Letters of Orlando L. Poole and His Mother, 1839 and 1854

Orlando L. Poole’s mother was living in Richland Hill, Louisiana, in 1839 when she wrote to her son, who had traveled to an area about 19 miles west of Texarcana, Texas, where he had a land grant. Orlando became substantially involved in settling the town of Boston, Texas, which became the county seat of Bowie County when the county was organized in 1841. Government records show him as being appointed postmaster of Boston May 13, 1852. In his letter of 1854 to a sister-in-law, Mrs. Nancy Parting in Holly Retreat, Mississippi, Poole reports that he was then clerk of the district court of the county and a member of the Missionary Baptist Church. He added that the next year he expected to go into the merchandise business “with many friends at my side” with “fair prospects for bettering my condition, which by the by is not a very despicable one.” Poole’s letter shows that his father had written a will establishing quite specifically how his assets were to be distributed, and Orlando was well acquainted with the law as to how the share of an estate coming to a minor needed to be handled. Both Poole’s letter and that of his mother reflect the difficulty of maintaining good health in the living situations of these people. They also reflect the support provided to their lives by religious faith.