Matagorda County History & Genealogy page
Abel Head “Shanghai” Pierce was born in Little Compton, Rhode Island, on June 29, 1834.
He was Johnathan and Hannah Pierce’s third son and their sixth child.
He left Rhode Island when he was sixteen, spent several years working in Virginia, and eventually arrived in Indianola, Texas, in December of 1853.
Shanghai Pierce, Shanghai being his widely used and well-known nickname, went to work for W.B Grimes as a cowboy.
He served in the Confederate Army, and after the war set out on his own.
He trailed cattle from the Gulf Coast first to New Orleans, then to the Kansas railheads: Wichita, Ellsworth and Dodge City.
He saw the end of the open range, so he used his earnings to purchase land.
He also saw the advantage of Bos Indicus blood in the Gulf Coast cattle, so laid the groundwork for the importation of cattle from India which finally arrived in America in 1906.
He also built the first pumping plant on the Colorado River in 1900.
Along the way, he married Fannie Lacy on Sept. 27, 1865, daughter of William D. Lacy, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence.
Mary, always known as “Mamie,” was born on July 17, 1867.
Their son, Abel born on July 17, 1870, died five weeks later.
Fannie died on December 18, 1870. Shanghai married second Hattie James of Galveston, but they had no children.
Mamie married Henry M. Withers on April 1, 1888, in Kansas City, Missouri.
Henry Withers was born in Warrenton, Virginia, in April of 1845, rode with Mosby’s Rangers late in the War Between the States.
He later became an attorney living in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Withers had four children: Frances Lacy, Mary Pierce, A. H. Pierce and Pickett. Mamie died on January 6, 1923.
Mary was born on October 24, 1894, in Kansas City, Missouri.
She spent much time in Texas and in traveling with her mother after Henry Withers died on Dec. 25, 1908.
She served with the American Red Cross during World War I in France at various canteens near the front.
Mary married Clive Runnells on September 24, 1921.
He was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on September 10, 1877.
They lived in Chicago where he worked for several railroads, eventually becoming an officer of the Pullman Company.
He retired early due to ill health and moved to California where he died on September 12, 1935.
The Runnells’ had two sons, John S. Runnells II, born on March 5, 1924, and Clive Runnells, Jr.
Both attended various schools, and eventually were graduated from Yale University.
John served in the Army Infantry and Clive in the Naval Air Force during World War II.
The Pierce Estate lands were divided in 1956, with the Runnels family getting the land in Matagorda County.
Clive eventually set up his headquarters at Buckeye, and John north of Bay City on what was known as the Duncan Ranch.
They have continued to tradition started by Mr. Pierce - growing rice and raising Brahma cattle.
John married Louise O. Gale of Buffalo, New York, on February 10, 1951.
They had three children: Gale, Mary and John.
Clive married Nancy Morgan on June 14, 1967 and hid children are: Helen, Clive and Pierce.
Historic Matagorda County, Volume II, pages 403-404, 1984