APHGA's weekly report 10/27/2009

The Great A. A. Pomeroy Book Update Project

Nancy looked at online Australia newspapers for any mention of Edwin Guilford Pomeroy (Francis A., Francis W., Spencer, Pliny, Daniel, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed). Edwin was Bill’s grandfather. He worked for the McKeen Motor Car Company in Omaha, NE before 1908 through about 1920. In November 1911 two McKeen Motor Cars were delivered to Melbourne, Australia. Workers from the McKeen Motor Car Company came to Melbourne to get the trains running and teach the engineers and trainmen in Australia how to run and repair the machines. Based on letters written by Edwin to his wife Etta May (Stansberry) Pomeroy, we believe that Edwin may have been one of the workers sent by McKeen to Australia. We found a very interesting photograph of the McKeen Cars and workers online at the Australia Archives website, and one of the workers bears a striking resemblance to Bill’s grandfather. Meldon Wolfgang III, in his lecture on Newspapers at the CNYGS Fall Conference mentioned the International Coalition on Newspapers (ICON) website at http://icon.crl.edu/digitization.htm as being a great place to look for International Newspapers online. Nancy checked the site and found the Australian Newspapers Digitization Program at http://www.nla.gov.au/ndp/index.html which had several articles about the McKeen Motor Cars, but none that mentioned Edwin Pomeroy directly. This may be a good place to look for Mexican newspapers that might mention James Pomeroy McGuire who was buried in Guanajuato, Mexico in 1959. We’ll have to ask Alena for help with this as she is fluent in Spanish.

Nancy spent time this week entering new and old research into our various Pomeroy databases. She worked on the Charles H. Goodier family. Charles married Mary E. Pomeroy (Joseph S, John Spencer, John, Nathaniel, Joseph, Medad, Eltweed) by 1867 and they had at least 10 children. The family lived in Osage County, KS according to the 1860, 1870 and 1880 US Federal Census records. The family was living in Irondale, Arapahoe Co., CO according to the 1900 US Federal Census. Nancy also entered research done on Caleb Pomeroy who married Phebe Strong and settled in Lewis and Jefferson Counties, NY. Rick just received copies of deeds ordered through the Lewis County Clerk’s office that contain deeds for Caleb. We’ll need to transcribe them and see if they tell us any new information. Also in this packet are the deeds for Pliny (Pliny, Pliny, Daniel, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed) and George Pomeroy (Pliny, Pliny, Daniel, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed) – very exciting!

Nancy also entered research done on Noah Pomeroy (Daniel, Noah, Joseph, Medad, Eltweed), b. abt 1767 in West Springfield, MA who married Chloe Wheeler before 1805. The couple were granted a divorce on 10 Nov 1817 by the Chancery Court of the State of New York. Noah was living in Canaan, Columbia Co., NY according to the 1790 US Federal Census. He was a Lieutenant in the NY State Militia for Columbia County between 1793 and 1797 according to the book “Military Minutes of the Council of Appointment of the State of New York, 1783-1821” compiled by Hugh Hastings and Henry Harmon Noble, (Albany, State of New York, 1901), where he is mentioned as being removed from the roll on 21 Mar 1797 as he had moved. Noah was living in Albany Co., NY in 1800 according to the US Federal Census. He was an inn holder on Court St. in Albany on 27 May 1802 and was active in the Republican party of the county. He became an insolvent debtor in 1812 and was listed again as an insolvent debtor in an Albany newspaper in 1818. He signed an affidavit concerning his father Dan’s service during the Revolutionary War on 3 Apr 1818 in Albany. We then find several notices for letters remaining in the New York City Post Office for a Noah Pomeroy on 1 Oct 1819, 1 Aug 1820 and 1 Sep 1820. There is also a letter remaining in the Baltimore, MD Post Office for a Noah Pomeroy on 15 Jan 1820. Is this the same Noah?

While entering information on Noah Pomeroy, husband of Chloe Wheeler, Nancy came across a newspaper article that had been cut off when printed. It was found on GenealogyBank.com so Nancy checked the Newspapers on GenealogyBank.com to print up a better copy of the article. When Nancy entered “Noah Pomeroy” in the search term she got a whole slew of results. Never one to be able to pass up a Pomeroy, Nancy printed all of the articles and matched them against our several Pomeroy databases. She found a large number of articles relating to the contesting of a will made by George H. Parker of California. George was in the clock making business with Noah Pomeroy (Hiram, John, Noah, Joseph, Eltweed), when the two lived in Bristol, CT. Noah married George’s sister Mary Jane Parker on 13 Jun 1843. Noah and Mary Jane were childless. When George’s first wife passed away, leaving a young son, Edward, George gave Edward to Noah and Mary Jane (Parker) Pomeroy to raise. George moved to California and amassed a fortune. His son Edward was originally named in George’s will, to receive upwards of $100,000. George later changed the will, leaving Edward a mere $300 a month for the rest of his life. Edward had married a woman named Emma, and died soon after the marriage. When George died, Emma contested the will. The San Jose Mercury reported on the court hearings extensively. Noah and “Jane” Pomeroy were called on as witnesses. Also listed in the will and the newspaper articles was Marshall Pomeroy, the brother-in-law of George Parker. Marshall Pomeroy was the son of Warren Pomeroy (Hiram, John, Noah, Joseph, Eltweed). Warren was an older brother of Noah Pomeroy. Warren’s eldest daughter, Delia Pomeroy, was the first wife of George H. Parker! Although A.A. Pomeroy noted that Delia married a George Parker, he did not mention a child of the union, nor did he connect George Parker and Mary Jane Parker as siblings. So, we now can add Edward Parker as a descendant of Eltweed!

Alena continued to enter the book “History and Genealogy of the Pomeroy Family and Collateral Lines England-Ireland-America Composing the Ancestors and Descendants of George Pomeroy of Pennsylvania by William McL and J. Nevin Pomeroy (Self published, 1958). She has finished the seventh generation through George’s daughter Mary, which was the largest group of families in the book so far.

Barb finished matching Pomeroys in the Connecticut Death Index database on Ancestry.com and went back to reviewing America’s Historical Newspapers for Pomeroys. Some Pomeroys of interest in the papers were a Col. Pomeroy mentioned in an extract of a 1791 letter from the “Western Country” concerning problems with the Indians, a Robert Pomeroy in 1780 who was tried and convicted of murder, sentenced to be hanged. He was hanged at Burlington, NJ in July 1780. In 1784 a Ralph Pomeroy, Esq., was elected to represent the Society of the Cincinnati as a delegate to the General meeting, and last, but not least, the State Sloop Winthrop captured the privateer brig Merriam, commanded by Richard Pomeroy about September 23, 1782. Richard wasn’t one of our Maine mariners, was he?

Lee continued to match Pomeroys in Canadian marriage records and is passing them on to Ed and Betty to enter. Lee also started to arrange some of her Pomeroy research by subject matter, including Pomeroys & Anti-Slavery Efforts. She recently located a record that identifies Rev. Swan Lyman Pomeroy (Josiah, Josiah, Josiah, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed) as an early member of the American Anti-Slavery Society who took active participation in the 1834 first anniversary meeting.

Alma L, one of our members, e-mailed Nancy about two Pomeroy children, Elizabeth Ann Pomeroy, born 1898 and Philip T Pomeroy, b. 1900 of Liverpool, UK, who were sent to Canada from England. Philip was a passenger on the SS Dominion which departed Liverpool for Portland, ME 25 Feb 1909, and Alma believes she found Elizabeth Ann Pomeroy on a list of Home Children sent to Canada. Nancy forwarded on this information to Lee, our Canadian Pomeroy researcher, and she has been looking into this. Lee hasn’t found anything concrete yet, but there is a child named Philip T Spencer who fits the description (right age and location). Lee is wondering whether Phillip Spencer is, in fact, Philip Pomeroy.

Ed has been reviewing online Maine newspapers to fill in a lot of gaps we have in our Unlinked Pomeroy database. He’s been concentrating on birth, marriage and death notifications.

Judy has been transcribing and entering various Pomeroy records into our databases, Nancy has given her the matched Pomeroys found in the 1861 Canadian Census. She has also been helping Lee research George Washington Pomeroy, who was discussed in detail in the previous week’s report. Nancy will be handing over the newspaper articles concerning the George Parker will to Judy to sort out and enter.

Betty continues to enter matched Pomeroys in the Social Security Death Index records into our various databases, she has also been helping Lee by entering Canadian Eltweed Pomeroy descendants into the Eltweed database.

Caryn, our new part-time genealogy researcher, started this week. Right now she’s been helping us catch up with a large backload of filing. Three cheers for Caryn!

The Pomeroy Anvil Trail

Nancy received the first draft of the inscription of the Lyons, NY monument from our monument contractor in Vermont. Once checked we will ask for full sized printouts – now those are fun! Work should start next week on the foundation for the monument. Contractors have been set up for shipping and installation of the monument. As soon as we have an installation date set, we’ll post it on our public site (www.americanpomeroys.org/Anvils.html) and our APHGA MyFamily.com site. The Project Roots team is planning on a field trip to see the installation of the monument and visit the First Presbyterian Church of Lyons, NY. If you have an opportunity to come to the installation, we’d love to meet you!

Rick continued to transcribe Wayne County deeds. He also searched and printed Sanborn Maps and identified the First Presbyterian Church in Lyons and surrounding structures including Village Lot 2 (Rev. Francis Pomeroy’s lot).

The Pomeroy Collection

Nancy added several atlases to our library this past week. Included were topographical maps of NY, MA and MD, along with a Road Atlas of the US.

The Mary Ann Coe Project

Nancy, Barb, Pat, Rick and Lee attended the Mary Ann Coe project meeting last Tuesday. We discussed research methods that we learned at the Central New York Genealogical Association’s Fall Conference featuring Meldon Wolfgang III. We have decided to look at Norwalk, OH, Mary Ann’s home from abt 1825 to abt 1845 with the same attention to detail that we used when researching Pompey and Manlius, NY. We’ll be looking at the early inhabitants of Norwalk to see if we can identify whether any of these people came from Pompey, Manlius or LeRoy, NY. We’re looking to identify chain migration patterns and connections. We would like to figure out why Mary Ann moved to Norwalk.

Mary Ann’s uncle, Luther Coe, was one of the early settlers of New Haven, OH. He would have surely known David and Lemuel Powers, brothers who were also early settlers of New Haven. David married Mary Ann in 1833. Were they introduced by Luther Coe? Did Mary Ann live with her uncle Luther prior to moving to Norwalk? Letters remaining in the New Haven, OH Post Office for Mary Ann’s father, Ithamar Coe in October 1823 and June 1824 indicate that Ithamar may have visited New Haven prior to that time period. Was he visiting his brother Luther? Did he travel with Mary Ann to Ohio? When Mary Ann petitioned the Ohio Supreme Court for a divorce from Spencer Pomeroy in August 1823 she would have had to go to Norwalk, OH, as this is where the County Courthouse was (and still is) located. Could this have had anything to do with her later buying property on inlot 6 in Norwalk from Edward Pettit on 6 Jul 1825? The deed for the property identifies Mary Ann as living in Norwalk, OH. When did she first move there?

Meldon Wolfgang had suggested that when researching an individual, to make note of all of the important dates within that person’s life, such as marriage, children’s births, parent’s death, occupation and residence changes, etc., and to look closely at the people around that individual during that time. For example, who were the administrator’s of the person’s father’s will, where are the siblings located, who were the witnesses to the person’s marriage or marriages, who were the witnesses to the baptism of children? By looking at these people we may find relationships that were previously unknown to us.

Barb will be looking at the holdings of the Western Reserve Historical Society. Rick will be looking for early records of Elisha Whittlesey, the surveyor who laid out the town of Norwalk. Lee will be looking for Church records in New Haven, OH and Pat will be looking at the early inhabitants of Norwalk and New Haven, based on the 1820 and 1830 US Federal Census records and seeing if she can trace any of these heads of household back to Pompey, Manlius or LeRoy, NY. Nancy will familiarize herself with the databases available at the Syracuse University Library and will continue to work on abstracting the Millard Fillmore collection letters.

Rick reviewed Sanborn Maps for Norwalk, OH and printed the maps that show inlot 6 (Mary Ann’s property) and inlot 26 (Benjamin Junkins’ property). He also printed the Sanborn Maps that show lots 52 and 54 in Sandusky, OH which David Powers owned. The maps show the Trinity ME Church on the property before 1905 and a US Post Office on the lot before 1950. Rick was able to find the location of David’s lots on the Erie Co., OH GIS site. The property on the corner of Washington St (lots 52 and 54) is now the site of the Merry-Go-Round Museum (how fitting!) He was also able to locate lot 28 on Hancock and Madison Streets. Rick checked but there are no Sanborn Maps available for New Haven or Milan, OH nor are there maps for Pompey or Paris, NY. Although there are Sanborn maps for LeRoy, NY, there are none for the outlying region which is where we believe Ithamar Coe (Mary Ann's father) lived. Rick also researched the surveyors of the Craigie Tract in Genesee County.

Lee initiated a search of early churches in Norwalk Ohio. She checked the Firelands Pioneer index for churches, and e-mailed the Firelands Historical Society regarding specific issues of publication detailing early churches. She also checked the Western Reserve Historical Society’s holdings and passed along some items she found to Nancy. Lee also contacted the NY State Library regarding finding aids and inventories of some local collections.

Pat continued to enter research on the Coe families into our Eltweed database. She has been researching Dr. George A. Coe, Jennie Landon Coe, Harper Allison Coe, Lodema Coe and Carlos C. Coe. Pat also printed lists of Norwalk and New Haven heads of households from the 1820 and 1830 US Federal Census and has started to add those names into a spreadsheet so she can track her findings. She also continued to research the Sharp family. Salmon Sharp was the administrator of Edward Pettit’s estate. A John V. Sharp purchased Benjamin Junkins’ cabinetmaker’s shop.

Pat also reviewed collections on OhioLINK to determine if their holdings are the same as the holdings at the Family History Library. Pat has identified several early churches near New Haven, OH which records are available on microfilm from the Family History Library. She will order these to see if we can find any reference of Mary Ann Coe and family. Pat found that the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center has collections for Sandusky and Norwalk businessmen (John Gardiner, John G. Camp, Jr., William Kelly and Zalman Wildman), for the early to mid 1800s. Pat started to research these businessmen to see if there may be any connections to Mary Ann Coe, David Powers, Benjamin Junkins, et al.

Judy completed her review of PERSI in conjunction with planning a trip to the Ft. Wayne Library. She also completed the transcription of the Edward Pettit Probate record.

We have added 276 people, 83 sources and 1521 citations to our genealogy databases over the past week.

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