David W. Poak was born In Lawrence County, PA in 1842. Sometime around 1858-9 David W. Poak moved to Millersburg, Mercer County, Illinois along with another dozen or so residents of Lawrence County, PA. Mercer County was a thriving area of Illinois at the time, and towns like Aledo, the county seat, Millersburg, Keithsburg, New Boston, Viola and others were growing In Millersburg his occupation was a teacher, and he did this until the call came for volunteers from the state of Illinois to suppress the rebellion. So on August 12, 1861 David W. Poak enlisted into Co. A, 30th Illinois Volunteer Infantry as a Sergeant. The enlistment record says Poak was twenty years old, five foot five and a quarter inches tall, fair complexion, blue eyes, and had sandy colored hair. During the conflict on January 33, 1863 he would rise to the rank of 1st Lieutenant. During the Battle of Atlanta on July 22nd, 1864 he became acting adjutant and received the Seventeenth Corp Silver Medal of Honor for bravery. After the war, David Poak returned to Millersburg, IL, then moved to the newly incorporated town of Pleasanton, Linn County, Kansas. There he became a school director on February 19, 1870 and was elected Pleasanton’s first mayor on October 25th, 1870. In 1872 he is listed as cashier for the Fannin County Bank in Bonham, Fannin County, Texas. In the 1876-77 City Directory for Sherman, TX his occupation is listed as vice-president of the Bank of Sherman, Grayson Co., TX. Sometime afterwards he went back to his home in Mt. Jackson, PA. His obituary on page one of the New Castle Courant, dated April 4th, 1879, stated that David W. Poak died “last week” (March 27th, 1879) at his home of consumption and is buried at the Westfield Presbyterian Church Cemetery.