Sam Poole was a slave before the Civil War, born about 1810 in Louisiana and brought to Texas by one of the early pioneer families in the 1830's.  His mother was born in Georgia and his father was born in Africa.  That information was written on the 1870 census of Bowie County.  This was the very first census in which Blacks were listed as citizens.  Many of Sam Poole's descendents still live in this county, especially near Hooks.  He has one one great-great grandson that is trying hard to reconstruct the family history and has written down much of what has been an oral history handed down from one generation to another.

Only six of Sam Poole's children have been found.  All of these were born in Texas near the Red River north of Hooks at a community called Red Bank.  Red Bank was formed when Warren Hooks gave his former slave, Forest Hooks two acres for a church and school.  The school built there in 1866 was the first institution of higher learning for Blacks in Bowie County.  It is located on a high bank and thus gets it name "Red Bank".  Sam Poole's great grandchildren still live near Red Bank.

Looking for the family that brought Sam to Bowie County, there was just one family that came here in the 1830's named Poole and that may be the one.  Orlando L Poole had a land grant just north of New Boston and his family was listed in the 1850 census showing one child born in Louisiana.  This means that they were in Louisiana, which is where Sam Poole was born.  The white Poole family was no longer here by 1870.

Sam Poole had at least two wives.  The name of the mother of the older children is not known.  Only three of the first set are listed and it is believed that there were more.
 1. Mary born about 1842 in Texas.  She had three children: Andrew Hubbard, Mary and Alfred.
 2. Nora born about 1852 married John Brown.  John Brown was part Indian and loved to use the bull-whip.  They had nine children: Fanny, Louisa, Emma,
     Ella, John Jr, Pinkie, Easter, Betty, and another son
 3. Elmyra "Myra" was born about 1855 and married a Lomax.  They had no children.  The present Hooks Junior High School is built on ten acres of land that
     she sold to the Hooks Independent School District for $100.

Sam Poole may have had one or two other wives named Sarah or Susan by which the last three children were born.  The older children are buried at Cedar Springs Cemetery.
 4. Texada "Tex" was born in 1857
 5. Tony born in 1858
 6. Henry born in 1865

Even though the family of Sam Poole has lived here in Bowie County for many years, it is very difficult to find information about them.  There are no cemetery markers for many of them.  They were not sent to school in the early 1800's and did not leave any written records.  It will be nearly impossible for them to go any further back unless they find a will among the white families that lists their names or perhaps an old letter in which they are mentioned.  If anyone has any information about the people named here, please contact the New Boston Genealogy Society at the New Boston Public Library.