Lee M. POOLE

The following bio was taken from page 348 of the book entitled “Rusk County History” compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Gloria Riley

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Rusk County TX Coordinator

Lee Melvin Poole and I, Ezzie Jones Poole, were married September 4, 1918, at 10:00 AM at the home of Reverend Summers, pastor of Prospect Baptist Church. Lee entered the Army at 4:00 PM on the same day and served in World War I until 1919. We were married for fifty-nine years and celebrated our fiftieth wedding anniversary on September 4, 1968 at our home, with many relatives and friends attending. Lee was the son of Phillip and Georgia (Bobbie) Pool. He had three brothers—Henry, Manson, and Lawrence, and two sisters, Liddie and Irmine. Phillip, his father, was from a large family, with five brothers: Frank, Feen, Joe, Phelix, and Sam; two sisters; two half-brothers, Marshall and Lewis; and two half-sisters, Ola and Mattie. Phillip’s father was John Pool. Georgia (Bobbie) was the daughter of William Gary, who served in the Civil War as a cook for his company. The family still has the five-gallon cast iron pot that he carried about to cook in. Sometime in the 1930’s, our name of “Pool” became “Poole” and my family all spell the name with an “e”. My parents were Joseph Ance Jones and Mary Ann Catherine (Grindle) Jones, and my grandparents were Henry and Hannah (Duckett) Grindle. My mother and father had seven children: two boys, Luther and Oscar, and five girls: Ellie, Luna, Dollie, Irene, and me. All except Oscar are still living. About 1904 my parents moved by train from Lumpkin County, Georgia to Rusk County and settled in the Crims Chapel Community. My grandparents had moved to Texas a few years before and they urged my parents to move also as there was good land to be had for $3.00 and $5.00 per acre and money to be made in Texas. Years later, after visiting with relatives in Georgia and North Carolina, one of the children asked why we ever left such beautiful country as North Carolina to settle in Texas, and my answer was that we came looking for the “flitter tree,” but when we got here it had evidently been cut! After Lee’s discharge from service we moved to a farm and started raising our family. Seven children were born to us, but we lost our first infant son. Our children are: Olen, Oscar, Lonnie Ray, Billy Doyle, Joe Millard, and Reube Jean. When Lee was about forty-five years old, he went to work for the Parade Company, retiring at the age of sixty. After his retirement we enjoyed much fishing, gardening, etc., as long as he was able. Since 1935 we have lived on a farm east of New London, and all of our children attended school at New London. Lee passed away on October 17, 1977. On October 31, 1981, I celebrated my eighty-fifth birthday. I have been a member of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church for many years and am glad that I am still able to attend worship services. I like to crochet and, as health permits, work in my yard, and visit with my friends and family. Written by Ezzie Jones Poole