Wade Pool, a second- great grandson of William Pettypool, was born on November 5, 1825, in the 50th year of the Independence of the United States of America and in the 13th year of statehood of the state of Louisiana, where he was raised.¹

For the past several years, the author, Sam Pool, has collected information about Wade Pool, his great-grandfather. The most difficult question to answer was – who were Wade Poole's parents? The question was answered to Pool’s satisfaction in October of 1991.

The author does not know exactly where Wade Pool was born, but it is likely that his birth occurred in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, on property owned by David Petty Pool. However, it is possible that Wade was born in Amite County, Mississippi, on property owned by William Wright, Sr. before his death.

Sam’s great-great-great-grandfather, David Petty Pool Sr., born in 1775, was twice widowed and lived with his nine children on his 500 acre farm in East Feliciana Parish. In circa 1800, David Petty Pool Sr., his first wife, and their first child (Sam’s great great grandfather, Stephen Caldwell Petty Pool) came to East Feliciana Parish from South Carolina in wagons drawn by mules, using a compass to navigate their way through Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. David Petty Pool, Sr., married William Wright’s widow, Frankie Wright, and came into possession of William Wright’s assets including the cotton gin.

David Petty Pool Sr., petitioned the Amite County, Mississippi, Probate Court during the September 1829 term, stating that he was the guardian of Burrell and Langford Wright, heirs to the land of their deceased father, William Wright, Sr. The court appointed David Petty Pool, Sr., as guardian requiring him to post bond. In addition, David was appointed guardian of the person and the estate of Wade Pool who was apparently an heir to part of the William Wright estate.

David Petty Pool, Sr., died on, or about, September 20, 1830, attended by the physician James Perkins, M.D. Physicians’ visits were fairly expensive based on the value of money at the time;  the four dollar per visit charge was paid by the estate in corn at $.75 a bushel. Caldwell Pool was 31 years old at the time of his father's death and he was one of the heirs to David's estate by virtue of being David’s first son, born in South Carolina in 1799.

The probate of David’s intestate estate was conducted by the Probate Court, East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana in October of 1830. An inventory of the estate of David Petty Pool, Sr., lists 580 acres of land and improvements valued at $1200, one Negro boy named Calvin valued at $350, and one Negro woman named Lucy valued at $325. Burrell Pool, David's third son, born in 1809 was 21 years old at the time of his father's death, and Burrell Pool was named executor of the estate by the court on October 28 1830. Burrell agreed to be the guardian of two of David's four minor children.

The 1830 census of East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, lists Stephen Caldwell Pool, Sr., as head of household with three males under the age of five years, one male 30 to 40 years of age, and one female 20 to 30 years of age for a total of six people in the household. The three males under five years of age are most likely:

• Wade Pool born in 1825 (mother Mary Wright Pool)
• Stephen Caldwell Pool Jr., born in 1827 (mother Sarah Humble Pool)
• David H. Pool born in 1829, (mother Sarah Humble Pool).

Miranda (Wright) Pool is probably living with her grandmother Frankie Wright Petty Pool in the household of David Petty Pool, Sr., listed as a female under five years of age, all living in David’s household in the 1830 census. The youngest of David's children was 13 years old in 1830.

Mary (Wyrtt) Wright married Stephen Caldwell Pool on December 16, 1822, in West Feliciana Parish and Minerva Miranda Poole was born four months later in April 4, 1823. Her mother was Mary Wright;  her father was very likely Caldwell Pool. During, or shortly after Wade's birth, his mother Mary Wright died and Wade lived with Frankie and David from infancy until he was at least 5 years old. Caldwell married Sarah Humble in October 18, 1827 and established his own household while Wade remained with grandparents Frankie and David.

By November 15, 1836, Stephen Caldwell Pool and family were resettled in Catahoula Parish. The exact dates of the move are not known, however, the move probably took place in the summer of 1836. The route would have been north from East Feliciana Parish through Amite County, Mississippi to Natchez. The family with their possessions could cross the Mississippi River on a ferry at Natchez. The trip to Natchez would have been about 45 miles and probably took about five days. The trip from Natchez to Harrisonburg in Catahoula Parish was about 20 miles and would've taken another two days.

On December 3, 1841, when Wade was 16 years old, Elizabeth Temperance Pearson, was born. Twenty-four years later, on July 26, 1865, Wade Pool and Elizabeth Temperance Pearson were married. The marriage took place just after the end of the Civil War when Wade returned from service in the Army of the Confederacy.

By 1845, Wade now 20 years old, knew two trades, farming and blacksmithing. Wade was not married in 1855, he was 30 years old. It is likely that Wade noticed a young woman, Elizabeth Temperance Pierson, attending the Salem Baptist Church in his blacksmith shop. The Pierson family lived 3 miles away and they had a daughter Elizabeth who was 14 years old in 1855. It is certain that Wade and Elizabeth met and courted before Wade joined the Confederate States Army.

Daguerreotypes were very popular in 1855. In the late 1850s, members of the Pierson family and Wade Pool had their pictures made. Elizabeth Pierson gave Wade her picture and Wade gave Elizabeth his picture. Wade and Elizabeth carried each other’s picture throughout the Civil War. Wade was 35 years old in the spring of 1861, when he volunteered for service in the Confederate States Army. Wade returned to his home in Jackson Parish on July 26, 1865;  he and Elizabeth Temperance Pearson were married.

Wade and his wife probably tried to ignore all the political changes in this period and worked hard to start their family and pay their taxes so that the carpetbaggers and scalawags² could not take their property. They had eight children;  the last was born February 19, 1881. Wade was 56 years old and Elizabeth was 40 years old.

Wade Pool died February 18, 1896, 70 years and 105 days after he was born. At the time of Wade's death an inventory of his estate included $57.95 cash, 570 acres of land, 16 cows, 25 hogs, and a $40 debt to Dr. J. H. Hood.

For more information...

An extensive biographical sketch of Wade Pool, including historical background, numerous photographs and supporting source documents, is contained in the article The Life and Times of Wade Pool which is available for download from this site.

A family tree chart of the family discussed in this page can be found on the The Pettypool Family: Site & Family Maps page.