POOLE, Ezra A. (c. 1807-1894) and Sally Marilla (1819-after 1900)

Earlier a Congregationalist clergyman, Ezra Poole became a Millerite Adventist in the early 1840s. He joined the Sabbatarian Adventists in 1850 and soon after began to preach for them, mostly in Lincklaen, New York, and vicinity. Surprisingly, the History of Chenango and Madison Counties lists Ezra Poole as pastor of the Lincklaen Seventh Day Baptist Church from 1856 to 1859. A letter to the Review in 1858 explained that the Sabbatarian Adventists in Lincklaen “hold their meetings each Sabbath afternoon in the meeting house of the Seventh-day [sic] Baptists, where Bro. Poole preaches to the latter in the morning and then meets with the Advent brethren in the afternoon.” Although his preaching seems to have been mostly local, his administrative talents had a wider impact. Among other responsibilities, he served on a committee set up in 1852 to raise funds for the first Review printing press and to oversee “the financial concerns of the paper.” In 1860 Poole was active in the debate at a general conference in Battle Creek over the adoption of “Seventh-day Adventist” as the denominational name. It was his motion “that we call ourselves Seventh-day Adventists” that finally passed after withdrawal of David Hewitt's initial motion “that we take the name of Seventh-day Adventists” (italics supplied).1EGWLM 879.1

Ezra Poole and his wife are briefly mentioned by Ellen White in 1854 as having been deeply hurt by the severity and “overbearing spirit” of Samuel W. Rhodes, a traveling preacher of some prominence in the early 1850s. It is also likely that, despite the disparity in spelling, the “Brother Pool” referred to in Letter 11, 1862 (Nov. 9), is Ezra Poole. He is there counseled that he “has lost sense of the greatness” of the work and needs to “move with more energy and decision.”1EGWLM 879.2

See: Obituary: “Elder Ezra A. Poole,” Review, Apr. 3, 1894, p. 223; James H. Smith, History of Chenango and Madison Counties, New York, With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers (Syracuse, N.Y.: D. Mason & Co., 1880), p. 486; Benj. Hostler, “From Bro. Hostler,” Review, Aug. 26, 1858, p. 118; search term “Poole” in Words of the Pioneers; “The Conference,” Review, Mar. 23, 1852, p. 108; “Business Proceedings of B. C. Conference,” Review, Oct. 16, 23, 1860, pp. 169, 170, 179; 1860 U.S. Federal Census, “Ezra A. Poole,” New York, Chenango County, Lincklaen, p. 339; 1880 U.S. Federal Census, “Pool [sic], Ezra A.,” New York, Chenango County, Lincklaen, p. 5; 1900 U.S. Federal Census, “Marilla Pool” [sic], New York, Chenango County, Lincklaen, p. 5b; Ellen G. White, Ms 6, 1854 (Feb. 19); Lt 11, 1862 (Nov. 9).1EGWLM 879.3