Dr. Joseph McKeaig Pound

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Dr. Joseph McKeaig Pound, out in Hays County. Now, some men leave a mark on a place quietly.

No cannon fire, no headlines. Just a dog-trot cabin, a bag full of medicinal plants, and a long road between here and Fredericksburg. Joseph Pound was that kind of man.

He came into the world on October 26, 1826, near Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Johnathan and Mary Pound, she born a Risley. The family pulled up stakes and moved to Illinois in 1832, and when the Mexican-American War came calling, Joseph and his brother Benjamin answered together, both enlisting as privates in the First Illinois Regiment. That's the kind of thing brothers do.

After the war, Joseph set his sights on medicine. From 1851 to 1853, he attended medical school back in Kentucky. Then, on December 13, 1853, in Mississippi, he married Sarah Dunbibben Ward.

And here's where the story pivots, because that wedding didn't just join two people. It joined two families on the move. Joseph and Sarah turned right around and headed to Texas alongside Sarah's sister Indiana and her husband John Moss.

Both families settled in Hays County. It was December of 1854 before Dr. Pound could purchase his land.

Seven hundred acres in the Philip A. Smith League, right next to the Mosses. On that ground, he built a dog-trot style log cabin and got to work, mostly as a farmer and rancher in those early years.

Then the Civil War arrived. Dr. Pound enlisted again, as a private, but was discharged on June 30, 1862.

That wasn't the end of his service, though. Between 1863 and 1864, he served as a surgeon for the Frontier Regiment at Camp Davis, north of Kerrville, under Major James Hunter. By now he was an established doctor in every sense.

He traveled as far as Fredericksburg and Llano to visit the sick. His patients often boarded right there at the Pound home, and they paid what they could, frequently through barter. Dr.

Pound grew medicinal plants, sought them out, and all the while kept abreast of the latest medical advancements. That combination, deep roots in the land and an eye on what was coming, that was the man. He and Sarah had nine children together.

Indiana, born in 1855. Mary Elizabeth in 1856. Olive, born in 1858.

Mittie in 1861. Louisiana in 1864. Charles in 1866.

Georgia in 1868. Lovonia in 1870. And Jonathan in 1872.

Nine lives branching out from that log cabin in Hays County. Joseph McKeaig Pound was born in 1826 and lived until 1914. He and all nine of his children are buried in Wallace Mountain Cemetery.

A Mexican-American War private, a Civil War surgeon, a frontier doctor who took plants from the ground and knowledge from the books and put both to work for his neighbors. Quiet, yes. But the mark is still there.

What the marker says

(1826-1914) Born to Johnathan and Mary (Risley) Pound on October 26, 1826, near Louisville, Kentucky, Joseph Pound was a Mexican-American War veteran and early Dripping Springs doctor. The Pound family moved to Illinois in 1832. Joseph and his brother, Benjamin, enlisted as privates in the First Illinois Regiment during the Mexican-American War. From 1851-1853, he attended medical school in Kentucky. On December 13, 1853, in Mississippi, he married Sarah Dunbibben Ward. After the wedding, the couple joined Sarah's sister and brother-in-law, Indiana and John Moss, in moving to Texas. Both families settled in Hays County, but it was December 1854 before Dr. Pound could purchase 700 acres in the Philip A. Smith League next to the Mosses. Here he built a dog-trot style log cabin and worked primarily as a farmer and rancher. During the Civil War, Dr. Pound enlisted as a private but was discharged June 30, 1862. Between 1863-1864, he served as a surgeon for the Frontier Regiment at Camp Davis north of Kerrville under Major James Hunter. Now an established doctor, he traveled as far as Fredericksburg and Llano to visit the sick. His patients often boarded at the Pound home and paid through barter. Dr. Pound grew and sought out medicinal plants yet kept abreast of medical advancements. The Pounds had nine children: Indiana (1855-1939), Mary Elizabeth (1856-1933), Olive (1858-1861), Mittie (1861-1954), Louisiana (1864-1885), Charles (1866-1911), Georgia (1868-1968), Lovonia (1870-1944) and Jonathan (1872). They all are buried in Wallace Mountain Cemetery. (2023)