John T. Poole was born in London, England, on 17 January 1800, the son of John Poole (1760-1844) and Hester [Brown?]. In 1807, Poole and his parents emigrated to Prince Edward Island, settling in Charlottetown. As a young man he learned the trade of millwright from Benjamin Chapel in Charlottetown and subsequently operated mills in various parts of the Island. Ca. 1829, Poole settled on a farm in Albion Bay and then moved to Lower Montague in 1835 where he engaged in milling and farming. He and his wife Ann Matilda Aitken, whom he married ca. 1826, had seven sons and three daughters. Many of John's descendents, such as sons William, Charles D., John T., and grandsons Charles Herbert and George A., operated mercantile, trading, and milling businesses in the Montague area. John Poole died in Lower Montague on 2 February of 1888.