U.S. Senator. He was elected to the United States Senate, serving the State of North Carolina from 1868 to 1873. Born on a plantation near Elizabeth City, he was the son of Solomon and Martha Gaskins Pool. With honors, he graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1847, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1848 and practiced law in Elizabeth City. He also engaged in agricultural pursuits and was a member of the North Carolina State Senate in 1856, 1858, and from 1864 to 1865, serving as a member of the Whig Party. Since the Whig Party was dissolved over the subject of slavery, the North Carolina Whig Party broke away in 1860, calling their party the Opposition Party. He ran for governor of North Carolina in 1860, but lost by a slim margin to John Ellis, a member of the Separation Party. After the election of United States President Abraham Lincoln, Pool worked to prevent the session of North Carolina from the Union; when North Carolina finally seceded in May of 1861, he quietly retired to his plantation, determined not to take part in any way in the Civil War. After the Civil War in late 1865, he presented credentials as a Republican Senator-elect to the United States Senate, but was not permitted to take his seat because the State of North Carolina had not been readmitted to the Union for representation. At the readmission , he was elected to the United States Senate. He worked with the timid Governor Holden to suppress the active terror of the Ku Klux Klan with state militia or if necessary, federal force, which may have violated a citizen's civil rights. With the impeachment of Governor Holden, Pool's part was investigated. Governor Holden became the first governor in the United States to be removed from office. Pool, along with others in Washington D. C., played a key role in dictating Governor Holden's decisions, but did not receive the blame. After that, Pool failed to be reelected to the United States Senate in 1873. Leaving North Carolina, he was chairman, Committee on Revolutionary Claims and practiced law in Washington D. C. until his death at age 58 from heart disease. Pool married twice: Narcissa Sawyer and upon her death, to Mary Elizabeth Mebane. By each wife, he was the father of a son and a daughter for a total of four children. He was also the uncle of Congressman Walter Freshwater Pool, who died young in 1883.
U.S. Senator. He was elected to the United States Senate, serving the State of North Carolina from 1868 to 1873. Born on a plantation near Elizabeth City, he was the son of Solomon and Martha Gaskins Pool. With honors, he graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1847, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1848 and practiced law in Elizabeth City. He also engaged in agricultural pursuits and was a member of the North Carolina State Senate in 1856, 1858, and from 1864 to 1865, serving as a member of the Whig Party. Since the Whig Party was dissolved over the subject of slavery, the North Carolina Whig Party broke away in 1860, calling their party the Opposition Party. He ran for governor of North Carolina in 1860, but lost by a slim margin to John Ellis, a member of the Separation Party. After the election of United States President Abraham Lincoln, Pool worked to prevent the session of North Carolina from the Union; when North Carolina finally seceded in May of 1861, he quietly retired to his plantation, determined not to take part in any way in the Civil War. After the Civil War in late 1865, he presented credentials as a Republican Senator-elect to the United States Senate, but was not permitted to take his seat because the State of North Carolina had not been readmitted to the Union for representation. At the readmission , he was elected to the United States Senate. He worked with the timid Governor Holden to suppress the active terror of the Ku Klux Klan with state militia or if necessary, federal force, which may have violated a citizen's civil rights. With the impeachment of Governor Holden, Pool's part was investigated. Governor Holden became the first governor in the United States to be removed from office. Pool, along with others in Washington D. C., played a key role in dictating Governor Holden's decisions, but did not receive the blame. After that, Pool failed to be reelected to the United States Senate in 1873. Leaving North Carolina, he was chairman, Committee on Revolutionary Claims and practiced law in Washington D. C. until his death at age 58 from heart disease. Pool married twice: Narcissa Sawyer and upon her death, to Mary Elizabeth Mebane. By each wife, he was the father of a son and a daughter for a total of four children. He was also the uncle of Congressman Walter Freshwater Pool, who died young in 1883.
Bio by: Linda Davis
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