The Poole family
The appearance of my maternal surname Poole is courtesy of my 7x Great Grandmother Susannah Poole, who married my 7x Great Grandfather Robert Barber at the parish church of St. Martin in the village of Witcham in the county of Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom.
Earlier origins of the Poole family?
Whilst I am not yet sure, it appears that Susannah (or Susan as she often appeared) may have been the daughter of a Thomas Poole - a husbandman of Ely. If this is true, then Susannah may have had as many as 16 siblings and her mother may have been called Rebecca.
However, evidence is not yet clear.
Susannah Poole - a double relation?
Susannah's first marriage in 1751 to Robert Barber resulted in 6 children before his untimely death at 38 years in 1765.
Susannah, now a widow with a young family, re-marries in 1770 to a Philip Martin of Coveney - living right in amongst my known paternal Martin family. Were they related? Initially I thought 'yes', but on closer inspection, I've discounted my earlier findings and keep an open mind on whether Philip will appear in my Martin tree.
Variants of the Poole surname
I haven't seen many variants of the Poole surname in the parish records, but here's three that do appear in Cambridgeshire during the 1700-1800s:
- Poll - very occasional
- Pool
- Poole
Poole family connections
The Poole family are directly linked to just one of my ancestral families so far: