#34—52 ancestors
Ponder(ing) in Kentucky

Edgar Allan Poe’s famous 1845 poem, “The Raven,” keeps running through my mind as I seek to untangle the intertwined branches in Clay County, Kentucky of my Kellys — via their many Ponder spouses.

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary . . .
“Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December . . .

It seemed so logical (at the time).

Unsuccessful in finding the maiden name of my John F. Kelly’s mother via him or his siblings' records, I decided to trace the Ponder children to see if one of their spouses (who were Kellys) gave their mother’s maiden name in death (or other) records.

Four of the eight children of John Kelly and his wife, Elizabeth [—?—] had married Ponder siblings, making their children double first cousins. Some of these children also are parallel (or ortho) first cousins. Parallel (ortho) cousins are the children of two/three/etc. brothers or two/three, etc. sisters. The kinship between these two families also includes cross (cross — not cranky — cousins) because that happens when a brother and a sister from say the Smith family marries a sister and brother of say the Jones family and as genealogists say, “has issue.”

Example of the intermarriages of my Kelly and Ponder families in Clay County, Kentucky:
Susan Ann Kelly married John Jackson Ponder in 1852;
Jane Kelly, married Robert Ponder in 1844;
Mary “Winnie” Kelly married Jacob Ponder in 1849;
Kinchen Kelly married Dorcas Ponder in 1847.

Susan Ann, Jane, and Mary “Winnie” are sisters; Kinchen Kelly is their brother.

John Jackson, Robert, and Jacob Ponder are brothers; Dorcas Ponder is their sister.

Now you know why I am Ponder-ing weak and weary.