Samuel Sheldon Poole was a judge and political figure in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

. He represented Yarmouth township in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly

Nova Scotia House of Assembly

The Nova Scotia Legislature, consisting of Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant Governor and the House of Assembly, is the legislative branch of the provincial government of Nova Scotia, Canada...

 from 1785 to 1799, from 1806 to 1811 and from 1814 to 1835.

He was born in Reading, Massachusetts

Reading, Massachusetts

Reading is an affluent town situated in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, some north of central Boston. The population was 24,747 at the 2010 census.-Settlement and Independence:...

, the son of Jonathan Poole and Mary Sheldon, was educated at Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 and came to Yarmouth

Yarmouth, Nova Scotia

Yarmouth is a town and fishing port located on the Gulf of Maine in rural southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the shire town of Yarmouth County. The town is located in the heart of the world's largest lobster fishing grounds and has Canada's highest lobster catch.- History :The townsite may...

 in 1775. In 1775, he married Elizabeth Barnes. In 1785, he was named a justice of the peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 for Queen's County. Poole later was named a justice in the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for Shelburne County

Shelburne County, Nova Scotia

Shelburne County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.-History:Shelburne County was founded in 1784 shortly following the influx of Loyalist settlers evacuated from the newly independent United States of America...

 and a judge in the probate court. He also served as custos rotulorum

Custos rotulorum

Custos rotulorum is the keeper of an English county's records and, by virtue of that office, the highest civil officer in the county...

 and was the first teacher for the Yarmouth Grammar School, established in 1811. After the death of Samuel Marshall

Samuel Marshall (Canadian politician)

Samuel Marshall was a merchant, shipbuilder and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Yarmouth township in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1811 to 1813....

, Poole was elected again to the provincial assembly in an 1814 by-election. In 1826, he was referred to as the "father of the house" by Governor James Kempt

James Kempt

General Sir James Kempt, GCB was a British Army officer, who served in Holland, Egypt, Italy, the Peninsula, and British North America during the Napoleonic Wars...

. He appealed his loss to Reuben Clements

Reuben Clements

Reuben Clements was a sailor, pilot and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Yarmouth township in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1835 to 1847 as a Reformer....

in the 1830 general election and regained his seat in the assembly the following year. Poole died in office at the age of 84.