APHGA Weekly Report 10/13/2009

The Great A. A. Pomeroy Book Update Project

Lee continued her research into the sons of George A. Pomeroy (Silas, Abner, Caleb, Samuel, Caleb, Eltweed) and his wife Rebecca Palmer, to identify which of these migrated back to the USA from Canada. Two of these sons, Ransom and Horace, are listed as deserters from the Union Army during the Civil War. Horace returned to Northumberland County, Ontario, Canada, while Ransom stayed in the States where he became a dentist, going under the name of David R. Pomeroy. Lee will be handing off her research to Betty to enter into the Eltweed Pomeroy database.

Lee has also been collecting research on Pomeroy abolitionists. We need to get this information added to our databases!

Ed continued to trace a Maine Pomeroy family that branched out into Wisconsin, Colorado, Arizona and Oregon. He has been entering the research he has done on this family into our Unlinked Pomeroy database.

Betty continued to enter exact match Pomeroy Social Security Death Index records into our various Pomeroy databases. She continued to review the family information in the databases for missing census information. She also filed the records she has entered. We have twelve four-drawer FireKing file cabinets, the majority of which are filled with research for the APHGA and the Mary Ann Coe project!

Barb helped the William G. Pomeroy foundation review grants for historic markers in Onondaga County, NY. She also continued her review of online newspapers available to NY State Town and County Historians via the New York State Library website. Interesting articles found by Barb this week include Mr. C[harles] Pomeroy who was a merchant in Montgomery, AL and an agent for the Rock Island Letter Paper; a Simeon Pomeroy who “had but one arm”; and Charles R. Pomeroy involved with the salt mine in Pomeroy, OH. who stated that “The water at Pomeroy is stronger than any this side of Onondago (sic), New York.” An article in a Salt Lake City paper in 1852 mentioned “Martin, Pomeroy & Co’s wagons and stock are among the first and progressing beyond their most imagine (sic) expectations.” Was this Francis Martin Pomeroy (Martin, Jude, John, Noah, Joseph, Eltweed)?

An article from the Court Calendar in Boston, MA, dated 15 Dec 1851 states “In the District court of the United States, on Saturday, Edwin Lovett and Wm. R. Pomeroy, mast and mate of the bark James Smith, found guilty of unusual and cruel punishment”. The article goes on to say that Edwin and William poured a pail of tar upon the head of Smith. They were fined $40 and $20 respectively. Who is this William? We have a William R Pomeroy, b. abt 1819 in ME who was a mariner and lived in Hancock, ME. He married a Lydia A. (last name unknown), and was found in the 1860 US Federal Census of Huntington, Suffolk Co., NY, occupied as a captain and boatman and living with his wife and son Andrew in the Anderson and Dora Ketcham household. According to the 1870 US Federal Census, William and family were living in San Francisco, CA. William’s occupation was listed as mariner. William’s parents were John Pomeroy b. abt 1790 in ME, who died before 1860, and Rachel G (last name unknown) b. abt 1795 in ME and d. 10 Oct 1865 in Hancock, ME. We are trying to determine who John descends from.

In reviewing The Ohio Repository, a newspaper published in Canton, OH for the Mary Ann Coe Project, Nancy came across a notice of the marriage of Mary Pumroy to Philip Snider on the 29th of March, 1827. Both were identified as being from Lawrence Township (in Stark Co., OH). Also in The Ohio Repository on 24 May 1827 was the announcement of a public sale on 7 July 1827 of the estate of Francis Pumroy, deceased, which included 65 acres of unimproved land. The administrator of this estate was John Taylor. A Sheriff’s Sale announcement published in The Ohio Repository on 26 Jul 1827 listed objects for sale at the Widow Pumroy’s home in Lawrence Township on 15 Aug 1827, including one ox wagon, two cows and a calf, one windmill, ten hogs, one bureau, 1 two year old colt, two yoke of oxen, 5 two year old cattle and one grubbing hoe, “executed as the property of James Pumroy”. Francis Pomeroy, b. ca 1772 in Westmoreland Co., PA, was the son of John and Hannah (Graham) Pomeroy. He married Margaret Moorehead “ca 1798” according to the book “History and Genealogy of the Pomeroy Family and Collateral Lines, England – Ireland – America...” written and published by William McL and J. Nevin Pomeroy (1958, Cuneo Eastern Press, Inc.) James was a son of Francis and Margaret, and Mary was a daughter.

Mary Ann Hagen, our West Coast partner on the book project, has been researching Pomeroys in Hawaii. Her latest avenue of exploration revolves around the missionary family of Reverend Hiram Bingham and Sybil Moseley. Sybil (1792-1848) was the daughter of Lt. Pliny and Sophia (Pomeroy) Moseley (Daniel, Daniel, Ebenezer Medad, Eltweed). Rev. Hiram Bingham and Sybil Moseley married 19 Oct 1819, probably in MA as Sybil’s widowed mother Sophia was living in Westfield. The newly married couple soon afterward removed to the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii), where Rev. Bingham was one of the early missionaries to the Hawaiian natives. According to A.A. Pomeroy, their first child, Sophia Moseley Bingham, was born in Honolulu 9 Nov 1820, and we believe that the couple’s additional 6 children were also born in Hawaii. Mary Ann had found a book in her local library genealogy department entitled “Descendants of New England Protestant missionaries to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaiian Islands) 1820-1900”, by Mrs. Robert G. Rigler and Mrs. Glenn R. Greenwood, of the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society, Library. (Hawaii, self published, 1984).

This brought to mind Brainard T. Munn, another Pomeroy descendant connected to the Hawaiian missionary movement, who happens to be one of our favorite Pomeroys.

Brainard T. Munn, known as “The Hermit Poet of Skaneateles”, or “The Hermit Author of Skaneateles, was born of missionary parents Rev. Bethuel Munn and Lovisa Clark in January 1838 in what is now Hawaii (then the Sandwich Islands). His mother Lovisa was the daughter of Deacon Eli and Anna (Pomeroy) Clark (Timothy, Daniel, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed). Lovisa was born in July 1810, probably in Skaneateles (then Marcellus), NY, and died 25 Aug 1841 in the Sandwich Islands, leaving two young children, Brainard, 3, and Morrison Clark Munn about 18 months old. Rev. Bethuel Munn returned to Clyde, NY with his sons, by 1843. Bethuel married Harriet (Judson)Bacon in Elbridge, NY that same year and the family lived in Clyde. The couple had twins on 3 Mar 1844, one son, Judson B. Munn, survived to adulthood. On 23 Jun 1846 Morrison Clark Munn died in Clyde, NY. Bethuel died before 1850, probably also in Clyde.

Harriet Munn, Bethuel’s widow, moved back to Elbridge, where according to the 1850 Census, she lived with her son Judson and stepson Brainard. By 1860 Brainard had moved to Skaneateles where his mother was born and her family still lived, and for a time was involved in a utopian community there. He fell in love with one of the women who worked as a housekeeper for the owner of the farm, but unfortunately she didn’t feel the same way about him. He left the farm and built a little hut in the woods of Skaneateles and in 1871 wrote a book entitled “Love on a Wing” based on his experience at the farm. Although he called his book a novel and changed the names of the characters, everyone in town knew who the book was written about. The book sold fairly well (at least in Skaneateles) even though it got panned by a reviewer for the New York Times. He wrote another book, “La Petit Belle” in 1877, which didn’t sell well at all.

Brainard was living in Syracuse, N.Y. by 1888. According to an interview he worked as a carpenter. He was arrested for vagrancy in 1899. After serving his sentence he was sent to the County Poor House where he may have been living when he applied for a Civil War invalid pension on 1 Dec 1900. He drowned in a small pond on the property of the Poor House in April 1916. His death was ruled a suicide by the County Coroner. His demise made all the local papers, and the County advertised for living relations to claim his body, but none did, and his body was given to the local medical school.

Nancy communicated via Facebook with Annie Pomeroy. She asked if we knew why James Pomeroy McGuire was buried in Guanajuato, Mexico in 1959. According to the California Birth Index, 1905-1995 on Ancestry.com, a James Pomeroy McGuire was born 28 Nov 1931 in San Francisco County, his mother’s maiden name was listed as Pomeroy. A Kathleen McQuire was also listed in this database, b. 15 Apr 1926 in San Francisco County. Her mother’s maiden name was also Pomeroy. We found a Kathleen McGuire, daughter of Percy J. and Virginia P. McGuire, age 3, born in CA in the 1930 US Federal Census in San Francisco, CA. Also in the household was Campbell Pomeroy, identified as “Father-in-Law”. We believe that James Pomeroy McGuire was also the son of Percy J. and Virginia (Pomeroy) McGuire. Campbell Pomeroy immigrated to the US in 1888 according to the 1930 US Federal Census. Nancy checked for obituaries for James in online San Francisco papers of that time, but has found nothing to date. There were a lot of hits on “James McGuire” in the papers searched, but none that could be conclusively identified as James Pomeroy McGuire. If anyone is familiar with this family, please contact us!

Judy reviewed and has been entering a genealogy of the Pomeroy family published in two volumes of the New England Historical and Genealogical Record in April and July of 1903. This genealogy was compiled by William Woodbridge Rodman (1817-1900) who married first Jerusha Pomeroy (Benjamin, Elihu, Benjamin, Joseph, Medad, Eltweed). William married second Jerusha’s sister, Ann Grosvenor Pomeroy. William was chairman of the Pomeroy Family Association prior to his death. According to the Journal, he had collected a great amount of material which was passed on to Mrs. Henry Thorp Beckley who was the assistant secretary of the association. Judy has also been entering miscellaneous exact-match records and exact-match 1861 Canadian Census records.

Alena continued to enter the book “History and Genealogy of the Pomeroy Family and Collateral Lines, England – Ireland – America...” written and published by William McL and J. Nevin Pomeroy (1958, Cuneo Eastern Press, Inc.) into our George Pomeroy database.

The Pomeroy Anvil Trail

Alena assisted Nancy in building a model of the block on which the First Presbyterian Church of Lyons, NY now stands. We built the Church, Manse and neighboring brick house at 70 Broad Street, along with identifying several trees that line the street, the memorial garden and the signage on the corner of Queen St and Broad St. We also built a very small (1 inch) model of a Pomeroy Anvil monument that could be placed in the different suggested locations for the monument. This model enabled us to get a bird’s eye view of the visibility of the monument from different vantage points up and down both Broad St and Queen St.


Nancy brought the model to the First Presbyterian Church of Lyons, NY on Saturday and attended one day of the Church’s two day 200th Anniversary Celebration. The Saturday service commemorated several long time members of the Church, the choir and their current organist. Three alumni of the Church who later became pastors attended the service and two of these pastors gave sermons. A lovely luncheon was held where Nancy had the opportunity to meet several Church members. Although the day started out windy and rainy, the sun came out around noon and filled the Church with the most beautiful light.

Rick continued to chase down the Van Wickle survey of early Lyons, NY. We are trying to determine where Rev. Francis Pomeroy’s property stood in relation to the current location of the First Presbyterian Church. The Presbyterian Church property was listed as Village lot 1 of Van Wickle’s survey, while Francis’ property was listed as being on Village lot 2. Rick found the map on a roll of microfilm containing Pulteney Estate records at the Spencerport, NY library on Friday. Village lot 2 is directly behind Village lot 1 according to Van Wickle’s survey map! So, Francis lived next door to where the current Church stands!

Mark DeCracker, a member of the Church and President of the Lyons Chamber of Commerce showed Nancy some photos he had taken in a church in Lockport, NY (Presbyterian?). A stained glass window has the name “Pomroy” on it. We believe this relates to the Jabez B and Daniel Pomeroy families who settled around Lockport. Jabez and Daniel were half brothers, and sons of John Pomeroy (John, Noah, Joseph, Eltweed). Daniel (1788-1867) had a walnut farm and Jabez ( 1794-1878) owned a farm and carding mill in Lockport. Both were buried in the Pomeroy Cemetery.

Rob L, a resident of Lockport, NY contacted Mary Ann Hagen regarding this same family. Daniel Alvord and Jabez Pomeroy were identified as executors of the estate of Elisha Alvord, the former owner of property that Rob now owns . He also told us that the Niagara County Historical Society meets in a one-room schoolhouse known as the Pomeroy Schoolhouse. Perhaps this would be an appropriate site for a Pomeroy Anvil monument!

The Pomeroy Collection

Nancy accessioned new magazines and journals, including the Journal of the New York State Archives, Fall 2009 edition, which contained articles on Revolutionary spies, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and the Civil War Prison in Elmira, NY. An article by Meldon J. Wolfgang III explored the digitized instruction manuals for the NY State 1855, 1865 and 1875 Census available on the NYS Archives website at http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/scandocs (click on “Search Digital Collections” and type “census instructions” in the search box.) If you’ve had the opportunity to view these NY State census records, we highly recommend you read these pamphlets, they’re very informative! Nancy also accessioned the latest issue of Internet Genealogy. Articles in this issue include “Indian Census Records and Name Rolls”, “Understanding County Boundaries Through Time” and “Don’t Ignore Historic Religious Records”.

Nancy also received her first issue of the Association of Professional Genealogists “APG Journal”, of which the title article was about blogging! Nice to know we’re on the right track!

The Mary Ann Coe Project

Bill’s third great-grandmother, Mary Ann Coe (1790-1852) married perhaps three times, left her first husband Spencer Pomeroy (Pliny, Daniel, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed), and settled as an independent woman in the frontier town of Norwalk, OH. A fortunate presidential connection has resulted in the preservation of hundreds of family letters, giving some insight but leading to more questions about this strong willed woman who refused to slip quietly into forgotten history.

Nancy, Pat, Rick and Barb attended the Mary Ann Coe Project Meeting and discussed Benjamin Junkins’ probate file. Interesting inconsistencies include the fact that his estate was not inventoried until a full 6 months after his death, and the fact that his estate consisted mainly of clothing, a watch, a cow and a calf. It seemed odd to us, knowing that Benjamin was a cabinetmaker, that no tools and only one piece of furniture, that being a bedstead, were listed among his possessions. There were no household items listed other than a keg and two trunks. Where was Benjamin living when he died? Was he residing as husband and wife with Mary Ann (Coe) Pomeroy? She is listed as his wife in two deeds in which he sells his property on lot 26 in Norwalk, OH prior to his death. Also listed in the probate papers are several notes due to Benjamin that somehow “made their way into the hands of Adam Junkins” who refused to release them. Adam was Benjamin Junkins’ brother. Why was he holding these notes, and how did he get them in the first place? We have written to Henry Timman, a first rate researcher in Norwalk, OH who is a member of the Firelands Historical Society and worked in the County Courthouse prior to retirement. He has also written local history articles for the Norwalk newspaper and has published these in a four volume set. If you’re doing research in Norwalk, OH we highly recommend Henry. We’ve asked Henry to look through the Court of Common Pleas records to see if there is any further mention of the administration of Benjamin Junkins’ estate.

Nancy wrote up the Mary Ann Coe Project Meeting notes and added them to our blog. Nancy also started to review The Ohio Repository, a Canton, OH newspaper for the years 1827 through 1831. A Benjamin Junkin was listed as having a letter remaining in the Post-Office in Canton on 1 Jul 1828. Benjamin had advertised his house and cabinetmaker’s shop as being for sale in Norwalk, OH in the Norwalk Reporter 5 Oct 1827. Was he planning on moving? Was he considering relocating to Canton, OH? The Ohio Repository is available online through NewspaperArchive.com but Nancy has noticed that several of the pages were filmed horizontally, not vertically, so that any OCR (Optical Character Recognition – which allows word searching on these documents) would not recognize any words or characters on these pages. Nancy is hoping that there are additional references to Benjamin Junkins in Canton, OH which may give us further insight into Benjamin and Mary Ann’s life.

We are still anxiously awaiting the Edward Pettit probate file ordered from the Huron County Courthouse a few months ago. Judy just heard that they will be processing her report within the next week, which is great news. Edward Pettit sold part of inlot 6 to Mary Ann Pomeroy on 6 Jul 1825, according to a deed filed at the Huron County Courthouse. Mary Ann later bought the remaining portion of inlot 6 from the estate of Edward Pettit on 28 Jul 1826, also according to a deed files at the Huron County Courthouse. Of puzzlement to us is the fact that the estate of Edward Pettit continued to pay taxes on inlot 6 through 1832. If Mary Ann owned this property, why isn’t she paying taxes on it? We have not found a mortgage between Edward Pettit and Mary Ann Pomeroy to indicate that she was paying for the property over time. We are hoping that Edward Pettit’s probate records will clear this up.

Rick continued his research into inlot 6 in Norwalk, contacting the current owner regarding a possible abstract showing past owners of the property. Rick researched divorce laws in Ohio for the period 1824-1826 and found a website that listed journals of the completed Legislative years. Rick made a contact at the Supreme Court of Ohio Law Library to see if there was any record of a divorce being granted to Mary Ann Pomeroy from Spencer Pomeroy.

Rick also contacted the Mount Vernon Masonic Lodge #64 in Norwalk, OH to enquire about Benjamin Junkins. According to an announcement in the Norwalk Reporter dated 22 Dec 1827, it was “Resolved unanimously. That Benjamin Junkins, be and is hereby expelled from all Masonic communication. By order of the Lodge.” Why was Benjamin expelled?

Pat completed entering the Samuel Daniel Coe line from the book “Robert Coe, Puritan” by J. Gardner Bartlett (Boston, self published, 1911) into the Eltweed database. Pat also entered a book excerpt from Sergeant Hamlin Alexander Coe’s Civil War combat diaries entitled “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, edited and published by David Coe in 1975. Hamlin Alexander Coe was the son of Samuel Daniel Coe. This Coe family married into the Deyo family.

Pat also transcribed the Benjamin Junkins estate papers and letters of administration and added additional information to the Eltweed database. Pat has been researching John G. Taylor, the co-administrator of Benjamin Junkins’ estate, to see if we can find any relationship between Taylor and Junkins. Pat found a newspaper ad for John G. Taylor’s boot and shoemaking business. She also found an excerpt from the Firelands Pioneer that identified John G. Taylor as the third mayor of Norwalk in 1832. She also found a marriage announcement in the Huron Reflector but it was partially cut off when filmed by NewspaperArchive.com.


We have added 194 people, 44 sources and 1088 citations to our genealogy databases over the past week.

© 2009 American Pomeroy Historic Genealogical Association