A silversmith and jeweler, Pooley remained in business in New Albany for more than ten years. His shop is recorded in the ISG for 1858-59, and sometime during his stay there he may have been in partnership with F.D. Barnum, who later worked in Louisville and Nashville. Spoons marked “]. Pooley” and others marked "Pooley and Barnum" are extant. In 1859 James Pooley sold his shop to Charles H. Bradford, a silversmith from Rhode Island, and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where his shop was recorded by Dr. Caldwell.