Pope was a trader/smuggler established in the Passamaquoddy Bay region by ca 1805. For a time he lived at Eastport (Me), for a time he lived on Pope’s Folly (NB) where his smuggling warehouse was located, and for a time (ca 1808-1814) lived in the Magaguadavic River valley (St George parish) of Charlotte County. In 1814 he established his home at Randolph (Vt) but continued active in St George parish for a few years. Between 1809 and 1817 he bought or sold land 19 times, all transactions relating to sawmilling interests at Second Falls in St George parish. In 1817 he sold his last milling interests to Jacob Hanks, his foster brother, and centered his business in Vermont, first at Randolph and then Lincoln.
In 1812, in the course of driving a herd of smuggled cattle on the Great Road from St Andrews to Fredericton, Pope attended a religious meeting and was converted. He immediately became a preacher and began a journal. The journal runs from 1812 to 1832 and deals exclusively with his spiritual life and gospel itineracy, not business. During the earlier years covered by the journal, he preached mostly in Charlotte County and in the townships of Yarmouth, Argyle and Barrington in Nova Scotia. From 1812 to 1821 he preached as a New Light in the tradition of Henry Alline. From 1822 until 1832 he preached as a Freewill Baptist. In 1832 he stopped preaching and concentrated on business for the rest of his life.
The partial transcription of Pope’s journal at the CCA was donated by William Pope (1936-2013) of Northfield, Vt. The original journal is held by Hamilton College, Clinton, NY.