By tradition, Belton Poole is the son of Robert Pool and a grandson of Seth Petty Pool (c. 1754- 1837) of Laurens county, South Carolina. This tradition is recorded in the book- Bessie P. Lamb, Mary-Mack Poole Ezell, A GenealogicaL History of the Poole, Langston, Mason Families and Kindred Line of Upper South Carolina, 1931, on page 12:
(2) Robert Poole and His Children: Robert Poole son of (1) Seth Poole, married Elizabeth Davis…. His children were (3) Belton (1816-) and (3) Elizabeth R. (Sept. 17, 1818).
To date, no independent confirmation of this linage has been found. The children of Seth Petty Pool (d. 1837) were not fully enumerated, and Robert Pool has been found only in scattered citations from 1810 through 1815; has not been reliably located in any Census; and his probate in 1819 1 does not list any family members.
Belton first appears 11 January 1840 in the Probate accounts of Seth P Poole. He is enumerated on an itemized list of the creditors of Martin Poole who were paid out of the estate of Seth P Poole.2
Belton appears in the 1850 Census with a family: H. Poole and two sons, John and James. By calculation, John was born about 1841 and James about 1844, but as we will see later, the birth year of John may be inaccurate. “H. Poole” is presumably Harriet Amanda (Casey), who is recorded in both the Bessie P. Lamb book and in Philemon Berry Waters, A Genealogical History of the Waters and Kindred Families3 as the wife of Belton:
VI. Mary Farrow, daughter of John and Rosanna Waters Farrow, b. Nov. 25, 1764; d. Dec. 7, 1843; m. James Clayton (b. April 6, 1766; d. Feb. 8, 1830). Issue: (1) Fielding, (2) William, (3) Elizabeth, (4) Rosanna, (5) Sarah, (6) Jane, (7) Nancy.
…
3. Elizabeth, m. James Casey and had three children, Samuel, Harriet Amanda and Albert.
Harriet Amanda, b. 1819; m. 1844, J. B. Poole (d. 1897) and had only one child, James Albert…
An examination of the grave markers at New Hope Baptist Church in Cross Anchor South Carolina sheds additional light on the family. Among the stones, we find this inscription:
Sacred to the Memory of
E. C. Poole
wife of
J. B. Poole
who departed this life
September 28th 1843
Aged 19 years and 2 months4
Beside that stone, we find:
In Memory of
J. R. D. Pool
son of J. B. and
E. C. Pool
Born
Feb 23rd 1843
Died Warrenton C. H. Va
Oct. 11th 18625
Of the two children enumerated in the 1850 Census, John is the son of Belton’s first wife, E. C., while James is the child of his second wife, Harriet Amanda.
The 1860 Census enumerates Belton (J. B.) and Harriet, with John R. D. Poole, age 15 and James (Jas) A. B. Poole, age 14. They are living Hobbysville, Spartanburg county, South Carolina.6
In the 1870 Census, Amanda and “Belton J” Poole are living alone in Cross Anchor, South Carolina.7 We know from the above discussion that son John died in the Civil War. There are two anecdotal accounts of James Albert:
Philemon Berry Waters records:
…James Albert who removed to Georgia in 1869, and it is thought died years ago. When last heard of he was near Kingston. Mrs. Poole is now in her eighty-third year, and resides at Ora, Laurens County, S. C, where she has made her home for a number of years.8
Bessie Poole Lamb records:
… James, who disappeared and for whose return his mother, Amanda Poole, never gave up hope. She was a faithful member of old New Hope Church at Cross Anchor, and was much loved and esteemed.9
To my knowledge, the intervening years have not shed any additional light on James Albert Poole. I have not found a convincing candidate for him in any public records that I have examined.
The 1880 Census finds John B. and Harriet A. still living in Cross Anchor. John died 1 April, 1897.10 On 11 July 1900, the Laurens Advertiser published this legal notice:
State of South Carolina
COUNTY Of LAURENS,
Court of Common Pleas.
Ellen Owens et. al Plaintiffs against
Harriett Amanda Pool. J. R. Fowler,
as Administrators etc., of J. Belton
Pool. deceased, et. al.NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Pursuant to the order of the Court in the above state action, I hereby notify the creditors of the estate of J. Belton Pool, deceased, to establish their demands before me at a reference to be held in said action on the 13th day of July, 1900.O.[.] Thompson,
Judge of Probate,
as Special referee.
June 33, 1900-3t. 11
-
Robert Poole, Laurens County South Carolina Probate, Box 56 Package 12, 1819; Eliz Poole and
Elisha Adair, Adm. ↩ -
Laurens County Probate Court, Laurens County Ordinary/Probate Judge Index to Estate Papers
1800-1939, Box 58 Pkg. 4, Seth P Poole. Seth P Poole specified that the debts of Martin were to be
paid out of the estate before the residue was divided among the heirs. ↩ -
Waters, Philemon Berry, A Genealogical History of the Waters and Kindred Families Atlanta, Ga.:
Foote & Davies Co., 1903. ↩ -
Find a Grave, “Find A Grave Index,” database, Ancestry.com, findagrave.com.
(http://www.findagrave.com/: accessed 8 November 2015), Memorial# 49519067 E C Poole. ↩ -
Find a Grave, “Find A Grave Index,” database, Ancestry.com, findagrave.com.
(http://www.findagrave.com/: accessed 8 November 2015), Memorial# 49519120 J R D Poole. ↩ -
1860 United States Federal Census, Year: 1860; Census Place: Southern Division, Spartanburg, South
Carolina; Roll: M653_1226; Page: 355; Image: 326; Family History Library Film: 805226; family of J B
Poole. ↩ -
1870 United States Federal Census, Year: 1870; Census Place: Cross Anchor, Spartanburg, South
Carolina; Roll: M593_1508; Page: 436A; Image: 272; Family History Library Film: 553007; family of
Belton J Poole. ↩ -
Waters, Philemon Berry, A Genealogical History of the Waters and Kindred Families Atlanta, Ga.:
Foote & Davies Co., 1903. ↩ -
Bessie P. Lamb, Mary-Mack Poole Ezell, A GenealogicaL History of the Poole, Langston, Mason
Families and Kindred Line of Upper South Carolina, 1931, p.12. ↩ -
Find a Grave, “Find A Grave Index,” database, Ancestry.com, findagrave.com
(http://www.findagrave.com/: accessed 8 November 2015), Memorial# 49561486 J Belton Poole. ↩ -
“Notice to Creditors,” legal, Laurens Advertiser(Laurens SC), 1900-07-11,
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn93067760/1900-07-11/ed-1/seq-2/; Library of Congress
(http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ : accessed 7 November 2015), Chronicling America. ↩