Thomas J. Pollard

POLLARD, Thomas J. - A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death, than the day of one's birth. Measured by this inspired standard, how valuable is the name and how precious was the death of the venerable and gifted Dr. Thomas J. Pollard. He was one of the most remarkable men of this, the most remarkable century of the Christian Era. He came from one of the best Virginia families; in his veins coursed gentle blood. He inherited in a high degree the noble instincts, the generous impulses, the sound physical constitution and the splendid intellect of an illustrious ancestry. His father, William Pollard, was born in Fredericksburg, Va. away back in

Colonial days: he was a soldier in the war of the Revolution and was present at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Oct. 19, 1781. Wm. Pollard married Miss Frances Hampton, daughter of Charles Hampton, a cousin to the father of Senator Wade Hampton of South Carolina. Soon after their marriage this young couple moved to Kentucky where the subject of this sketch was born Oct. 27, 1805. He grew to manhood. in his native state and received his literary and medical education at old Transylvania University at Lexington, graduating with the degree of M.D. in 1828, then in his 23rd year. Many of the distinguished men of the South were educated at this famous institution of learning; among the number was the late Jefferson Davis. It was while a student at Lexington that Dr. Pollard had the pleasure of seeing Gen. Lafayette during his visit to this country in 1825. After graduation he lived in Nicholasville for a short time and then moved to Versailles in 1829. On April 14th in the same year, he was married to Miss Mary Willis Stirman, daughter of Rev. William Stirman, a minister of the Christian church. In March 1831 this young couple emigrated to Palmyra, Mo. to build up their fortune in the new and growing west. Palmyra has always been noted for the wealth, the culture and hospitality of her people. Here the Doctor soon built up a large and lucrative practice. However, to find a better climate as well as to improve his impaired health, he sought a home and a field of labor in the balmy air and beautiful mountain scenery of Fayetteville. This was away back in 1839 when most of the old men and women of today were only boys and girls. There are only a very few individuals in Fayetteville now who were here when Dr. Pollard came fifty years ago. He lived to see the little village of only a few families grow to a city of more than four thousand Church people and to become the educational center of the state. Our schools, our, ‘he’s our cultivator society and high standing ae a community are to be attributed more to the influence of the life and labors of Dr. Pollard than to that of any other man, either living or dead. He was a most attractive man; in fact, he possessed in a high degree a magnetic power. His sickness was brief, and death stole upon him gently. Finally on Monday, Dec. 23rd, the pulse began to grow weaker and weaker and the breathing softer and softer until the clock marked the hour of 4 in the afternoon, when the heart that had beat through four score and four years,

forever stood still.

[Fayetteville Democrat 12/27/89]