George Hood, born in Selby, Yorkshire, England was a son of Sarah Arundel Hood and James Hood. George applied for his Passport on the 5th of April, 1882 and no doubt emigrated from England to the US soon after. There were no relatives for him to visit in the US, so he traveled across the US, finally settling in Mr. Pleasant, Titus County, TX. There he met and married Mary Ella Michie in the late 1800's. Seven of their eight children were born in Titus County.

About 1907 a Mr. Hancock of Marietta in Cass Co., TX. wrote a letter to George and Mary Hood in Mt. Pleasant, TX., stating that a Seventh Day Adventist Church School was underway and would like the children to attend the school. Quoting a daughter of George and Mary, "Pappa and Mama moved to New Hope, our milk cow tied behind our covered wagon, and we children attended our first church school at New Hope."

About 1923 the Hoods moved their family to Jefferson. They lived in the Berea Community and their children attended the Berea Intermediate School as it was known then. George and Mary Hood had eight children:

Susan Almeda "Aunt Susie" Hood, b. Jun 10, 1891, d. Oct 14, 1993, m. Henry Harrison Hopkins Jan. 4, 1905, buried Berea Cemetery, Jefferson, TX.

Bernard Wilkinson Hood. b. Jan 1, 1893, d. Feb 22, 1975, m. Lora, buried Berea Cemetery, Jefferson, TX.

Sarah "Sally" Hood, b. Jan 19, 1895, d. Apr 23, 1987, m. Joe Reece Hopkins Apr. 20, 1911, buried Berea Cemetery, Jefferson, TX.

Gertrude Ester Hood, b. Aug 25, 1897, d. May 17, 1977, m. Richard Eugene "Bud" Hayes April 16, 1917, buried Berea Cemetery, Jefferson, TX.

Georgia Lee Hood b. Jun 1, 1899, m. Curtis Culpepper Apr 27, 1924

Louetta Hood, b. Sep 3, 1903, d. Sep 30, 1990, m. W.A. Brown Nov 11, 1924 - Willard Yokley & William Jarrell, buried Berea Cemetery, Jefferson, TX.

Jimmie Lee Hood, b. 1905, m. Sidney Culpepper Dec 23, 1923

C.L. Hood, b. May 1, 1908 in Cass Co., d. unknown in Ca., m. Cecil Cope

Most of the Hood girls lived to be in their 90's, at least one reaching 102 years.

The house where the Hoods lived in Berea is still standing. It has been renovated but is basically the same house. It was located near the church and school.

An interesting note: In one of the church papers a lady described her friend, Mr. Hood. She remembered when she was a child in the New Hope Seventh Day Adventist Church in Marietta, TX., who had an elder, known for his kindness and gentle ways, was named Hood.

Whenever the group sang "America the Beautiful" and came to the line "And crown they good with brotherhood", she truly thought they were singing a tribute to their loving church elder, "Brother Hood".

This information was taken from the Cass County Connections, Vol. 24, Dec 1998, pg 105-107