Francis Poole (abt. 1648)

Born about 1648 in Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, England

Ancestors

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Anne Eady [send private message]

Francis Poole was born in Wiltshire, England.

Biography

Francis was the son of John Pool of Ashton Keynes in Wiltshire. He was baptised in Ashton Keynes on 17 July 1647 or 1648.^[1] The original record is ambiguous as to the exact year. The first entry for "anno domini 1648" reads "Ffancis Poolle son of John Poolle baptised July the 17th 1647". John's father was the second of 13 possible offspring of Henry Poole of Ashton Keynes.

Francis appears to have had six siblings all baptised in Ashton Keynes between 1645 and 1663: John Poole, Margaret Poole, John Poole, Elizabeth Poole, John Poole and Richard Poole.^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]}

The first John's baptism record gives his mother's maiden name as Mary. None of the following baptism records give a mother's first name and, therefore, it cannot be assumed that all the children had the same mother. John Poole is named as the father in all but Elizabeth and Richards' baptism records. Their records simply say Jo, so there is a possibility this was short for Joseph. However, this doesn't seem to be a given name used by the Pooles of Ashton Keynes at this time.

Almost nothing is known about Francis's family. Neither his occupation nor that of his father has been determined. In 1676, around the time Francis was married, the population of Ashton Keynes was circa 300 residents. It lies on the flood plain of the upper Thames and, in the 1600s, was surrounded by good pasture and extensive meadows. Most of the agricultural land was used in common until the inclosures which began in 1778.^[8]

Francis presumably married at some point before his first child was baptised in 1676. His wife was called Mary and they had at least seven children, all baptised in Ashton Keynes: William Poole on 27 August 1676, Richard Poole on 7 June 1679, Edward Poole on 17 August 1681, Anthony Poole on 29 October 1687, Mary Poole on 16 November 1690, Edward Poole on 25 March 1694 and Edmund Poole on 7 June 1696.^{[9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]}

The only possible burial record for Francis if he remained in Ashton Keynes was on 15 March 1721/2.^[16] There is also a burial record for Mary Pool, widow, on the first of December 1728 in Ashton Keynes.^[17] It is plausible that Mary was Francis's wife.

Research Note

There appears to have been only one John Pool(e) born in Ashton Keynes at the right time to be Francis's father and father of his six putative siblings. John was baptised on 27 Jan 1619/20 and appears to be the second of 13 children of Henry Poole and his wife Elizabeth. Elizabeth was named only on the baptism record of the youngest child so might not have been the mother of the older ones.

A John Poole married Mary Osborne on 13 June 1631 in Stratton, Gloucestershire, England.^[18] Stratton is about 2 km north of Cirencester and about 10 km from Ashton Keynes. This marriage is cited in many published trees but I can find no evidence to prove the John Poole who entered into this marriage was John Pool of Ashton Keynes. It seems very unlikely as John's first child was baptised in 1645.

There is no marriage record for a Francis Pool(e) in Ashton Keynes during the right time period but we can be be sure his first (and perhaps only) wife's first name was Mary. Many published trees suggest that he may have married a Mary Darby. I think this is incorrect. Mary Darby married one Henry Poole in Ashton Keynes on 16 September 1694. She was the daughter of John Darby and baptised on 16 July 1666 in Ashton Keynes.

So far no evidence has been found that Francis moved to Wolverhampton in Staffordshire as was originally believed. If he did so, it was after the birth of his last child circa 1696. Therefore it is most unlikely that he was the Francis named as the father of William Poole. The latter was been disconnected from Francis's profile on 11 April 2022.

If Francis did move to Wolverhampton in or after 1696, then three death and burial references might be relevant.^{[19] [20] [21]}

There are no matching records for the Pooles of Ashton Keynes in FreeREG and very few in Family Search so I have had to rely for the time being on Find my Past. The family surname was consistently spelled with an 'e' (Poole) during the 1600s. The 'e' was dropped around 1700.

The original research note stated that there is a possibility that this family is descended from the de la Pole family which originated in North Wales. I cannot find any evidence to support this idea but haven't conducted a systematic search as it means identifying ancestors earlier than Francis's grandfather, Henry Poole. Since there are 2 candidate baptisms for Henry, going further back isn't possible until it can be determined with certainty which Henry Poole was the father of John Pool.^{[22] [23]} The owners of many Ancestry trees have identified Henry, son of John, as the father of John Pool but so far I haven't found a source document which proves this. Eady-184 19:11, 26 April 2022 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑ Baptism: "Wiltshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812"
   Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre; Chippenham, Wiltshire, England; Wiltshire Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number: 1430/1
   Ancestry Sharing Link Ancestry uk Record 61187 #363134 (accessed 3 April 2022)
   Francis Poolle baptism in 1647, son of John, in Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, England.
2. ↑ Baptism: "Wiltshire Baptisms Index 1530-1917"
   FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 7 April 2022)
   John Poole baptism on 4 Sep 1645, son of John & Mary, in Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, England.
3. ↑ Baptism: "Wiltshire Baptisms Index 1530-1917"
   FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 7 April 2022)
   Margaret Poole baptism on 3 Oct 1656, daughter of John, in Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, England.
4. ↑ Baptism: "Wiltshire Baptisms Index 1530-1917"
   FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 7 April 2022)
   John Poole baptism on 20 Oct 1657, son of John, in Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, England.
5. ↑ Baptism: "Wiltshire Baptisms Index 1530-1917"
   FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 7 April 2022)
   Elizabeth Poole baptism on 26 Jul 1659, daughter of Jo, in Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, England.
6. ↑ Baptism: "Wiltshire Baptisms Index 1530-1917"
   FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 7 April 2022)
   John Poole baptism on 2 Aug 1662, son of John, in Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, England.
7. ↑ Baptism: "Wiltshire Baptisms Index 1530-1917"
   FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 7 April 2022)
   Richard Poole baptism on 2 Mar 1662, son of Jo, in Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, England.
8. ↑ Historic Parishes - Ashton Keynes, pages 109-140. In: A History of the County of Wiltshire, volume 18, published by Boydell & Brewer for Victoria County History, Woodbridge, 2011. Available at: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol18/109-140 (accessed 09 April 2022).
9. ↑ "England, Wiltshire, Church Records, 1518-1990", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6DSB-GLPC : 25 February 2022), William Poole, 1676.
10. ↑ Baptism: "Wiltshire Baptisms Index 1530-1917"
    FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 7 April 2022)
    Richard Poole baptism on 7 Jun 1679, son of Francis & Mary, in Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, England.
11. ↑ Baptism: "Wiltshire Baptisms Index 1530-1917"
    FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 7 April 2022)
    Edward Poole baptism on 17 Aug 1681, son of Francis & Mary, in Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, England.
12. ↑ Baptism: "Wiltshire Baptisms Index 1530-1917"
    FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 7 April 2022)
    Anthony Poole baptism on 29 Oct 1687, son of Francis, in Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, England.
13. ↑ Baptism: "Wiltshire Baptisms Index 1530-1917"
    FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 7 April 2022)
    Mary Poole baptism on 16 Nov 1690, daughter of Francis & Mary, in Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, England.
14. ↑ Baptism: "Wiltshire Baptisms Index 1530-1917"
    FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 7 April 2022)
    Edward Poole baptism on 25 Mar 1694, son of Francis & Mary, in Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, England.
15. ↑ Baptism: "Wiltshire Baptisms Index 1530-1917"
    FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 7 April 2022)
    Edmund Poole baptism on 7 Jun 1696, son of Francis & Mary, in Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, England.
16. ↑ Burial: "Wiltshire Burials Index 1538-1990"
    FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 7 April 2022)
    Francis Pool burial on 15 Mar 1722 in Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, England.
17. ↑ Burial: "Wiltshire Burials Index 1538-1990"
    FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 9 April 2022)
    Mary Pool burial on 1 Dec 1728 in Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, England.
18. ↑ "England Marriages, 1538–1973", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NLCL-365 : 13 March 2020), John Poole, 1631.
19. ↑ "England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J8QR-5M7 : 14 March 2020), Francis Poole, 1703.
20. ↑ "England, Staffordshire, Church Records, 1538-1944," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL77-GL1D : 8 July 2020), Francis Poole, 28 Apr 1703; citing Burial, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England, Staffordshire & Stoke on Trent Archive Service, Stafford; FHL microfilm 7,566,659.
21. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:W6K1-H4MM : 4 August 2020), Francis Poole, ; Burial, Wolverhampton, Metropolitan Borough of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, St. Peter's Collegiate Church; citing record ID 200456441, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
22. ↑ Baptism: "Wiltshire Baptisms Index 1530-1917"
    FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 7 April 2022)
    Henry Poole baptism on 19 Feb 1588, son of Leonard, in Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, England.
23. ↑ Baptism: "Wiltshire Baptisms Index 1530-1917"
    FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 7 April 2022)
    Henry Poole baptism on 13 Oct 1591, son of John, in Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, England.

Acknowledgments

‘’’This profile has been improved by a member of the England Project's Orphan Trail.’’’