Flipside: Jumping Back Into The Poole: Olive Poole Reeves

GADZOOKS, I seem to remember Grams exclaiming when something REALLY surprised her. This casual dip back into the Poole, what I thought would simply be Flipside doing a timeline on my great aunt Olive, has actually turned into a blog about her husband, William Brooke Reeves. I know only of my great grand aunt through whatever hard copy I have been able to ferret out from research. I knew nothing of her husband...dead?, divorced?, gone. I watch a lot of detective shows on TV and just look where all my detective skills have led.

I have no photo of my paternal great grand aunt, Olive Poole Reeves to display on my blog. There are probably none of her remaining. I sometimes wonder if she was present at the one mid 1920's Pool/Poole Family Reunion that was sent to me by a fellow researcher. Perhaps all of the living brothers and sisters from the Sampson Frum Pool and Sarah Louise Harner Pool marriage are pictured. Only several have been identified. Bummer!!!!

Olive was born on February 19, 1873 to Sampson Frum Pool and Sarah Louise Harner on the Pool Family Farm in the Morgan District, Monongalia County, West Virginia. She is listed on the Monongalia County Birth Record as Ollie Pool. I have made mention on various other Pool/Poole blogs that sometime in the late 1800's or early 1900's, some of the family decided to add a final "e" to their surname/maiden name, consequently researchers will find both spellings.

Olive married William B. Reeves, son of Wylie Crothers Reeves and Mary Miller, on September 12, 1895 in a Methodist Protestant Church, Morgantown, Monongalia County, Virginia. William was born in January 27, 1876 in Wellsburg. Brooke County, West Virginia. At the time of the wedding, he was still residing in Brooke County and is listed as a machinist. Perhaps he was working in Morgantown or somewhere near the Pool Farm.

The next and final record of the married couple is the 1900 West Virginia Federal Census. The newly weds are living in the Morgan District, north of Decker's Creek in Morgantown, West Virginia. No address is listed. Olive's older sister, Nettie Pool is living with them. Of great interest to me is that Olive's brother, my paternal great grandfather George Ethelbert VanGilder, was the census enumerator. How cool is that!!!!

For years I have been spinning my wheels wondering what happened to this couple. There were no further census reports until 1930 and Olive is in Pittsburgh operating a boarding house on the North Side. On various records she is listed as married or widowed...and yet, no William. Today I finally became tenacious and put my research brain in gear and lo and behold.....William B. Reese on the 1930 and 1940 Ohio Census married to another woman. Could this be Olive's husband???

I located a marriage record for the Reeves couple enumerated in the two census listings and found William marrying Carolena Mull on August 27, 1919 in Wheeling, West Virginia. Note that he lists himself as a widower. This is the census couple; however, there is no mention of parents on the marriage information, so I'm not 100% behind the idea that this is Olive's husband. Next step locate some record of death. Actually, it was out on Find A Grave that I found my next clue. William and Carolena are buried in a cemetery near Steubenville and his death was July 12, 1953....SCORE!!! A simple locate on his death certificate and WAHOO this William B. Reeves parents match the William B. Reeves that married my great grand aunt, Olive Poole.

The widowed information on the marriage certificate began to bother me. I decided to dig a little further. I am still missing information on William from 1900-1930. I figured he had to have a WW I draft registration and lo and behold he did! William B. became William Brooke Reeves and, yes, he is married to another woman! More exploration....a found marriage license and a burial in a cemetery near Steubenville, Ohio.

Oddly, on the marriage certificate William's surname is spelled Reaves....however, it is our Bill. On October 16, 1903 in Steubenville, Jefferson County, Ohio, William married Margaret (Maggie) Lorena Skaggs daughter of Theodore Skaggs and Ella Merritt. (Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M86979-5, System Origin: Ohio-VR , GS Film number: 0900078 , Reference ID: 2:3HXWGLV.) There is a 1910 Ohio Census report for the couple. Maggie died from pneumonia on October 13, 1918 at Mingo Junction, Jefferson County, Ohio. Her death certificate again spells her married name Reaves, although the memorial on Find A Grave has her name spelled Reeves. She is buried at Georges Run Cemetery, Steubenville, Ohio.

So, here's the rundown--William Brooke Reeves married first, my great grand aunt, Olive Pool on September 12, 1895 in Morgantown, West Virginia. He married second, Margaret (Maggie) Skaggs on October 16, 1903 in Steubenville, Ohio. He married third, Carolena Mull on August 27, 1919 in Wheeling, West Virginia. I do not believe that William had any children with any of his wives.

But I digress....this blog is supposed to be about my paternal great grand aunt. Olive seems to be MIA from 1910-to 1920. Perhaps some of those years she was still married and living in Morgantown. Once she and William parted ways, she may have moved in with family members. I have seen through various records that the Poole sisters seemed to be acquainted with moving in with each other during times of crisis.

Thanks to great grand aunt Olive's sister, my great grand aunt Sarah Ann Poole Pinyerd, who must have had a direct dial to the local newspapers, there are numerous accounts of the Poole sisters comings and goings from Sarah's home in North Charleroi, Pennsylvania. It appears that Olive was a fairly permanent fixture in her sister's home from about 1920-1923 and perhaps later. Two other Poole sisters were also guests at Sarah's home--my paternal great grandmother, Jessie Poole VanGilder and another great grand aunt, Eleanor Poole Bashaw and her two children.

1240 Palo Alto Street

By the beginning of 1928, Olive was living in Pittsburgh and the 1930 Pennsylvania Federal Census lists her as running a boarding house at 1240 Palo Alto Street on the North Side of Pittsburgh. Two of the boarders are her niece and nephew, Olive Bashaw and Leon Poole Bashaw and her brother in law, Sarah's husband, John Pinyerd. Olive does list herself as a widow. The 1940 Pennsylvania Federal Census shows Olive still running her boarding house at 1240 Palo Alto.

Olive died at her home, 111 Brilliant Avenue, Aspinwall, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. She shared the house with her sister, Eleanor Poole Bashaw and her niece Olive Bashaw. I google mapped the address and found a pleasant home on a nice street in Aspinwall.

Olive was buried with her Poole family at Mt. Union Cemetery, north of Morgantown, West Virginia. I have visited the cemetery and taken photos. There is no memorial marker for Olive.

Burial information on Find A Grave for William Brooke Reeves

Updated Februray, 2021

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