. Forrest Pounders suffers a heart attack while preparing to go to work at McVoy's Grocery store in Rockdale, Milam County, Texas . . . aka Pa Jake, this is my paternal grandpa . . . I was six years old at this time, and I can still picture my Dad standing in the kitchen at our home, crying, and saying that his Father was dead . . .
Heart Seizure Friday is Fatal to Jake Pounders.
Jake Pounders, well known citizen of Rockdale, died Friday morning (29 November 1957) about eight o'clock after having a heart seizure at his home and being rushed by ambulance to St. Edwards hospital at Cameron. He was preparing to go to business for the day when the attack struck.
Funeral services were held Saturday afternoon at two o'clock from the Phillips and Luckey Chapel, with the Rev. Roy Brewton of the First Christian church officiating. Burial was made in the Tanglewood cemetery. Pallbearers were: Adolph McVoy, Clyde Luetge, William Backhaus, Hershell Bonnett, Garland Caffey, Weldon Henry.
Jacob Edman Pounders was born July 8, 1902, at Reedville, Texas, in Caldwell county. His parents were James Madison and Mary Cain Pounders. His life had been lived in the counties of Lee and Milam, since a small child, and he was known to his many friends as Jake Pounders.
On October 20, 1926, Jacob Edman Pounders was married to Ima Muston and to them were born two sons and a daughter. Mr. Pounders was an active member of the First Christian church. He had been associated with a number of business places in past years and at the time of his passing was an employee of McVoy's Grocery, having been with the company for several years.
Mr. Pounders is survived by the wife, Mrs. Ima Pounders, sons, Forrest Lee and Arlin Dee Pounders; the daughter, Mrs. Bill (Dovie) Green, all of Rockdale; eight grandchildren, seven sisters, Mrs. W.F. Beard of Tanglewood, Mrs. J.E. Dodson of Brownsville, Mrs. W.E. Corder of San Antonio, Mrs. Obie Fretwell of Austin, Mrs. Gaden Sanders of Houston, Mrs. Debs Spivey of Mecca, California; three brothers, J.L. Pounders of Rockdale, Oscar and Fred Pounders of Rockdale.
Rockdale Reporter, December 1957.
