James Poer was born in 1773 in Montgomery County, North Carolina, the fourth son of an Irish immigrant, David Poer and his wife Sallie Sanders Jourdan.  We think that Waterford County, Ireland is probably the origin.  James Poer married Sarah Mary Cochran in 1799 and they had thirteen children.  Seven of these children lived to inherit property from their grandmother, Tamer Bruton Cochren, the widow of Abraham Cochren in Montgomery County, North Carolina.

Those thirteen children were:
 1. David, born 1800, buried in the Cochren Cemetery
 2. Catherine "Katy", 1802-1855, married Presley Maulding, buried in the Maulding Cemetery about 2 miles south of the Godley Prairie Methodist Church in
     Bowie County, Texas
 3. Terry, 1804-after 1845, married Jacob Wright about 1824.  He died shortly before they arrived in Texas in 1837 and the land grant of 640 acres at
     Simms is in her name, Terry Wright.  She married David Looney after that.  The David Looney land grant adjoins hers on the north side.
 4. Abraham, 1805-1818, buried in the Cochren Cemetery
 5. James, 1808-before 1845
 6. Tamor, born 1809, married Lewis H Walker about 1829.  They had a 640 acre land grant in Bowie County, Texas.
 7. Nancy, 1811-1865, married her first cousin Martin A Poer in 1831.  They had twelve children.  She is buried at Old Union.  Her marker is a sand stone
    which has her name chiseled across the front. 
 8. Polly Ann, born and died 1812
 9. George, born 1814, died young
10. William Bruton, 1815-after 1845, married Nicey Bingham, had a 640 acre land grant in Bowie County, Texas
11. Rachel, 1817-after 1845, married Elisha/Elijah Bingham and later his brother Benton Bingham.  They are buried in the Bingham Cemetery somewhere
     southwest of Godley Prairie
12. Polly Ann, born and died in 1819.  This is a second effort to name a child by this name.  They were definitely using family names here so we think that
     perhaps this was the mother's favorite name for some special reason
13. Sarah, 1820-after 1845, married Jacob S Lacey.

James Poer and his wife moved to Madison County, Tennessee sometime before 1830 and lived there for awhile.  In 1831 a letter was delivered to Martin A Poer in Shelby County, Tennessee.  In 1834 or 35 they, the whole clan, moved on down into Arkansas.  Presley Maulding taught school one winter north of the Red River as they moved.  Martin served under Generals Rusk and Kyer in moving the Indians out of Texas and into Oklahoma.  At some point they met and talked to James Bowie and he told them one of his favorite camping spots was on Dodie Branch there at Simms.  Jim Bowie died in 1836, as we all know.

When James Poer settled here in Bowie County, he picked his land on the camping site that Jim Bowie always used when he came down through here from Washington, Arkansas, or wherever.  Now the James Bowie School has been built and named for him at that place and for that reason.  The Simms family eventually bought land and gave money and land for building the school.  Mr Harvey Simms remembered and believed that story.

Sarah Mary Cochran Poer probably died while the family lived in Madison County, Tennessee and James Poer married a second wife.  We only know that her name was Elizabeth.  There were seven more children by Elizabeth.
 1. Jane, born 1826, married Sam Walker.  He had 640 acres in Bowie County, Texas.
 2. Susan, born 1828, married Pink Holcomb
 3. Martin A, born 1829, died young
 4. Calvin, born 1831
 5. Daniel, born 1832
 6. John Green, born 1833
 7. Robert "Bob", born 1835. 
We do not have information about the last four boys.

James Poer died in 1852 and is buried in the Lumpkin Cemetery south of Dalby Springs.  He was about 64 years old when he came to the Republic or Texas and about 70 when he died.