Background
He was born to a noble family in either 1601 or 1603 in Buckinghamshire, England, and was educated at the College of Saint Omer in Artois, France.
He was born to a noble family in either 1601 or 1603 in Buckinghamshire, England, and was educated at the College of Saint Omer in Artois, France.
English College.
He was back at Saint Omer"s in 1633 and at Watten, Nord, in 1636. Poulton first arrived in British North America in 1638. He joined other Jesuits including Andrew White, Thomas Copley, John Altham Gravenor, and Thomas Gervase at the colony they had begun in 1634 near Saint Mary"s City, Maryland.
He was quickly elected Superior of Mission, replacing Thomas Copley, though Copley would later retake this leadership role.
While the Superior, Poulton was summoned by Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore to attend the Maryland Assembly on September 19, 1640. Poulton lived primarily at the Jesuits" Proprietary at Mattapany on the Patuxent River.
Carafa replied on September 15, 1640, and approved the institution of a school in principle. Poulton"s plan for Catholic education was significantly more ambitious than that of the other Maryland Jesuits.
However, he died after being accidentally shot while crossing the Saint Mary"s River in a small boat on June 5, 1641 (or possibly July 5).
His life in Maryland and his mysterious death were fictionalized in the 1995 book, Mary"s Land by author Lucia Saint Clair Robson. He also has a building named in his honor, Poulton Hall, on Georgetown"s main campus.