EWGS Presidents: Edwin Allan Poole

This is the eighteenth in the series on the Presidents of EWGS leading up to the 75th anniversary in 2010. See the previous posts on Samuel Pool Weaver, Leora Cookingham Thiel, Susan Marie West Jack, Ruth Churchill Austin, Alfred Denman, Florence Ballou Brown, Harriet Jefferson Pinkham, Mary Elizabeth Dow Maltbie, Achsah Maltbie Rawlings, Lee DeGolyer Patchen, Susie Elliott Faubion, Edith Webb Nelson, Carrie Teats Lartigue' Guy Alfred Clumpner, Grace Ellis Woodward, Mabel Rue Frederick and Nell Hartman Peel.

Edwin Allan Poole was EWGS President in 1964. Edwin was born at Kaukauna, Outagamie County, Wisconsin, son of Edwin Franklin and Kathleen (Allan) Poole. In the Presbyterian church in Bison, Perkins County, South Dakota he married Gladys Thomte. She was born at Liston, North Dakota, daughter of John and Mary Louise (Paquin) Thomte. Ed was a school superintendent in South Dakota and then Sales Manager for Prudential Life Insurance in Spokane till he retired in 1968.

As I said in the last article on Nell Peel, Ed started the first EWGS bulletin in June of 1963, called Tree Talks. After three issues it became News Notes for about a year when it was called The Messenger for about three years. Then no name for a couple of years and in 1969 it became The Bulletin. Ed also wrote a nice five page article in The Bulletin in 1975 titled "The First Forty Years". One of the interesting paragraphs he wrote was: " There were many times in the past when books and money were contributed by the Society or its members. At one time $50 was given when that amount bought a lot more than it does now. Mrs. J. Fred Austin (the fourth EWGS president) and Mrs. Walter E. Fredrick (also an EWGS president) made several cash donations and often quietly added books to the library. In the 1940s when the library was considering the contract purchase of the costly vital records of the 70 Massachusetts towns, Mrs. Austin volunteered to donate $25 a year until the books were paid for. There are probably many others who like these fine ladies did much for the growing Society and the library." Another interesting fact Ed wrote about was at the first meeting of EWGS they decided to hold the meetings on the first Saturday of the month which is still true today.

Edwin died October 28, 1975 in Spokane and was buried at Fairmount Cemetery. He was a member of the Spokane Amateur Movie Club, Eastern Washington Genealogical Society, The Westerners Historical Society, the Huguenot Society of Washington State, Eastern Washington Historical Society and Audubon Park Masonic Lodge 272. He was survived by his wife Gladys and daughter Carmen Farley. Gladys Poole was a school teacher, and worked as a chemist for Alcoa Aluminum during the war. She died in December 2000 and her obit appeared in the Spokesman review December 29, 2000. She helped author the book Genealogy and Family History of John Pool(e), 1630-1981.