Genealogical and Family History
of the
STATE OF MAINE

Compiled under the editorial supervision of George Thomas Little, A. M., Litt. D.

LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY
New York
1909.

[Please see Index page for full citation.]

[Transcribed by Coralynn Brown]

[Many families included in these genealogical records had their beginnings in Massachusetts.]

POOLER The origin of this name seems at present clouded in obscurity. As there were many Huguenot French settlers along the north shore of Long Island Sound, it is presumable that this name is of French origin. The first of which any definite knowledge can now be discovered was a revolutionary soldier and with him this record must begin. (I) George Pooler enlisted on May 8, 1775, as a private in the Sixth Company under Capt. William Clift, of the Sixth Regiment of Connecticut revolutionary militia, commanded by Col. Samuel H. Parsons, of New London, and was discharged Dec. 15, 1775. This regiment was recruited from New London, Hartford and Middlesex counties, but was chiefly made up of residents of New London county. It is probable that George Pooler was a native of the last named. We next hear of him through the family tradition as a member of Benedict Arnold's unfortunate expedition through the wilds of Maine in the winter of 1775. On account of a misunderstanding between Arnold and the major of his regiment, the latter, with several of his men, turned back after the expedition had reached the northern part of Maine. At that time they were, of course, deserters, but a subsequent investigation exonerated the major and his men from blame in the matter and thus this stigma was removed. George Pooler settled in Bloomfield, Maine, and there spent the remainder of his life. He cleared a farm in the wilderness and endured the hardships and privationa common to pioneering in that region. No record of his enlistment in the Arnold expedition appears in the rolls of Mass., N. H. or CT, and it is probable that he joined the desperate undertaking of Arnold immediately after his discharge from the Connecticut regiment as above noted. He married, in Maine, a Miss Stewart, of whom no further record appears. (II) George (2), son of George (1) Pooler, was reared in Bloomfield and was a farmer. He was captain of a militia company which served in the war of 1812. He cleared up a farm in the wilderness and spent his life in his native town. His wife was a Weston and they were parents of four sons and four daughters: Samuel W., Conly, Lorenzo, Henry, Cynthia, Almeda, Mary and Clara. (III) Samuel W., eldst child of Capt. George (2) and ____ (Weston) Pooler, was born in Bloomfield, now Skowhegan, Maine, in 1812, and died in Sonora, California, July 8. 1900. He was reared on a farm in Bloomfield, and in early life turned his attention to farming, lumbering and river-driving, continuing until 1852, when he made a voyage to Australia, from whence he proceeded to California, in which state he spent the remainder of his life. He married, in 1839, Mary, born in Clinton, Maine, Aug. 7, 1815, died Sept. 11, 1906, youngest child of Lemuel and Mary (Morey) Dunbar. Children: 1. Ann, deceased. 2. Marley T., see forward. 3. Ellen Martha, born Nov. 1, 1845. 4. Flora, born July 5, 1847, married Nov. 5, 1877, Frank M. Pratt. 5. Sumner W., born Aug., 1849, was a soldier in the civil war; married Dec. 1877, Cora White; child, Elizabeth, b. Jan. 25, 1880. 6. Isabel, born June 5, 1851, married Nov. 6, 1876, Charles H. Clark; child, Florence, b. Jan. 26, 1878. 7. Charles F., born July 9, 1853, married Oct. 20, 1880, Helen Clough, born Aug. 25, 1859, died March 3, 1907; children: Charles F. Jr., b. Sept. 8, 1881, died May 14, 1897; Francis, b. Dec. 11, 1890. (IV) Manley T., eldest son of Samuel W. and Mary (Dunbar) Pooler, was born in Bloomfield, Maine, Sept. 13, 1843. He received his education in the public schools and Bloomfield Academy. He engaged in farming, carpentry and lumbering, and served for a time as a soldier in the civil war. In 1898 he moved to Wellesley, Mass. in order to properly educate his children, and after remaining there several years, returned to his home in Skowhegan, and has since been retired from active business. He served as a director of the Maine State Fair Association, and has been extensively engaged in breeding thoroughbred horses. He is an earnest supporter of the principles of the Republican party, but has taken no active part in the conduct of public affairs. An industrious and quiet citizen, he has devoted his time to the care and education of his family, and is a respected and useful citizen. He married, Dec. 24, 1870, Ella Mary, daughter of Samuel W. Coburn, of Skowhegan. Children: 1. Fred C., born March 28, 1872. 2. Florence, born May 17, 1880. 3. Mabel, born July 3, 1882.