We first suspect that there were two men named “Seth Pool” in the Laurens county area in the early 1800’s while examining the 1819 Probate papers of Robert Pool.1 In the sales papers are references to sales to “Seth Pool” and a sale to “William Pool for Seth Pool”. This suspicion is confirmed in the 1822 Probate papers of William Petty Pool, when sales are noted to both “Seth Pool” and “Seth Pool Sen’r”.2

Turning to the Census, we find enumerated in 1820 a Seth Poole in Spartanburg county, South Carolina. The family consists of 1 male age 26- 44, 1 female age 16-25, and 3 females under age 10.3 This implies that Seth Jr.- if indeed this is the Seth Jr. of the Probate records- was born sometime between 1776 and 1794. The ages of the other family members argue for the latter end of that range.

In February 1821 the case The State vs. Seth P. Pool, Warrent Forcible Entry was heard in the Laurens General Sessions court.4 There is no indication of which Seth Pool is involved, but Seth Petty Pool (Sr) of Laurens was about age 67 in 1821, so it seems likely that this is the younger man.

Seth Pool of Spartanburg county died about February, 1826. At the Probate sale, the majority of items were purchased by “Elizabeth Pool”.5

Bessie Poole Lamb in her book A Genealogical History of the POOLE, LANGSTON, MASON Families and Kindred Lines of Upper South Carolina 6 assigns Seth Jr. as a child of Seth Petty Pool (c 1754- 1837), but simply notes that of Seth Jr. “we have no record”. So clearly there was no surviving tradition of Seth Jr. in the 1920’s when Bessie Lamb was researching.

Examining the small amount of evidence collected, it seems likely that Seth Pool Jr. was born about 1794, was married to a woman possibly named Elizabeth, had at least 3 daughters, and died in early 1826. He was probably in his early 30’s. No reliable evidence for his parents or the names of any descendants have been found to date.


  1. Laurens County South Carolina Probate Court, Robert Poole, Eliz Poole and Elisha Adair, Adm. Box 56, Pkg. 12. 
  2. Laurens County South Carolina Probabte Court, Estate of William P Poole, Elizabeth Pol, Adm., Box 56, Pkg. 9. 
  3. 1820 United States Federal Census, 1820 U S Census: Spartanburg, Spartanburg, South Carolina, Page: 273; NARA Roll: M33_120; Image: 339; family of Seth Poole. 
  4. Laurens County Clerk of Court (General Sessions) General Sessions Journal 1800-1810 1810-1824 1825-1840, 19 February 1821, South Carolina Department of Archives and History. 
  5. Ancestry.com. South Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1670-1980 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015, Warrants of Appraisements, 1816-1827, 13 February 1826, Seth Poole. See also Spartanburg County Probate Court Index, Estate 1647; South Carolina Department of Archives and History. 
  6. Bessie Poole Lamb Mary-Mack Ezell Poole, A Genealogical History of the POOLE, LANGSTON, MASON Families and Kindred Lines of Upper South Carolina (N.p.: n.p., 1931).