John E. Poole collection

Collection

Identifier: GLMS-0015

Staff Only

Collection Overview

Abstract

This collection documents vessels used in Great Lakes and ocean commerce. Clippings files, research notes, vessel log books, and a 60,000-item card file contain information on marine transportation in the United States and Canada. Events from the period 1814-1958 receive coverage. Scrapbooks form an illustrated record of vessels from circa 1890-1930. Loose clippings are drawn extensively from published articles dated c. 1930-1958. Research notes extracted from a variety of sources describe events for the years 1814-1853. Captain's, Deck, and Engineer's logs offer insights into daily activities on lake vessels for the years 1912-1950. The alphabetically arranged card index is a frequently consulted reference source for vessel history information.

Dates

Creation: 1890-1958

Extent

16.09 Cubic Feet (35 legal manuscript boxes)

2 Reels (2 reels of 35mm microfilm)

Creator

Poole, John E. (Person)

Scope and Contents

The John E. Poole Collection documents vessels used on the Great Lakes and in ocean commerce. Through scrapbooks of clippings, extensive loose clippings files, handwritten research notes obtained from numerous sources, vessel log books, and a 60,000-item card file, John E. Poole compiled a wealth of historical information on marine transportation in the United States and Canada. Poole's files document events from the period 1814-1958.

The scrapbooks contain clippings on ocean vessels that were collected by Poole to form an illustrated record of vessels from c. 1890-1930. The loose clippings also include illustrations, but are extensively oriented toward articles from publications for the years 1930-1958. The research notes are drawn heavily from newspaper articles, but are also derived from other published and unpublished sources in exploring events from 1814-1853. Captain's, Deck, and Engineer's logs offer insights into daily activities on lake vessels for the years 1912-1950. The alphabetically arranged card index is a frequently consulted reference source for vessel history information and serves as one of the main sources for the Gerald C. Metzler Great Lakes Database maintained by the Wisconsin Maritime Museum.

Biographical Sketch

John E. Poole was born in southern New York on April 21, 1884. Poole's family moved to Mackinac Island, Michigan in 1895 when his father, Samuel Bayard Poole, began employment as the assistant superintendent for the park on the island. In 1901 the Pooles bought the Iroquois Hotel on Mackinac Island and managed it for 21 years.

John Poole attended Union High School on Mackinac Island, graduating in 1901. Poole enrolled in Michigan State College during 1902 and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1906.

Poole's professional career began with employment by the Western Electric Company from 1906 to 1913. A teaching career in Mechanical Arts at the high school level was initiated at East Chicago, Indiana in 1913 Cicero, Illinois for 1913-1915, and West Allis, Wisconsin for 1915-1918.

Employment with the Emergency Fleet Corporation led Poole to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1918. After World War I, Poole worked as a safety engineer from 1919 to 1921. In 1921 he began teaching veterans technological skills for the Veterans' Bureau. This job lasted until 1925. From 1925 to 1926 Poole sold real estate.

An opportunity to work for the Ford Motor Company brought Poole back to Michigan in 1926. A series of other engineering jobs followed for short periods during the Depression. In 1940 a teaching position with Lincoln High School in Van Dyke, Michigan began and brought a job Poole retained until his death on June 19, 1954 at age 70.

Throughout his working life, Poole continued to amass data on maritime issues to add to information he began compiling in 1898 while living on Mackinac Island. By the early 1950s John Poole was a recognized historian of the Great Lakes fleet and vessel design. He served as a consultant for the book Ships that Never Die and other marine oriented research projects. Mrs. Queen Poole, John Poole's wife, assisted in preserving the collection by donating it in 1956 to the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.

Conditions Governing Access

No known access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The John E. Poole Collection was donated to the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes by the Marine Historical Society of Detroit on February 6, 1989.

Custodial History

This collection was originally donated to the Marine Historical Society of Detroit by Poole's widow, Queen Poole, in 1956. The Society in turn donated the materials to the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes in 1989.