Stephen D. Pool

Stephen Decatur Pool (1819 – December 21, 1901) was an American educator, newspaper editor, politician, and Confederate officer from North Carolina. He served as principal of Elizabeth City Academy, edited several newspapers including the New Bern Daily Journal of Commerce, and published the historical journal Our Living and Our Dead. During the Civil War he rose to colonel in the Confederate Army and later became North Carolina superintendent of public instruction (1875–1876), resigning amid financial controversy. He spent his later years in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Stephen D. Pool
North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction
In office January 1, 1875 – 1876
Governor	Curtis Hooks Brogden
Preceded by	Alexander McIver
Succeeded by	John Pool
Personal details
Born	1819 (1819) Elizabeth City, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	December 21, 1901(1901-12-21) (aged 81–82) Osyka, Mississippi, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Caroline S. Lockwood

Early life and education

Stephen Decatur Pool was born in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, in 1819, the son of Joshua and Ann (Nancy) Lowry Pool. Though born into relative poverty, he later rose in social standing through his marriage to Caroline S. Lockwood, a wealthy heiress. Under the mentorship of Charles R. Kinney, a local attorney and banker, Pool studied law, though it remains uncertain whether he ever formally practiced.^[1]

Career

Education Career

By September 1849, Pool had become principal of the Elizabeth City Academy, where his wife directed the Female Department. He demonstrated a strong commitment to education by opening a night school in 1850 for apprentices and working young men, offering instruction in basic subjects for a modest fee. The academy expanded in 1851 to include a military department led by a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, eventually flourishing and relocating to a larger building.^[1]

Journalism and Public Life Before the War

While directing the academy, Pool became editor of The Old North State, a newspaper published in Elizabeth City. Between 1850 and 1854, he was listed variously as printer, editor, and proprietor. His Whig political views brought him into conflict with Lucien D. Starke, editor of the rival Democratic paper The Pioneer. Their disputes extended beyond print to physical confrontations, including one incident where Starke attacked Pool with a cane. Pool also delivered public lectures to raise funds for his school, reflecting his broad intellectual interests.^[1]In 1852, Pool also served as Pool of the House of Commons in North Carolina.^[2]

Service in the Civil War

At the age of forty-two, Pool entered military service for the Confederacy. In May 1861, he was commissioned captain of Company H, 10th North Carolina Regiment. Captured at Fort Macon in April 1862, he was later exchanged and promoted, first to lieutenant colonel and then to colonel by September 1863.^[1] Even while serving, Pool briefly represented Carteret County in the North Carolina House of Commons in 1864 and 1865.^[3] In the final months of the war, he commanded the First Sub District of the Department of North Carolina.^[1]

Postwar Journalism and Publishing

After the war, Pool resumed his journalistic career as editor of the New Bern Daily Journal of Commerce (1866–1875). A founding member of the North Carolina Press Association, he was active in shaping the state's postwar press culture.^[1] He attended the first meeting in Goldsboro in May, 1873.^[4] And he also published Campaign Anti-Radical during the election of 1870, advocating against Republican policies. From 1873 to 1876, Pool edited Our Living and Our Dead, a publication dedicated to war reminiscences, troop registers, and historical essays, followed by Southern Historical Monthly. He also directed the North Carolina Journal of Education, underscoring his lasting interest in public instruction.^[1]

Superintendent of Public Instruction

In 1874, Pool was elected as North Carolina's superintendent of public instruction^[5], one of the first Democrats to hold high office after Reconstruction.^[4] He also participated in the State Educational Association.^[6] Like his predecessor Alexander McIver, he faced a shortage of funds, which limited travel and required him to perform most clerical work himself. In February 1875, he informed Dr. Barnas Sears, general agent of the Peabody Education Fund, that he had also been elected state agent of the North Carolina Educational Association and intended to canvass the state for education while inspecting schools receiving Peabody aid. The Peabody Board formally employed him for this task, enabling him to visit many parts of the state without expense to the public treasury.^[7]

His tenure, however, was short-lived. During his time as superintendent, Pool was accused of mismanaging the Peabody Education Fund, money designated for the schooling of poor children. Contemporary newspapers reported that he had diverted thousands of dollars for personal use.^[1][8] As the scandal grew, Pool attempted to defend himself in the press. The Daily News noted that reporters sought him for comment but initially failed to find him, as he was said to have left for Norfolk to arrange explanations. When Pool returned, he issued a card promising clarification and asked the public for "a suspension of judgment." Skeptical journalists questioned whether he had even left Raleigh at all, describing his explanations as evasive and urging him to "make a clean breast of it at once" for the sake of his friends and reputation. The controversy proved politically disastrous.^[9] Under mounting public criticism and accusations of defalcation, Pool resigned his office on June 30, 1876, effectively ending his political career in North Carolina.^[1]Then, governor Brodgen appointed John Pool to replace Stephen D.Pool.^[10][11]

Later years in Louisiana and Mississippi

By 1877, Pool had moved to New Orleans, where his son, Stephen D. Pool Jr., was a well-regarded newspaper editor. He remained in the region for the rest of his life, later settling across Lake Pontchartrain in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, near the Mississippi border. He spent his later years engaged largely in farming. Pool died on December 21, 1901, in Osyka, Mississippi, where he was also buried.^[1]

Family

tephen Decatur Pool and his wife, Caroline S. Lockwood, had eight children: James Harrell, John Lockwood, Henry Clay, Stephen D. Jr., Dora (or Theodora), Mary, Carlton F., and Caroline S.^[1]