The 1850 census for Benton County, AL lists two Holly families and a Ponder family living next door to each other.One Holly family is that of (John)Mitchell Holley and wife Sarah (Morgan).Mitchell was b 1787 SC and Sarah in 1805 SC.Their children were: Benjamin b 1827 TN Lindy b 1832 TN Elizabeth b 1834 AL Dirinda b 1836 AL Amaziah b 1839 AL Mary b 1841 AL Barthey b 1843 AL(female) The other Holley family next door was that of John Holley whom I suspect was the oldest child of Mitchell and Sarah.John was b 1825 in SC and his wife Louisa(Elizabeth Hogan) was b 1826 in GA. Their children were Frances b 1847 and William b 1848 both in AL. The other neighbor family was that of Nathaniel Ponder b 1805 SC and wife Dirinda Holley Ponder b 1804 in SC. The fact that Mitchell had a daughter also named Dirinda indicates to me that this older Dirinda and Mitchell were siblings.The children of Nathaniel and Dirinda Ponder were: Malachi b 1827 SC Sarah b 1828 TN Nathaniel b 1838 AL William Meredith b 1841 AL(my GGGF) Harriett b 1843 AL James b 1845 AL Nancy b 1847 AL Nathaniel Ponder was in McMinn County, TN in 1830 while Mitchell Holley was inMonroe County, TN. Those two counties border on each other. Nathaniel is listed in Benton County, AL in 1840 as Nathaniel "Pounder". Mitchell Holley is on the same page. I would guess the two families came to Benton County together.The migration of the family from SC to TN to AL can be traced by way of the children's birth dates and places. There was also a John Ponder in the 1830 census and in an 1832 tax roll in McMinn County, TN. Could this have been Nathaniel's father? John disappeared after that. Could he have died which thus allowed Nathaniel to leave TN for AL? Any information on the Holleys and Ponders from earlier times will be gratefully accepted. Boice Burns Houston, TX