Virginians William and Isabella (Moreland) Ponton came to Texas in 1829 from Missouri with their children Andrew, Sarah Ann, and Mary Jane and son-in-law James Patrick, and their son Joel Ponton arrived in 1834. The families received land in DeWitt's Colony. William Ponton was the first recorded settler killed by Comanche Indians in the area that became Lavaca County. Joel Ponton and a companion were attacked in the same area in 1840, and Joel survived with two arrows in his back. Ponton Creek was named for William. The Pontons and their neighbors stood up against the Mexican Army in the Battle of Gonzales and later fled the area in the Runaway Scrape after Santa Anna's victory at the Alamo. After the Texan victory at the Battle of San Jacinto, they returned to rebuild their homes from almost nothing. They endured Indian attacks and lived through the eras of the Republic of Texas, Statehood, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. As pioneers, they served as mothers and fathers, alcaldes, judges, tax collectors, commissioners, doctors, preachers, storekeepers, farmers, ranchers, and official peacemakers, and the children and grandchildren of William and Isabella Ponton helped forge Lavaca County from a wilderness.