American Pomeroy Historic Genealogical Association

Kate Corbett Pollack article to be published in the Landmarks Preservationist!

2012-01-19T11:13:00.008-05:00

I'm very excited to announce that our researcher, Kate Corbett Pollack, will be published in the upcoming Landmarks Preservationist newsletter! The Landmarks Preservationist is the newsletter of the Landmarks Society of Greater Utica. Kate's article "Rutger Park: A New American Aristocracy" traces the history of many of the early families of Utica, New York, and has surprising connections to the Pomeroy family, and Berry Pomeroy Castle!

As readers of this blog, I'm sure you're aware of Kate's research and writing skills. We are very proud to have her on our team!

To learn more about the Landmarks Society of Greater Utica, visit their website at www.uticalandmarks.org and "Like" them on Facebook!

The Spaulding Sisters

2011-12-14T09:07:00.005-05:00

By Kate Corbett Pollack

As the events between Reverend Spaulding and Josiah unfolded and culminated in the severe outcome written about in November’s article, the lives of Josiah’s four sisters was also developing with a fair amount of tragedy. Their experiences were not uncommon for women of this time. The APHGA is very fortunate to have copies of these amazing letters written by Josiah’s sisters and their descendents over the course of the 19th century, starting in 1801 and going to the 1850s. Information on individual women in this time period is severally lacking. Often, a woman is referred to in records as simply wife or daughter, and a researcher cannot learn anything about her, not even a maiden name, let alone her thoughts and feelings. Primary source material written by women themselves to their closest friends and family is a valuable look into their emotional lives, and to the hardship experienced in this era.

Mary Spaulding, the oldest of the Spaulding siblings, was born in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, in 1785. She married Isaac Pomeroy on March 8, 1810, in Buckland, a small village in western Massachusetts, when she was 24 years old. She then moved with him to Southampton, leaving her family and her sisters, with whom she was very close. Nancy Spaulding, then aged 21, wrote to Mary on March 27th, 1810, shortly after Mary left to start her new life with Isaac [punctuation added]:

But though I retire to my chamber to converse with a sister yet I find her not there, but silence reigns through the whole apartment. How then shall [I] be able to converse with her? My thoughts must take their flight on eagles’ wings over distant hills and vales to thy abode my sister and by the kind assistance of my pen and ink endeavor to converse a little with thee there. The absence and loss of thy company I sensibly feel.

Nancy would be married the next year, to John Coleman of nearby Shelburne Falls. Sadly, reports indicate that he was a severe alcoholic and later caused them to lose everything they owned. Together they had three children: Thankful (1816), Josiah (1823), and Deborah (1827). Josiah Coleman was born the same year as youngest Spaulding sister Lydia’s first child, Mary Howes. 1823 was also the year Reverend and Mrs. Spaulding passed, and the caged Josiah Spaulding was transferred to Lydia’s house where she was forced to care for him.

Mary Spaulding and Isaac Pomeroy had their first child in 1811, and named her Mary Ann. Mary’s younger sister Deborah happily writes at the time of Mary Ann’s birth to her sister:

I want verry much to hear from you and your sweet babe. I wish I could see her- that lovely girl once more you must kiss her for me. Lydia wants you should write her a letter…and write if Mary Ann talks yet.

By 1814, Mary was pregnant with her second child. Her first child, Mary Ann, died during Mary’s second pregnancy and she named the new infant Mary Ann as well. This was common in early America, when children often died. Mary Ann survived to adulthood and had her own children, naming a daughter after herself, and continuing the tradition of the name. On June 30th, 1815, Isaac Pomeroy passed away at age 33 in Southampton, leaving Mary Ann fatherless and Mary a widow. Isaac’s sister, Deborah Pomeroy Trowbridge, had developed a friendship with Mary Spaulding and wrote her many letters over the course of their lives, continuing to do so long after Isaac’s death. Deborah married Rufus Trowbridge, a minister, and moved to Buckland from Southampton, the opposite of Mary. There she became friends with Mary’s sisters, and joined them in writing to her. Deborah responds to seemingly every tragedy in Mary’s life, and it is clear that she understands and shares her pain and loss.

On June 29th, 1815, the day before her brother Isaac died, Deborah Pomeroy Trowbridge writes to the couple. She comments about departed friends and the death of their first child:

The loss of friends I very well know. I can easily call to mind the heart rending wounds at giving the parting hand to my deceased friends, every Son & Daughter of Adam must experience adversity…I hope that will call to mind your pleasant child with all its attracting charms and lovliness, its sickness and hour of Death-to have it torn from your arms by the king of terrors, and laid in the cold grave…

The language and grim style of writing may strike the reader as harsh, but death was commonplace for this family. They lived during a time before vaccinations, public health, and better doctors put an end to many of the diseases that frequently took people’s lives. It seems clear from this letter that Deborah did not even know that her brother was sick, let alone close to death. The illnesses common in those days often hit hard and killed quickly, with little warning. Cholera, for example, could kill a healthy person in twelve hours. It really did appear that God was striking people dead.

Buckland and Southampton by modern standards are not very far apart, about 30 miles. In the early 1800s, travel between rural villages thick with woods and impassable dirt roads made visits and communication difficult and infrequent. The only way a letter could be delivered was if the writer knew someone who was traveling to the town where the person lived. There was no such thing, in those days, as putting a letter out for the mail carrier, or in a mailbox. Mary had no way to communicate with Isaac’s sister to tell her that he was dying.

Death colored the women’s experience, and is mentioned in almost every one of their letters written in over a fifty-year period. It is not a subject that they gloss over. Sisters Mary, Nancy, Lydia and Deborah Spaulding, and Mary’s sister-in-law Deborah Pomeroy Trowbridge, wrote to each other quite candidly about their feelings. Death seemed to connect them and bring them closer. The sisters did not, unlike their brother Josiah, who had more access to education, question male authority or religious belief. Deborah’s husband Rufus Trowbridge was studying to become a reverend, and he wrote many letters to Isaac about religion. The men in the family were all as religious as Reverend Spaulding. Their letters, in contrast, are primarily about their thoughts on Christianity, wars and battles (the war of 1812 was a topic), and their careers and education. The explanation that epidemic disease and the deaths of their children were part of God’s plan was clearly accepted by the women. They do wonder at parts of this doctrine, but, like the men in their lives, they believe they have offended God and should not question anything for very long, lest they further offend him.

Deborah Pomeroy Trowbridge’s May 20th letter (undated but before 1823, possibly 1814-16) to Mary Spaulding Pomeroy further details death and sickness, and addresses another fact of the women’s lives - the brutal physical hardship and labor required of housewives at this time. Deborah was about 29 or 30 at this time.

I feel myself to be getting old and allmost worn out with hard work. What does it avail to us to labor so much for the Body when it must soon moulder in the grave to be food for the worms, we have this day been called to attend the funeral of Orlando Colman. He died Saturday night…Your sister has trouble enough to kill one-there is some sick in town now. Mr Forbes is dead, Mr Brackets have buried an infant today, William Farnam’s wife is dead…

Amazingly, Deborah lived to be 90! This was very unusual, and she far outlived the Spaulding women. Lydia only lived to be 39. Mary was 53 when she died, and Nancy 51. Forty was considered “old age” in these days, especially for women. (Josiah lived to be 79). The Spaulding and Pomeroy women were the wives of farmers and ministers, and they were poor. Lydia married wealthy Ezra Howes, but even he started out as a farmer. Every rural household in this area was a small farm of sorts, and the labor for women was back-breaking. The 1876 History of Pittsfield, (Berkshire County), Massachusetts tells us about domestic life in the years 1790-1810 for this region:

There were few appliances and inventions to relieve the labor of the housewife. The work of cooking, washing, sewing, and the like, was done by main strength. The cook must lift the huge iron pot, which hung on the crane out-swung before the blazing fire; and deposit and withdraw the baking in the deep, brick oven…The Laundress performed her task by pounding the soiled clothes in a barrel of water with a heavy pestle…Water was to be drawn by the cistern or well…And when all this was done, came the spinning, weaving, the brewing, the candle and soap-making. With all this, and the large families of children, which were almost the rule, it is no wonder that the percentage of mortality among women was large, and that those who sustained themselves were accounted marvels of capability.[1]

By 1816, Mary Spaulding Pomeroy had suffered so much loss and hardship that she had all but lost the will to live. 1816 was a year of pandemic typhoid fever. By the accounts in the women’s letters, death was widespread. They had no effective medicine to help with this sickness. Mary’s 1816 letter to her parents implored them to send medicine for little Mary Ann, who was seriously ill:

My little girl is some better today, how long it will last I do not know, but I should be glad if you would send her some of that cordial in a vial or something that will strengthen her…oh that wee might be prepared to go and meet our departed friends in a better world is what I hope and wish, for sickness and trouble seem to be my lot.

Mary Ann was two years old in 1816. The medicine Mary is asking for (a “cordial”) was just about worthless. There really was not much else available. It does not seem that Mary returned to Buckland after the death of her husband, but was taken in by the Pomeroys. Mary was, if letters are an indication, someone whom others were very fond of. It appears that after the deaths of Isaac and the first Mary Ann, Reverend Spaulding was not helpful to Mary, who was alone in Southampton, and did not invite her back home to Buckland after this tragedy. The Pomeroys of Southampton seem to have adopted her.

As we have seen, little Mary Ann thankfully survived this illness. Whether Mary’s parents sent her the cordial is unknown.

Mary Spaulding’s letter to her parents from May 1816 is a far cry from an earlier, November 1801 letter to her brother Josiah Spaulding, Jr. From this letter, written when Mary was 16, we gain insight into her personality. Her penmanship is measured and beautiful[2] and she seems calm.

My Dear Brother,
It is with pleasure that I now retire from all other employments to write a few lines to you…

She comments on what she sees as extravagant behavior of other young people in the area enjoying Thanksgiving festivities instead of attending a religious conference. She admonishes herself quickly, however:

…but I must stop have I not neglected the same am I any better I am not. I have spent many years in the pleasures of sin…sickness and sorrow and trouble may attend us the rest of our days. It will be nothing more than what we deserve for we have provoked God to strip us of all the mercys we now enjoy and consign us over to everlasting misery.

Mary closes the letter saying they ought to repent their sins before it is too late and may they be prepared for heaven. She adds a mischievous PS, perhaps unable to help herself, and asks her brother if he has heard the latest gossip:

PS I will inform you of the death of Betsy Stinn, she died not long before Thanksgiving & it is expected that Lydia, her sister, is or will soon be married to the gentleman that courted Betsy. & what do you think of that, it has occasioned considerable talk here…

Of course, about nine years after this letter, when Mary is about 25, Josiah would be put in a cage by their father, around the same time as Mary and Isaac’s wedding. Glimpses into Mary’s personality are rare, as the intense tragedy of her life overshadows everything else that she might write about. In the years 1810-1812, the sister’s letters are more lighthearted; they talk about deaths in the villages, but also about dress patterns, seeds and gossip. It is possible that Josiah was caged in or around 1812. The sisters do not write about this, however.

Despite their hardship, life for this family continues. By 1836, Mary Spaulding Pomeroy’s daughter, Mary Ann, is married to her cousin David Pomeroy and has her own daughter, also named Mary Ann. Her firstborn, David Alonzo Pomeroy, only lived to be 4 years old, and died in 1839, the same year as Mary Spaulding. They died a month apart. Deborah Trowbridge writes to Mary Ann and David Pomeroy to extend sympathies for the death of Mary’s mother and their young son. Deborah has become close with Mary Ann, the daughter of her beloved friend, and keeps up a correspondence with her. Deborah Trowbridge, who lived until 1876, witnessed quite a bit of the Spaulding and Pomeroy family’s trials. She knows, at this time, that Mary Ann must need more than a little comfort, and assures her that things will be better in heaven. She writes on April 17th, 1839:

We shall soon pass this vale of tears and meet our dear friends in the world of spirits, this is not our rest... I feel glad [that] you have the Company of your dear Aunt Deborah in your trials…

She is referring to Deborah Spaulding, the late Mary’s sister, who has come to care for her niece and nephew. The strength and bond of these women continues to tie each other together in the hardest of times. On January 19th, 1840 both Aunt Deborah Spaulding and Deborah Pomeroy Trowbridge wrote a letter to Mary Ann and David Pomeroy; each writing on the same page. Aunt Deborah had returned to Buckland by this time, and both she and her friend were wondering how Mary Ann and David were doing almost a year later:

We have commenced now a year, while many of our dear friends the last year was called to bid adieu to all things below the sun; it is one year since Death began to werke in our family circle.

Aunt Deborah adds,

Kiss little Mary for me, I want to see her much.

Mary Ann Pomeroy, like her mother, Mary Spaulding, experienced the death of her children. David Alonzo, as we have seen, died in 1839 at age 4. Mary Ann Jr., born in 1836, only lived to be 24 years old. Leora Caroline, born 1841, died when she is 15. Deborah Jane (Jennie), born 1845, was the only child who lived a full life, living to be 71. Mary Ann Pomeroy, daughter of Mary Ann and David Pomeroy, left behind a diary that she kept in 1850, when she was fourteen years old. Her life was not much different than her grandmother Mary Spaulding’s, and her writing echoes the 1801 letter that Mary Spaulding wrote when she was 16. Mary Ann Pomeroy, writing 49 years later, also does not expect to live very long and believes, like her grandmother did, that God was taking the villagers because he is angry. Her daily accounts center around going to revivals and prayer meetings.

Her entry for April 1st, 1850 reads:

...what reason have I to hope in the mercy of God, what reason to hope that I have been born again, surely I am nothing in myself when I look unto my own heart I find it is deceitful about all things and desperately wicked…

She writes an entry for her birthday:

Sabbath Day
May 5th
This day is my birth-day. Fourteen years old, before another birthday may arrive I may be numbered with the dead. Fourteen years of my life are fled. I shall never live fourteen years longer.

Mary Ann did not live another fourteen years, as she predicted. Epidemic disease was still a huge problem in 1850. By the late 1800s, medical science began to make advancements enough to put an end to this type of strife that was, for so many years, a common experience for Americans.

There is one branch of this family that managed to escape Buckland and its terrors- the descendents of Lydia Spaulding. That story will be another post.

Sources

“Cholera Epidemics in the 19th Century” Contagion: Historical Views of Diseases and Epidemics. Harvard University Library Open Collections Program, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1362723/?page=3

“Changing Medical Practices in Early America,” by Laurie Trask Mann. Updated 12/03/2008. http://dpsinfo.com/wb/medhistory.html

Baldwin, Thomas W, compiler, Vital Records of Uxbridge Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Boston, Mass.: Wright & Potter Printing Company, 1916) 62, 144,

David Pomeroy Household, 1850 U.S. Census, Southampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, P 65, Dwelling 73, Family 82; National Archives microfilm publication M432_320.

Marriages article, Salem Gazette, Salem, Massachusetts, 19 Jul 1831, Page 3

Vital Records of Worthington Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1911)

O’Donnell, George T. “Causes of Typhoid Fever in Massachusetts,” American Journal of Public Health 10(6) (1920): 517–520. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1362723

Pomeroy, Albert A., History and Genealogy of the Pomeroy Family Collateral Lines in Family Groups ; Reprinted Higginson Book Company, 1912, Salem, Massachusetts p 267, 381, 397

A Pomeroy at the American Museum of Natural History

2011-11-15T17:17:00.002-05:00

I need a break from cleaning my desk. So many fascinating things land on it, and if you’re a genealogist you know that you never actually finish researching. So things tend to pile up. I’ve been working on the pile for almost three hours now, so it was a pleasant surprise to receive an e-mail from Mai Q., a Research Services Librarian in the Department of Library Services at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. I had sent them an e-mail just yesterday and am quite impressed at the how quickly I got a response.

So why, you ask, did I e-mail the Museum? Well, let me tell you! Bill’s wife Sandra had e-mailed me a digital photo that her daughter-in-law had taken at the museum on a recent visit. The photo was a plaque that read “A Gift from Daniel E. Pomeroy”. Only part of the item that Daniel gifted was visible on the photo, and it read “PLAINS”. From the looks of the image, I guessed it was one of the Museum’s famous dioramas. I went out to the Museum’s website and browsed the diorama images, but I couldn’t pull up all the images. I did see one entitled “Serengeti Plains”, but without the image, couldn’t be sure this was it. I also checked our database for a Daniel E. Pomeroy and found a Daniel E. Pomeroy, born May 1868 in PA, son of Newton Merrick and Annis A. Pomeroy who lived in Englewood, NJ in between 1900 and 1928 and who was the Vice President of the Bankers Trust Company in New York City, and who, on 29 Jun 1928, was appointed to a committee at the Republican National Campaign meeting at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC. Was this the same Daniel E. Pomeroy who donated funds (or items) for the Serengeti Plains diorama at the American Museum of Natural History? I knew I didn’t know, and I hoped that the Museum would know, so I contacted the Department of Library Services.

Thank goodness for librarians! In one day I had my answer. Mai Q., not only sent me information about Daniel’s support of the Museum, but also his obituary! According to the Roy Chapman Andrews Papers, Daniel E. Pomeroy was elected a Life Member of the Museum for “contributing funds for carrying on an ornithological survey of Ecuador. On November 9, 1925, at a meeting of the Board of Trustees, Mr. Pomeroy was elected an Associate Founder for his generous contribution for the collecting and preparing of a group for the African hall of the museum, and, in recognition of his generosity and especially of his genuine interest in the development of the Museum.” In 1926 he was elected a Trustee of the Museum. In 1931 he was elected a Benefactor of the Museum. The report goes on to say that “In 1926 through the generosity of Mr. Pomeroy and Mr. George Eastman and Colonel Daniel B. Wentz, Mr. Carl Akeley of the Museum staff left for Africa in search of additional specimens for the African Hall. He was accompanied by Mrs. Akeley and joined later by Messrs. Pomeroy, Eastman and Wentz. They secured a splendid series of specimens for the Africa Hall groups which far surpassed expectations.” The report also states that “Mr. Pomeroy has served as First Vice-President and as a Member of the Executive Committee of The American Museum of Natural History Planetarium Authority since its foundation in 1933.”

The obituary confirmed that this generous Daniel E. Pomeroy, was indeed the son of Newton Merrick and Annis A. Pomeroy. The following obituary ran in the New York Times on Friday, March 26, 1965:

“DANIEL POMEROY, BANKER, 96, DIES
Was Jersey G.O.P. Official – Naturalist and Sportsman.
Special to The New York Times.

Daniel E. Pomeroy, a New York financier and naturalist who twice served as the vice chairman of the Republican National Committee, died at his home in Sea Island, Ga., yesterday. He was 96 years old.

Mr. Pomeroy, who lived in Englewood, N.J., at 47 Beech Road, was a former vice president of the Bankers Trust Company and a member of its board of directors at his death. He had been active in New Jersey politics, serving for 21 years as a member of the state’s Republican committee.

An avid naturalist and big-game hunter, Mr. Pomeroy also served as a trustee of the American Museum of Natural History of New York for 11 years and was a member of the Eastman Expedition to British East Africa in 1926.

On that expedition, he worked closely with George Eastman, founder of the Eastman Kodak Company, and Carl F. Akeley, the sculptor and mananologist, in collecting data and specimens for the African Hall of the museum...”

I would like to personally thank Daniel E. Pomeroy for his generous support of this wonderful museum. I have fond childhood memories of days spent at the museum. I wasn’t hunting Pomeroys back then, though!

How I Fell in Love with Southampton, Massachusetts...

2011-11-14T15:32:00.005-05:00

My husband Jerry and I had the pleasure of spending this past weekend in Southampton, MA. We made the trip to review the site planned for a new Pomeroy Anvil Monument in the town. It’s confession time, folks. I now must admit that I have been unfairly Medad Pomeroy/Northampton-centric, and had not given Southampton the credit it deserves for its part in Pomeroy history. But I have seen the error of my ways, and I now get stars in my eyes when I think of Caleb Pomeroy. To be honest, Northampton and Westhampton will always have a special place in my heart, but luckily there’s room for Southampton! (And now I’m getting curious about Easthampton...)

Jerry and I met with Ruth Ann B., Mark R., Ed C. and Jackie S. at Conant Park on College Highway. The park is large, beautifully maintained and well used. The monument will be placed between the fountain and the School House. After talking logistics, Ruth Ann, Jackie, Jerry and I went across the street to the Clark Chapman House, the home of the Southampton Historical Society. The house was built by Sardis Pomeroy Chapman for his wife, Dotty Searle in 1827. Sardis was a shoe and boot maker, an abolitionist and in later life, an avid genealogist. He traced his wife’s Searle line, and much of his research on the Pomeroys of Southampton has been incorporated into the A.A. Pomeroy genealogies. The house was deeded to the Historical Society in 1971 by the Clark family.

Bob K., the President of the Historic Society and Jodi C. gave us a fascinating tour of the barn and house and the many treasures housed within. At every turn I found another reference to the Pomeroys. A portion of the Pomeroy Tavern sign is hung in the dining room, two samplers created by young Pomeroy women are hung in the front room, a scrapbook signed by a young Pomeroy woman is also in the front (sitting) room. Objects and information about past residents of Southampton abound, and many of these surnames were familiar to me as related to the Pomeroys. Displayed in the stairwell of the house is an extremely well preserved Civil War flag. A child’s bedroom is filled with toys and memorabilia, a room dedicated to Southampton servicemen includes examples of uniforms, and an interesting room upstairs holds some of the collections of some of the more interesting people in town, including the journals of Dr. Gridley and part of the Native American artifact collection of Mitta Piper Swasey. When Bob brought out a transcribed copy of the journals of Reverend Judd and his son, I was hooked. I could have happily spent the next several days reading these amazing documents!

What impressed me the most about this museum was the fact that much of its contents were donated by the citizens of Southampton. That is a telling example of the importance and pride that this community takes in the history of their town. Ruth Ann took Jerry and me to the Center Cemetery, founded in 1738. This cemetery was hit hard by the recent early snowstorm, but much work had already been done to clean up the debris. Here again we found evidence of the town’s commitment to historic preservation. New flat granite markers were being placed near the worn stones of soldiers and others. These stones will ensure that people visiting the Cemetery in the future will be able to find their ancestors and read what was on the original markers.

Ruth Ann then took us for a drive around the historic district of the town, and down Pomeroy Meadow Road, named after Caleb Pomeroy. Each early home in the historic district has is marked with the year the house was built, and the name of the person who built it. My head was swimming with Pomeroys! Ruth Ann also told us about the library, and I’m dying to go back to Southampton and check out the library’s local history collection. I could easily spend a week here, doing research and walking down these streets so filled with history and ambience. I look forward to returning to Southampton and heartily urge anyone with roots in this town to plan a visit. This town is a real treasure.

Right now we are planning a July 4th 2011 dedication of the monument. I will keep everyone informed of the particulars as they get ironed out. It would be wonderful to have a big turnout of Pomeroy descendants at the event, and I can guarantee that you will fall in love with Southampton as I did!

DIARY OF A PHOENIX SCHOOL GIRL

2011-11-14T13:47:00.005-05:00

By Barbara Dix, Town of Schroeppel Historian
Edited by Alethea Connolly
Excerpts from the Phoenix Register May 20, 2011

A long time ago I acquired a small diary written in 1884. There was not a name to identify the author, nor a place where it was written. I later identified the author as Cora Patrick and located the family in official Phoenix village records.

As a teacher, I found it very interesting to see that she was studying such diverse courses as philosophy, astronomy, rhetoric (speaking) and English literature, as well as practicing singing and piano. She was almost always with her friends at school, at her house and at their houses for overnight visits. They visited social events at each of the churches in the village. Her work at home was ironing, cleaning and sewing. She made her first muffins for tea that summer!

The diary had been first acquired at the “Pomeroy auction in Baldwinsville”. For years this was all I knew about what I referred to as the “Pomeroy Connection”. This didn’t mean much to me until March 2009 when I started to work as a research assistant on the A. A. Pomeroy Book Project. Lo and behold I realized that Cora’s husband H. D. Pomeroy was the well-known local mechanical engineer and inventor, Harry Dwight Pomeroy. Much later, I found that his older brother had married a relative of my husband.

We do know that Harry D. was born in Cortland and brought up in Syracuse so Cora might have met him through a mutual friend. He apparently was a clever and very inventive young man, as he was awarded a patent for improving a chain-making machine along with his employer, Ralph G. Barnes and his fellow worker, Earnest W. Keyes.

A SWEET CONNECTION

Published in the Phoenix Register July 1, 2011

Two of the earliest entries in the Cora Patrick diary (1884), that I wrote about two weeks ago, mention the name of Leah Sweet.

“. . . . It has stormed nearly all day and looks like winter now. I was going to Leah go Sweet’s party but it storms dredfuly (sic) and the roads are so bad.” January 3, 1884 “Leah Sweet called here this morning, her party is postponed until tonight all the boys were there last night but no girls. I intend to tonight. Kirk said if it stormed, he would come after me.” January 4, 1884.

I had an opportunity to see a lovely Empire style book or china cabinet that probably belonged to Leah’s family. It has come down in the Merriam/Burton family and now is to belong to a member of the DenBlyker family and it will be moving to Boston. I was thrilled to be able to see it before it leaves this area. Pat Henjes’ son will become the new owner and I was able to see it in the home of Cindy and Dick Burton who are the present owners. What a joy to see families value the local heritage.

. . . AND SPEAKING OF THE DIARY

Tuesday, a colleague and I visited, for the first time, Mrs. Audrey Ketcham, widow of Cora Patrick Pomeroy’s grandson, Richard Ketcham. Cora wrote the diary and went to school in Phoenix. Mrs. Ketcham’s daughter, Holly, owns Cora’s high school ring, which is the first such ring that I have ever seen. It is a gold ring, made of flat rather than round gold, with a black stone. A graceful script “85” is engraved in the stone, highlighted in gold and it fits Holly perfectly.

The Ketchams were very interested in the Pomeroy family history and visited Cooperstown where there is a locked Pomeroy Room. The room was opened to them and Mrs. Ketcham was able to copy two of the family recipes she found there. Later she made them and proudly served them to the family. She laughed as she told us the story and said, “ I was embarrassed because they were so bland they were tasteless!”

I was interested in a picture of Harry with a French horn because I used to play the French horn. Mrs. Ketcham said the family story was that Harry had once played with John Phillip Sousa. We are researching that story, but I have seen various statements that confirm that he was a respected musician in Syracuse and Cortland. A newspaper article states he was director of a chorus in the Cortland area around the turn of the 20th century.

One of our goals, at the American Pomeroy Historic Genealogical Association, is to update and republish the A.A. Pomeroy genealogy book published in 1912. In the course of this work we are finding and will find more answers to many of the questions that remain concerning the Pomeroy family.

For information or to discuss your connection with Cora Patrick or Harry D. Pomeroy, please contact me at 695-6641 or click here to e-mail me.

Published by permission of The Phoenix Register.

1840 US Federal Census Indexing Error on Ancestry.com

2011-11-10T11:56:00.004-05:00

Just found this, and had to let everyone know. If you're looking for Westhampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts in the 1840 U.S. Federal Census on Ancestry.com and can't find it, look under "North Hampton" (make sure to add the space between North and Hampton). Westhampton has been incorrectly indexed by Ancestry.com as North Hampton. This same error occurs on Heritage Quest.

Also, the last page (or rightly, the second to last page) of the Westhampton census is incorrectly combined with the Norwich census (incorrectly spelled "Norwick"). It is on the last page of the "Norwick" census.

News to Me! Ralph Pomeroy’s Marital Connections

2011-11-07T16:52:00.003-05:00

Just this morning I read an e-mail from a Pomeroy descendant wishing to learn more about Ralph Pomeroy, the U.S. Paymaster during the Revolutionary War, and son of Reverend Benjamin Pomeroy and Abigail Wheelock, who hailed from Connecticut. He asked whether we had any information about Ralph’s wife Eunice Belden and their offspring, and asked what we knew of Ralph’s Revolutionary War Service.

Upon reviewing our database, I realized that we had rather sketchy information about Ralph’s wife, so I sought to learn more. We knew, from A.A. Pomeroy’s book The History and Genealogy of the Pomeroy Family, that Eunice Belden was born about 1744, the daughter of Thomas Belden and Ruth Wyllys Lord. Eunice had been married to a Mr. Gardner prior to her marriage to Ralph Pomeroy on 31 Jan 1770. The book The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records, Vol 1-55, edited by Lorraine Cook (Baltimore; Genealogical Publishing Company, 2002) confirmed the marriage date and gave Hartford, CT as the place of marriage. The book also recorded Eunice Belding’s marriage to William Gardiner in Hartford on 21 Oct 1764, and identified the birth of a son James William Gardiner on 19 Oct 1765, and gave a date of death for William of 8 Jun 1766, all in Hartford.

The book Historical Catalogue of the First Church in Hartford, 1633-1885, (Hartford; Published by the First Church of Hartford, 1885), found on googlebooks, also confirmed the 21 Oct 1764 marriage date of William Gardiner & Eunice Belding. Another book Families of Early Hartford, Connecticut, by Lucius Barnes Barbour (Baltimore; Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2001) also found on googlebooks, gave some additional detail to the families of William Gardiner, Eunice Belden and Ralph Pomeroy. On page 256 was found the following statement: “William Gardiner s[on] of Dr. Sylvester Gardiner of Boston or son of John & Mary (Taylor) Gardiner b Mch 1742 died June 9, 1766 ae 24 (HTR) of wounds blowing up of school house bur Center Ch by Rev. Roger Viets. William Gardiner m Eunice Beldding, sister of Ruth Belden, Oct 21, 1764 (1 Ch Rec) (HTR). She mar/ 2 Ralph Pomeroy Jan 31, 1770 (1 Ch Rec) (HTR.)? James William s of William Gardiner bp Nov 24, 1765 (Viets Rec) b Oct 19, 1765 (HTR).”

Page 46 gave information about Eunice Belden/Belding’s parentage: “Thomas Belden of Wethersfield m Ruth (Wyllys) Lord wid of Richard Lord d of Hezekiah Wyllys. Children: Eunice Belden b 1744 m/1 Oct 21, 1764 William Gardiner blown up in schoolhouse May 23, 1766 m/2 Jan 31, 1770 Ralph Pomeroy. Ruth Belden b 1747 m/1 Jan 31, 1765 Capt John Stoughton m/2 Samuel Wyllys.” Page 699 gives additional information about Samuel Wyllys: “Gen. Samuel Wyllys s of George & Mary (Woodbridge) bp Jan 7, 1738-9 (1 Ch Rec) died June 9, 1823 mar Feb 3, 1777 (HTR) Ruth (Belden) Stoughton widow of John Stoughton. She died Sept 2, 1807, dau of Thomas Belden and Ruth (Wyllys) Lord. Census 1790 – 2-3-3-0-0. Children: Oliver St. John b Nov 9, 1777 (HTR), Samuel Hobard b Aug 16, 1784 (HTR) died Mch 5, 1797 ae 12 bur Center Ch, Mary Woodbridge b May 19, 1785 (HTR) m John M. Gannett, William Alfred b Feb 3, 1790 (HTR).

“Yale College 1758; went to England 1764 and remained there for six years; in 1771 he became the first captain of the First Company of Governor’s Foot Guard; in 1774 Colonel of the First Regiment; he served through the Revolutionary War as Colonel of a Connecticut regiment; was town clerk of Hartford 1796-1805; held other town offices, and was Major-General of the Connecticut Militia. He succeeded his father as Secretary of State 1796, and held the office until 1809. His wife was Ruth dau of Thomas Belden & Ruth (Wyllys) Lord and widow of Capt. John Stoughton whom she m Jan 22, 1765. He died Nov 25, 1766. Brewster Gen p 89 says Lucy Brewster (dau of Elisha & Lucy (Yeomans) Brewster of Mddtn born May 30, 1745 m Oct 11, 1764 as 1st wife of Samuel Wyllys of Hfd. (See Wolcott Mem p 216).”

Page 459 gave a short bio on Ralph Pomeroy: “Ralph Pomeroy s of Rev. Dr. Benjamin mar Jan 31, 1770 (HTR, 1 Ch Rec) Eunice (Belding) Gardiner widow of William Gardiner. She was dau of Thomas Belden and Ruth (Wyllys) Lord. Census 1790 – 4-1-3-1-2. Children: Infant/Abigail b Mch 17, 177- (HTR) died Apl 20, 1779 (HTR) bur Center Ch., Ralph b. Dec 1, 1771 (HTR) died Jan 10/11, 1792 ae 20 (2 Ch Rec) bur Center Ch., George b Dec 1, 1773 (HTR) died July 20, 1799 (HTR), Eunice b Nov 25, 1776 (HTR) m/1 Rev Amos Bassett Y.C. 1784 m/2 ( ) White, Frederick b. Aug 16, 1781 (HTR), Elizabeth b May 24, 1784 (HTR).
Eunice Pomeroy (Hfd) m Rev. Amos Bassett (Hebron Jan 19, 1802 (2 Ch Rec.).”

So, if I have read the above information correctly, Eunice Belden’s mother was a Wyllys, and her sister Ruth married General Samuel Wyllys. Was the mother of Ruth and Eunice related to Ruth’s second husband? Also, I have become fairly familiar with the Samuel Wyllys Pomeroys who were early settlers of Pomeroy, OH. Could this explain the reason for the use of this name? Sure, General Samuel Wyllys was well known at his time, and the name could have been given to a child because a famous name was thought to honor the originator and to communicate the hope of future greatness in the child. So, we don’t know for sure why Eleazar Wheelock Pomeroy and MARY WYLLYS (!?!) named their eldest son Samuel Wyllys Pomeroy, but, my goodness, Eleazer Wheelock Pomeroy was the brother of Ralph Pomeroy, and his wife, Mary Wyllys the daughter of Colonel George Wyllys, whom I believe was also the father of Samuel Wyllys. Small world.

The most interesting information I have found in my half-day research into the family of Eunice Belden was found in the book A History of The Episcopal Church in Narragansett Rhode Island, Including a History of Other Episcopal Churches in the State, by Wilkins Updike (Boston; The Merrymount Press, 1907) also found on googlebooks. On page 101 starts “Mars. Anstis Lee’s narrative of a Horseback Journey to Connecticut, in 1791. Written about 1845, when Mrs. Lee was in her eightieth year.” If you didn’t already think that most 18th Century inhabitants of the Colonies were related, read this:

“On one of the first days of May, 1791, in pursuance of previous arrangement, my oldest brother, Daniel Updike (who lately died at East Greenwich, in June 1842, at the advanced age of 81 years) and myself started on a visit to Connecticut.

“We left our father’s house, the residence of the late Lodowick Updike, near Wickford, on horseback, on Monday Morning.... We arrived at Plainfield village late in the afternoon and lodged at Judge Robert Lightfoot’s that night. The Judge had been a resident of Newport for many years before his removal to Plainfield. He was an intimate friend of my father and had visited our mansion in the days of my grandfather, Daniel Updike, for twenty seven years the Colony Attorney-General of Rhode Island... On Tuesday, after breakfast, we cordially shook hands with our friend and, with his benediction, left for Hartford. We passed through Canterbury and Windham and lodged that night at a public house in Bolton, kept by one Mr. White, twelve miles short of Hartford. We rose early, on Wednesday, arrived at Hartford, put up at Bull’s Tavern (sign of the Bunch of Guilded Grapes) and took breakfast on bloated salmon... While we were at breakfast, Mr. Ralph Pomeroy came to take us to his house, on a street leading from the main street, somewhere near where the Episcopal Church then stood. Mr. Pomeroy married the widow of William Gardiner, who was killed in the explosion of the Powder House, at Hartford, on celebrating the repeal of the Stamp Act. William Gardiner was brother to my mother and married Miss Eunice Belden, having by her one son named James, who died at Hartford some twenty or thirty years ago. William had kept an apothecary and grocery store at that town. He was brought up by his uncle, Dr. Sylvester Gardiner, of Boston, and established in business by his father, the late John Gardiner, a brother of the Doctor, but had not kept store long before the explosion. Mr. Pomeroy had been a commissary in the Revolutionary War, was a good person of a man and practiced law, at Hartford, with repute, as I understood. He had been frequently at my father’s, in Rhode Island, previously to this visit of ours. Mr. Pomeroy had four children by this marriage, Samuel, Ralph, Eunice and Elizabeth.

“This being the day before the General Election, the deputies and Presbyterian ministers began to arrive. By afternoon the city seemed to be full, when the Governor, Mr. Wolcott, was expected to arrive. To witness his entrance and the accompanying parade, Mr. Pomeroy took us to the house of General Wyllys, which stood opposite, or nearly so, to the State House. General Wyllys was the son of old Colonel Wyllys. He appeared to be a fine gentleman, aged about forty. His wife was Elizabeth Belden and sister of Mrs. Pomeroy, that being the reason we were carried there to witness the ceremonies preparatory to the election...

“Friday afternoon, the day after the election, we spent, upon invitation, with Colonel Wyllys, who lived at the Charter Oak place, an ancient looking mansion, that stood in a square by itself. From it was a splendid view, overlooking the Connecticut River and the city. The great oak was right before it. We were shewn the gardens and the grounds, which were beautiful and tastefully arranged with many flowers in full bloom. Colonel Wyllys was uncle to Mrs. Pomeroy. He was an old man, I should think over seventy, thin and spare, with red baize bound around his legs, probably on account of gout. He was a widower, and his son’s wife, a portly woman, probably about thirty years old, kept his house. She had two little children, say, one seven and the other five years old. Whether her husband was living or not, I don’t know. Mrs. Strong, the Colonel’s daughter, was also with him, having no children... President Stiles and Colonel Ingersoll, the Attorney-General of Connecticut, and several other gentlemen took tea at Colonel Wyllys’s. President Stiles and my brother conversed nearly an hour, very intimately together, respecting Rhode Island. The President had been settled over a Congregational Church, in Newport, many years, and was much in Narragansett, at the house of Colonel Francis Willet, uncle to my mother. I remember seeing Dr. Stiles once at St. Paul’s Church, Narragansett, when Dr. Smith, afterwards President of the Cheshire Academy, was rector. My father was introduced to him after service...”

What an incredible narrative! I like the fact that a young woman had the freedom (possibly because of her father’s wealth and stature) to travel with her brother and meet so many interesting and important individuals. Mrs. Lee stated that “Colonel Wyllys was uncle to Mrs. Pomeroy.” It seems likely that the Colonel Wyllys to which Mrs. Lee referred, was George Wyllys, born abt 1710, father of Mary Wyllys who married Eleazar Pomeroy. George Wyllys’ father was Hezekiah Wyllys, and his sister was Ruth Wyllys, who married first Richard Lord, then second, Thomas Belden. Colonel George Wyllys was the father of General Samuel Wyllys who married Ruth Belden, daughter of Thomas Belden and Ruth Wyllys, and sister of Eunice Belden/Belding who married second, Ralph Pomeroy. Who knew?!

Note to self: do additional research on wife or wives of Colonel George Wyllys – A.A. Pomeroy states that Elizabeth Whiting was the mother of Mary Wyllys, but much of the research found today points to Mary Woodbridge as mother of Mary. Also, look into the history of Hartford after the repeal of the Stamp Act. Did the school house blow up, or was it the Powder House? Can we find proof that William Gardiner died in this accident? And last, but not least, get all this information into our database so we can make sense of all the connections!

Only A Being of Senseless Existence: A Father-Son Conflict Has Drastic Consequences in Early 19th Century New England

2011-11-04T15:31:00.005-04:00

by Kate Corbett Pollack

The tragedy experienced by the Spaulding family of Buckland, Massachusetts did not stop with epidemic disease. Although that was likely a defining aspect of their lives, in the background something very strange was occurring - the incarceration of young Josiah Spaulding Jr., who was kept in a cage in the family’s home.

Josiah Spaulding, Jr. was born in 1786 in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, to Reverend Josiah Spaulding and Mary Williams. One source indicates that he was the only surviving child of a premature triplet birth. He would be the Reverend’s only son. Reverend Spaulding had gone to Uxbridge to be ordained as a minister in 1782 after graduating from Yale in 1778. He began a career preaching there, but it was cut short, and he was dismissed on Oct 2, 1787. It seems the Reverend’s hard-line Calvinist theology was not readily accepted by his parishioners. According to History of the Churches and Ministers in Franklin County, Mass. by Reverend Theophilus Packard, there was an objection raised in Uxbridge about Reverend Spaulding’s belief that God “foreordained every thought, word and action” of human beings. The entry for Reverend Spaulding in Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College states regarding Uxbridge, “It is surmised that his unpopularity was due to his Calvinistic theology.” It would not be the first time someone disagreed with Reverend Spaulding’s ideas, which were fast becoming old-fashioned in post-revolutionary America.

From Uxbridge, the Reverend and his small family (which also included daughter Mary, born April 17th, 1785 who would later marry Isaac Pomeroy of Southampton) traveled to Worthington, where Reverend Spaulding was installed as a minister on August 21, 1788. He was not well received there, either, and was dismissed in 1794. The History of the Town of Worthington reports that “He was evidently somewhat eccentric, though a man of full ordinary powers of mind.” Charges were made against the reverend in Worthington, but none were substantiated after being reviewed by an independent counsel. To be fair, Worthington at this time had difficulty with other ministers for reasons that were not necessarily their fault, and the town seemed to be disorganized and divisive. However, it was clear that the townspeople were not happy with Reverend Spaulding. (Interestingly, Spaulding’s successor was Reverend Jonathan Law Pomeroy, who fit in very well at Worthington and went on to have a successful career there).

Reverend Spaulding’s experiences at Worthington and Uxbridge would begin to fade into the past after he accepted a position as minister of the Congregational Church at Buckland, in 1794. He would remain there until his death in 1823 - much revered and admired by the citizens of the town. Reverend Spaulding had finally found his place. Buckland, located in the picturesque Connecticut River Valley, must have seemed a beautiful oasis for the troubled reverend and his family. By this time the Spaulding family had grown. Two daughters, Nancy and Deborah had been born in Worthington. The arrival of daughter Lydia, born in Buckland in 1797, made the family complete. Reverend Spaulding settled into his role as Buckland’s minister, and the family into their home at the parsonage. The years following the Spaulding family’s arrival in Buckland were quiet.

Josiah Spaulding, Jr. was 8 years old when the family moved to Buckland. As the son of a minister, there were certain expectations for his behavior and achievement. His father was highly educated, and his mother was also from an educated family in Taunton. She was the daughter of a judge, and from a town that produced many important people in her time. Both parents expected great things from Josiah, their only son.

Childhood for Josiah was marked by the usual mischief that young boys often cause; playing pranks on the family, and acting up in school. This was certainly out of line for the son of a reverend, but Josiah’s behavior became calmer as he matured, and he prepared to enter prestigious Willams College, in nearby Williamstown. Reverend Spaulding had ties to the school, and served on the boards of several academic institutions in the area. Despite his father’s connections, Josiah was not accepted at Williams College and was told to study harder. By the time Josiah was in his early twenties, it did not seem likely that he was going to be accepted to college at all, and his father secured him a teaching job at a school in nearby Plainfield. Josiah’s difficulty with his studies does not seem to be related to his intellect, however.

In March of 1808, Josiah received a letter from his friend Ezra Fisk, who was studying at Williams College. Josiah was 22, and Ezra was 23.

Worthy Friend,
Agreeable to your request and my own inclination I embrace the first opportunity for opening an epistolary correspondence with you, a correspondence which I hope will not soon be forgotten.

Ezra continued to write about the nice time he had in Buckland, visiting Josiah and the Spaulding family, and mentions Williams College. He seems genuinely impressed with and interested in a friendship with Josiah:

I cannot but anticipate some future enjoyment arising not from the friendship founded on the ever veering and fluctuating affections of self interest or the vain gloss of outward appearances, but from that which is founded on those undeniable affections which shall cement together with a bond never to be sundered.

Sadly, Ezra would not be able to develop a friendship or continue his correspondence with Josiah for much longer. Ezra went on to graduate from Williams College in 1809, and received his Doctor of Divinity from Hamilton College in 1825. He was later the pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Goshen, New York for many years. This was the type of life Reverend Spaulding no doubt envisioned for Josiah, and one Josiah could have possibly achieved- if it were not for the conflict between father and son.

Reverend Josiah’s strict Calvinist beliefs could not be swayed even slightly. He believed fervently in Calvinist doctrine and would not entertain anything else. Evidence of this can be seen in the reverend’s 367-page book, Universalism Confounds and Destroys Itself, written in 1805, in which he passionately disputes Universalism to the letter. It is not just Universalism that Reverend Spaulding disagreed with; it was any religion or school of thought other than his own interpretation of Calvinism. Clearly his beliefs had already caused problems for him, resulting in his dismissal from Worthington and Uxbridge.

The ideas of predestination, total inherited depravity and limited atonement were difficult for many people to believe, and by the early 1800s Calvinism had fallen out of vogue. Buckland, in its isolated rural setting, may have been an easier place for Reverend Spaulding’s rigid Orthodox theology to be accepted, as there was little exposure to anything else. Josiah Jr., like many adult children, had his own thoughts on religion, and they differed from his father’s. He had been exposed to a different generation, with its more lighthearted ideas-like those of his friend Ezra Fisk, who would become a Presbyterian.

Letters from 1808 between Josiah and Reverend Spaulding indicate that the young man had an intelligence that matched his father’s, and that he was able to debate him. Reverend Spaulding writes to Josiah in a letter dated May, 1808:

I think that you, nor any of us, ought to despair, or to doubt the mercy of God, we may be guilty of great sin in this way. There is the same ground and the same obligation for one to hope in the fullness of divine grace as another. We must, however, be truly penitent, and our hope that of the just, or it will wholly fail us.

Josiah’s response, dated June 15th, 1808:

You think that I, or no one, ought to despair in the mercy of God, nor doubt his goodness…I think this is true, but all the impenitent ought to doubt, while they remain in sin, that they shall not be saved unless they repent, not surely doubt in Christ, but in their own salvation without repentance …I think there ought to be great care taken to examine to our minds to whether they are penitent or impenitent. I fear that I am not so faithful as my duty requires...

Josiah’s ideas on penitence differ from his father’s. Reverend Spaulding believed in predestination. Josiah feels that a person can repent and be saved, an idea shared by contemporaries like Ezra Fisk, and common today.

Shortly after this letter was written, Josiah Spaulding Jr. was dismissed from his position at Plainfield, and returned to Buckland to live at home. Relations between Josiah and his father became increasingly tense, and neighbors reportedly heard them having terrible fights. Reverend Spaulding felt, as he later reported to his parishioners, that he had no choice but to chain his son to the floor of his bedroom, for he had completely lost his mind. Josiah was able to escape the chains after a year of rubbing them together to break them. He headed towards the barn, in a possible attempt to steal a horse and make his escape. Reverend Spaulding, alerted by daughter Lydia, tried to stop his son and a fight ensued. A strong neighbor assisted the Reverend in apprehending Josiah, and he was returned to the home. Reverend Spaulding then commissioned a large cage to be built by the local blacksmith. Josiah was forced inside, and would remain in it until his death at age 79. The cage became the ultimate manifestation of Reverend Spaulding’s desire to control his son.

Had Josiah lost his mind, or did he serve to remind his father of his own failures in his early career, and anger him by disagreeing with his religious doctrine? When Reverend Spaulding lost a Congregationalist to Universalism, he was so upset that he carried a sermon in his pocket for a year, written for that person, in hopes of winning him back should he see him again. Nearly every biography of Reverend Spaulding calls him “eccentric”, and his fiery attack on Universalism in his book is evidence of how seriously he took Calvinism. Is it possible that his only son choosing to rebel against and reject this doctrine was the last straw for Reverend Spaulding? Calvinism was being rejected all over New England during this time. Josiah may have shown wrath towards his father and genuinely frightened him during their disagreements.

It is also possible that Josiah developed an emotional issue as a result of being treated with such a heavy hand as he matured to adulthood. It is difficult to say what, exactly, led to him to be chained to the floor and later caged, but with his father’s respectable position in the village and in western Massachusetts as a religious and academic leader, one can see how he could get away with it. During this time period, a father’s authority was simply not questioned and insanity was thought of as being a test from God, as were all illnesses. Friends of Reverend Spaulding’s speak of his son as a trial for the poor man, his cross to bear.

Josiah was kept caged in the Spaulding home until 1823, when Reverend Spaulding and Mary Williams both died within months of each other. Josiah was then transferred to the home of his sister Lydia, who had married the wealthy Ezra Howes, later a U.S. representative. Lydia was made to care for her caged brother until her death in 1836. Ezra married a woman named Lois Warriner in 1837, and she took Lydia’s place as Josiah’s caretaker. Lois and Josiah got along. She cooked his favorite foods, and the two were said to have something of a friendship. By this time, Josiah was no longer able to stand or walk upright. Josiah outlived the Howes and was transferred to the county poorhouse, where he remained until his death in 1867.

Newspaper articles from 1866 and 1868 report that Josiah was a “raving maniac”, who had tried to murder his parents and sister Lydia.

Just as he was nearly ready for college, being 21 years of age, he became violently and hopelessly deranged. The first public outbreak of insanity was at church, on Sunday, while his father was at prayer, when he suddenly threw the psalm book at his mother's head. (From the Springfield Daily Republican, 1868)

Whether this is true or not, ideas of ‘insanity’ have clearly changed over time. There is little evidence that Josiah did much beyond throwing the psalm book. It does seem very possible that he was a distracted student, and spoiled by his parents growing up, which may have caused him to act out, but there is not much to support the image of him as a ‘raving maniac’.

Spaulding family letters in the photocopied collection of the APHGA do not mention Josiah Spaulding, Jr. after he was incarcerated in his parent’s home. His sister Mary Spaulding Pomeroy, who wrote to him before the incarceration, does not mention him in any further letters. He is not spoken of by his relatives after 1808. Mary had her own trials (see APHGA September, 2011 blog post, Calvinism and Epidemic Disease in the Sussana Cole Letters), and died young, as did all Josiah’s sisters. Josiah outlived the entire family by many years, managing to avoid the infectious diseases that killed them.

It is hard not to wonder what his four sisters thought of their only brother being kept in a cage and if it compounded their already tragic lives. Their letters, which speak of their painful trials, so marked by death and despair, take on a different light when one is also aware of what was happening to their only brother, whom they never speak of. Surely the image of him caged and desperate must have haunted them. And what was Josiah’s experience of his sisters’ tragedy? If in fact Josiah was not insane, and was as lucid as a caged person could hope to be, could he comprehend their loss and sadness? Was he aware of the tragedies of his sister’s lives, and the deaths of their children? And did he ever see his friend Ezra Fisk again? With further research, it may be possible to answer some of these questions, including the question of Josiah’s insanity.

An anonymous letter to the editor of the Springfield Daily Republican, April 20th, 1868, describes a visit to Josiah Spaulding:

…And, when later, the fall before he died, a gentleman visited him on purpose to observe the effect of more than three score years of insanity, he was surprised to find so noble a specimen of a man still left. Nothing soft and flabby in his countenance, no remote sign of idiocy, but a piercing gray eye, a broad forehead, firmness and resolution marked on all his features, impressing the visitor with wonder at the strong and quick, though deranged mind before him.

Josiah Spaulding ends his 1808 letter to his father, written shortly before he would be chained up, by quoting a poem, The Dying Mary Ann, by Betsy Fitch:

But what, shall I, a wretch, complain,
Or Charge my God with counsel vain?
And shall I dare repine?
Afraid to die, too vile to live;
My God, a trembling wretch forgive,
And let they mercy shine.

Many thanks to researcher Pat Whipple for her help with this article.

Bibliography/Sources:

Baldwin, Thomas W., compiler, Vital Records of Uxbridge Massachusetts to the Year 1850. Boston, Mass.: Wright & Potter Printing Company, 1916. P. 144, 308

Dexter, Franklin Bowditch, Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College: With Annals of the College History Vol. IV, July 1778-June, 1792 New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1907. P.55-58

James Clay Rice, Rev. John Hatch Bisbee and C.K. Brewster, History of the Town of Worthington From Its First Settlement to 1874, Springfield, Massachusetts: Clark W. Bryan & Company, 1874. P. 28-9, 103.

Packard, Rev. Theophilus, Jr. A History of the Churches and Ministers and of Franklin Association in Franklin County, Mass. Boston: S.K. Whipple and Company, 1854. p.15-18, 53-59, 367, 429.

Vital Records of Worthington, Massachusetts to the year 1850 published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Boston, Mass., 1911. P.62.

“Centennial Celebration of Sanderson Academy, Ashfield Mass. June 16th and 17th, 1921 Address by Frederick L. Greene, Esq. President of the Board of Trustees.” http://www.ashfieldhistorical.org/green.html p. 1-3

Buckland Centennial, September 10, 1879: Addresses, Poems, Songs, &c. Massachusetts, 1879. P.16, 23-4.

Springfield Daily Republican. Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts, September 18, 1866.

Perry, Neil L. “’Raving Maniac’ of Buckland Spent 57 Years in Cage” The Springfield Union, Thursday, 18 December 1966. P. 18 col 1-4

Was Mary Ann (Coe) Pomeroy in Le Roy, NY between 1816 and 1822?

2011-11-03T14:27:00.005-04:00

It’s been a busy week and a half, and I’ve finally found a few minutes to report on our trip to Le Roy, NY. Lee and I spent three days at the Le Roy Historical Society and Jell-O Museum, an hour at the Myrtle Street Cemetery and a few hours at the Woodward Memorial Library in Le Roy, searching for any clue that Mary Ann (Coe) Pomeroy and her sons Francis and Edwin Pomeroy were in Le Roy between late 1816 and 1822.

Mary Ann’s older brother, Martin O. Coe, and his wife Clara (Hatch) Coe had moved to Le Roy by 1812, Martin having served at Black Rock and in the area during the War of 1812. Mary Ann and Martin’s father Ithamar Coe, with his wife and several children, moved to Le Roy by November 1816, when Ithamar was installed and ordained as a deacon of the First Presbyterian Church of Le Roy.

Mary Ann and husband Spencer Pomeroy had signed a “Cancel of Marriage Contract” on 19 Oct 1816 in Pompey, NY. This was not a legal divorce, as at the time divorces could only be obtained through the Chancery Court of New York State. The essence of the “contract” is that Spencer and “Mariam” “disannull the marriage covenant” between them and that Spencer gives “Mariam” the “liberty and full right to marry and live with any one that she may make her choice”. This contract puts me in mind of notices found in newspapers during this time period where a husband states that as his wife has left his bed and board that he is no longer financially responsible for her, but the lack of wording regarding the financial aspects of this annulment or contract make me wonder why such a document was drawn up and signed by the parties. One theory that we are pursuing is that Mary Ann planned to move with her children to Le Roy along with her parents and siblings. A notice of a letter remaining in the Sandusky, OH Post Office for “Mariann Pomroy” as of 31 Dec 1822, and published in the Sandusky Clarion 15 Jan 1823, is the earliest evidence of Mary Ann’s removal to Huron County, Ohio.

1820 US Federal Census research has been inconclusive, as Mary Ann has not been identified as a head of household. Her husband, Spencer Pomeroy was found in the 1820 US Federal Census in Manlius, NY as head of household with two free white females, one aged between 26 and 45, and the other aged 45 and upwards. We surmise that the older female was Spencer’s mother, Sarah L. (Allen) Pomeroy. The younger female is the correct age range to be Mary Ann (who was born 8 Jun 1790 in Ballstown, NY), but where are her sons Francis and Edwin? Francis W. Pomeroy, born 12 Aug 1807 in Pompey, would have been about 13 years old, and Edwin V. Pomeroy, born 10 Oct 1809 in Pompey, would have been about 11 years old. It seems likely that they would have been living with their parents at this age.

Ithamar Coe is listed as head of household in Le Roy, NY according to the 1820 US Federal Census. This enumeration, dated 20 Feb 1821 lists the following people in the household: 1 free white male of 10 through 16; 1 free white male of 16 through 26; 1 free white male of 45 and upwards; 1 free white female of 10 through 16; 1 free white female of 26 through 45; and one free white female of 45 and upwards. The older male and female are likely Ithamar Coe and his wife Sarah (Ball) Coe. As Ithamar and Sarah had several children, it is important to rule them out when trying to figure out who the remaining four people in the household were.

Ithamar and Sarah’s oldest child, Sally Phoebe Coe, born 1 May 1784 in MA, married Colonel Anson Hungerford 12 Sep 1802 in Clinton, NY. He was born 21 Sep 1779 in Farmington, CT and died 12 Jul 1864 in Watertown, NY. She died 15 Aug 1859 in Watertown. Anson Hungerford was enumerated in the 1820 US Federal Census as head of household in Watertown. The number of people in this household is consistent with what we know about this family.

Ithamar and Sarah’s second child was Martin Oliver Coe, mentioned above. Martin was born 24 Sep 1786 in Ballstown, NY and married Clara Hatch (born 14 May 1790 in Pawlet, VT) 15 Sep 1810 in Pompey, NY. He was enumerated in the 1820 US Federal Census as head of household in Le Roy. The number of people in his household is consistent with what we know of his family.

Leicester Coe, the third child of Ithamar and Sarah, was born 1 Jun 1788, probably in Ballstown, NY. Very little is known of Leicester (or Lester) and we suspect he may have died as a child or young man. If he were living in 1821 (when the Le Roy census was taken), he would have been 32 years old, which makes it unlikely that he was the free white male enumerated in the Ithamar Coe household between the ages of 10 and 16, or the free white male between the ages 16 through 26.

Persis Matilda Coe, the fifth child of Ithamar and Sarah (Ball) Coe, was born 25 Feb 1794, probably in Clinton, NY. She married Dr. Benjamin Bliss on 21 Sep 1817. Benjamin Bliss is enumerated in the 1820 US Federal Census in Le Roy, NY as head of household, on the same page with Ithamar Coe and Martin O. Coe. The number of people in his household is consistent with what we know of this family.

Sophia Coe, the 6th child of Ithamar and Sarah (Ball) Coe, was born 28 Jun 1797. She married William Morgan 28 Oct 1819, probably in Le Roy. William Morgan is enumerated in the 1820 US Federal Census as head of household in Le Roy, NY. His household appears to contain people who are additional to his immediate family. Listed in the household were 1 free white male under 10 (likely William and Sophia’s son Gustavus Adolphus Morgan, born about 1821); 1 free white male of 10 through 16; 1 free white male of 16 through 26 (likely William Morgan, born 31 May 1797); 1 free white female of 16 through 26 (likely Sophia Coe); 1 free white female of 45 and upwards. We do not know who the free white male of 10 through 16 or the free white female of 45 and upwards was.

Orman Coe was the 7th child of Ithamar and Sarah (Ball) Coe, and was born 28 Apr 1799 in Paris, NY. He married Ruth Jane Rowe (Born 29 Dec 1806 in Paris), on 28 Sep 1829. He is likely the free white male of 16 through 26 who is listed in Ithamar Coe’s household according to the 1820 U.S. Federal Census.

Seth Coe, the youngest child of Ithamar and Sarah (Ball) Coe, was born 22 Mar 1801 and died 11 Aug 1819. This rules him out of any 1820 census enumeration.

So, could Mary Ann (Coe) Pomeroy and her two sons, Francis W. and Edwin V. Pomeroy be living with her family in Le Roy when the 1820 US Federal Census was taken on 20 Feb 1821? At that date, Mary Ann would have been 30 years old, her son Francis would have been 14 and her son Edwin would have been 11. Mary Ann was the right age to have been the free white female of 26 through 45 in the Ithamar Coe household, and either of her sons would have been the right age to be the free white male of 10 through 16 in that same household. Additionally, either of her two sons would have been the right age to be the free white male of 10 through 16 found in the William Morgan household. But how can we know this for sure? While several of our researchers had visited the Le Roy Historical Society and Jell-O Museum a few years back, Lee and I decided to make an additional trip based on our continuing research of the Coe and allied families in Le Roy during the time that we are trying to locate Mary Ann and her sons.

I had done some previous research on the history of Le Roy, concentrating on the makeup of the town during the time that Martin and Ithamar settled there. I was looking for other families who had come to Le Roy from Pompey, NY, hoping to find a connection between them and the Coe family. I identified the following families who were in Pompey prior to moving to Le Roy: the Daniel Judd family; the Timothy Hatch family (father of Clara who married Martin O. Coe); the Joseph Annin family; the Levi Farnham family; and the Salmon Butler family. It is interesting that another Coe family (if related, very distantly) also settled early in Le Roy. I additionally looked for people of families that left Le Roy to settle in Huron County, OH around the same time that Mary Ann and he children seemed to move there. To that end, we found a Pixley family in Le Roy who may have been related to the Reuben Pixley family that settled early in Pompey and later moved to Huron County, Ohio.

The Le Roy Historical Society has an impressive collection of primary and secondary source records relating to the history of Le Roy and surrounding communities. Lee and I reviewed scrapbooks, ledgers, diaries, vertical files, genealogies, school records, letters and reminiscences of early settlers, scholarly journals, maps and books during our visit. Although we did not find any specific references to Mary Ann (Coe) Pomeroy, or her sons Francis and Edwin, we did find some additional information about the Coe family and the Pompey families we were interested in. One interesting source identified Ithamar Coe’s half brother, Luther Coe, as teaching school in Le Roy during the winter of 1803 – 1804. While we knew that Luther had come out to Le Roy, this is our earliest reference to him in this place.

We really enjoyed our visit to the Historical Society, and want to thank their welcoming staff members. I was quite surprised to see how many people visited the Jell-O Museum – the place was humming! We would also like to personally thank Lynne Belluscio, the Curator of the Historical Society and Jell-O Museum, and would like to recommend that any Le Roy area researchers consider visiting this unique and resource packed museum and historical society. They’re open every day from April 1st through Dec 31st and on weekdays from January 1st through March 31st.

Lee and I took 292 photographs while in Le Roy, now we will start the arduous process of transcribing and reviewing the information we found, and adding this to our databases and to the Mary Ann Coe book. Well, it looks like winter has come early to the Northeast, so it’s the perfect time to settle down in front of the computer screen and start typing!

Oh, before I forget, Le Roy, NY will be celebrating its bicentennial next year. If I remember correctly, the date of the celebration will be Friday, June 8, 2012. For more information, contact Lynne at the Jell-O Museum. We’ll be attending, and hope to see you there!

Some Gleanings from the CNYGS Conference

2011-10-19T15:51:00.008-04:00

APHGA Staff Report
Central New York Genealogical Society Conference
North Syracuse, NY on October 14-15

During the Saturday morning conference session, keynote speaker Barry J. Ewell told the audience he redirected his life onto the genealogy-hunter’s trail because of his mother. Her death in 1998 was the compelling, precious, private reason “that changed the course of my life.” The family gathered records, photos, mementos, and he was soon haunted by the desire to know “who she really was.” His mother, to assure that he got the message, appeared to him in dreams, reminding him, “tell the children about me.”

Many of us have similar reasons to become “history detectives,” and the Conference sponsored by CNY Genealogical Society, as a celebration of their 50 years of sleuthing gave 150 of us many ways to forge ahead toward our goals. Two of our members, Director Nancy Maliwesky, and researcher, Barbara Dix, worked diligently on the program planning committee.

While Barry Ewell repeatedly told participants to “verify, verify, verify,” the information we collected in our research to establish accuracy and credibility, his second lesson was just as important. That was about connecting with others. “You can’t do it yourself,” he said. “It requires asking questions of those who are resource people, people who know the situation.”

That is exactly what happened during this conference, sharing information, advice, experiences, resources, and lots of encouragement, in a comfortable, relaxing setting at the Comfort Inn in North Syracuse. Barbara Dix, one of our Pomeroy researchers, and Town of Schroeppel historian, believes this “intermingling of minds” is one of the best things about history conferences. “You meet people, and reacquaint with people, and you add to each other’s knowledge.”

A Dean from Jefferson Community College came to the conference because she wants to put together a story of her families’ ancestors to pass on to her nieces and nephews. “It’s less about the names and dates, and more about learning how they lived and what they did.”

Eventually, most of us want to “tell the story,” but are still trying to locate sources of vital records and historical details. Some of that information can be found through the internet, but much is still at the local level. Libraries and archives are a bountiful resource, whether at a university, or run by the state, county or town. This conference provided speakers to highlight some of their unique resources and services.

Carole T. of Dewitt said she learned new sources from Suzanne Etherington’s presentation. Suzanne, an Advisory Officer for New York State Archives Government Records Services, spoke about the NY State Archives, and how to look for local records at the county, town and village level. APHGA staff member Pat Whipple found Suzanne’s directions on how to access the NYS Archives via internet to find out what records a local government or historical society may have, was an important practical research tool. (See “how–to” directions addended.) “Knowing what records a county and municipality are required to retain,” Pat said, “gives researchers more confidence to request vital historical documents from local government sites. Suzanne encouraged us to request these records, because many, such as chattel mortgages and early tax assessment records, provide valuable details for researchers.”

Barb Dix heard Holly Sammons, who heads the Local History and Genealogy Department at the Onondaga County Public Library. She didn’t realize that in addition to the many resources kept by the department, they also personally assisted those who need and request assistance. “I told a friend of mine in Oswego that day, to call the OCPL Local History room and see if they might help her, and this morning I got an e-mail back, saying she took my advice and they are now responding to her request.”

The best advice is, never underestimate what your local library can do to help you. Florence G, a town historian, who has been seeking her “needle in a haystack” for a long while, told me that one of her most helpful clues was discovered in a book in the Pulaski library that had an index of marriages for 1828. So her next field trip will be to Geneva, where the marriage took place.

“Getting off the computer, and going to the locations where your family grew up, was one of the important lessons Mr. Ewell emphasized,” Betty Banta, reported. Betty, a Pomeroy researcher, said Ewell “praised librarians, and encouraged researchers to visit them as well as the local historical society, but told us it is important to call ahead, and be specific about what you are looking for, before making the trip.”

College and university archives are also valuable repositories for genealogists. What surprised many who attended Edward Galvin’s presentation, was the wide array of information they have about students, faculty and alumni. Galvin, who is Director of the Syracuse University Archives, showed the diverse collection through his power-point presentation, some of which date back to the early 1870s. Numerous publications have been stored and are accessible, perhaps, more to come. “It would be wonderful if the University got their Daily Orange newspaper and a couple of their newspapers on microfilm,” Carole T. told me. Betty noted that while she doesn’t have a family member connected to Syracuse University, that the general type of information discussed by Mr. Galvin such as yearbooks, student newspapers, associations, literary magazines, and alumni records, will help her when she looks for information at her father’s Wisconsin college.

Breaks between sessions provided ample time for energizing exchanges and swapping information between old and new friends. During one of them, Frances C. passed along the name of Jan G., a knowledgeable volunteer at the Niagara Genealogical Library, who might be able to assist me in researching Pomeroys in the Lockport area. It is always good to have the name of a person to contact for research assistance.

As Carole told me, it was “very helpful to have the surname list, and I highlighted the ones of interest and tracked down several people with common surname interests right there.” One participant, who enjoyed her first genealogy conference, wished she had more time to spend with vendors. She gained helpful information about library and archive holdings from presentations and suggested an excellent future topic. “I would like to know more about marriage and the family in the 18th and 19th centuries, especially regarding divorce.” Her interest, which includes how to sort out adoptions, out-of-wedlock children, and the phenomena of husbands marrying the deceased wife’s sister, is likely to be of interest to many other researchers.

From our perspective, the Conference Program planners offered a substantive, energizing educational experience for genealogists. If any of our readers would like more information about aspects of the program please contact us through our blog.

And if you are in the Central New York region, why not become a member of the Central New York Genealogical Society! Go to this link for membership information: http://rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nycnygs/membership.htm

Alethea Connolly, researcher
APHGA
……………………………………………………………

ADDENDUM: Accessing the New York State Archives from Suzanne Etherington’s presentation on Researching Rural Communities: Local Government Records and Other Sources, October 15, 2011, by using the Historical Document Inventory database (info formerly found in the New York Red Books) maintained by the New York State Archives to determine what records a local government or historical society may have for a surname, place or subject matter you are researching. To access:

1. Go to New York State Archives website - http://www.archives.nysed.gov
2. Click on Research link on the left side.
3. Click on Excelsior Online Catalog link under Research Tools section.
4. Type your “words or phrase” in the search box, select Historical Document Inventory from the “library” drop down menu and click Search button.
5. A list of “titles” in chronological order from newest to oldest is given.
6. Click on Details button to the left of the title.
7. Click on Catalog Record tab to view the abstract and repository location for the title.

Coincidence... I Think Not!

2011-10-13T13:47:00.002-04:00

Over several years of hunting Pomeroys I’ve come across too many “coincidences” to keep track of. It seems that whenever one of us starts to research a particular Pomeroy, inevitably we will receive and e-mail or phone call from one of that Pomeroy’s descendants! I’ve got a great story to share that illustrates this case in point.

As many of you know, I and my husband are both musicians, and we’ve been regularly frequenting some open mics in our community. As we get to know our fellow musicians, the topic of profession often comes up. It’s always fun to explain what I do for a living, and I usually preface this conversation with “I have the best job in the world!” (And I do!)

Lately, several musician friends have approached me with their own Pomeroy stories. One of the most interesting is that of a Sheridan family who were living in Otisco, NY in the 1850s. Both parents died within about a year of each other, and their children were orphaned. My friend, and fellow musician, is a descendant of that family, and he told me that he had copies of records that identify Lemuel Strong Pomeroy as being named guardian of these children.

LEMUEL STRONG POMEROY! My heart leapt! Our researcher, Alethea Connolly, has been working on the Otisco Pomeroys, of which Lemuel has become one of our favorites!

In looking into the Pomeroy/Sheridan connection, we found that another Otisco Pomeroy, Flavius Burt Pomeroy, Lemuel’s second cousin, had Jennie Sheridan in his household according to the 1865 New York State Census. She is identified as a “ward”. Jennie POMEROY is found living in the Flavius Burt Pomeroy household according to the 1870 U.S. Federal Census. A.A. Pomeroy, in his book “History and Genealogy of the Pomeroy Family”, identified Jennie Pomeroy, born May 19, 1853 as a daughter of Flavius Burt Pomeroy and his wife Sophronia Clark. He states that Jennie married Henry Billings 15 Oct 1879 in South Butler, N.Y., who was born 20 Jul 1847 in Clyde, NY. In volume III of “The History and Genealogy of the Pomeroy Family”, a correction is made stating that Jennie married Henry Kellogg “(not “Henry Billings”) as printed on page 586 of Part Two”.

Well, last evening, one of our APHGA Members, Walt P. contacted me regarding his Pomeroy family, and low and behold another crazy Pomeroy circle was completed. You see, Walt is a descendant of Flavius Burt Pomeroy, and had mentioned in his e-mail that he had two old photo albums purportedly belonging to Flavius. Unfortunately, most of these pictures are not marked, so he has no way of knowing who these people are. There were a few, though, that contained the names “Aunt Jennie Kellogg” and “Henry Kellogg”. Walt had read one of my recent blog articles and the name Kellogg rang a bell with him, and he contacted me to see if I might know who these Kelloggs were.

I checked our database and my jaw dropped when I realized that Jennie Kellogg was, indeed, Jennie M. Sheridan! I rushed off a short e-mail to my musician friend, and then wrote back to Walt, explaining who Jennie was, and how we had come to find out about her. If I hadn’t had that conversation about the Sheridans with my musician friend, we may never have known that Jennie Pomeroy was really Jennie Sheridan!

Walt has graciously offered to scan the photos in his albums so that I can share them with the Sheridan family, and post them on our website. Who knows, maybe some other family researcher is looking for these people as we speak. Wouldn’t THAT be a coincidence?!

Desperately Seeking Mary Ann!

2011-10-11T12:47:00.004-04:00

Lee and I are very excited about visiting the Le Roy, NY Historical Society, and Jello Museum in two weeks, as part of our research on the Mary Ann Coe book. The Le Roy Historical Society has a great collection of ledgers, account books, diaries and reminiscences of early Le Roy, and we're hoping to find proof that Mary Ann moved to Le Roy with her parents from Pompey, NY about 1816.

If you know anything about Mary Ann (Coe) Pomeroy who later was the common law wife of Benjamin Junkins in Norwalk, OH and finally the wife of David Powers (in Norwalk, New Haven and Sandusky, OH), or if you can suggest other places in Genesee County for us to research, please contact us!

Sometimes You’ve Got To Write It, To See It!

2011-10-10T10:41:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, I’ve been really concentrating on writing the Mary Ann Coe book lately. I’m 380 pages into the first draft, and have now decided that instead of a feature length film this book will need to be a mini-series (hopefully HBO!) I’m certainly learning a lot during this process, and I thought I’d outline a few of these “Aha” moments here.

1. Where do you begin – We’ve done so much research that it seemed daunting at first to know how to organize all of it so that it made sense and flowed. I decided to start with an outline, and as chapters suggested themselves, I would add them later. I then created one page in Microsoft Word for each chapter. This has had the added benefit of making it easier to find the chapter I’m looking for as I scroll through the ever growing document, as the chapter header is visible when using the right scroll bar.

2. What to do when you’re stuck – Sometimes finding the words to actually start the book seemed the hardest of all. I remembered back to a college level writing class I took at Syracuse University, and remembered my professor saying that it’s often easier to write in blocks, where the inspiration hits, not necessarily in a linear pattern, from beginning to end. So, if the intro is bringing you to a standstill, go on to a section of the book where you have something to say, and come back to the introduction later.

3. It’s important to put your subjects in context, to their times and communities. While writing about a certain place, I have found it helpful to have a copy of the history of that place at hand. It really helps to learn more about the geography and the other people in the towns where your family lived, as they will play a part in the story also. And don’t discount the importance of religion – if you can identify the church or society your ancestor belonged to, you can better understand the circle that he or she moved in.

4. Most importantly, I’ve learned that writing about your genealogy research allows you to look at it as a whole, as opposed to just reviewing it in a genealogy database. I found that when I was writing that entire new avenues of research would open up to me, as I would be looking at several people at once, as opposed to the way you look at individuals or families in a database (one person or family at a time). In writing about all these interrelated individuals, I have noticed connections that I had not previously made. Sometimes you’ve got to write it, to see it!

Update on the Central New York Genealogical Society's 50th Anniversary Conference, from the Vendor Committee

2011-09-16T10:44:00.004-04:00

Our conference is truly "GOOD AS GOLD!"

The Planning Committee of the Central New York Genealogical Society 50th Anniversary Conference is pleased to announce the vendors and exhibitors who will be participating in our “Good As Gold” Conference, October 14th and 15th, 2011 at the Buckley Road Comfort Inn in Syracuse, New York:

• The American Pomeroy Historic Genealogical Society
• Central New York Genealogical Society
• Cornell University Press
• Creative Memories
• Gaylord Brothers
• Half-Shire Historical Society
• Heritage Makers/Horse Cents Photography
• History Star Productions
• Industrial Color Labs
• Jefferson County Genealogical Society
• Lyme Heritage Center
• National Institute for Genealogical Studies
• New York Genealogical and Biographical Society
• New York State Council of Genealogical Organizations
• Onondaga County Public Library
• Onondaga Historical Association
• Oswego County Historical Society
• Pompey Historical Society
• State University of New York (SUNY) Press

The Vendor and Exhibitor Halls will be open to banquet and conference attendees, with limited vendor participation on Friday night, from 5:00pm through 8:30pm and full vendor participation on Saturday from 8:00am through 4:30pm.

Our vendors and advertisers have generously offered door prizes. Drawings will be held in Vendor Hall at 4:15pm Saturday following the workshops. Conference attendees must be present to win a prize.

Door Prizes to date include:

• Digital Photo frame valued at $150, donated by the American Pomeroy Historic Genealogical Association
• 1 year membership to the Central New York Genealogical Society, valued at $30.
• Family Archives Kit bundled with archival photo albums from Gaylord Brothers
• Photo basket from Heritage Makers/Horse Cents Photography
• Bundle of online genealogy courses valued at $900, from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies
• 1 year membership to the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, valued at $60.
• 2 $25 Dinosaur Bar-B-Que gift certificates donated by CNYGS.
• $25 Staples gift card donated by CNYGS.

In addition to these door prizes, each conference attendee will receive:

• A coupon for one free print up to 8”x10” with any retouching order over $29, from Industrial Color Labs
• A 20% Conference discount and free shipping on all orders placed at the Conference from SUNY Press.
• A free online course “Social Media for the Wise Genealogist”, valued at $89, or half off the cost of the online course “Methodology – Part I: Getting Started”, from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies.

Because we’ve received such a great response to our conference, we are extending our registration period. Late registrants (after September 15th) will not have their four surnames listed in the Syllabus.

If you’ve been considering attending, but thought you missed the deadline, don’t worry – send your registration in today to enjoy one of the premier genealogy events in the Central New York area! We look forward to seeing you at the Conference! Registration forms are available on the CNYGS website at: http://rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nycnygs/50th_anniversary.htm or e-mail CNYGS50th@yahoo.com.

The Courage of Hannah Pearson Pomeroy, by Alethea Connolly

2011-09-13T13:09:00.004-04:00

“God will not look you over for medals, degrees, or diplomas, but for scars.” - Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915)

When staff member Kate Pollack was transcribing several letters of Mary Spaulding Pomeroy [1785-1839] we discussed the harsh realities young women like Mary faced in the early 1800s. It was evident in the letters that Mary, a young widow living in Massachusetts, was dealing with sorrow and loneliness. A deep sadness and sense of isolation permeated her family correspondence. Despite the ultimate forward progress of the nation, and individual achievements and war time glory, these letters remind us that pioneer life was often a lonely, harsh struggle.

In Mary Spaulding Pomeroy’s case, strict religious beliefs shaped what was expected in handling life’s sorrows, what was acceptable to think, and say. A bereaved widow might mourn privately, but many daughters of Calvinist-trained clergymen were taught to avoid doubting the unseen wisdom and mercy of God, for such a questioning might bring on more misery as a divine punishment. And yet - many women and children, thrust into hardship, triumphed despite a boatload of grief dumped on their doorstep.

Shortly after reading about Mary Spaulding Pomeroy’s misfortunes, I discovered a Pomeroy family afflicted with extraordinary losses. I had been researching deeds at the Onondaga County clerk’s office. The grantor name on an 1867 Van Buren, N.Y. deed was Edward P. Pomeroy.1 When I checked our database to identify him, I learned he was one of fourteen children fathered by Rev. Thaddeus Pomeroy [1782-1858], a Congregational clergyman, who served many years in Gorham, Maine. 2

I examined the family births and deaths and learned that his mother, Catherine Pearson Pomeroy, died in 1831, when Edward was four, the same year his brother Thaddeus, and infant sister Catherine, died. Two years later, Harriet Karrist Ruberry Pomeroy, his step-mother, died.3 As I continued to read the family data file, I realized that only two of fourteen children born to Thaddeus Pomeroy (including those with his third wife Emily Bigelow) survived beyond age fourteen, most dying in infancy! Was this not a load of sorrow to carry?

Ten of these family deaths occurred in Gorham, Maine where Rev. Thaddeus was pastor between 1820 and 1840. What was going on in Gorham during those years? What virulent diseases had swept through, anchored in the town, and seemed to lay waiting for other victims in this unfortunate household? It is likely the great cholera epidemic of 1831, took three of them. Perhaps typhus. And then more cholera. Was there a genetic predisposition; a vulnerability?

It seemed hopeful that Thaddeus, and third wife Emily, might escape from this dark shadow of loss. But that did not happen. Their first three children died. Thaddeus and Emily moved to Onondaga County, with the two remaining children of his first wife Catherine Pearson, where they had many Pomeroy relations.4 While Thaddeus found periodic employment as a minister, he also turned to farming. Their hopes must have been buoyed by the fact that a son born in 1843, Henry Bigelow Pomeroy, was doing well as he became a young teenager. That hope was dashed in 1857, however, when Henry died at age fourteen. He was buried in DeWitt, N. Y.5 Rev. Thaddeus Pomeroy died the following year.

How do parents hold on to faith and hope enduring such tragedies as these? Had they done something wrong to bring on divine retribution? Beyond these troubling questions of punishment, guilt, and faith is another. What burdens of sorrow and fear did those two surviving children carry into adulthood? How did Hannah Pearson Pomeroy and her younger brother, Edward P. Pomeroy soldier on in their lives?

EDWARD P. POMEROY

Edward married Mary L. Palmer and both lived for a time in Onondaga County, in DeWitt, and Van Buren.5 He was a teacher between 1846-1850, but later turned to farming.6 His name is on an 1863 Civil War enlistment register recording his residency as Van Buren. Property records show that he sold land in Van Buren, N. Y. in 1865.7 No war service records have been found so far. I could not locate Edward after these dates. He was not with his wife and two children, Charles and Addie, who, according to federal census records were living with her parents in Wayne County in 1870 and 1880.8 The 1880 census showed that Mary was divorced from Edward, so that explains the separation.

Three years ago, when I was examining a diary of Harry D. Pomeroy, a cousin of Edward, I saw a clipping pressed into the crevice of pages, a brief death notice printed in the smallest font I’ve ever seen. Only one short sentence reported that Edward P. Pomeroy had committed suicide on June 4, in 1888 while visiting his sister in Harpswell, Maine.9 A Maine newspaper obituary found soon after confirmed his death.10 At the time of finding his short obituary, I had not known much about his childhood or adult life. Now I do. Whatever burdens Edward carried, he had, it seemed, lost hope.

HANNAH PEARSON POMEROY

For Hannah Pearson Pomeroy Kellogg, her brother’s suicide, in her own backyard, must have dredged up painful emotions of the past. Hannah, as the eldest, had witnessed numerous family disasters, yet managed, to hold on to life. Before she was ten years old, she had lost her mother and four brothers and sisters. That is a lot of sadness. There is more. By the time she was twelve years old, two year old Thaddeus, and her stepmother had also been buried in the family plot. Only she and her brother Edward survived in the household until her father married Emily Bigelow in 1836.11

A stepmother might have been a relief, and possibly a support to a young teenage girl and a nine year boy, whose lives had been circumscribed by dreadful losses. Unfortunately, as shown, all three of Emily’s children died in the next three years. Two of these were twins. A fourth child, a son, Henry Bigelow Pomeroy, was born in 1843.12

What does it take to survive such experiences? Psychologists today speak of post-traumatic shock and severe emotional stresses as damaging to one’s personal development. There is much evidence to support that assertion. But, the truth also is, with due respect to the unique differences of DNA, outlook, and real life experiences, some children stagger, or plunge, forward, find some resilience, get engaged in some service, discover some creative supports, or just keep putting one foot in front of the other, carrying one’s cross, as some would say, without too much thought that this isn’t what life requires. Whatever it was, Hannah had it, or found it.

HANNAH PEARSON POMEROY MARRIES REV. ELIJAH KELLOGG

She was in her thirties when she finally left her father’s house. In 1855, she married an older man, Rev. Elijah Kellogg, a Congregational minister, who knew her father when the Pomeroys lived in Gorham, Maine.13

It is impossible without direct testimony, or letters, to assess whether Hannah found happiness at last, but at least their children survived into adulthood.14 Hannah and Elijah lived much of their life in Massachusetts and Maine. In the 1860s and 70s, Rev. Kellogg, for many years chaplain to seamen when living in Boston, embarked on a career of writing. In all, he had thirty books published, several popular series for boys including “The Pleasant Cove Stories,” “The Whispering Pine Series, “The Good Old Times Series.”15 This was not a dark and gloomy man.

The Kelloggs had two children, Frank Gilman and Mary Catherine, and both married, and had children. We also know that their father surrounded them with stories of strength, hope, and adventure because he created these stories. As adults, Frank and Mary Catherine lived on the same street in Melrose Highlands, Massachusetts for many years.16

Elijah Kellogg’s obituary in 1901, was an eloquent testimony to his unique career as an author, and a plain speaking minister.17 We know less about Hannah, as the role of “keeping house” was seldom noteworthy enough for journalistic tributes. She died in 1891.18 Her childhood was not the stuff of “Pleasant Cove” or “Good Old Times” but if stories of courage and resilience are sought, her life offers much to inspire.

THE GRANDCHILDREN

Only the children of Catherine Pearson Pomeroy survived to bear grandchildren, who then married and had children of their own. The children of Hannah Pearson Pomeroy and Rev. Elijah Kellogg lived near each other on North Street in Melrose, Massachusetts much of their lives. Frank G. Kellogg was, in 1900, in the wholesale jewelry business, and was the father of three children – Frank C., b. 1881, Florence, b. 1885, and Chester E, b. 1888.19

Mary Catherine had married Harry Batchelder, and they had four children- Lawrence K., b. 1886, Alice E., b. 1888, Eleanor, b. 1897, and Hugh M, b. 1899. Mary Catherine had been a teacher before marriage; and Harry was in 1900 a bookkeeper in an upholstery business. 20

Do the Pomeroy, Kellogg and Batchelder descendants know that their grandmother triumphed through a trail a tears to bring their parents into life with hope, and strength and courage?

And what of Addie Pomeroy, Edward P. Pomeroy’s daughter, and Charles his son? Do their descendants know of the challenges that afflicted their ancestors?

Footnotes

1. Edward Pomeroy household, 1860 U. S. Census, DeWitt, Onondaga County, New York, P. 333, Dwelling 1410, Family 1414, National Archives microfilm 653_829. Also, Indenture, Onondaga County Clerk, Van Buren, New York, Edward P. Pomeroy, & Mary L. Book 163, P. 321, sealed 15 Apr, 1865, recd 13 Feb, 1867.

2. Hugh D. McLellan. History of Gorham, ME (Katherine B. Lewis), 1902, p. 726

3. Ancestry.com. Charleston Observer (South Carolina), Marriages and Deaths [database on-line], Provo, Utah, The Generations Network, Inc., 1998. Original data: Holcomb, Brent, Marriages and Death Notices from the Charleston Observer, 1827-1845, Greenville, South Carolina, A Press, 1980; also: familysearch.org, Maine Deaths and Burials, 1841-1910, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

4. McLellan, op. cit., also familysearch.org, Maine Deaths and Burials, 1841-1910, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

5. Onondaga County Public Library, WPA files, OCPL online [http://www.onlib.org/dbtw-wpd/textbase/wpaquery.html]; also Dewitt North Orville Cemetery, USGenWeb Onondaga County, New York online [http://www.rootsweb.com/%&Enyononda/CEMETERY/DEWITT HTM]

6. Thadeus Pomeroy household, 1850 U. S. Census, DeWitt, Onondaga County, New York, P. 364, Dwelling 1428, Family 1445; National Archives microfilm publication M342_570; also Edward Pomeroy household, 1860 U. S. Census, DeWitt, Onondaga County, New York, P. 333, Dwelling 1410, Family 1414, National Archives microfilm 653_829.

7. Indenture, Onondaga Count, New York, Edward P. Pomeroy and Mary L, to E. Bowman, Book 163, p. 321, Van Buren, Lot 22, sealed 15 Apr 1865, recorded: 13 Feb 1867. Also, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General’s Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group Number: 110; Title: Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War); Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865 (Civil War Union Draft Records); ARC Identifies: 4213514; Archive Volume Number: 3 of 3.

8. Ancestry.com, Rensalace Palmer household; 1870; Ontario, Wayne County, New York; Roll:M593_1112; P.322B; Image:651; Family History Library Film: 5526ll. Ranselaer Palmer household; 1880, Ontario, Wayne County, New York; Roll:944, FHF:1254944; P. 295D; ED: 184; Image:0292.

9. Clipping, Edward P. Pomeroy death, 1888 Diary of Harry D. Pomeroy, Onondaga Historical Association, Syracuse, NY.; Also, McLellan, op. cit.

10. Springfield Republican, Springfield, ME, 5 Jun 1888, e-mail of Cary Clements, Obituary of E. P. Pomeroy to Alethea Connolly, 4 Aug 2008

11. Albert A. Pomeroy, History and Genealogy of the Pomeroy Family Collateral Lines in Family Groups; Reprinted Higginson Book Company, 1912, Salem, Massachusetts. Also, Thadeus Pomeroy household, 1850 U. S. Census, DeWitt, Onondaga County, New York, P. 364, Dwelling 1428, Family 1445; National Archives microfilm publication M342_570.

12. Onondaga County Public Library, WPA files, OCPL online [http://www.onlib.org/dbtw-wpd/textbase/wpaquery.html];

13. Springfield Republican, Springfield, ME, 5 Jun 1888, e-mail of Cary Clements, Obituary of E. P. Pomeroy to Alethea Connolly, 4 Aug 2008; also U. S. Census, 1870, Harpswell, Cumberland, Maine; Roll:M593_540; P. 354A; Image: 182; Dwelling: 352, Family: 374; FHLF: 552039; Abiel Homes Wright, Story, song and sermon with an autobiographical sketch, p. 245, Googlebooks.

14. U. S. Census, 1880 Elijah Kellogg household, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll:555; FHF: 1254555; P. 321B; ED: 643; Image:0024

15. “Rev. Elijah Kellogg Dead, New York Times, March 18, 1901, online http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf? ; also Nathan Goold, “Rev. Elijah Kellogg And His Ancestry,” Portland Sunday Telegram, March 17, 1901: also Bowdoin College George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives: Kellogg Family Collection..

16. U. S. Census, 1900, Melrose Ward 1, Middlesex, Massachusetts; Roll: T623_663; Page:6B, ED: 877, Frank Kellogg household, North Avenue Dwelling: 142; Family: 142. Harry Batchelder household (Mary C) Dwelling:145, Family 145

17. See footnote 15.

18. Hannah, P. Kellogg, Ancestry.com. Maine Death Records, 1617-1922 [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA.

19. U. S. Census, 1900, Melrose Ward 1, Middlesex, Massachusetts; Roll: T623_663; Page:6B, ED: 877, Frank Kellogg household, North Avenue Dwelling: 142; Family: 142. Harry Batchelder household (Mary C) Dwelling:145, Family 145.

20. Ibid.

Calvinism and Epidemic Disease in the Sussana Cole Letters, by Kate Corbett-Pollack

2011-09-09T14:12:00.004-04:00

“I ask again how is it that the fall of Adam involves so many nations with their infant children in eternal death without remedy, unless that it so seemed meet to God? The decree, I admit, is dreadful; and yet it is impossible to deny that God foreknew what the end of man was to be before he made him, and foreknew, because he had so ordained by his decree.”
From John Calvin’s Institutes, Book III chap. 23 para. 7

The Puritan inhabitants of rural western Massachusetts, who were alive during the Federal Period, had tremendous hardship as a part of their daily lives. Epidemic disease carried off whole families and did not discriminate between those who were in the prime of life and the elderly or very young. Bacteria had not yet been discovered, and little was known about hygiene and sanitation. Death was often sudden and unexpected. The years following the American Revolution saw disease such as Typhoid Fever, Cholera, Dysentery, Tuberculosis, and a host of other sicknesses that dealt a fatal blow to its victim.

The American Pomeroy Historic Genealogical Association was recently lent, and allowed to photocopy a collection of letters written by a Western Massachusetts family living through this difficult time period, circa 1801-1840. It is possible to gain insight to the era and to the thoughts, beliefs and experience of this particular New England group from the collection of over 60 letters written by the descendents of Reverend Josiah Spaulding and Mary Williams, residing in the vicinities of Southampton, Buckland, Ashfield, Plainfield and Hawley.

Reverend Spaulding was a noted theological scholar, and his Calvinist beliefs were the unquestioned foundation of the Spaulding and Pomeroy families’ lives. Reverend Spaulding’s particular brand of religion functioned also to explain the epidemic disease that was wiping out the Spaulding and Pomeroy families at this time. It is difficult to imagine a belief system better tailored to the experience of the western Massachusetts families, who believed that the widespread death they were experiencing was the hand of God picking them off-and hopefully afterwards placing them in Heaven where everyone would be happily reunited. God surely would not kill so many, however, unless it were part of a larger plan that was not necessarily meant to be understood by mankind. The letters repeat the themes of death, the belief that it is God’s plan and that they must suffer due to the inherent depravity of human beings, and the hope that they will be part of the group chosen to enjoy eternity in Heaven.

John Calvin, writing in the 16th century, saw death all around him, and what is particularly awful, the death of children. His doctrine reflects his considerable consternation with the world he lives in, and he strives to find an answer for what would otherwise seem like meaningless destruction. Calvin’s experience in 16th century Europe can be compared to the experience of the Spaulding and Pomeroy families in the early 1800s in America, who are faced with one hopeless tragedy after another. The early Federal period of the United States saw a decline in the quality of medical care and medical education. In 1813, only seven medical schools were open in the United States. There was a shortage of teachers and facilities and little in the way of Public Health. Medicine still was based on the medieval “four humours”, and not much was known about how the body worked.

The Spaulding, Coleman and Pomeroy families of the Sussana Cole letters relied on doctors whose methods were at best worthless, and all too often fatally harmful. The family writes to each other of health and sickness, and reports on who has died. It is clear none of them expect to live very long. They speak of questionable medical cures and remedies given to them by doctors:

“You wrote you wished to hear of my health, it is very poor. My blood circulates rather better than it did. There is a doctor Young in town that came into town about seven weeks…he came to see me several times and ordered me to be taken out of my bed early in the morning and have three pails of cold water poured on my head. It seem to give my blood a quicker circulation but my nerves were rather to weak to bear the shock…”
From Ann Tubbs’ letter to her cousin Polly, August 17 (no year)

Several letters reflect the sheer desperation of families so touched by death, disease, crop failure, severe weather, infant mortality and lack of resources or help for any of it. Mary Spaulding Pomeroy (born 1785) in particular experiences her fair share of hardship. After losing her 3 year old daughter, Mary Ann, in 1814 while pregnant with her second child, her husband dies at age 33 on June 30th, 1815. Letters indicate also that she has lost several friends in these years, epidemic years in Massachusetts. By the time of her circa 1816 letter to her parents, Mary has been left alone in Southampton to care for her second daughter who is now ill.

"Dear Parents, I am still alive while the nearest of friends lies buried in the silent grave. I have great reason to mourn and lament his death for I now find how hard it is to live for my little girl has not been well since I came here…I know that I have the hardships to bear for there is nobody in the house but myself and my little girl."

Reverend Josiah Spaulding, Mary Pomeroy’s father, was the pastor at the Congregational Church of Christ in Buckland since 1785. Up until he died in 1823, the Reverend had witnessed widespread death due to epidemic disease, the causes of which were not yet understood, and thought by Spaulding to be the direct result of God’s wrath. Surely Calvinism was a doctrine fitted to his experience.

Reverend Spaulding believed that mankind was “in a state of probation” as a direct result of Christ’s crucifixion. He thought the possibility of damnation was an incentive for people to try to act in accordance to societal and scriptural rules of good conduct. If everyone could be saved and was seen as the same in God’s eyes, where was the motivation to be good and follow Christian doctrine? For Rev. Spaulding, who was in his 50s by the Federal period, Universalism must have been a threat in more than one way. The arrival of Unitarian Universalism was by him met with opposition, as it contradicted his more traditional Puritan-Calvinist beliefs of predestination and condemnation by God. Universalists believed that man was not predestined, and presented a picture of a loving and forgiving God who made salvation open to all human beings. They claimed that scripture supported this, and some went so far as to say there was no proof in the bible of Hell. Traditional (then called Orthodox) ministers were losing their congregations as a result of this new theory.

In a letter dated May 21st, 1808, Spaulding writes to his son, Josiah Jr., who is away at school:

“My dear Son,
The Lord keeps us alive, We are all of us still alive and in a measure of good health, which is thro’ the tender mercies of our God. Mr. Jabezel Brookin[s] wife was buried yesterday; she lived about 4 days after her child was born. There appear to be a calamity upon us, and the hand of God out against us; which ought to be for our humiliation, and prayerful consideration.
I think that you, nor any of us ought to despair, or to doubt the mercy of God; we may be guilty of great sin in this way.”

The reverend’s family felt as he did, and their letters are full of admonitions not to “murmur against God” in the face of constant trouble due to sickness and disease. The idea that God had a plan in place that had been in existence since before time and was being carried out in accordance to his will was the explanation for their hardship, although they do admit it does not make sense at times. Deborah Spaulding Trowbridge, Mary’s sister, wrote to her on May 28th, 1816, and addressed the death of Mary’s young husband, Isaac:

“But I often enquire why was he cut off in the middle age of life surrounded with so flattering prospects of seed time & harvest then am I silenced with a thought he was only lent to us from the Lord…and we ought to be careful not to murmur or complain of Gods dealings with us…”

It could be a momentary question, but never of faith itself, which the family reminds each other to keep in almost every letter. For the members of this religion, questioning it could mean even more death to their loved ones, and also the loss of explanation as to why tragedy was so commonplace for them. Suffering was a part of life, and ordained by God for reasons they should not try to understand. Deborah Trowbridge, writing to Mary Ann and David Pomeroy also to express her sympathies for the death of Mary Ann’s mother, Mary Spaulding, and of Mary Ann’s young son, David Alonzo, tells them in a letter dated May 12th, 1839:

“Man that is born of woman is of few days, and full of trouble, he cometh forth like a flower and is soon cut off and is here no more, this you feel to be a truth-do not murmur at god’s dealings with you.”

In Deborah’s April 17th letter of that year to Mary, she writes:

“All of us…may feel it is good for us to trust in god, tho he should slay us all…”

What happens in the afterlife is an unknown for this family-they are either saved or damned, according to the Calvinist belief in predestination, and it is worked out by God before you are even born. The idea that a life so grim and difficult would result in damnation because of predestination, and not because of behavior or piousness, must have been a particularly difficult thought for this family. Yet despite this belief, they reassure one another that God is truly good and merciful. Rufus Pomeroy writes to Mary Ann and David in 1839, also expressing sympathy for the loss of Mary Spaulding, who as we have seen, led a very short and tragic life:

“The way of God is a great deep, & his judgments past finding out. But amidst all the darkness of his providences, justice, & judgment are the habitation of his throne…You are allowed to indulge hope, that her death was precious in the eyes of the Lord, better than the day of her birth, which introduced her to a world of sin and sorrow & of death.”

It must have been an impossible thought for the Spaulding and Pomeroy families that the horrors of their lives were for nothing. As John Calvin sought to explain it, so they sought to believe him, and to defend him, as Reverend Spaulding did in his 1805 book, “Universalism Confounds and Destroys Itself”. If the family believes they might be going to hell, they do not write about it-but clearly it is part of their belief system. The Reverend devotes ample space to his thoughts on hell and what happens there in his book. Hell, he writes, is the utter loss of all hope. Hope is the one thing the family can cling to, to get them through their trials. Without hope, they do not have much else.
And, ‘When hope is cut off,’ the Reverend writes, ‘the soul dies, and not before’.

Bibliography

Boettner, Loraine. “Calvinism in America,” Studies in Reformed Theology vol 8., no. 16. (1998) http://www.reformed-theology.org/html/issue06/calvin.htm

“Changing Medical Practices in Early America,” by Laurie Trask Mann. Updated 12/03/2008. http://dpsinfo.com/wb/medhistory.html

Everts, Louis H. History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, (Philadelphia, PA: 1879), http://www.franklincountyhistory.com

Foster, Reverend Frank H., Ph.D April 4, 2011. “The Eschatology of the New England Divines,” ch. 5. Creation Concept Blog, http://creationconcept.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/history-of-the-universalism-controversy-in-new-england-part-1-of-2/

“History of Medicine 1800-1850,” Wellness Directory of Minnesota, 2003. http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/history/history03.htm

O’Donnell, George T. “Causes of Typhoid Fever in Massachusetts,” American Journal of Public Health 10(6) (1920): 517–520. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1362723

“Cholera Epidemics in the 19th Century” Contagion: Historical Views of Diseases and Epidemics. Harvard University Library Open Collections Program, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1362723/?page=3

Spaulding, Rev. Josiah. Universalism Confounds and Destroys Itself. Northampton, Mass, 1805, Google Books edition.

Our Collection Keeps Growing - Thanks to our Members!

2011-08-24T11:53:00.003-04:00

This morning we received a framed poster advertising the popular drama "The Rough Diamond" and the Shrewsbury Brass Band, performing at the Shrewsbury (Massachusetts) Town Hall on March 13th and 14th, 1872. Admission was twenty cents (fifteen cents for children under twelve) and the Committee of Arrangements was F.T. Pomeroy, C.M. Boutell and F.H. Newton. This poster was graciously donated to the APHGA by member Michael C. Thank you Michael!

Michael believes that F.T. Pomeroy was Frank Theodore Pomeroy, born 3 Oct 1852 in Stow, Middlesex Co., MA, to parents Theodore Breck and Sarah (Moore) Pomeroy. Theodore and family were living in Shrewsbury in 1870, according to the US Federal Census, where Theodore was a shoe dealer. Frank graduated from Wesleyan Academy in Wilbraham, MA in 1874 and became a Methodist Episcopal Clergyman. He married on 22 Sep 1880, Ellen Gertrude Northway, and the couple lived in Worcester and Middlesex Counties, in Massachusetts.

Frank's pedigree is as follows: Theodore Breck, Seth, Medad, Seth, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed.

A New Item In the Collection!

2011-08-23T13:48:00.004-04:00

We've just added a little whimsy to our collection with the addition of the sheet music of "The Whiffenpoof Song", written by Meade Minnigerode, George Stewart Pomeroy and Tod B. Galloway. The version we recently acquired is a revision by Rudy Vallee, copyrighted in 1936. The original song was written in 1909 at Yale College, where George Stewart "Doodles" Pomeroy was a member of the glee club. George was the son of George Strickland Pomeroy and Valerie C. Konig, and a descendant of Eltweed Pomeroy. He was born 6 Jul 1888 in Wernersville, Berks County, PA, graduated with a B.A. from Yale University in 1910 and in 1912 was coach of the glee club, now known as the Whiffenpoofs. George would later go on to establish the Dives, Pomeroy and Stewart Department Store in Wyomissing, PA.

Several versions of the Whiffenpoof Song are available on YouTube, including Rudy Vallee's version at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJVUTHLFdQ0, and my personal favorite, Elvis Presley's version at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umopushoa7I&feature=related!

Which is your favorite version?

Who Painted the Lemuel and Hart Lester Pomeroy Portraits?

2011-08-23T10:20:00.006-04:00

A few years back, Bill, Sandra, Jerry and I visited with Dottie H., descendant of Lemuel Pomeroy and his wife Hart Lester. At that time she had two beautiful portraits of Lemuel and his wife, painted in their later life, by an unknown artist. Dottie has since donated the portraits to the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, MA.

Recently, in transcribing many letters written by the Rufus Pomeroy and Isaac Pomeroy families, kindly lent to us by Susanna C., one of our researchers, Kate P., has been researching early letter writing, and the lives of women in 1800s Massachusetts. She came across a great blog that features early American Artists at
http://b-womeninamericanhistory19.blogspot.com/. In looking at these, we both saw some similarities in style of the Lemuel and Hart (Lester) Pomeroy portraits to an artist named Chester Harding. Now we are looking for a Chester Harding and portrait artist expert to look at these portraits and help us unravel this puzzle.

I'm attaching images of the portraits. If anyone recognizes the artist, or has any tips they can give us to help us identify the artist, please let me know, by contacting me via e-mail at roots@cxtec.com.

2011-08-12T17:00:00.000-04:00

Josiah Pomeroy or Phelps, son of Captain Josiah Pomeroy and Lavina Phelps

2011-08-05T09:11:00.005-04:00

I may have found a clue in the Berkshire County, MA Probate Index, concerning Josiah Pomeroy, illegitimate son of Captain Josiah Pomeroy and Lavina Phelps. Josiah was born 11 Nov 1772. The Connecticut Town Birth Records: pre 1870 (Barbour Collection) database on Ancestry.com states that Levina Phelps had a son Josiah Pomroy, b. Nov 11, 1772; reputed father Josiah Pomroy. Also, under Levina Phelps is the following: Levina, m. Daniel Pepoon, b. of Hebron, Dec. 28, 1780.

I have always wondered whether Josiah went by Pomeroy of Phelps, and whether he was raised by Daniel Pepoon. Daniel and Lavina had three children, Nancy, born 9 Aug 1783 in Hebron, CT.; Lavinia, born 1785 in Stockbridge, Berkshire Co., MA; and Joseph, born between Sep 1781 and Nov 1785, possibly in Hebron. Lavina (Phelps) Pepoon died 1 Nov 1785, leaving Daniel a widow. Daniel married second Elizabeth James on Feb 17, 1789 in Canaan, Columbia County, NY. The family was living in Stockbridge in 1790, where Daniel was a proprietor of a coffee house, later owned by his daughter Nancy's father-in-law, Capt. David Campbell (also known as the Campbell Coffee House). Daniel was also one of ten founders of the Berkshire Bank, and as a director, was personally liable when the bank fell. Daniel is found as head of household in Pittsfield in the 1810 US Federal Census.

The Berkshire County, MA Probate Index lists a Josiah Phelps of Tolland, CT with a will probated in Berkshire County Dec 12, 1828 (#4823). Is this Josiah son of Josiah Pomeroy and Lavina Phelps? A check of the Pepoon surname in the database does not reveal a given name of Josiah, but Daniel does not appear on the index either. A Pepoon from Stockbridge, with first name blocked out (for privacy?) had an adoption and name change on May 1, 1883 (#14375), but this would be too late to be our Josiah.

The Berkshire County, MA Probate Index can be found online at The Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants website at http://www.massmayflower.org/research/guides/ma/county/berkshire/guides-ma-berkshire-pr-index-homepage.htm.

Berkshire County, MA Probate Index Now On Line - Mystery Pomeroy

2011-08-05T08:38:00.003-04:00

I was reading Dick Eastman's blog this morning (http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy) and noticed the article about an online probate index for Berkshire County, MA (http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2011/08/berkshire-county-massachusetts-probate-guide-and-index-1761-to-1900-now-online.html). As there are many Pomeroys in Berkshire County, I thought I'd take a look.

The index takes you to scanned pages of the typed index, and I transcribed all the Pomeroys. One really caught my eye as it was an adoption and name change which took place in Hinsdale Aug. 10, 1865 (Probate # 18863). The mystery is the first name of this individual, as there seems to be a tear in the page, or an ink stain, right over the first name, completely obliterating it! This index is in order by Surname, then First name, and this person falls between Curtis Pomeroy and Fannie S. Pomeroy, but who is he/she? Does anyone know this family? If so, please contact me at roots@cxtec.com.

Two Great Articles in the CNY 55+ Magazine feature the Central New York Genealogical Society and their 50th Anniversary Conference

2011-08-04T08:43:00.003-04:00

Check out the latest issue of CNY's 55+ Magazine, featuring two articles on genealogy. The first article "CNY Genealogical Society Turns 50" by Aaron Gifford, focuses on the Central New York Genealogical Society and their upcoming October conference (page 39). The second article, written by our good friend Richard Palmer, and titled "It's Genealogy Not Gynecology" focuses on Dick's genealogy roots and his early membership in the CNYGS (page 41).

Here's the link to the site: http://issuu.com/55plus-cny/docs/cny_55___34

Incredible Letter Collection

2011-07-29T14:12:00.001-04:00

One of our members, Susanna C., has generously offered to lend us her Pomeroy letter collection.

So far we have scanned 62 letters, dating between 1804 and 1856, all relating to the the Isaac Pomeroy/Mary Spaulding family. Isaac Pomeroy (Isaac, Elisha, Eldad, Caleb, Eltweed), married Mary Spaulding, (daughter of Rev. Josiah Spaulding and Mary Williams) on 8 Mar 1810 in Buckland, MA. Isaac died at the young age of 33, in 1815, leaving widow Mary Pomeroy and their daughter Mary Ann Pomeroy (1814-1864).

Mary Ann Pomeroy married David Pomeroy (Gideon, Joshua, Samuel, Caleb, Eltweed) 19 May 1831, in Southampton, MA. The couple had 4 children, one, David Alonzo Pomeroy, who died a month after Mary Ann's mother died.

The letters include many written by Spauldings and Pomeroys to Mary (Spaulding) Pomeroy, letters written to Isaac, many from his brother Rev. Rufus Pomeroy, letters written to Mary Ann (Pomeroy) Pomeroy and David Pomeroy, and a short diary by Mary Ann Pomeroy, daughter of Mary Ann and David Pomeroy, also a wedding announcement for Deborah Jane Spaulding "Jennie" Pomeroy, daughter of Maryann and David Pomeroy.

Susanna told me she is happy to have us share the images of these letters with anyone else researching this branch of the Pomeroy tree. We have just started to transcribe the letters and they are an incredible window into the lives and beliefs of early 19th Century New Englanders. The letters reflect a very Calvinist belief system, and the letter writers lives were, in many ways, extremely difficult, with sickness and death a prevalent theme of the letters.

Our thanks to Susanna, and her family, for preserving and sharing these priceless bits of history.

Nice Web Article on George C Pomeroy - Early Aviator

2011-07-28T08:20:00.002-04:00

Gary Hyatt had contacted both Mary Ann and I a few years back, regarding information on George Charles Pomeroy, an early aviator. He has just posted his article online and it is available at http://www.dmairfield.org/people/pomeroy_gc/.

George was born to parents Bernard H. Pomeroy and Emma Josephiene Webb 5 Mar 1895 in Brooklyn, NY. His pedigree is as follows: George, Bernard H., Charles, Isaac Allen, Elisha, Seth, Medad, Joseph, Medad, Eltweed. If anyone has further information about George, or pictures, please contact us!

APHGA Blog Post for July 11, 2011

2011-07-11T13:10:00.001-04:00

The Great A. A. Pomeroy Book Update Project

As promised, here is what Judy, Pat and Lee have been working on the last few months:

Lee has been reviewing several Pomeroy primary sources at the Onondaga Historical Society, including diaries, ledgers, newspaper clippings, etc. Information found in these sources has led to further research at the Onondaga County Public Library, the Cortland Historical Society, and other sources in Homer and Otisco, New York. Lee and Barb visited the Cortland Presbyterian Church to view the “Pomeroy Desk”, donated by Louise M. and Fred, the children of James C. and Olive Pomeroy, in honor of their parent. While there, Lee reviewed the records of 14 Pomeroys who were members of that church. Lee has been reviewing Cortland County, NY deeds available online and has transcribed the 1850 Membership records of the Otisco Congregational Church, containing 17 Pomeroys.

Lee did some additional searching at the OHA for Supervisors records relating to the Onondaga County Poorhouse, which Nancy has been researching.

Lee continues to lead our Publication project and has helped Barb Dix and Pat Whipple get articles published in local NY State papers. She is working on a short article on using newspapers in genealogical research. Lee has also been leading the team in their excursions to the Onondaga County Public Library to transcribe all Pomeroys in the NYS Census records located there and at the Onondaga County Clerk’s Office. Lee also started to assess the new 1792 Canada Lang Grant Petition records now available through Archives Canada.

Judy continues to work on data-entry from various sources, including entering Lee’s research on the Otisco Pomeroy branch. Judy has also been researching a Thaddeus Pomeroy who was mentioned from Schenectady, NY in a record of the Pensioners of the War of 1812. She is wondering whether he is a brother of Noah Pomeroy who lived in Albany and ran an inn. This Thaddeus Pomeroy is identified in some records as being born in Pompey in 1799. His record identifies that he was very young when he entered the Army as a drummer, and that he had deserted several times. One record states he was confined in Buffalo after desertion at the age of 14. One record states that he entered the service at the age of 8! Judy wonders whether he was the son of Ralph Moseley Pomeroy – Thomas Abel Pomeroy born about 1799.

The Mary Ann Coe Project

Pat entered information newly found relating to Judge David Higgins, Eliphalet Ball, Col. John Ball and Calvin Stowe, Jr. She also continued her extensive research into Carlos C. Coe, an early balloonist and circus owner. Pat has also been making some headway in figuring out the ancestry of Matilda Brown (wife of Francis W. Pomeroy). A Eunice Brown, with children Caleb, John and Mary, resided in Norwalk, Huron Co., OH according to the 1850 US Census. Is this Eunice related in any way to Matilda? Research identified John Brown as husband of Eunice (Schoolcraft). The family lived in Oswego, Oswego Co., NY where sons Caleb and John were born, and then moved to Norwalk, OH where daughter Mary Ann was born. Pat also added additional tax records found pertaining to Lemuel Pomeroy, David Powers, Benjamin Junkins and Edward Pettit. She also expanded on data entry of letters remaining in the Post Office in Norwalk and New Haven, OH during the time that Mary Ann lived there.

Pat has also been adding to our Early Pompey Residents database with information from several sources including the book “Re-Union of the Sons and Daughters of the Old Town of Pompey”. It is our hope that we will be able to match some of these early residents of Pompey to early residents of Norwalk, OH and find additional connections to explain why Mary Ann moved to Norwalk.

Pat researched Franklin Pomeroy, whose father-in-law, Israel Woodford was from Pomeroy, NY. The Woodford families in Pompey were descended from Woodfords of Northampton, MA. Lucian Woodford married Cornelia Birdseye, granddaughter of Victory Birdseye, Spencer Pomeroy’s lawyer when he claimed insolvency.

Judy has been reviewing early Salina, Onondaga County, NY records now on Ancestry.com and entering that information into our databases. She is also reviewing copies of the Jerome Ledger at the OHA for information about early Pompey, NY settlers.

Seth Pomeroy Article on "Archiving Early America" Website

2011-07-05T13:19:00.002-04:00

Please click on this link for a great new article about Seth Pomeroy by David Correira that mentions the Pomeroy Anvil Trail!

http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2011_summer_fall/seth-pomeroy-1.html

Balloonist sets Rome ablaze in 1866 - Life - Rome Observer

2011-07-05T11:34:00.000-04:00

Balloonist sets Rome ablaze in 1866 - Life - Rome Observer

APHGA Blog Post for June 17, 2011

2011-06-17T17:09:00.004-04:00

The Great A. A. Pomeroy Book Update Project

We have welcomed several new members this past month (in part because I have been diligently trying to catch up with my e-mail requests!), and the book project continues to gain momentum as we add new descendants and facts to our databases. As of last Monday we show 57,975 people, 18,010 sources and 264,623 citations in our descendants of Eltweed Pomeroy database; 13,046 people, 6,363 sources and 75,899 citations in our Unlinked Pomeroy database; and 6,903 people, 274 sources and 21,958 citations in our Descendants of George Pomeroy database.

Diane L., Richard Pomeroy Isles of Shoals descendant, has generously sent us a copy of the book “Home, Pomeroy Ridge” by Charlie Smith. The book details the history of Pomeroy Ridge, New Brunswick, Canada. Thank you Diane!

Betty’s been working on some Pomeroy puzzles I handed over to her, including the Sterling Pomeroy/Henrietta S. Jackson family (Hiram Sterling, Hiram, John, Noah, Joseph, Eltweed). Sterling was born in Chaumont, Jefferson Co., NY in 1832, and was out in Ohio, Bureau Co., IL by 1854, shortly after he married Henrietta in Jefferson Co. He served two terms in the IL state legislature, was a farmer who also engaged in shipping and banking. He was also apparently a druggist, living in Chicago in 1900. He died in Chicago in 1903. The couple had one daughter, Agnes, born abt 1861 in Ohio, Bureau Co., IL, who married Robert H. Fagan. The couple had two children, Henrietta Fagan, b. Feb 1880, and Sterling Fagan (AKA Sterling Pomeroy), born 2 Aug 1882. For some reason Sterling used the surname Pomeroy when he married Francis M Spratt in 1904 in Fergus, MT, and his death certificate is also under the surname Pomeroy. Census records also identify Sterling’s surname as Pomeroy. Betty also filled in missing information on the Orle G. Pomeroy/Huldah C. Jackson family. Orle (John Wesley, John Seymour, Nathaniel, Noah, Noah, Joseph Medad, Eltweed), was born 1841 in Delaware Co., NY and married Huldah in 1863. He died in 1879. Huldah was born 1845 in Delaware Co., and died Mar 1934. The couple had two children, Emmagene, born 1865 and Robert James born 1871.

Betty has also been working on the family of Roxalinda Pomeroy (Nathaniel, Noah, Noah, Joseph, Medad, Eltweed), born 1779 in CT. She married first Joseph Cook, by whom she had at least 7 children, and second, John Wall. She died in 1853 in Franklin, Delaware Co., NY and is buried in the Ouleout Valley Cemetery in Franklin. Betty continues to fill in collateral line information on Ellen Elizabeth Day, the daughter of Dr. Jonathan Day and Eunice Pomeroy (Lemuel, Lemuel, Seth, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed). Ellen was born in Syracuse, NY in 1828, where her father was a physician. She was the third of four children born to the couple during their short marriage of 8 years. Dr. Day died in 1832, while only 31 yrs. old, a victim of the cholera epidemic he worked so hard to control. The widow Eunice Day, moved back home to Pittsfield, MA with her three remaining children and cared for her ailing father until his death. She married Colonel George T. M. David in 1852 in Pittsfield, and had one child, George Z. M. Davis. The couple were living in New York City by 1860 and Eunice became a nurse to injured and ill Union Soldiers in the city. She was elected to the Board of Managers of the Woman’s Hospital of the State of New York in 1866 and served in that position until she died in March of 1885.

Betty also spent time working on some Pomeroys found in Pitcher, Chenango Co., NY. We have one documented family, that of Stephen Pomeroy (Enos, Stephen, Ebenezer, Ebenezer, Medad) whose daughter Relief Pomeroy, born 1811, married John H. Bennett in 1834. We also have an undocumented Mary Pomeroy, b. abt 1799 in CT, who married an Ezra Bennett by 1835. Both Bennett families were living in Pitcher, but we can’t connect Mary with any descendants of Eltweed. Skip H., one of our APHGA members, has also been working on this puzzle. If anyone knows the answer, please let us know! Betty also spent time filling in the lines of the daughters of Stephen and Dorothy (Carter) Pomeroy who were sisters of Relief.

Betty worked with APHGA member Scott S. on his Pomeroy line. Emiline Pomeroy, (Elisha, Simeon, Titus, John, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed) born 1834 in South Hadley, MA, married Steven DeForest Chase in 1858, and had two children, George Pomeroy Chase and Percy LeBarron Chase. Emiline died 22 Mar 1897 in Granby, MA, on the same day that her sister Julia Ann (Pomeroy) Hooker died in South Hadley Falls.

Last but not least, Betty is also researching William Fancher Pomeroy (Michael Myers, Charles Watrous, Watrous, Charles, Noah, Noah, Joseph Eltweed) whose family we will discuss in the Pomeroy Anvil Trail section of this report! William Fancher Pomeroy was born in 1864 in Brooklyn, NY to parents Michael Myers and Sarah Prua (Fancher) Pomeroy. William’s parents divorced before 1 Jun 1871, when Sarah married James Henry Pelton in Waterloo, NY. William was adopted by James Pelton and legally changed his name prior to his marriage to Mamie G. Genung in 1886.

Barb continues to transcribe the records from the Church of Christ, Northampton, MA and is also now entering that information into our genealogy databases. Barb, who is also the Phoenix, NY Town Historian, had an article published in the Phoenix Register on May 20th, entitled “Diary of a Phoenix School Girl”. Several years ago, Barb purchased a diary of a young girl who lived in Phoenix. As no name was associated with the diary, Barb had to do some real digging to find out who the diary belonged to. In the end, she was able to identify the author of the diary as Cora Adelia Patrick, daughter of William P and Caroline Elizabeth (Serrott) Patrick. Cora was born in Hinmansville, NY in 1866. And wouldn’t you know, Cora married Harry Dwight Pomeroy (Theodore Clapp, Stephen, Ebenezer, Ebenezer, Eldad, Caleb, Eltweed). Harry, born in Cortland, NY in 1866, graduated from Cornell University as a mechanical engineer, and went on to hold several patents. He lived and worked for a while in Syracuse and was involved in the manufacture of typewriters and was later employed by Gaylord Brothers, Inc. in Syracuse. His family lived in Phoenix, where he and wife Cora are buried. Barb and Lee took a research trip to Cortland, NY and found contact information for a descendant of Harry and Cora and has since spoken with her and will be setting up a meeting to share information. Barb also went to the Onondaga Historical Society to read some of the many diaries of Harry Dwight Pomeroy that are housed there. Barb has also submitted another article to the Phoenix Register which should be published this weekend, and the newspaper has agreed to her having a column dedicated to local history and genealogy!

Ed continues to match unmatched census records and has been having some success. He hands over the Eltweed families to Betty and has been entering the Unlinked Pomeroys and the George Pomeroy descendants. Ed’s research has taken him on a virtual tour of the US, working on Pomeroys in West Virginia, Michigan, New York, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Washington, California, Maine, Ohio, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, and Kentucky. You Pomeroys can’t sit still, can you? (OK Jack, I’m expecting a good comeback joke!)

One of the many interesting families Ed’s been working on are the descendants of John Trumball and Sally (Dunham) Pomeroy. John Trumbull Pomeroy was born in Vermont 4 Apr 1794 and died in 1833 in Orleans County, NY. His wife Sally was born about 1800 in NY. The couple had two children that we know of; Mortimer C. Pomeroy, born abt 1816 in NY and Daniel O. Pomeroy, born 10 Aug 1821 in Genesee County, NY. It seems likely that John descends from Eltweed, given where he was born and where he migrated to, but we have yet to make a solid connection. There are some intriguing similarities to a John Pomeroy, son of Elisha and Submit (Greene) Pomeroy (Seth, Medad, Joseph, Medad, Eltweed). Not much is known about this John. The A.A. Pomeroy book states that he was born about 1808 and that he died before 1840 in OH. After John’s mother Submit died, his father married Lucy Warner in 1814 in Hamilton, Madison Co., NY, and the family is found in the 1820 US Federal Census in Elba, Genesee County. According to a descendant of John Trumbull Pomeroy, he died in 1833 in Barre (Center), Orleans Co., NY, but a his son Daniel, published in the book “History of Macomb County, Michigan” (Chicago: M.A. Leeson & Company, 1882) states that he died in Orleans County, NY in 1839. Could John Pomeroy, son of Elisha and Submit (Greene) Pomeroy, be one and the same as John Trumbull Pomeroy who married Sally Dunham? And if so, did John have a son William who lived in Huron Co., OH, as stated in the A.A. Pomeroy book?

Speaking of elusive William Pomeroys, Ed’s been chasing a William born about 1822 in NY who married first Axey Lord about 1844, then Maria L, before 1868. He was a farmer who was living in Tompkins, Jackson County, Michigan by 11 Sep 1850 when the US Federal Census was taken. He died 19 Mar 1875 in Tompkins, the father of seven children, five by Axey: Albert, born about 1845; Mary, born about 1848; William S (Willis), born about Sept. 1854; Anna N, born about 1854; and Mary F, born about 1857; and two by Maria: Melvin H., born 16 Jun 1867; and Ida, born about 1872.

Another Pomeroy mystery that Ed’s been working on is the Benair J. Pomeroy family. Benair, born 15 Mar 1860 in Pittsburgh, PA, married Catherine Komp before 1881. He died 3 Mar 1930 in Schenectady, NY. His wife Catherine, daughter of Philip and Elizabeth, was born about Sept. 1863, in NY and died 3 Oct 1944 in Schenectady. Benair had a sister Annie who married a Mr. Hewitt. Benair was a machinist turned mailman, and had seven children that we know of: Henry John (Harry), born 1881; Philip Edward, born 1882; Andrew William, born 1884; Agnes, born 1886; Edward George, born 1887; William B., born 1891; and Joseph B., born 1893, all in Schenectady.

And proving that no distance is too far for a Pomeroy to travel, we leave you with the tale of Elihu D. Pomeroy, born April 1854 in NY who died 25 Jun 1909 in Everett, Snohomish Co., WA. He married Louisa A. Strom in 1881 and the couple had one child that we know of, Edison Dell Pomeroy, born Apr 1833 in Benton, MI, who died 19 Jul 1929 in Seattle, WA. This is another of our “Unlinked Pomeroys” and we’d love to know which Pomeroy family they belong to. If you’re familiar with any of these Pomeroy, please let us know!

I’m sure you’re wondering what Lee, Pat and Judy have been working on, and I promise to post another blog with this information next week, but it’s just about time to go home, so I’ll publish this now.

The Pomeroy Collection

I’m happy to report that Tammy is here for extended hours during the summer and has been diligently working on the collection. The whole department participated in a re-org and clean-up of our office and, I must say, the place has never looked better!

The Pomeroy Anvil Trail

I’m very excited to announce that we have received approval from the city of Auburn, NY to place a Pomeroy Anvil Monument commemorating Theodore Medad Pomeroy and showcasing the other Pomeroy families in Auburn. Sheila Tucker, Cayuga County Historian, has been instrumental in getting the approvals needed, and we are very thankful of her efforts. I will be going out to Auburn this Saturday to look at the proposed sites. Theodore Medad Pomeroy, born 31 Dec 1834 in Cayuga County, (Medad, Timothy, Ebenezer, Eldad, Caleb, Eltweed) graduated from Hamilton College in 1842. He was the Auburn Village Clerk in 1847 and was admitted to the NYS bar in 1849, and was part of the firm Allen and Pomeroy. Between 1850 and 1856 he was a District Attorney, and between 1861 and 1869 was a member of the House of Representatives. He married Elizabeth Leitch Watson in 1857, sister of the wife of his later law partner, William Seward, Jr. In 1868 he was the first Vice President and general counsel of the American Express Company and was Mayor of Auburn between 1875 and 1876, was named President of the Cayuga County Historical Society in 1877 and served as NYS Senator between 1878 and 1879. His homestead was donated to the city, and is now the site of Pomeroy Park and the Veteran’s Memorial Park. Theodore was an abolitionist and friend and sometime employer of Harriet Tubman. He is buried in the Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn.

Other significant Pomeroys who lived in Auburn were the family of Colonel Charles Watrous Pomeroy (Watrous, Charles, Noah, Noah, Joseph, Eltweed). Charles Watrous Pomeroy was born 8 Mar 1808 in Auburn, married first Hopey Lonsbury in 1828 and after her death, married second Sarah Minerva Tibbals in 1836. He built the first freight depot in Auburn in 1836 and was an agent for the Auburn Prison in 1852 and went on to be appointed warden of the NYS Prison in Auburn. He was postmaster of Auburn in 1870 and was appointed a commissioner for the building of a new armory in NYS. He is also buried in the Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn.

We are also working with Ruth Bernier of Southampton to get approval from the town to install a Pomeroy Anvil Monument. Southampton was set off from Northampton in 1730, and Caleb Pomeroy was a significant land owner. Pomeroy Mountain, Pomeroy Ford and Pomeroy Meadows in Southampton are named after him. Of this line descend many Revolutionary War Veterans, ministers and politicians, notably General Timothy Pomeroy (grandfather of Theodore Medad Pomeroy), Samuel Clarke Pomeroy, Reverend Medad Pomeroy (father of Theodore Medad Pomeroy), Reverend Rufus Pomeroy, Reverend Thaddeus Pomeroy and Reverend Jeremiah Pomeroy.

Captain Lemuel Pomeroy, descended from Caleb’s brother Medad, and father of noted gunsmith Lemuel Pomeroy who resided in Pittsfield, was also an important figure in the history of Southampton, serving as a selectman and a representative of the General Court and as a member of the State Legislature for forty years.

If you are a resident of Southampton and would like to see this monument installed, please contact your town board and show your support for this project.

The Mary Ann Coe Project

I continue to work on the Mary Ann Coe book, and once again would like to send my appreciation to Huron County researcher extraordinaire, Henry Timman. I recently “found” his abstract of “Volume A, Huron County Wills to 1852” online at HeritageQuest. Other versions exist on the web (and unfortunately do not all give credit where credit is due!) Henry abstracted these records in 1960 and is still going strong at the Firelands Historical Society. If you’re researching family in Norwalk, OH or environs, and need some feet on the ground and an expert in county and town resources, give Henry a call, you won’t be disappointed!

Central New York Genealogical Society’s 50th Anniversary Conference – “Good As Gold”

Both Barb and I are on the planning committee of the CNYGS 50th Anniversary Conference, scheduled for Oct 14th – 15th of this year, in Syracuse, NY. We’re quite excited about all the events associated with the conference including the Friday Night Banquet, with speaker Barry J. Ewell, and the Saturday conference, featuring Barry J. Ewell, Suzanne Etherington, Ph.D., Edward L. Galvin, Holly Sammons and Roger B. Williams.

From the program: “Barry Ewell is a writer and researcher with extensive genealogical experience in internet and field research, digital and software resources, and mentoring genealogists. He lives in Salt Lake City and is the founder of MyGenShare.com.”

“Suzanne Etherington, Ph.D., is a Region 6 Advisory Officer, for the New York State Archives Government Records Services.” I had the pleasure of taking some college history courses from Suzanne when she was an adjunct professor at Syracuse University. Her knowledge and enthusiasm for her subject is contagious – she has opened up whole new avenues of research for me, and was instrumental in helping me identify what I wanted to be when I grew up (well, other than a rock star!) Suzanne was also a presenter at the Conference on New York State History held in Ithaca, NY last year.

Ed Galvin is the Director of Archives and Records Management at Syracuse University, and a good friend and mentor. I worked with Ed at SU before I came on board in my current position. Along with being a professional archivist, Ed has also taken on the task of tracing the families of D’Escousse, a small village on the northern shore of Isle Madame, in Richmond County, Nova Scotia. You can check out Ed’s D’Escousse research at his website at http://elgalvin.mysite.syr.edu/gen/de/ . Ed will be speaking about the hidden genealogical treasures in college and university archives.

Holly Sammons is the Head Librarian of the Local History and Genealogy Department at the Onondaga County Public Library, and is every genealogist’s dream librarian. Her passion and commitment to excellence is evident when you visit the library. Her staff if knowledgeable and helpful, and her efforts to provide this much needed, free resource to the community is evident when you visit the Library. As part of that commitment, she has arranged for the OCPL Local History and Genealogy Department to be a Family History Library! Holly will be speaking about the resources available in the Local History and Genealogy Department of the Library.

Our own Roger Williams has served as a member of the CNYGS Board of Directors and helped the CNYGS develop their first website and County Indexing Project. Roger’s workshop will focus on gadgets for the traveling genealogist.

The Vendor Hall, sponsored by the American Pomeroy Historic Genealogical Association, is quickly filling up, so if you are an interested vendor, please contact me at roots@cxtec.com . We have received verbal commitments from the following vendors: Cornell University Press; SUNY Press; Onondaga Historical Society; NYSCOGO; “Back Street Mary” Messere; CNYGS and the APHGA. Other vendors we are working with and hoping to showcase are the New England Historic Genealogical Society; the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society; the Pompey Historical Society and the History Press.

For more information about the conference, please visit the CNYGS website at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nycnygs/50th_anniversary.htm .

Another Pomeroy Mystery, by Alethea Connolly

2011-05-17T16:39:00.008-04:00

Another Pomeroy Mystery
Sorting Out the Harriets of Syracuse, NY

It all started when a colleague and I, were trying to track down Canadian-born Pomeroys in Onondaga County, with the hope that some might link to our Eltweed ancestry. Particularly confusing was the family of Jeremiah/Daniel/James Pomeroy, who, according to the 1850 census, was born in Canada abt 1818, migrated to central New York, and was then living in Syracuse. He married a Harriet born in New York, but we didn’t know her maiden name. In 1850 they had six children living in their household. They stayed in Syracuse briefly, Jeremiah making a livelihood later as a boat captain in Verona, and in the 1860s as a butcher in Bridgeport.

Their third child, born in June 1850 in Syracuse, was named Harriet. She married John Pomeroy, whose father Lewis, was a native of Canada. Lewis, and his family settled in Oswego. Perhaps Jeremiah and Lewis were brothers, but Harriet by marriage remained a Pomeroy, and the trail got murky. Still finding Harriet might lead me back to clearer ancestral lines.

Enter the third Harriet! While searching through the www.fultonhistory.com newspaper website, I found a Supreme Court summons regarding the will of Dr. Samuel Healy published in the Syracuse Daily Standard in 1855, naming a Harriet S. Pomeroy, as well as John Henry Pomeroy, Ellen Adele Pomeroy, and a Julia Emma Pomeroy, a bunch of Higgins, Smith, Bliss, and Hargan names, as well as three Orphan Asylums in three cities1. What was the connection of all these people? Were they part of the Canadian connection?

Tracking Harriet S. Pomeroy, I came across a notice of appointment of guardianship for her for Harriet B. Cook. A trip to the Onondaga County Surrogate Office resulted in a copy of the guardianship papers dated 1855, indicating that Harriet S. Pomeroy, was “a minor child of Seneca G. Pomeroy late of the town of Genoa in the county of Cayuga. 2” Seneca G. Pomeroy (8003), the son of Reuben Pomeroy and Esther Bradley Pomeroy, is a descendant of the Eltweed line.

This Harriet was 17 when she applied for the appointment of a guardian, thereby protecting her legal rights and any entitlement to estate in the future. The application identified Harriet B. Cook as her guardian.

The 1850 Census for Syracuse, Ward 3, showed a 12 year old Harriet Pomeroy, living with a Harriet B/P Cook, with several seemingly unrelated young women 3. The 1860 census for Syracuse, Ward 6, showed her living with Harriet B. Cook, a family of Fosters, and several women in their twenties 4.

Our database showed that the four children of Seneca G. Pomeroy and Laura Ellis, Harriet (8587), John Henry (8585), Ellen Adele (8586), and Julia Emma (8588) were the Pomeroys listed in the Supreme Court summons.

All we knew of Laura Ellis at the time, was that she was 36 when she died in 1842, had been ill for some time, and was buried in the family burial grounds on Onondaga Hill 5. We did not yet know her parentage, nor did we know who Harriet B. Cook was.

One of Laura’s children, Julia E., was located in the 1850 census, age abt 10 years old in the household of a Mary C. Hargin in Auburn, Cayuga County 6. It is likely that this is Mary Caroline Hargin, who will later appear in this summary. Our own database revealed her son, John Henry Pomeroy (8585) had died, according to an obituary record in November 1865, “at the home of his aunt, H. B. Cook.” 7

This information pointed to the Ellis surname, and an Ancestry.com search revealed a family tree showing the many children of John Ellis (1764-1820) and Submit Olds 8. It showed that a Harriet Byron Ellis, born 1798, and Laura Ellis, born 1807, were sisters, born on Onondaga Hill, and that the Ellis family were among the early settlers of this region. There was a will for Harriet B. Cook at the Onondaga County Surrogate Office, and while there no was mention of a niece, Mrs. Cook identified her brother as James M. Ellis.9

Searching the Ellis connection provided some interesting details. A Syracuse newspaper article on Harriet B. (Ellis) Cook written in 1899, described her as “Syracuse’s First Milliner.” Mrs. Cook, who married Major William A. Cook, operated a millinery establishment on Fayette Street, Syracuse. No wonder there were several young women living, (and working, as seamstresses no doubt) in the household! The article goes on to say her father John Ellis of Onondaga Hill, was a great landowner, and identified a sister, Mrs. Charles Hargen, living in Syracuse, as a member of the Onondaga County chapter, D. A. R 10. An obituary, in the Syracuse Daily Courier, cited her death as November 4, 1875. 11

A third Ellis sister was identified in several articles as Mary Caroline Ellis Hargin. The 1894 Onondaga Standard celebrated her 82nd birthday under the title “She Saw Lafayette.” The article goes on to say, she “was born in 1812, the youngest of nine children of Maj. Gen. John Ellis and his wife Submit Ellis…Gen. Ellis…was born in Pittsfield, Mass, and at the age of 14 ran away from home and served in the continental army…[Mrs Hargin] married Charles B. Hargin in 1832, and with him came to the Burnet farm…Mr Hargin died in 1840. 12

Thirteen years later, when Mrs. Hargin was 97, the Syracuse Post Standard published even more about her pioneer history. Her husband’s death at 29 resulted from pneumonia, after he caught a cold when his store was flooded. It also notes that “the sword used by her father in the Revolutionary War …will some day, she says, become the possession of the Onondaga Historical Association.” 13

While the original task seemed to be finding more about Harriet Pomeroy and the Canadian connection, the direction it took was a profitable diversion. Now we know more about the maternal Ellis line, through Laura Ellis, the mother of four Pomeroy children. Through her sisters Harriet B., and Mary Caroline, we know more about the pioneering Ellis family of Onondaga Hill. And we know some of the reason why these Pomeroy children could not be found in their father’s household in the 1850 or 1860 census records.

Laura Ellis died December 21, 1842. Two months prior, Seneca G. Pomeroy was in some financial distress, and had filed a petition of bankruptcy as an individual, and as one of the firm of Pomeroy & Ellis, and Thorp & Pomeroy 14. He remarried, divorced, and at age 82 applied for his deceased son’s Civil War pension. He died in 1894. There might be more to learn about this man, who seems to have separated from his children. He left no will in Cayuga County where he died.

The death, and subsequent determination of the will, of Dr. Samuel Healy was the cause of the 1855 Onondaga County Supreme Court summons to members of the Pomeroy, Ellis, and Hargen families published on November 26, 1855 in the Syracuse newspaper cited earlier. It appears that Dr. Healy left money to individuals and orphan asylums in four counties, and there was some dispute of claims 15. His relationship to these named individuals becomes clear when we learned that his only child Henry, and wife Mitte Ellis Healey, were buried in the Ellis Family Cemetery, on Onondaga Hill, alongside her parents, General John Ellis and Submit Olds 16.

It is of interest that Harriet S. Pomeroy’s request to the Surrogate Court for legal guardianship, was made on August 14, 1855, after the court had notified parties to make claims upon the estate of her uncle, in late June 17. A lot might be learned from these estate decisions.

And there are still other unanswered questions about Seneca’s daughter, Harriet S. Pomeroy. She married Joshua L. Marsh on October 10, 1860 17. He was an elected official in Chicago, Ill in the 1870s, but her footprints have dimmed, and I’ve lost the trail. Has anyone seen Harriet?

And Jeremiah and Lewis Pomeroy who came to NY from Canada, are they brothers? And are they, and the Harriets of their families, in the Eltweed line, or just those “other Pomeroys”

If you can solve a few corners of the puzzle please let us know.

_____________________________________________________

NOTES

1 Supreme Court-Onondaga County, summons [contest re: will of Dr. Samuel Healy] Syracuse Daily Standard, November 26, 1855, pg 3. Fultonhistory.com, 0202 pdf

2 Onondaga County, Surrogate Office, Syracuse, NY, Guardianship Appointments, Harriet S. Pomeroy, Book D, p. 10, August 14, 1855.

3 1850 census, Onondaga County, City of Syracuse, Ward 3, Roll:M432_569; page 194A (76)

4 1860 census, Onondaga County, Syracuse, Ward 6, Roll: M653_830; page 936 (p. 80)

5 Mrs. Laura Pomeroy obituary, Onondaga Standard, Onondaga Hill, New York, 28 Dec 1842,

6 1850 census, Cayuga County, Auburn, Ward 3, Roll: M432_482; page 273A

7 Death, John Henry Pomeroy, Syracuse Library, compiler, Obituaries & Biographical Clippings of Residents of Syracuse Onondaga County...from 1860 to 1926 (Syracuse, New York: Syracuse Public Library, 1926)

8 Cook Family Tree (Ellis) http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/940662/person/-1069937113?ssrc=

9 Onondaga County Surrogate Office, Syracuse, NY, Harriet B. Cook, Wills, Book S , page 488-489.

10 The Evening Herald, (Syracuse) January 6, 1899. Onondaga Historical Association. Vertical Surname File folder, Hargin.

11 The Daily Courier (Syracuse), November 6, 1875. Onondaga Historical Association. Vertical Surname File folder, Cook.

12 The Onondaga Standard, June 6, 1894. Onondaga Historical Association. Vertical Surname File folder, Hargin.

13 The Syracuse Post Standard, September 8, 1909. Onondaga Historical Association. Vertical Surname File folder, Hargin. See also The Syracuse Herald, October 8, 1909, “Is Dead At 97 Years”, Onondaga Historical Association. Vertical Surname File folder, Hargin.

14 Onondaga Standard, October 26, 1842. Onondaga Historical Association. Index Card Surname File. Pomeroy, Seneca G

15 Syracuse Daily Journal of May 3, 1854 reported Dr. Healey Death. Fultonhistory.com, 0215 pdf

16 Ellis Family Cemetery, copied by Minnie L. C. Coleman, Daughters of the American Revolution Cemetery Records,” Vol. 21, pg. 56

17 Syracuse Daily Journal, July 9, 1855, pg. 3, fultonhistory.com, 0709 pdf

18 Syracuse Journal, October 12, 1860, p. 3. C. 6; Onondaga Historical Association, POMEROY: Harriet S., card index file

New England Regional Genealogical Conference - Day Three

2011-04-10T08:24:00.003-04:00

Well, the party's over, I guess. Now we get to go home and use all the new things we learned! Last night was an interesting mix of genealogists and young women who were competing in dance contests. The Sheraton was hopping! There was dancing in the halls, in the elevators and in the restaurants. (And probably dancing, dancing in the streets...)

The first session I took yesterday was entitled "Where Did They Go, Following the Paths of New Englanders Who Left New England", taught by Mary Ann Boyle, PhD. CG. I was expecting a lecture on migration patterns from New England to New York, Ohio, Michigan and beyond, but the lecture was actually about Mary Ann's experience as a private investigator and genealogist, finding people, (mostly alive). Mary sprinkled the lecture with tips on how to do the type of research she does, and gave us a few helpful websites to use. Mary's sense of humor was evident in the lecture, and because of this, the lecture was quite enjoyable, although not what I was hoping to learn.

The next two sessions, "Using Collateral Lines to Build Your Family Tree", by Janis P. Duffy, and "Where is Great Grandma Hiding? Finding the Forgotten Females", by Sandra MacLean Clunnes, CG., were both case studies. Both lecturers discussed how they broke through their specific brick walls, gave advice for searching whole families, neighborhoods and associates and to look out for errors perpetuated through early transcription mistakes. "Using Collateral Lines" focused on a family that settled in Massachusetts from Ireland, and included a lot of information about researching in Ireland, while "Where is Great Grandma Hiding?" focused on an earlier New England family.

I had more time today to speak with many of the vendors in the Exhibit Hall. Had an informative discussion with Bruce about RootsMagic and the differences between version 3 and 4. One of our concerns, in the middle of two large book projects, is migrating over customized facts. In using version 3 we found that we wanted descriptors on some of the pre-installed facts. Since they were considered primary facts, we couldn't change them, so we created new ones to suit our needs. Now I am concerned that there will be a lot of data cleanup if we move our database from version 3 to 4, as these customized facts don't exist in 4. Bruce said that RootsMagic can probably write some SQL code to migrate our facts. Has anyone been through this? If so, please e-mail me!

The last session I attended was entitled "How Autosomal DNA Testing is Changing Genealogy", by Blaine Bettinger, PhD. Blaine lives and works in my neck of the woods (Syracuse, NY), and I have had a chance to meet him and pick his brains about DNA in the past. He's a wealth of knowledge, and a great guy. I especially appreciate his ability to explain complex scientific theories and methods in language that non scientists can understand!

Blaine gave a brief overview of the types of DNA testing that have become available and targeted towards the genealogy crowd over the last ten or more years, and focused on the relatively new Autosomal DNA test. My boss, Bill Pomeroy, had taken the test recently and I've been having a tough time understanding the results and matches he's been getting. Blaine explained that when DNA is passed from parent to child, it contains a random sampling of the DNA of the parents. A sampling - NOT ALL THE DNA FROM THE PARENTS! The DNA passed on to the child stays relatively intact within the first 5 generations, but after that, it's anyone's guess which of the older generations' DNA will be passed on to the child. As Blaine explains it, "not all of your Great Great Grandparents DNA is handed down to you, and there is no way to tell who has fallen off your (genetic) tree." Thus you have a Genealogical Tree (the research you've done that identifies your forebears), and a Genetic Tree, which will contain some of the DNA from people in your Genealogical Tree, but not all of it.

Blaine and I also had a chance to have a brief discussion before the class, where I explained that some of the matches Bill is getting appear to be way farther back in his Genealogical Tree than 5 generations. Blaine noted that he had found this also, and that this could be based on the randomness of the DNA that gets passed down. Apparently some DNA is luckier than others, (or maybe just more persistant)?

So, is Autosomal testing a wise investment at this time? Sure, if you understand that it's not going to replace dilegent research into your Genealogical Tree. Can it help you find cousins, and break through brick walls? Sure, but a lot of that has to do with how many people take the test - more participants mean more potential results. So get out that cheek swabs!

New England Regional Genealogical Conference - Day Two

2011-04-08T21:02:00.006-04:00

A bit of a late blog entry today, as we just got back from a wonderful dinner with some Pomeroy friends at Mykonos European Restaurant. We all enjoyed wonderful food and great company!

The first session I attended this morning was entitled "Genealogy and The Six Degrees of Separation", taught by Colleen Fitzpatrick, Phd, a Forensic Genealogist. Colleen explained about the theory of connectivity and how the internet has allowed for greater connection, which is lessening the 6 degrees to about 3.5 degrees.

Colleen gave some great tips for finding anyone. First off, if you have an old address, look for neighbors, ask local reference librarians, ask local ministers, rabbis, and look for similar people - same ethic backgrounds and professions.

One particularly good tip, when making a cold call, is to be prepared - and when speaking with a stranger identify your self as a genealogist and give information that you've learned about the family, so that the person on the other end of the line won't think you're a telemarketer!

Colleen identified several common mistakes made by researchers. These are: being too focused on the problem so you forget the bigger picture, missing obvious clues and not understanding the geography and history of the place in which your ancestor (or the person you're trying to find) lived.

Colleen has writing several wonderful books. We own "Forensic Genealogy" and I just picked up "DNA Genealogy" today at the vendor hall. I can't wait to read it!

The second session I attended was entitled Travel, Highways, Ferries, Bridges and Taverns", taught by Richard C. Roberts. This class focused on the collections at the Connecticut State Library.

Record Group OO1 consists of Early General Records, public records of the Colony and later State, including the Particular Court 1635-1665, the Court of Assistants 1665-1711 and the papers of the General Assembly from 1640-1820, which contain information about the Colonial Wars, Indians, the Revolutionary War, and records pertaining to Travel, Highways, Ferries and Bridges which are in two series. The first series contains 1152 documents arranged chronologically spanning the years 1700-1788. The second series contains 1801 documents in arranged topically and spanning the years 1737-1820.

Indexes of the Connecticut Archives are available on their website at http://www.cslib.org/indexing/ . Back to the travel part - in 1638 the first formal road in Connecticut was built between Windsor and Hartford. In 1643 each town was made responsible for making and mending "ways" within its bounds. In 1679 "ways" between towns were designated County Roads or Biways.

In January 1641 the General Court authorized a ferry at Windsor, which had already been in use and operated by John Bissell. And, did you know that in 1822 Connecticut started a project called the Farmington Canal? This canal was never finished, but there are some fabulous maps from the project that include names of property owners. So, head out to the Connecticut State Library website and start to poke around. Your ancestors just may be hidden in the many records the library contains!

We broke to visit the Exhibit Hall where I picked up a few books, including one entitled "The Isles of Shoals in the Age of Sail, A Brief History" by Russell M. Lawson, Phd. I'm excited to learn more about the place where Richard Pomeroy settled. We then met Diane L, an APHGA member and friend who came down to the conference from New Hampshire with her mom, Lucille. We had a nice lunch and wonderful conversation. It was so nice to meet Diane after e-mailing and having phone conversations with her for years!

The third session I attended was entitled "Erie Canal Genealogy" and was taught by John Philip Colletta. John gave a general outline of the history of the Erie Canal and explained in detailed the many types of jobs that were created by and for the canal system. The Erie Canal was the largest public works project funded by a state. The Canal Bill was passed in 1817 and construction started July 4, 1817, and was completed by 1825. The canal was widened between 1847 and 1862 to allow for boats with deeper hulls and to allow two-way traffic. John also explained how the canal was used both for travel/immigration and to move freight.

The records of the Canal Board, established in 1826 have been microfilmed and are available for viewing at the New York State Archives in Albany. These records contain many petitions and appeals from local landowners and workers. The New York State Museum, also in Albany, and connected to the Archives, also ahs payroll records of Canal employees.

The fourth session I attended was entitled "Diaries and Journals, Finding and Using These Valuable Resources" taught by Laura G. Prescott. Laura discussed the value of diaries an offered many tips for finding them, and included several websites such as www.dohistory.org with contains the diary of Martha Ballard, an early Maine midwife; www.NewEnglandAncestors.org/libraries/manuscripts which is part of the New England Historic Genealogial Association website; the Library of Congress website at www.memory.loc.gov/ammem; the Maine Diary Directory at www.rootsweb.com/~meandrhs/mediary.html ; www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc - the National Union Catalog of Manuscrupt Collections; and Cyndi's list at www.cyndislist.com/diaries.htm.

The last session I attended was entitled "Discovering Your Ancestor's Life, Political Affiliations and Their Records", by D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS. Joshua gave a consise history of political parties and movements in the US including where and why they were formed, key locations and platforms. By finding out what political parties were available in the places your ancestors lived, you can start looking for records that may contain information about these ancestors. Joshua suggested two books that detail political parties. The first was the "History of U.S. Political Parties" by Arthur Schlesinger (in 5 volumes) and the second was "National Party Conventions" published by the Congressional Quarterly in 1983. Joshua also explained that local newspapers often had political affiliations, so if you know which party your ancestor belonged to, you would be most likely to find him in the paper of the same affiliation. Some addional records to check are Convention Records (was there a political convention in the place where your ancestor lived?), which can include voting records, souvenir books and memorabilia from the convention. Check State and local Archives and Historical Societies private collections and University/College archives and Special Collections for these records.

That's it for tonight - I'm looking forward to tomorrow!

New England Regional Genealogical Conference - Day One

2011-04-07T19:02:00.004-04:00

Hi Everyone,

Just a short post to recap the first day of the New England Regional Genealogical Conference. This is my second time at the conference and I really recommend it to anyone interested in genealogy.

The opening session featured D. Josh Taylor of the New England Historic Genealogical Association, and recent "Who Do You Think You Are?" fame. He had some fun stories about Sarah Jessica Parker and Ashley Judd. He spoke about the changing face of genealogical research and genealogists. He mentioned the importance of blogs (yay!), twittering (haven't done that yet), and social networking as ways of communicating. Lots of great stuff!

I then attended a session on graphoanalysis (handwriting analysis) taught by Irene Lambert. This was a tantalizing "tip of the iceberg" look at using handwriting analysis to identify personality traits and how to tell if two different pieces of handwriting were written by the same person. I love the idea of figuring out your ancestor's personality by how they write, but I'm sure there's a lot more education needed than a one hour class to do this justice! (But I am looking at old letters in a new light!)

The second lecture I attended was entitled "French Canadian Pathways" by Patty Vigeant Locke. I signed up for the class because I was hoping to learn about records that might contain some of our Ontario Province and Quebecois Pomeroys. I learned a lot about New England railroad lines and how this effected populations. I now have he URLs of some interesting websites I need to check out.

The last lecture of the day was entitled "The Impact of Bounty Land on Migration Within and Out of New England", taught by Craig Roberts Scott. Craig is a fantastic lecturer, and I wrote three pages of notes in the hour. Lots of interesting Bounty Land facts for not only New England, but the Southern states also. Craig also provided a great history lesson on early colonial and later American wars, and what bounty lands were made available for service in these wars.

I checked out the Society Fair afterwards, and met some great society volunteers, including a woman whose neighbor is a Pomeroy! It's a good thing I brought a lot of business cards! Tomoorow I will be attending five sessions and the Exhibit (Vendor) Hall. That burning smell is my credit card!

APHGA Blog Post for April 1, 2011

2011-04-01T11:37:00.004-04:00

The Great A. A. Pomeroy Book Update Project

First off, Bill and I are really excited about attending the upcoming New England Regional Genealogical Consortium’s Conference, which will be in Springfield, MA, Wednesday April 6 – Saturday, April 10, 2011. If you’re planning on attending, please let us know! Even if you can’t do the whole conference, the exhibit hall is open to the public starting Thursday at 6pm. We’ll be peppering the conference with “got pomeroys?” and “got anvils?” stickers. We’ll also have contact information on the query boards, and you can always reach me at roots@cxtec.com or on Facebook.

One of the courses I’m taking that is so timely, is “How Autosomal DNA Testing is Changing Genealogy”, taught by Blaine T. Bettinger, Ph.D. Blaine lives in the Syracuse area, and I’ve had the opportunity to meet with him and pick his brain – it will be great to see him again, especially as Bill’s FamilyFinder (Autosomal) results have come in, and I’m knee deep in organizing all this information.

I have also been corresponding with a gravestone scholar who is working on an article regarding crosses on early New England Puritan gravestones. Two stones in particular were of interest to him – those of Seth Pomeroy and Jonathan Allen at the Bridge Street Cemetery. Interestingly, both Seth and Jonathan are ancestors of Bill Pomeroy. I’ve been providing background information on both of these individuals and have requested copies of the wills and probate files of Seth Pomeroy, Jonathan Allen and Nathaniel Phelps (considered to be the stone carver of these memorials.) As we dig deeper into the families of Northampton, MA, we are finding how inter-related they all were.

Judy has been diligently entering a pile of matched records, and doing additional research to answer questions that arise in the data entry. Some of the lines she’s been tracing are the Ancil Eleazer Pomeroy (Daniel, Eleazer, Daniel, Noah, Samuel, Caleb, Eltweed) family; Fred L. Pomeroy (Horace G., Lyman Horace, Timothy Lyman, Timothy, Timothy, Ebenezer, Eldad, Caleb, Eltweed); the Carl P. Rose (Parker W. Rose, Daniel Pomeroy Rose, Jr., Daniel Pomeroy, Rose, Elizabeth Polan Pomeroy, Daniel, Noah, Joseph, Eltweed) family; the Grace Lisk (Pomeroy) Fearon (William Conover, Christopher F., Rosel) family of New Jersey (currently in our “Unlinked Pomeroy” database); and the John F. Pomeroy (Charles Carlyle, Albert L., Lewic C, Lewis) family of Fulton, Oswego and Hannibal, New York. We lose track of this family with Lewis Pomeroy, born abt 1802 in Canada, who married Louisa (last name unknown) by 1829. The family is found in Syracuse, NY in the 1850 US Federal Census; then moves to Oswego County, living in Lysander and then Granby.

Barb continues to review and transcribe the Church of Christ, Northampton, MA records. Betty is entering those records that match people in our database. Barb is also working on an article about a diary belonging to Cora Patrick who married Harry Dwight Pomeroy (Theodore Clapp, Stephen, Ebenezer, Ebenezer, Eldad, Caleb, Eltweed). Harry was born in Cortland, Cortland County, New York in 1866, moved with his parents to Syracuse by 1880, was educated at Cornell University as a mechanical engineer, married Cora in 1890 and lived in Syracuse and Schroeppel, New York. She is also continuing her review of Pomeroys in Americas Historic Newspapers.

Betty continues to review, match and enter Pomeroy related research, and has of late been concentrating on filling in collateral lines. Nancy has handed over several Pomeroy research projects from APHGA members and Betty is working to identify these families and add the research we’ve done to our Pomeroy databases. One of the real mysteries she’s been working on is Sterling Fagan, aka Sterling Pomeroy, born 2 Aug 1882 in Ohio, Bureau County, Illinois, who married Frances Myrtle Spratt, 1904 in Fergus County, Montana. Sterling was found living with his grandmother, Henrietta S. (Jackson) Pomeroy in the 1910 and 1920 US Federal Census in Chicago, Illinois, with the surname Pomeroy, but his death record, recorded in Illinois identifies his father as Robert H. Fagan and mother Agnes Pomeroy. Were the surnames of his parents switched by mistake, or was his name changed? Agnes Pomeroy’s line is as follows: Sterling, Hiram Sterling, Hiram, John, Noah, Joseph, Eltweed. The name “Sterling” seems to be popular in this line. We’ve also been chasing a Sterling Pomeroy Searle born abt 1807 in Berkshire, Franklin County, Vermont, who married Ellen Dalton in 1842 in Lake Geneva, Wallworth County, Wisconsin. Is anyone else researching these families?

Barb found an interesting article about early Sandwich Islands missionaries Reverend William Richards and his wife Clarissa Lyman. Two of their children, Harriet Keopuolani Richards and Levi Lyman Richards were adopted by Samuel and Emily (Graves) Williston of Easthampton, and educated in Massachusetts. Clarissa Lyman was an Eltweed descendant (daughter of Lucretia Kingsley, daughter of Abigail Pomeroy, Daniel, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed). Also interesting is the fact that Emily (Graves) Williston was also a descendant of Eltweed (daughter of Lydia Pomeroy, Benjamin, Josiah, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed). Emily (Graves) Williston and Clarissa (Lyman) Richards were third cousins.

Christine continues to enter Pomeroys from the George Pomeroy book into a separate database so that we can sort out the earlier Pomeroy research we’ve done. Once completed, she will start entering the matched research on that line. Christine also researched Nathaniel Phelps and early gravestone art in New England, and has been continuing to match currently unmatched Pomeroy research. Christine will also start work on Bill’s many lineage society applications.

Ed continues to research to match previously unmatched census and vital records, and also to add family groups to our Unlinked Pomeroy database. He’s been spending a lot of time in the Southern US, hunting down Pomeroys in Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, West Virginia and Tennessee, and when it gets too muggy down there, he hops up to Michigan and Ohio. One family he’s been tracing is that of Milo A. Pomeroy, b. 1872 in Anoka, Anoka County, Minnesota who married Louise Brown in 1909 in Saint Paul. Milo’s parents were John Tyler and Sarah C. “Sadie” (Hayden) Pomeroy. This family traces its lineage back to Richard Pomeroy of the Isles of Shoals. Ed and Christine worked on the Benair Pomeroy family. Benair, born 1924 in Schenectady, Schenectady County, New York, married Irene Bixby in 1973. He was the son of Andrew William and Fannie G. (Kastrlberg) Pomeroy. Andrew was born 1884 in Schenectady and was the son of Benair J. and Catherine (Komp) Pomeroy. Benair J. was born in 1860 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. He and Catherine had at least 7 children: Henry John “Harry”, born 1881; Philip Edward, born 1882; Andrew William, born 1884; Agnes, born 1886; Edward George, born 1887; William B., born 1891; and Joseph B., born 1893. Benair J. Pomeroy had a sister Annie, born abt 1862 in PA, who married a Mr. Hewitt. Does anyone know this family?

Another family Ed’s been working on is that of Harry C. Pomeroy, born 1866 in Ohio. He married Nora M. Oberlies in 1891 in Hamilton County, Indiana. He was the son of Samuel and Eva (Cadwalter) Pomeroy. Samuel was born abt. 1841 in Ohio and Eva was born abt. 1848, also in Ohio. Harry and his family lived in Anderson, Madison County, Indiana. He and wife Nora had at least five children: Glenn W., born 1892; Sarah E., born 1894; Blanch, born 1897; Gertrude E., born 1905; and Martina Mae, born 1909. We’d love to learn more about this family.

Ed also researched the John Larrabee Pomeroy family. John was born in 1883 in Kentucky, married first Lillian B. Brennan by 1908, and second, Lecile Jones in 1930. John was a physician working and living in Los Angeles, CA, where he was additionally the Public Health Officer for Los Angeles County. He was the son of Danforth Witherby and Mattie Buchanan (Norris) Pomeroy. Danforth was born abt. 1832 in Painseville, Lake County, Ohio, and Mattie was born in 1851 in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri. Danforth was the son of Charles and Phila (Witherby) Pomeroy, of whom we know very little. Phila was born abt. 1805 in Vermont and was found living with her children, Danforth and Philinda P. Pomeroy in Oxford, Butler County, Ohio in the 1850 US Federal Census. Who was Charles Pomeroy, and does he connect to the Eltweed line?

Lee continues her research into the Reverend Lemuel Strong Pomeroy family, with an eye to publishing her research. Lemuel’s parents were Captain Stephen Pomeroy (Ebenezer, Ebenezer, Eldad, Caleb, Eltweed) and Hannah “Polly” Clapp. Stephen was born in Southampton, Massachusetts in 1775 and had moved with his wife to Otisco, Onondaga County, New York, by 1806 where their ten children were born. This fascinating family contained a Reverend, a Physician and a Merchant, whose lives were integral to the communities they lived in. Lee has also been heading up research done by the department at the Onondaga County Public Library, the Onondaga Historical Society, the Onondaga County Clerk’s Office and several research facilities in Cortland, NY.

The Pomeroy Collection

Tammy continues to work on the boxes of genealogical data that belongs to Bill’s mother and the Santmyers/Crawford side of the family.

Nancy has started to re-assess the set-up of the storage space for the collection.

The Mary Ann Coe Project

I completed my review, transcription and analysis of the first two ledgers of the Onondaga County, New York, Poorhouse Ledgers and have sent the information on to the archaeologist working at the Poorhouse site and the Town of Onondaga Historian. I’ll be writing an article (hopefully for publication), regarding my finds, so stay tuned!

I’ve also been getting down to the brass tacks of the Mary Ann Coe book – writing and identifying areas for further research, then doing the research. This is such a valuable experience; and I would suggest it to everyone tracing their family history. We use a genealogy database (RootsMagic) to organize our research and are very conscientious about recording and citing our sources, but I’ve found that you don’t get “the big picture” by just looking at your genealogy database. It’s not until you start writing that you start asking questions and seeing patterns. Even if you’re not planning on publishing, I highly recommend writing out your family history, even in outline. You’ll be amazed at the places it can take you!

Pat continues her research of Carlos C. Coe, an early balloonist and relative of Mary Ann Coe, with an eye to publish an article about this fascinating man. She has also been following some great deductive reasoning in order to identify the parents of Matilda Brown, the wife of Francis W. Pomeroy, son of Spencer Pomeroy and Mary Ann Coe. We’ve been stumped about this one for years, as she has such a common name. She is also chasing the Pixley family that was in Pompey, NY who settled early in Huron County, OH. She continues to add names into our Early Pompey Residents database to see if we can figure out who else from Pompey and Manlius settled in Norwalk and Huron County, Ohio, as did Mary Ann.

Shem Loomis Family in Onondaga County Poorhouse 1836

2011-02-15T16:25:00.004-05:00

As many of you may already know, I've been transcribing the first two Onondaga County, NY Poorhouse Ledgers. I'm on the second ledger, and towards the end of the book, and I believe I've found another family who were Pomeroy descendants.

On Jan 27, 1836, Shem, Hannah, George, Rachel, Frederick and Henry Loomis checked into the Poorhouse from the town of Clay. Their expenses were also charged to the town of Clay. Shem, Hannah, George, Rachel and Frederick Loomis were discharged May 9, 1836, Henry having died on May 6, 1836. The family received clothing and fabric, with the exception of Henry, whose only charges were that of his funeral expense at $1.50. No ages are given for this family in the Poorhouse Ledger, but it would appear from Henry's funeral expense that he was probably at least a teenager (the funeral expenses of younger people average between 50 cents and $1.00, while adults average between $1.50 and $2.00).

A check of the book Descendants of Joseph Loomis In America, by Elisha S. Loomis (self published, 1909), identifies the following children of Shem and Hannah (Losey or Loise) Loomis (Shem born 19 Jun 1788, Hannah born unknown):
Hannah, b. 27 Jun 1812
Melinda, b. 1813
Elvira, b. 1 May 1814
George, b. 1815
Rachel, b. 1817
Frederick, b. 4 Jan 1819

US Federal Census records for 1850 show Shem Loomis, b. abt 1788 in MA and Hannah Loomis, b. abt 1792 in CT, living in Hector, Tompkins Co., NY. The 1860 US Federal Census shows Shem and Hannah living in the Frederick P. Loomis household in Hector, Tompkins Co., NY. Shem is listed as 71 yrs of age and Hannah 66 yrs of age. Frederick Loomis is listed as 31 yrs of age, giving him an approximate birth year of 1829. The 1870 US Federal Census lists a Shem and Hannah living in Enfield, Tompkins Co., NY. Shem is 79 and Hannah 76. I believe this is the same family as identified in the Descendants of Joseph Loomis in America, and also in the History and Genealogy of the Pomeroy Family by Albert A. Pomeroy (#584, page 186), but the ages are off a little for Frederick. Mecklenburg, NY where Shem died according to the books previously mentioned, is just over 5 miles west of Enfield, NY.

This Shem Loomis was the son of Shem Loomis and Rhoda Winter, and the grandson of Amos Loomis and Hannah Pomeroy (Eldad, Caleb, Eltweed).

Is anyone else researching this family? I'd love to find out how long they were in Clay, and why they were in the Poorhouse. Was it because Henry was ill?

APHGA Blog Post for February 5, 2011

2011-02-04T15:30:00.004-05:00

The following is an update of the last several months of work done by our researchers. Grab a cup of coffee (or perhaps something stronger!), settle in and enjoy!

The Great A. A. Pomeroy Book Update Project

Judy has been diligently processing large amounts of data-entry, including WWII draft registration cards, US Federal, State and Canadian Census records, West Virginia Vital Records, Ohio Deaths, Oregon Deaths, Texas Births, North Carolina Deaths, Minnesota Marriages, South Carolina Cemetery Inscriptions, Arkansas Death, Alabama Deaths, Kentucky Deaths, and the list goes on and on and on and on! She has also been doing collateral line research including that of the daughter of Lovina Mann Pomeroy, Maude Pomeroy Wade, based on names found in obituaries on the Northern New York Newspaper online database. Judy has been filling in the descendants of Daniel Pomeroy Rose, born 6 Aug 1784 in Coventry, Tolland Co., CT who married Johannah Webster 20 Dec 1808 in Bolton, Chittenden Co., VT. The couple had at least 6 children that we know of, Daniel Pomeroy Rose, Jr., Parker Webster Rose, Jehiel Rose, Barbary Rose, Elizabeth Rose (died young), and Elizabeth Fanny Rose, likely named after her sister.

Judy ordered the death record for a George Pomeroy who died about 26 Mar 1918 of drowning in the Maumee River in Ohio. She was hoping there’d be some information on the record to connect this George with parents Henry Burt Pomeroy and Mary Wiley, but no parents were listed on the record. George was born abt 1849 in OH, and is associated as the son of Henry Burt Pomeroy (Medad, Timothy, Ebenezer, Eldad, Caleb, Eltweed) and Mary Wiley, but according to A.A. Pomeroy, the couple married 23 Jul 1856, about 7 years after George was born. Mary had been married previously to a Mr. Watkins. Could George be the son of Mr. Watkins who was adopted by Henry Burt Pomeroy?

Judy also found 7 Pomeroys who were graduates of Amherst College and entered information from their obituaries. It’s amazing what you’ll find on the web.

Ed has been entering records that Lee has transcribed and matched relating to Canadian Pomeroys, including a large family in Stanstead County, Providence of Quebec. Ed also researched and entered a large Pomeroy family found in Newfoundland. Ed researched the sad tale of one Archie Pomeroy. According to the book Pioneer Ways to Modern Days, by Ved Parkash Arora, “Archie, a nephew of Art Lobb, was an amateur boxer living in this district on the N.E. 28-50-10. He went to Nipawin for an airplane ride and was killed when the plane crashed in 1937.” Does anyone know who this unfortunate Pomeroy was?

Ed has also been filling in a large family descended from William Pomeroy, born abt 1785 in North Carolina. William married Sarah (last name unknown) about 1799 in Mason, Bibb County, Georgia and the couple had at least 12 children that we know of: Nancy, Abraham, Willis, Thomas, Millie, Elizabeth, James, Mary, William Henry, John, Temperance C., and Catharine Pomeroy. Parts of this family moved from Tennessee to Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas.

Ed has traced one branch of the Richard Pomeroy (Isles of Shoals) family all the way to Washington State! I guess the Eltweeders don’t have the market cornered on westward expansion after all. One Joseph Y. Pomeroy (middle name possibly Young), born 14 Sep 1805 in St. Stephen’s Parish, Charlotte Co., Province of New Brunswick, was found living in Thurston Co., WA with his wife and married daughter Sarah. Sarah was married to Levi W. Morrison, also of New Brunswick. Another daughter, Lucy, settled with her husband, James Kennedy, in Calais, Washington Co., ME (just over the border from Charlotte Co., NB). I think a road trip is in order! Wouldn’t you love to trace their route (by car)?

Ed, Betty and Christine have been reviewing and researching previously unmatched records with great success. The whole group has also been collecting Pomeroy records off the expanded FamilySearch pilot site.

Betty has been entering FamilySearch records into the Eltweed database, and has been matching and entering records from Barb’s Church of Christ database. She has also been entering census records that she and Ed have been able to match this last time around. Betty has also been matching Pomeroys in the Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Marriage Records to 1870.

Betty also found some interesting discrepancies in records found relating to the Sterling Pomeroy family (Hiram Sterling, Hiram, John, Noah, Joseph, Eltweed). A WWI draft record was found for a Sterling Pomeroy, which led to the finding of a birth record listing a mother named Agnes. The odd thing is that this Sterling’s name is Pomeroy. Did his mother marry, then divorce and take back her maiden name, which was also adopted by her son? Nancy has been talking with a Searle researcher who has a Sterling Pomeroy Searle ancestor which we have not been able to connect with a Pomeroy family. She also has a Reverend Roger Searle who married a Sarah Pomeroy (Adino, Josiah, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed), whose son Lucien T. Searle settled in the same area that Sterling Pomeroy is found in (Ohio County, IL). Will the mysteries never end?

Christine has taken the reigns of the George Pomeroy project – continuing to enter the book for this family in a separate database so that we can sort out these unmatched families. Christine has also been working on matching previously unmatched census records, WWI Enlistment records and WWII draft records. Christine has also been matching new records found on the FamilySearch site. Christine has also taken over organizing our filing.

Lee has been heading up our publication project and has found some fascinating Pomeroy diaries locally. She continues to research Canadian Pomeroys while also organizing local New York State Pomeroy research. If you’re looking for vital records for Pomeroys in New York from 1881 forward, let us know, as Lee has transcribed all the Pomeroys in the New York State Vital Records Index. Lee has been organizing field trips to the Onondaga County Public Library to transcribe Pomeroys found in New York State Census records available on microfilm.

Barb has been spending most of her time transcribing the journals of the First Church of Christ, Northampton, which have been microfilmed and can be ordered through your local Family History Library. These records are extensive, starting in the 1750s. Barb has, to date, transcribed over 7,430 records between 1750 and 1820. She has transcribed about two-thirds of the records she copied from the microfilm.

Barb and Nancy are committee members of the Central New York Genealogical Society’s 50th Anniversary “Good as Gold” Conference, which will be held in Syracuse, NY October 14th and 15th, 2011. The APHGA will have a table in the Vendor Hall and we would love to meet any Pomeroy researchers and fans of this blog! The CNYGS will have information about the conference posted on their website at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nycnygs/index.htm shortly.

The Pomeroy Collection

Tammy continues her work inventorying, preserving, digitizing and applying metadata to the digitized images of the collection. She is currently working on several boxes of memorabilia related to Bill’s mother’s side of the family. She has completely inventoried, preserved, digitized and applied metadata to 7 shelves of the collection.

The Pomeroy Anvil Trail

We’ve been fortunate to have the assistance of a historian who has been working on our behalf to get permission from the city of Auburn, New York, to install a Pomeroy Anvil Monument dedicated to Theodore Medad Pomeroy. Theodore was a lawyer, banker, mayor, and member of the House of Representatives. He joined the Republican Party prior to 1858 and was a dedicated abolitionist and friend of Harriet Tubman. We’ll keep you posted on our progress.

The Mary Ann Coe Project

Nancy has been transcribing the first two Onondaga County, New York, Poorhouse ledgers. These ledgers follow the time period of 1827 through 1836. It was during this time that Spencer Pomeroy resided at the Poorhouse, checking in usually in January and being discharged in the following spring. Spencer died in the Poorhouse 2 May 1833. Also in the Poorhouse, at the time, were his sister Clarissa (Pomeroy) Wood and her daughter Charlotte Sophia Wood. During recent construction at the old Poorhouse site, the remains of 2 dozen bodies were discovered. A team of archaeologists from SUNY Binghamton have been working diligently during one of the worst winters on record in Syracuse and have uncovered a large number of artifacts and additional human remains.

Nancy has offered to provide the archaeologists with information regarding deaths at the Poorhouse for the early part of the 19th century. We are quite excited about this project, as it is helping us to learn more about the Poorhouse and Spencer’s life there. There is also a possibility that Spencer is one of the bodies that were found. It is Nancy’s hope that we can help the archaeologists discover the identity of the remains found, not only for the descendants of Spencer, but for the descendants of all the people whose remains were recently found.

Nancy has already found living descendants of a woman who also died in the Poorhouse in 1833. Her name was Thankful Denny, she was 82 and from Manlius, NY. It’s wonderful to find other researchers who care as much about their heritage as our Pomeroy researchers!

Alethea and Barb did some additional Poorhouse research at the Onondaga Historical Society and the Onondaga County Court House. A Superintendants’ report for 1833 was found at the OHA which listed Spencer Pomeroy, Clarissa and Charlotte Wood. This report helped Nancy to identify the nature of a certificate fee being charged to each pauper’s account.

Pat has been concentrating on early residents of Pompey, Manlius, and other townships in Onondaga County, New York. Our reasoning is that some of these people end up in Norwalk and other towns in Huron County, Ohio. Could a connection with one of these people lead us to Mary Ann? Why did Mary Ann choose to settle in Norwalk? We suspect that she may have lived for a while with one of her uncles, either Reverend Alvin Coe or Ensign Luther Coe, both living in Huron County at the time. But did she also have friends from Pompey and Manlius who were in Norwalk and provided further impetus for her to move there? An article in a recent La Fayette Historical Society newsletter regarding a Jackson family that moved from La Fayette to Huron County, OH provided some additional clues and connections to the Pomeroy/Coe families. Charles Jackson, who settled in Norwalk, had a sister, Mercy (Jackson) Brown, who was the mother-in-law of Anna (Pomeroy) Brown, the daughter of Reverend Francis Pomeroy, cousin of Spencer Pomeroy.

Pat’s research also led her to be able to identify Victory Birdseye, Spencer Pomeroy’s insolvency lawyer, as a fourth cousin of Spencer’s wife, Mary Ann Coe. In fact, Victory Birdseye’s uncle, John Birdseye, married Phebe Coe, daughter of James Coe and Huldah Wilcoxson. Mary Ann and Phebe Coe were second cousins once removed. This just supports my theory that you should be nice to everyone, because you’re probably related to them!

APHGA Blog Post for December 23, 2010

2010-12-23T11:17:00.002-05:00

The Great A. A. Pomeroy Book Update Project

Below are a number of newspaper articles we found a while back, that I thought would be fun to read. We haven’t identified the “Zerad Pomeroy” of whom the articles speak, but perhaps our readers will recognize him.

From the Logansport Journal, Logansport, IN, 6 Nov 1902, Page 2:

“OLD ZARED POMEROY LIKES MARRIED LIFE”
Is now on his twelfth wedding trip – latest spouse is the granddaughter of his first wife’s sister.

PROVIDENCE, R.I., Nov. 6. – Zerad Pomeroy, hale and hearty at 89, is here on his twelfth honeymoon. He was had eleven brides before. The present one is twenty-two, winsome and pretty, and her elderly husband is mighty proud of her red cheeks and glossy hair.
His brides literally range from Maine to California. His last wife is a relative of his first. One of his wives came from Providence, and this is his second honeymoon here. He hails from Middlefield, Conn., now.
“She’s an angel,” said the old man of his newest wife before he sat down today to tell of the other eleven.
Zerad Pomeroy was less than twenty when he first ventured into matrimony. The bride’s name was Miss Nellie White. They were exceedingly happy but she died young. They then lived in Maine. In Kensington, Conn., the young widower lost his heart again. Mrs. Pomeroy No. 2 was Miss Agnes Platt. Pomeroy got the gold fever and took his wife with him, but she never reached the Golden Gate. She was buried at sea. On the ship was Miss Welcome Tait. She consoled the disconsolate husband so tenderly that he asked her to be Mrs. Pomeroy No. 3. She accepted promptly.
The newly wedded couple finally started for Japan, not striking gold. The wife died at sea from fever. Pomeroy returned to the Pacific coast disconsolate for the third time only to meet Miss Minerva Greene. The honeymoon with Miss Pomeroy No. 4 was hardly ended when the wife fell ill and died. Lonely and miserable, Pomeroy came to New York. There he met the woman destined to be his fifth bride, Miss Dollie Perkins, a concert hall singer. Two days after the wedding she disappeared with a goodly share of his money, and he got a divorce.
Miss Martha Anschutz was the sixth wife, but she died three months after the wedding. For two years Pomeroy lived alone. But then at his boarding-house Miss Mary Olney sang her way into Pomeroy’s heart, and at length she became his seventh bride. They set up housekeeping, but one night the wife took poison by mistake for medicine and died.
Bride No. 8 was Miss Nettie Halpin. She announced that she was tired of young men and chose the now middle-aged multi-widower. But another had her heart, after all, and for the second time the husband got a divorce.
Next time the lonesome Pomeroy tried a widow. Mrs. Mary Davis became Mrs. Pomeroy No. 9. She was taken ill before her wedding day, and never left her bed once she took it. The tenth bride was Miss Minnie Goode, a Sunday-school teacher here. She soon died from heart disease. Mrs. Mary Wilcox, a widow, met Pomeroy at Middlefield, and he married her. Of all his wives she was the only one older than himself. Mrs. Pomeroy No. 11 died last spring, aged ninety.
At the funeral the weeping widower met Miss Nellie Wilcox, no relative of her immediate predecessor, but the grand-daughter of the sister of Mrs. Pomeroy No. 1. The courtship was short and they were married. Mrs. Pomeroy and her aged husband joined the church and don’t care what folks say about the disparity in their ages.
“I fell in love with her at first sight” said old Pomeroy, concluding his narrative. “She’s accomplished in everything except speaking in meeting.”
Mrs. Pomeroy isn’t a bit superstitious and looks forward to a long life and a happy one.

From The Lowell Sun, Lowell, MA, 27 Oct 1902, pg 2:

TWELFTH WIFE
Zerad Pomeroy Makes Another Venture
Present Wife Related to First One
Zerad Says Marriage is Not Failure

By Associated Press to The Sun.
PROVIDENCE, Oct. 26 – Zerad Pomeroy, a Connecticut bridegroom of 89, was in this city yesterday on a honeymoon trip with his 12th wife, who is only 22 years old and as pretty as a picture.
Providence is not a strange place to the aged but energetic husband. He was married here once some years ago, and his Rhode Island bride died from heart failure. She had been a sufferer from the affliction for a long time before he met her at a Sunday school meeting. Her name was Miss Minnie Goode and she belonged to a good family.
The new bride was Miss Nettie Wilcox, and she is related to the first of the dozen wives that Zerad Pomeroy has to his credit. She says she is the granddaughter of her husband’s first wife’s sister. Mr. Pomeroy says his latest wife is an angel, and that he has had sufficient experience to know just what he is talking about.
Mr. Pomeroy, who is a descendant of the family of that name which settled in the wilds of Maine over 200 years ago, is as rugged at the present time as the average man of 40 years. He has been in almost all parts of the world, and his list of marriages covers the entire breadth of the country. One of his wives he found in California.
Mrs. Pomeroy does not think that marriage is a failure, and he says that men should marry young. The first bride of the remarkable bridegroom was the playmate of his youth and he was less than 20 years old when they agreed to become man and wife. Her name was Nellie White. She was a perfect wife, but she died young.

From The Sun, Fort Covington, NY, 22 Jan 1903:

Twelve Times Married.
Zerad Pomeroy, of Middlefield, Conn., has just, at the age of eighty-nine, married his twelfth wife. He began his matrimonial career in 1833, when he was twenty years old. In the early part of his career he not only married frequently, but rapidly. He had only been a husband a year when No. 1 died, and in a few months he married again, and when that wife died at sea his eye was speedily attracted to another, and a third marriage soon followed. In New York, where he settled for a time, he had six spouses, four of whom died, one disappeared, and one he divorced. His last wife is the grand-daughter of Mr. Pomeroy’s first wife. – New York Commercial Advertiser.

From The Rome Citizen, Rome, NY, 4 Nov 1902

Zerad Pomeroy is a Rhode Islander who does not allow any superstitious fancies to interfere with his domestic felicity. He has buried a dozen wives and has just married his thirteenth, which he claims to be the best of the lot.

From Tuapeka Times, Lawrence, New Zealand, 21 Jan 1903, p 2:

A YANKEE named Zerad Pomeroy, aged 89, has just married his twelfth wife, aged 22. The bride was a grand-daughter of the sister of the bridegroom’s first wife. Nine wives died, and two were divorced, one after disappearing with all his cash two days after the wedding.

From The San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, CA, 29 Sep 1902, p 3, col. 3:

MARRIES HIS TWELFTH WIFE AT 89.

Connecticut Man Selects a Twenty-two-Year-Old Girl to Round Out the Dozen.

MERIDEN (Conn.). September 28. – Zerad Pomeroy of Middlefield has taken another wife. He is 89 and she is 22, and this is Pomeroy’s twelfth matrimonial venture. The new Mrs. Pomeroy is the granddaughter of her husband’s first wife’s sister.
Pomeroy in 1838, when twenty years old, married Nellie White of Hartford. A year later she died, and Pomeroy wedded a Kensington young woman named Platt. When the gold fever of 1849 sent many men to California Pomeroy and his wife were among twenty Meriden people who chartered a boat out of New Haven and sailed around the Horn to the Pacific Coast. During the voyage Mrs. Pomeroy died and was buried at sea. A young woman aboard the vessel attracted Pomeroy’s attention, and another marriage soon followed. From California Pomeroy went to Japan, and there his third wife died.
Returning to this country, he again married and came East. He settled in New York city, where six wives fell to his lot. Four died, one disappeared and one he divorced. Returning to this State he married again and that wife died last spring.

So, as we can see, the news is not always accurate, the fourth or fifth time around!

We’ve done some research but have reached nothing but dead ends. Does anyone know this Pomeroy?

Happy Holidays everyone, from our Pomeroy research desks to yours.

APHGA Blog Post for November 5, 2010

2010-11-12T16:08:00.001-05:00

The Great A. A. Pomeroy Book Update Project

Lots of interesting Pomeroy mysteries these past two weeks: I’ve been reviewing unmatched Federal Census records for Connecticut and Massachusetts and posted three mysteries in the last post. This week I’ll describe a few of the dangling Pomeroys found in Massachusetts who are not connecting to the Eltweed line.

I found a Clarissa Pomeroy living in the Benjamin F. Lyman household in Westfield, MA from 1850 and 1860, then in the Frank Lyman household in Westfield in 1870 and a Louise Pomery in the Herbert Lyman household in Westfield in 1880. Louise was identified as the mother of Herbert who was 33, Louise was 88. Herbert was living in the Benjamin Lyman household in the 1850 and 1860 census and I guessed that he was the son of Benjamin and Mary L. Lyman, which made me wonder whether Mary was a Pomeroy. I found a marriage announcement in the Springfield Republican paper dated 9 Jan 1845: "At Westfield, on the 7th, by the Rev. E. Davis, Mr. Benj. F. Lyman and Miss Mary L. Pomeroy."
Mary was born abt 1819, Benjamin Frank Lyman (identified as Frank in 1870 Census) was born about 1819, Clarissa born about 1791, all in MA.

According to Mary L. Lyman's death certificate transcription on FamilySearch.org, Mary's parents were Horace and Clarissa Pomeroy. She was born about 1818 in Southwick, MA and died 6 Nov 1872 in Westfield. There was a Horace Pomeroy family living in Westfield according to the 1820 US Federal Census. The family consisted of 2 free white males under 10, 1 free white male of 26 and under 45, 1 free white female under 10, 1 free white female of 26 and under 45 and one free black male under 14.

A notice was placed in the Hampden Federalist Newspaper on Dec 26, 1820, identifying Clarissa Pomeroy as the lawful administrator of the estate of Horace Pomeroy, late of Westfield, and in December of 1821 his property in Westfield was sold by Clarissa.

I found Clarissa living in the Daniel Hough household in Westfield according to the 1855 Massachusetts State Census. Also in the household is a Lucy Pomeroy, 19, b. MA. I also found a transcription of a death certificate for a Clarissa Hayes Pomeroy, born 1792 in Southwick (note that Mary L. Pomeroy was also born in Southwick), who died 27 Oct 1882 in Westfield, MA. Her marital status was widowed. I believe she was the mother of Mary L. Pomeroy. Her father's name was identified as Moses.

In researching the Daniel Hough household I found (on FamilySearch.org) a transcription of a marriage record for Daniel Hough and Catherine Hayes on 30 Mar 1843 in Westfield, MA. I also found a transcription of a death record for Catherine Hayes Hough, born 1814 in Southwick, MA, who died 23 Oct 1882 in Westfield, MA. I believe that Catherine was a sister (or daughter?) of Clarissa, which would explain why Clarissa was living in the Daniel Hough household in 1855. Isn’t it odd that Clarissa and Catherine died within four days of each other?

Who is Horace Pomeroy? I have only been able to find him listed in the 1820 US Federal Census. He is not found in the A.A. Pomeroy book, but it seems possible, based on his location, that he is descended from Eltweed. Is anyone researching this family?

I also come across a Henry F. Pomeroy, born about 1807, identified in a newspaper article as "of Savoy" Berkshire Co., MA. He married Mary Ann Pratt and the couple also lived in Windsor, Berkshire Co., MA (enumerated next to Mary Ann's father Josiah in the 1840 US Federal Census), then in Chicopee, Hampden Co., MA and Agawam, Hampden Co. MA. The couple had at least one child, Benjamin F. Pomeroy, b. abt 1829 in Windsor, MA who married Philinda H. Lernard in Chicopee in 1851. Based on where Henry is living, I think he is likely a son of Aaron Pomeroy Jr., (Aaron, Samuel French, Samuel, Caleb, Eltweed) but I haven't been able to prove this yet. Is anyone else researching this family?

Mary Ann is doing research in Boise, ID, at their state historical society. If you need help with Idaho Pomeroys, contact me or leave a message on the APHGA MyFamily.com site so that Mary Ann can respond.

The Pomeroy Collection

Tammy continues her work inventorying, digitizing and applying metadata to the digitized images of the collection. She is currently working on several boxes of memorabilia related to Bill’s mother’s side of the family.

We received an e-mail from a scholar who had written an article about Seth Pomeroy that will be published in the journal Early American Review in December. He will be mentioning the APHGA and the Pomeroy Anvil Trail in the article. We are thrilled! He also asked if we have an image of Seth Pomeroy. We have in the collection an interesting commemorative coin or medal with an image of Seth, Joseph Hawley and Caleb Strong. The coin commemorates the American Revolution Bicentennial in Northampton, MA. We have no idea where the image for Seth came from, but would love to find out. Seth has a wide face, a square jaw line and long, straight hair. I’ll post an image of the coin on the APHGA MyFamily.com site. If you’re a Pomeroy researcher and aren’t a member of the APHGA, please e-mail me at roots@cxtec.com for an invitation to the site.

The Pomeroy Anvil Trail

I’ve started to add images of the Pomeroy Anvil Trail Monuments to my Facebook page – if you are a member of the APHGA and have a Facebook account, send me a request to be friends! It’s time to start looking at new sites for monuments, if anyone has any ideas, please let me know!

The Mary Ann Coe Project

Pat’s been busy entering information on early Pompey residents into our Early Pompey database. We’re looking to see which residents of the Pompey area also moved to Huron County, Ohio as Mary Ann did. We’ve already found several and it’s making a very interesting study of migration patterns.

The Mary Ann Coe song is percolating in my brain, perhaps it will brew into something this weekend. The image of Mary Ann with silk parasol and fan running barefoot away from Pompey keeps going through my mind. But what rhymes with Junkins?

We’ve added 1276 people, 488 sources and 7132 citations to our genealogy databases since I last posted our figures!

APHGA Blog Post for October 29, 2010

2010-10-29T17:15:00.002-04:00

Great A.A. Pomeroy Book Update Project

This is a quick and very overdue posting. We’ve been busy trying to match previously unmatched census and vital records and have come across a few interesting ‘dangling’ Pomeroys. Your help would be greatly appreciated in figuring out who these people are!

First off, we have a Charles Pomeroy, born abt 1813 in CT, living in Suffield, Hartford County, Connecticut according to the 1850 US Federal Census. He is identified as a cigar manufacturer. Also in the household are: Marietta Pomeroy, 32, female, b. CT (presumably his wife); Margart Pomeroy, 5, female, b. CT (presumably a daughter) and Emily Philen, 45, female, b. CT. Research has uncovered a marriage record in the Barbour Collection between Charles Pomeroy and Marietta Warner on May 6, 1840, by N.A. Reed. Charles and family are still in Suffield according to the 1860 US Federal Census, he is 47, born CT, and identified as a cigar manufacturer. Also in the household are: Mariette Pomeroy, 42, female, born CT; Mary Jane Pomeroy, 14, female, born CT, attending school; Gertrude L. Pomeroy, 8, female, born CT, attending school; and Charles L. Pomeroy, 6, male, born CT, attending school.

It would appear that Charles died or has left the family by the 1870 US Federal Census. “Margaret” Pomeroy, 52, female, born CT, is found in Suffield, Hartford Co., CT with Charles L Pomeroy, 16, male, cigar maker, born CT and Gertrude L. Pomeroy, 18, female, born CT.

What makes this family particularly interesting is their placement on the 1850 census page – the family is literally surrounded by other Pomeroy families. Directly below Charles’ family is the family of James A. Pomeroy, 45, male, farmer, born CT, who is living with Julia Davis, 16, female, born CT. Two families down is Jonathan R. Pomeroy, 47, male, farmer, born CT with family Jerusha, 50, female, born CT, Philo P. Pomeroy, 15, male, farmer, born CT, Esther Pomeroy, 13, female, born CT, Betsey Pomeroy, 12, female, born MA, Sybil E. Pomeroy, 10, female, born MA, and a female, last name Pomeroy, whose name I cannot read, 7, female, born MA. Two families down from Jonathan R. Pomeroy is Wm S. Pomeroy, 33, male, cigar manufacturer, born CT with Caroline S. Pomeroy, 32, female, born CT, James Pomeroy, 6, male, born CT, David H. Pomeroy, 4, male, born CT, Mary Spear, 60, female, born CT, Hannah Bowen, 16, female, born Ireland and John Hathaway, 12, male, born MA.

We know that William S. Pomeroy is William Spear Pomeroy (William, Isaac, Joseph, Joseph, Medad, Eltweed) and that Jonathan R. Pomeroy is Jonathan Remington Pomeroy (Epaphras, Eliakim, Noah, Joseph, Medad, Eltweed), but we don’t know who Charles or James A. Pomeroy are. My hunch is that Charles may be a brother of William Spear Pomeroy, as they are both cigar manufacturers, but so far I have been unable to prove this. It is also possible that James A. Pomeroy is a brother of William Spear Pomeroy. It seems unlikely that he is a brother of Jonathan Remington Pomeroy, as this family has been well documented. According to A.A. Pomeroy, William Spear Pomeroy was the only child of William Pomeroy and a wife whose maiden name was Spear. We don’t know when this couple married, or how long the wife lived, but William lived to be 73 years old, so it is likely that he had more than one child.

I’ve e-mailed the Suffield (CT) Historical Society. They have a collection of cigar manufacturing memorabilia, perhaps there’s a clue in the collection!

And, not to be outdone by the above Charles Pomeroy of CT, we have found another Charles Pomeroy, this being Charles W. Pomeroy, born Aug 1831 in MA, who married Eunice R. Judson in Danbury, CT on November 2, 1853. The couple lived in New York City (19th Ward) according to the 1860 and 1870 US Federal Census, and then lived in Danbury, CT where Charles worked as a hat maker in a hat factory according to the 1880 and 1900 US Federal Census. Charles died in 1907 in Danbury, CT.

Charles had at least 7 children that we have been able to identify: Frank I or J. Pomeroy, born Aug 1854, in CT, George Pomeroy, born about 1857 in NY, Flora Pomeroy, born abt Dec 1859 in NY, Charles K. Pomeroy, born about Aug 1861 in NY, Nellie M. Pomeroy, born abt Oct 1864 in NY, Clara A “Carrie” Pomeroy, born about 1867 in NY and Lester J. Pomeroy, born about Sept. 1868 in NY.

According to A.A. Pomeroy, a Charles Warren Pomeroy and Lester Judson Pomeroy were sons of Moses and Irene (Dickenson) Pomeroy (Simeon, Simeon, Samuel, Caleb, Eltweed). The Charles W. Pomeroy found in NY and CT above could not be the son of Moses, as Moses died on December 10, 1812 in Irondequoit, Monroe Co., NY. The similarity in the names, though, makes me think that perhaps the information in The History and Genealogy of the Pomeroy Family may be incorrect. There is scant information on the family of Moses and Irene (Dickinson) Pomeroy in the book, and there are no birthdates associated with any of the children. I am wondering whether Charles Warren Pomeroy is really the son of Simeon Pomeroy, son of Moses and Irene. Simeon is found in the 19th ward of NYC in the 1850, 1860 and 1870 US Federal Census records, putting him in close proximity with Charles W. Pomeroy. Is Charles Warren Pomeroy the son of Simeon Pomeroy, and Lester Judson Pomeroy the son of Charles?

And because all good things come in threes, I will now introduce you to Charley Pomeroy, born about July 1869 in Florida according to the 1900 US Federal Census. Charlie was living in Bellair, Hillsborough County when the census was taken on June 27, 1900, with wife Anna, born Oct 1863, in AL, Son Charles F., born Aug 1892 in FL, daughter Mary E, born June 1894 in FL, son William, born Aug 1894 in FL, daughter Nellie M, born June 1898 in FL stepdaughter Ella Arnett, born Oct 1881 in FL and stepson Benjamin G. Arnett, born Jan 1900 in FL (whom I believe to be a Pomeroy, not an Arnett). Charlie was working as a laborer. I can trace this family in the 1910 and 1920 US Federal Census, still living in Hillsborough County, but I had the darnedest time finding Charlie in the 1880 US Federal Census. I found a marriage record for C.H. Pomroy and Annie Arnett, dated March 16, 1892 in Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL in the Florida Marriages 1837-1974 database on familysearch.org which led me to an 1885 Florida State Census identifying C.H. Pomeroy, age 15, born in FL, both parents born GA, living in Sumter, FL living in the M.L. Dess household and identified as a son. M.L. Dess was identified as 63, born in GA, and a farmer. The wife of M.L. Dess is listed as K.C. Dess, she is 35 and born in GA. A son Frank C. Dess, 17, born FL is a farmer, and C.H. Pomeroy, 15, born FL is also a farmer. a son, A.J. Dess, 8, was also born in FL. It would appear that the marriage of M.L. and K.C. Dess is the second for both of them, based on the ages of Frank C. Dess and C.H. Pomeroy. I am assuming that C.H. Pomeroy was the son of K.C. Dess, from a previous marriage.

I found Moses Dees, 48, born GA in the 1880 US Federal Census. He was a farmer. In the household are Christian Dees, his wife, 29, born TN; Arrena Dees, 20, daughter, born FL, Lisetteann? Dees, 16, daughter, born FL; Hilliard F. Dees, 12, born FL; Charles H. Dees, 10, born FL, and Aaron J. Dees, 3, born FL. I found a marriage record for a Moses W. Deas to a Keziah C. Hunter on August 12, 1872 in Duval, FL on the Florida Marriages, 1837-1974 database on familysearch.org, but this confuses me further, as I was expecting to see Moses marry a Pomeroy! To make matters worse, I found a Moses Dias in the 1870 US Federal Census in FL with a wife named Keziah. Who is this Charlie Pomeroy?

Last but not least, I’ve told a few people in the APHGA that I recently wrote a song about one of my favorite Pomeroys, Brainard Munn. I’ll try to get it recorded soon and post it on YouTube, but until then, here are the lyrics

The Ballad of Brainard Munn, words and music by Nancy Maliwesky © 2010

Brainard never seemed to make friends easy
Might have been the hard life that he led
Born in Paradise in 1838
The son of missionaries out to save the world

The sickness shook his family, took one brother and his mom
Left his father alone with two young boys
When dad was strong enough, he took them back
To his late wife’s home in Skaneateles

When his dad remarried in 1843
They settled down in Clyde, New York
But the family lost two children and the father in six years
Barely 12, an orphan once again

Brainard joined the Cavalry in 1861,
Out of Washington, DC, where he had moved
Signed up for three months, then travelled around
‘til he found himself back home in Skaneateles.

Smart as a whip, with a heart so hardened
By loss and by doubt and by shame
His Great Aunt Lovisa left him money in her will
But she never referred to him by name.
He was the Hermit Poet of Skaneateles.

Brainard fell in with a Utopian crowd
But was really more enamored of the maid
When she didn’t feel the same, he retreated to the woods
Became part of the folklore of the town

His pen poured out his anger at his unrequited love
As Charles Marsh he wrote a novel thinly veiled
“Love on the Wing” was all the thing
An early “Peyton Place” in Skaneateles

He wrote “When she died and goes to rest
Be it in the mansions of the blessed
Be it in heaven, be it in hell
Be it on earth, where mortals dwell
Oh Heavenly Father, hear my prayer
And send me anywhere but there”

Smart as a whip, with a heart so hardened
By loss and by doubt and by shame
His Great Aunt Lovisa left him money in her will
But she never referred to him by name.
He was the Hermit Poet of Skaneateles.

Brainard moved to Syracuse, lived on Lowell Avenue
A carpenter who couldn’t keep a job
Arrested as a vagrant in 1899
Spent 60 days in jail when he couldn’t raise the bail

15 years in the Poorhouse ‘till he disappeared that day
A search ensued but no-one could find him
His hat and cane discovered by the banks of the reservoir
Where his body was recovered soon after

Now Brainard he had people in Elbridge and Marcellus
And a family plot in Lakeview Cemetery
The papers ran the story, but no-one claimed his body
So they sent it to the School of Medicine

He wrote “When she died and goes to rest
Be it in the mansions of the blessed
Be it in heaven, be it in hell
Be it on earth, where mortals dwell
Oh Heavenly Father, hear my prayer
And send me anywhere but there”

Smart as a whip, with a heart so hardened
By loss and by doubt and by shame
His Great Aunt Lovisa left him money in her will
But she never referred to him by name.
He was the Hermit Poet of Skaneateles.

APHGA Report, September 9, 2010

2010-09-09T13:42:00.002-04:00

The Great A. A. Pomeroy Book Update Project

We’ve had a number of new members over the past three weeks, and lots of new discoveries as Nancy, Betty, Ed, Judy and Pat continue to get caught up with the reams of data-entry that research creates!

Mary Ann connected with a Pomeroy descendant from Hawaii, and she and Nancy have been doing research to try to connect this family. So far, Nancy has been able to trace the family back to Samuel Sexton Pomroy, born abt. 1825 in Canada, who died 1877 in San Francisco, CA. Samuel Sexton Pomroy married first, on 22 Nov 1846 in London Township, East Middlesex Co., Ontario, Canada, Jane Matthews, born abt 1827 in England. The couple had at least seven children that we know of: Eva, born abt 1847 in Canada; Clara M., born abt 1849 in Canada, died 8 Jan 1917; Louisa M B, born Apr 1852 in Canada, died 1 Sep 1918, in Honolulu, Hawaii; Ida Elizabeth, born abt. 1854 in Canada, died 1875 in San Francisco; Edward M., born 26 Dec 1859 in Canada, died 28 Nov 1921; Walter Melville, born Dec. 1861 in San Francisco, and Selena, born Aug 1863 in San Francisco. Samuel Sexton Pomroy married second, in 1873 in San Francisco, Elizabeth H. Robertson, born 1827 in the US, died 9 Apr 1905 in Honolulu. Several of Samuel’s children moved to Hawaii around the 1880s. Samuel Sexton Pomroy was identified as a general agent, living in Westminster, Ontario according to the 1851 Canadian Census, he was one of 12 originating shareholders of the Colonial Bank of Canada which was formed in Toronto in 1856. He was a captain of the 1st Battalion of London, Ontario Militia in 1857 and was living in San Francisco by 1861. We are trying to identify who Samuel’s parents were. If you are related to this family, please let us know! Nancy is still entering research done on this family into our Unlinked Pomeroy database, so Hawaiian Pomeroys, please be patient – we’ll get this research to you as soon as it’s entered!

Judy has entered some new information about the Pomeroy Tucker family, and we’re still trying to puzzle out how this family is connected to the Pomeroys. A.A. Pomeroy identified Pomeroy Tucker, b. 10 Aug. 1802, as the son of Foster and Mary Ann (Pomeroy) Tucker, but Nancy doesn’t think this is possible as Pomeroy Tucker was born before Foster and Mary Ann were. Mary Ann Pomeroy was born 17 May 1809 in Hamilton, Oneida Co., NY, daughter of John Pomeroy (John, Noah, Joseph, Eltweed) and third wife Deborah Foster. To add to the confusion, Mary Ann Pomeroy married Foster Tucker about 1834. Foster, born 11 Nov 1810 in Cherry Valley, Otsego Co., NY, was the son of Caleb Tucker and his wife Thirza Foster. Thirza Foster was the sister of Mary Ann Pomeroy’s mother, Deborah Foster.

According to research available on the Web, Pomeroy Tucker, born 10 Aug 1802 in Palmyra, Wayne Co., NY, was the son of Jeduthan/Jaduthan Tucker and his wife Abi Brown. Jeduthan was born 13 Jan 1769 in Pomfret, Windham Co., VT. Does anyone know if Jeduthan was related to Foster and Caleb Tucker? Or, if not, what the Pomeroy connection is to this family?

Nancy has been working with a descendant of John Phelps Pomeroy who was born between 1790 and 1800 in Connecticut and died according to some researchers about Jun 1850 in Norfolk, Saint Lawrence Co., NY. John married Narcissa Henderson about 1819 in Hopkinton, Saint Lawrence County, New York and the couple had at least eight children that we know of: David Pomeroy, born between 1815 and 1820 in Hopkinton; Chester, born between 1820 and 1825 in Hopkinton; Jesse Henderson, born Oct 1821 in New York (probably Hopkinton); Eldridge G., born Aug 1833 in Hopkinton; Delia, born between 1825 and 1830 in Hopkinton; Lucretia, born between 1825 and 1830 in Hopkinton; Earl, born abt 1827 in Hopkinton; and John Willard Pomeroy born abt 1831 in Hopkinton.

Research done by this descendant indicated a possible connection to the Rose family, of which Daniel Pomeroy Rose was a member. Daniel was born 6 Aug 1784 in Coventry, Tolland Co., CT, to parents Timothy Rose and Elizabeth Polan Pomeroy. Elizabeth was born 10 May 1755 in Lebanon, New London Co., CT, daughter of Daniel Pomeroy (Noah, Joseph, Eltweed) and Naomi Kibbe. Naomi Kibbe was the daughter of Edward Kibbe and Dorothy Phelps, and was married to a Joseph Phelps, prior to her marriage to Daniel Pomeroy. This connection with its various lines of Phelps, is intriguing as John’s middle name was Phelps. Some research indicates that Elizabeth Polan (Pomeroy) Rose may have been an aunt of John Phelps Pomeroy. If so, from with sibling did he descend? We know of only three children of Daniel and Naomi (Kibbe) Pomeroy, Daniel Pomeroy, born 3 Aug 1750 in Colchester, New London. CT and died 23 Jan 1785, whose early death indicates that he is not the father of John Phelps Pomeroy; and Eleazer D. Pomeroy, born 24 Oct 1752 in Lebanon, CT and died 16 Jun 1811, in Coventry, CT. Eleazer married two sisters, Sibyl and Priscilla Kingsbury. John Phelps Pomeroy’s approximate date of birth (1790-1800) would seem to indicate that he could be a son of Eleazer and Priscilla, but with so much written about this family, why would a child be undocumented? Obviously, more research needs to be done to solve this puzzle! Luckily there are several John Phelps Pomeroy researchers out there, and I’m confident one of them will get to the bottom of this! As luck would have it, Judy has been pulling and entering census records for the Daniel Pomeroy Rose family, so perhaps some clues will arise from this research.

Another bit of research we’ve been doing is to try to determine which Josiah Pomeroy was in business with Lemuel Pomeroy in Pittsfield, MA in early 1800s? Previously, we believed it was Josiah Pomeroy Sr. born 5 Jan 1778 in Northampton, Hampshire Co., MA, who died 11 Jun 1861 in Leverett, Franklin Co., MA, son of Benjamin (Josiah, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed) and Esther (Clark) Pomeroy, because he was living in Hinsdale, Berkshire Co., MA at the same time that Lemuel Pomeroy (Lemuel, Seth, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed) was in Pittsfield. According to research, Josiah Pomeroy was in business with Lemuel Pomeroy between 1 Jul 1818 and 2 Dec 1839, at which time the partnership was legally dissolved. One of the things we’ve learned that has always puzzled us it the statement in a published History of Pittsfield, that Lemuel and Josiah were “distant cousins”. Given how knowledgeable and proud Lemuel was of his ancestry, it seemed odd that the exact relationship was not known.

Nancy recently found an obituary for Josiah Pomeroy of Pittsfield, which confirms that he was not the Josiah, son of Benjamin and Esther (Clark) Pomeroy who lived in Hinsdale, as this Josiah died in 1850, and Josiah of Hinsdale died in 1861. The obituary alluded to family difficulty, and was more intriguing than informative. Additional research identified a record on the Family Search pilot search that states Josiah Pomeroy of Pittsfield, MA was born in Kinderhook, Columbia Co., NY! Well, my goodness, we know of another Josiah Pomeroy who was living in Kinderhook at about the same time that this Josiah was born (abt 1788). This was Dr. Josiah Pomeroy who married Ann Allis. Dr. Josiah was a son of Joseph (Joseph, Medad, Eltweed) and Thankful (Burbank) Pomeroy. Dr. Josiah Pomeroy was a Tory who acted as a surgeon for the British Army and lived for a time in Montreal. He later was found in Newtown, Suffolk Co., NY before settling in Kinderhook. Until now, we did not have any information of any male offspring of Dr. Josiah Pomeroy, but a preponderance of circumstantial evidence points to Josiah of Pittsfield being the son of Dr. Josiah Pomeroy.

Bettie (Pomeroy) Gambill of TN descendant Ben L has been finding a lot of evidence that points to John and Sallie C. (Little) Pomeroy as the most likely parents of Bettie. A letter written to Bettie’s husband Robert Lee Gambill makes mention that “Ida” had been visiting Bettie and helping her while she was in a sanitarium suffering with Tuberculosis. John and Sallie Pomeroy had a daughter Ida Sue Pomeroy. We believe this is the Ida mentioned in the letter. John Pomeroy’s parents were William and Sarah. William was born abt. 1785 in NC and died after 9 Oct 1850 in Williamson Co., TN. Sarah was born abt 1785 in SC.

Judy has been entering newspaper articles from the Northern New York Newspaper site.

Barbara continues to transcribe the records of the First Church of Christ, Northampton. Betty has been entering research on William Lee Pomeroy and wife Nancy Ulisse Blunt that Lee has been working on. William was born 16 Aug 1853 in Stanstead, Quebec, Canada, son of Captain George Pomeroy (Hazen, Selah, Benjamin, Josiah, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed) and Azubah Lee. This is a small portion of the research that Lee and Ed have done on Canadian Pomeroys. Betty and Ed have also been reviewing unmatched census records to try to connect them to our various databases and get them entered.

Ed has been working on a number of Newfoundland Pomeroys found on the Grand Banks Newfoundland Genealogical Society website. If you’re looking for Newfoundland ancestors, Ed highly recommends this site!

Betty has also been filling in the family of Thomas Pomeroy and Judith Phifer. Thomas was born 6 Jan 1794 in Suffield, Hartford Co., CT, to Amos (Nathaniel, Nathaniel, Joseph, Medad, Eltweed) and Rebecca (Spencer) Pomeroy. Judith was born about 1800 in Henry County, VA where the couple married in 1824. According to A.A. Pomeroy, Thomas settled in Dayton, OH. While we did find Thomas in Miami, Montgomery Co., OH, in 1840 and 1850, he didn’t stay there. Betty has tracked the family from there to Brandywine, Shelby County, Indiana where Thomas died 1 May 1874. Thomas and Judith has at least five children that we know of: Martha Jane, b. abt 1826 in VA; George, born abt 1828 in VA; Thomas J., born 22 Apr 1830 in VA., Judith Ann, born 8 Apr 1832 in Henry Co., VA and Sarah E, born abt 1845 in Montgomery Co., OH.

Lee has been coordinating department visits to the Onondaga County Public Library to review, transcribe, and print Pomeroys found in the 1855 NY State Census. Transcription has been completed for four counties: Onondaga, Cortland, Delaware and Cayuga. Lee has also been researching a Jeremiah Pomeroy, born about 1818 in Canada, and found in Onondaga County in the 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 census records. The census records have led to some confusion as he is identified in some as Jeremiah and others as Daniel. We do know that his wife was Harriet, born about July 1824 in NY, and that the couple had the following children: Minerva (Maria), born abt 1845 in NY; Mary, born abt 1849 in NY; Harriet or Helen, born abt Jun 1850 in NY; Elizabeth, born abt 1847 in Syracuse, Onondaga Co., NY; George, born abt Feb 1853 in NY; and Henrietta, born abt 1854 in NY. We do not know who Jeremiah/Daniel’s parents were, but we believe he had a brother John, born abt 1829 in Canada, who was living with him according to the 1850 US Federal Census. Also in the household was Delaura Pomeroy, born about 1831 in Canada. She and John were identified as having been married within the year, so we assume that Delaura was John’s wife.

Christine continues to file, file, file. She is also researching unmatched 1930 census records and trying to connect them to the Pomeroys in our various databases.

The Pomeroy Collection

Tammy continues her work itemizing and digitally photographing or scanning every item in the collection. She is currently on the 7th shelve of objects and is scanning a box of various Pomeroy collectibles, including an autograph of Marcus Mills “Brick” Pomeroy.

The Pomeroy Anvil Trail

It’s time to start thinking of the next stop on the Pomeroy Anvil Trail. Nancy and Bill would like to squeeze in a visit to Lockport, NY this fall. We’re also always open to suggestions, so if you know the perfect town for a monument, please let us know!

The Mary Ann Coe Project

Nancy entered some recent newspaper articles featuring David Powers, Mary Ann Coe’s third (if you count the second, common-law marriage to Benjamin Junkins) husband. According to two advertisements, David Powers was a member of Rough and Ready Club in Sandusky, Ohio. A quick search on Google identified the Rough and Ready Clubs of 1848 as political organizations formed “to assist in putting ‘Old Zack’ into the presidential chair.” Well, now it all makes sense. Millard Fillmore ran as Zachary Taylor’s Vice President. David Powers was the brother-in-law of Millard Fillmore.

Pat has completed her data-entry of the exploits of Carlos C. Coe, relative of Mary Ann Coe. Carlos was an early balloonist and thought to be the model for Frank L. Baum’s “Wizard of Oz.”

Judy continues to transcribe and enter articles from the Firelands Pioneer into our database. We are looking to find connections with people living in Norwalk, OH who may have originally been from Onondaga, Genesee or Oneida Counties, New York.

We have added 1679 new people, 700 new sources and 8608 new citations since our last blog post.

APHA Weekly Report, August 11, 2010

2010-08-12T16:02:00.007-04:00

The Great A. A. Pomeroy Book Update Project

We have a new researcher working on the project! Christine H. is a volunteer at the Camillus Historical Society and a Find-A-Grave volunteer. She is currently helping us with our backload of filing and file organizing, but she will soon be taking over the data-entry of the George Pomeroy book and will be entering research done on that family to that database. George came from Ireland and settled in Pennsylvania about 1730.

Nancy has been working with a Benjamin L, who is descended from Bettie Lou Pomeroy, born 4 Jul 1880 in TN, who died 1 Jul 1910 and is buried in the Gambill Cemetery in Nashville. Bettie married Robert Lee Gambill on 18 Dec 1896 in Davidson Co., TN. We are currently following a hunch that Bettie is an undocumented daughter of John and Sallie C. (Little) Pomeroy. John was born about 1820 in Williamson Co., TN to William and Sarah Pomeroy. William was born about 1785 in NC and died after 9 Oct 1850 in Williamson Co., TN. Sarah (last name unknown) was born about 1785 in NC. William and Sarah had the following children that we know of: Nancy, born about 1800 in Macon, Bibb Co, GA; Abraham, born about 1802 in TN; Willis, born about 1804 in Williamson Co., TN; Thomas, born about 1806 in Macon, Bibb Co., GA; Millie, born about 1809 in Macon; Elizabeth, born about 1810 in Macon; James, born about 1813 in Macon; Mary, born about 1816 in Williamson Co., TN; William Henry born about 1816 in Williamson Co.; John, born about 1820 in Williamson Co.; Temperance C., born about 1821 in Williamson Co.; and Catharine, born about 1830 in Williamson Co. If anyone is researching this family, please contact us!

Betty has been working on the Grove Pomeroy family and his son Timothy R. Pomeroy. Timothy was born Dec 1849 in Steuben Co., NY and is found in Woodhull, Steuben Co., when the 1865 New York State Census was enumerated. Grove, born abt 1821 in New York descends from Phineas, Phineas, Phinehas, Medad, Joseph, Medad, Eltweed. This information has enabled Betty to further fill in this line, and she has added 6 children born of Timothy and his wife Arvilla B. Sherwood. These children include: Harry T., born Jun 1875 in NY; Grace M., born Jun 1877 in NY; Lee, born Aug 1881 in NY; Fred Wallace, born 16 Dec 1888 in Hornell, Steuben Co.; George G., born 15 Dec 1890 in Hornell; and Iva M, born Feb 1897 in NY.

Lee coordinated and led a field trip to the Onondaga County Public Library where she and our researchers reviewed the 1855 NY State Census records on microfilm and (where available) indexed in books. She also examined Maine collateral line family histories and various files and obituaries for Ashley, Pixley and Benedict family names. Lee also used www.fultonhistory.com to identify further information on the Theodore Ashley family.

Barb continues to add to her growing database of Northampton, MA church records, including births, baptisms, marriages, membership, death and removals. She has entered over 2,000 records to date. Barb also continues her review of Pomeroys in the America’s Historic Newspaper database.

Ed has been gathering and entering Pomeroy records in the Pomeroy Ridge, New Brunswick vicinity. He entered additional data on Martin Pomeroy and Lydia Rowell who were married in 1840 in Old Town, Maine, and had a son Luther S. Pomeroy, born 1846. Ed also added matched 1881 Canadian Census records that Lee had transcribed and organized. Ed also researched John Henry Calvin Pomeroy who was born in Linneus, Aroostook Co., ME in 1886 and married Berta Louise Wilson on 28 Aug 1915 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Judy has been helping us with miscellaneous data-entry including Arizona Marriages; Mobile County, AL Marriages, KY Marriages and Rochester, NY directories. She has also been working on TN vital records.

The Pomeroy Collection

Exciting news about the Pomeroy Collection: Tammy C. has returned and has taken on a huge project to digitally photograph and scan every item in the collection. Tammy will be adding metadata to the digital images so that we will be able to easily locate the objects using the Copernic search engine. If you’re not familiar with Copernic, it is software that is able to “read” files, documents and spreadsheets, e-mail, pdfs, internet history and metadata. We are using the corporate edition, which we purchased from Copernic, but they also have a home version which is free. Once your files are indexed, you can quickly search your hard-drive, and networked drives for names, places, any word you can think of. Because of our vast collection of digital records it’s imperative that we have a fast, user-friendly search engine.

Nancy is looking into solutions to cataloging our library using a web-based database. As an affiliate member of the Central (NY) Library Resource Council we need to upload our library onto WorldCat, using the MARC code format. Nancy is currently looking at http://biblios.net/ as a possible solution, (and learning more about MARC code than she ever really wanted to!)

The Pomeroy Anvil Trail

Nancy just purchased a 4 pin to 4 pin firewire cable from her favorite cable supplier, CXtec, so she will now be able to download the video her husband Jerry shot at the Pembroke, ME Pomeroy Anvil Dedication. My, those folks at CXtec are friendly, and helpful!

The Mary Ann Coe Project

Judy visited the Winterthur Museum research center in her new home state of Delaware, to look at an early Pompey account book. The book belonged to Stuttson Benson and is housed in the Joseph Downs Collection. The book covers the years 1807 through 1848. From what has been learned about Stuttson, he was apparently a farmer and weaver. The book contains 90 pages and includes an index page (probably done at some later date). Names include Benedict Amos, Richard Gage, Seth T. Benson, Robert Nagus, Daniel Lewis, Lewis R. [H]ood, Joseph Row, William Donaghey, Job Debenport, Levi Barber, Anson Wood, Peter Benson, John Upford, Andros, Nathan Rose, Bently Gideon, Stuart Mathew, Stimpson Morg, Benson Benjamin (Benjamin Benson?), Unver [sp?] Wood, Goodel Isoner, William Donegy, Stephen Benedict, Robert Negus (probably the same man as Robert Nagus), Samuel Preston, Nathaniel Green, Seth P. Benson (probably the same man as Seth T. Benson), Sheleman, James Pettit, Alexander Hall, John Ely or Sly, Richard Taylor, Moses Stimson, Henry Hall, Antony Snyder, John Watonburgh, Elisha Ely or Sly.

Of particular interest in these account books are the names James Pettit and Samuel Preston. Men with these names were living in Norwalk, OH when Mary Ann moved there, and she had business ties with both. Are the James Pettit and Samuel Preston who are listed in Stuttson Benson’s account book the same men who were living in Norwalk, Ohio? Nancy is going to review the other names against the 1801-1802 Pompey account book at the Pompey Historical Society to see if any of the names in the Stuttson Benson book are listed in the earlier Pompey account book.

Judy has also identified several other account books held at the Winterthur Museum which may be of interest to us, including two Northampton, MA account books and a mechanic’s ledger from 1832-1860 that belonged to Lebbeus B. Guile from Dryden NY. Lebbeus Ball Guile was the son of Andrew and Charlotte (Curtis) Guile and was baptized in Pompey 1 Sep 1816. His mother, Charlotte Curtis, was the widow of Lebbeus Ball, Jr. Lebbeus Ball, Jr. was the brother of Sarah Ball who married Ithamar Coe. Ithamar and Sarah (Ball) Coe were the parents of Mary Ann Coe. An interesting account book from Ohio is also in the collection. This book, dating between 1847 and 1848, apparently belonged to Smith Peck, who lived in Sandgate, VT, but the daybook contains records on account of a Sandusky, OH hatter. Could Mary Ann, her son Francis or her husband David Powers have bought a hat from this person?

Nancy has been researching and entering information about Theodore Ashley, born about 1800 in Westfield, MA to parents Stephen and Sarah (Pomeroy) Ashley. Theodore was the grandson of Pliny and Sarah (Allen) Pomeroy, and nephew of Spencer Pomeroy. Theodore’s mother died when Theodore was only two years old, leaving 6 small children, including one infant who died a month later. We speculate that Sarah’s death precipitated Pliny and Sarah (Allen) Pomeroy’s removal from Westhampton, MA to Westfield, MA. Theodore Ashley settled in Syracuse, NY by 1825. Although his grandmother, Sarah (Allen) Pomeroy, died in March of 1823, his Uncle Spencer Pomeroy and Aunt Clarissa (Pomeroy) Wood were living in Manlius at that time. Was Theodore in contact with Spencer and Clarissa? Can we find any correspondence between them?

Judy has also been adding the TrueWorthy and Selah Cook families into our database. TrueWorthy and Selah were brothers and early Pompey residents. TrueWorthy was one of the original members of the Pompey Congregational (later Presbyterian) Church and attended when Reverend Hugh Wallis was pastor. To complicate matters, Homer Cook, born 14 Dec 1818 in Pompey, and died Feb 1893 in Lake Mills, Jefferson Co., WI, a grand-nephew of TrueWorthy and Selah Cook, was the husband of Mary Ann Cook, born about Sept 1812 who died Dec. 1902. Mary Ann was the daughter of (believe it or not), Enos Pomeroy Cook and his wife Mary “Polly” Sutton. Enos was born 18 Feb 1797 in Oneida Co., NY and died 3 Feb 1851 in Rochester, Monroe Co., NY. Enos was the son of Daniel Cook and Rebecca Pomeroy (Eliakim, Noah, Joseph, Medad, Eltweed).

Pat has been catching up on Mary Ann Coe related data entry.

We have added 450 new people, 101 new sources and 2284 new citations to our genealogy databases over this past week.

APHGA Report for May through July 2010, part 2

2010-07-29T14:31:00.002-04:00

The Great A. A. Pomeroy Book Update Project

Barb has been abstracting the Northampton, MA Church of Christ records, available on microfilm through the Family History Library. These records contain a wealth of information, including baptisms, births, marriages, deaths, removals, etc. Once completed, we are considering giving a copy to the Forbes Library in Northampton, and possibly posting the abstract on our website.

Judy’s been making a huge dent in the piles of data-entry we’ve collected. Nancy has been sending her mostly vital records, city directories, and newspaper clippings.

Ed has been tracking and entering a Templeton, MA, Pomeroy family, and collecting and entering Pomeroys found in the Maine Historical Register. The Templeton Pomeroys link back to a Jeremiah Pomeroy, born 10 Oct 1774 in ME, who married Elizabeth Parker. The couple had at least 12 children that we know of, all born in Starks, Somerset Co., ME: Betsey, born 21 Nov, 1801, Joshua P, born 2 Sep 1803, Benjamin, born 1 Aug 1805, Polly, born 26 May 1809, Nehemiah, born 2 Apr 1811, died 25 Mar 1857 in Eliza, Mercer Co., IL, Elizabeth, born 27 Feb 1813, Phebe H., born 17 Mar 1815, Eunes H, born 26 Feb 1817, Jeremiah, born 9 Feb 1819, Simeon Goodin, born 7 May 1822, died 29 Jan 1879 in Templeton, Rebecca Jane, born 9 Mar 1824, and Richard H., born 3 Oct 1826. We currently don’t know who Jeremiah’s father was, but based on naming conventions alone, it would appear likely that he descends from Richard Pomeroy who settled on the Isles of Shoals, now off the coast of NH, by 1670.

Betty and Ed had continued their review of unmatched census records, starting with 1850 and working forwards and backwards as matches are found. Betty has been chipping away at collateral lines, including the sad story of Julia Augusta Pomeroy (Warham, Enos, Caleb, Samuel, Caleb, Eltweed), born 5 Apr 1815 in Easthampton, Hampshire Co., MA who died 10 Feb 1883, in South Hadley Falls, Hampshire Co., MA. She married Edwin Smith 20 Nov 1839, who died 21 Jan 1849 in South Hadley Falls. The couple had two children we know of, both born in South Hadley Falls; Adelaide Eugenia Smith, born 12 May 1843, and Edwin Pomeroy Smith, born 5 Feb. 1845. According to the 1850 US Federal Census, Julia was a widow, and head of household, living with her children and Benjamin and Maria Aldridge in South Hadley. According to the 1860, 1870 and 1880 US Federal Census records, Julia was living at the Northampton Lunatic Hospital, for what reason we don’t know.

Betty was also able to match records and enter information about Edward L. Pomeroy (David, David, Simeon, Samuel, Caleb, Eltweed), born abt 1830 in MA who married first Aurelia (last name unkown), who had at least three children, all born in MA; Emma A., born abt 1857, Edward E., born abt 1859 and Catherine M “Katie”, born abt 1866. This family settled in Amherst, MA. Edward married second Lucia M. (last name unknown).

Lee has taken an inventory of the 1855 New York State Census microfilm and book holdings at the Onondaga County Public Library and has been organizing a field trip to transcribe Pomeroys in those records. Some index books do exist, which will be helpful, but most of the microfilm will need to be viewed from start to finish to see if any Pomeroys are on them. Lee has also been visiting the Onondaga County Clerk’s Office and reporting back on Pomeroys found in the various indices.

Lee is working with Betty to identify and enter Stanstead, Ontario Pomeroys into the Eltweed database. Lee identified descendants of Courtland “Bates” Pomeroy into Vermont and two generations beyond. Lee found a will that makes us question whether Bates is the correct middle name for Courtland.

Ed, Betty and Barb continue to review the 1865 New York State Census records available on the Family Search pilot site for Pomeroys.

Pat has been researching the fascinating life of Edward Payson Pomeroy (Charles Backus, Samuel, Joshua, Noah, Joseph, Eltweed), born 3 Jan 1835 in Somers, Tolland County, CT, who died 24 Oct 1906 in Pasadena, Harris County, TX. She has been able to identify four wives (one of which he married twice), and five children. He was in Kansas by July 1870 then moved to Springfield, MA between 1 Mar 1875 and 25 Apr 1877, was living in Amsterdam, Montgomery County, NY when the 1880 Census was taken, and was in Galveston, TX by about 1881.

APHGA Report for May through July 2010, part 1

2010-07-27T15:55:00.002-04:00

The Great A. A. Pomeroy Book Update Project

It’s been quite a busy few months since I last posted a blog on our projects, so I’m going to break it up over a few days. If I keep writing I’ll never get this posted! – Nancy Maliwesky

We’ve added more new members, including a descendant of Marcus Mills “Brick” Pomeroy. Several new members are struggling with brick walls, including Bev L. who is researching the George Pomeroy Kingsley line. George Pomeroy Kingsley was born 11 Nov 1865 in Freeport, Stephenson Co., IL, and married Mabel Wright (born 19 Oct 1865) before Sept. 1894. While we can connect George back to Eltweed (Dr. George Pomeroy Kingsley, Elizabeth Coit Pomeroy, Gamaliel, Lemuel, Seth, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed), we’re struggling to learn more about George’s descendants. We know that George and Mabel had at least 7 children: Susanna, born 17 Sep 1894, Ethel and Edith, twins, born 11 Sep 1895, George Pomeroy, Jr., born 23 Sep 1897, Donaldson Wright, born 16 Mar 1899, Hamilton Swift, born 23 Jun 1901 and Archibald Wright, born 5 Apr 1907, but we don’t know anything of their offspring. If you are related to this family, please contact me!

Another Pomeroy researcher is stuck on Abner Ross Pomeroy, born 29 Aug 1824 or 1828 in GA. He served the state of Georgia as a Confederate Soldier during the Civil War. He was captured in Calhoun and served time in the Nashville Union Prison before being transferred to the prison in Louisville, KY. He wasn’t in Louisville very long, apparently he signed an oath of allegiance to the US and was set free. We found a marriage date of 24 Aug 1859 recorded for Abner R. Pomeroy and Miss Clarissa L. Lee of Bulloch Co., GA in the book “Marriage Records of Bulloch County, Georgia, 1796 (Origin of County) through 1875”, written by Mrs. Alvaretta Kenan in 1971. The 1880 US Federal Census lists Connecticut as the birthplace of both of Abner Pomeroy’s parents. Abner died 5 Apr 1890 according to his tombstone. He was buried in the Bethel Lutheran Church Cemetery in Effingham Co. GA. We believe that Clarissa died young and Abner married second, on 14 Feb 1877, in Effingham Co., Julia Ann Frances Arnsdorff, who was born 12 Sep 1839 in Effingham Co., GA, and died in Grayson, Effingham Co., GA 21 Jul 1924.

We have not been able to find Abner in the 1850 US Federal Census. The only other Pomeroys we have found in GA around this time, that were born in Connecticut, were Chauncey Pomeroy (Eleazer D, Daniel, Noah, Joseph, Eltweed), his wife Mary and daughter Jane. Chauncey was born 8 Dec 1800 in Coventry, Tolland Co., CT, and died 24 Jun 1888 in Atlanta, Fulton Co., GA. He married Mary Northrup Ives in 1827. She was born abt 1810 in CT and died 3 Jan 1881. According to Albert A. Pomeroy, the couple, although married 54 years, only had one child, Jane Eliza, born 15 Jun 1845 in Alabama. In 1850 Chauncey, Mary and Jane are living in the Harvey Hall household in Columbus, Muscogee Co., GA according to the US Federal Census. According to the 1840 US Federal Census, Chauncey was living in Russell County, AL. There were only two people enumerated in this household, presumably Chauncey and his wife Mary. Jane would not be born for another five years, but if Abner an undocumented son of Chauncey, wouldn’t he have been living in the household at the tender age of 15? Unfortunately we have been unable to locate a death record for Abner that might list his parents’ names. If anyone else is researching this family, please let us know!

Michael C and Nancy have been working on the Elisha Pomeroy (Seth, Medad, Joseph, Medad, Eltweed) family that settled all over New York State, after moving from Lyme, NH. Nancy believes that Isaac Allen Pomeroy who settled in Fountain County, IN is a son of Elisha.

Syd R. and Ruth Ann and Harry L. visited our research center on Wednesday, May 19. They are cousins who descend from Eliza Elmira Pomeroy (Charles Watrous, Watrous, Charles, Noah, Noah, Joseph, Eltweed). Eliza was born in 1839 in Auburn, NY and married William H. Meaker 10 Oct 1861. Syd and Ruth Ann brought lots of their research and were kind enough to let me scan and photograph some of their old photographs. Although Harry is not a Pomeroy, we did have a great discussion about his work with the Salvation Army. It was lovely meeting Syd, Ruth Ann and Harry! If you are doing Pomeroy Family research in and around Syracuse, NY, please keep us in mind, we’d love to meet you!

While visiting the Jefferson County, NY Probate Office recently, Lee found a will and probate file for Hiram Sterling Pomeroy. She had copies made and it has been quite helpful in piecing together some of this family’s collateral lines. Hiram was born 1 Feb 1797 in Somers, Tolland Co., CT; married Ester Ryder 6 Sep 1820 in Point Salubrious, Jefferson Co., NY and was living in Ohio, Bureau Co., IL by 10 Jun 1880, where he died on 13 Oct 1885.

The Pomeroy Anvil Trail

The parishioners of the First Presbyterian Church in Lyons, NY are working on a lovely walkway around their Pomeroy Anvil Monument. The Church is located at 11 Queen Street in Lyons. If you’re in the area, make sure to stop and view the monument.

Bill was in Sandusky, OH in May and had the opportunity to visit the Pomeroy Anvil Monument at the Oakland Cemetery for the first time. Bill had a chance to speak with Dan H. who runs the cemetery. Dan’s been a great help to our organization. If you’re in Sandusky, be sure to visit the Oakland Cemetery and the monument.

The Pembroke, ME Monument is installed and Bill, Sandra, Bill’s niece Laura, Jerry and Nancy attended the dedication ceremony on July 4, 2010. It was a great weekend and we had the opportunity to meet many of the townspeople. The parade was wonderful, and the fireworks in Eastport were spectacular. Nancy will be working on a video of the day which we will share with the Pembroke Historical Society and the town. Gail Menzel will be submitting an article about the monument to the Maine Historical Society. Thank you, Gail, for all your hard work on this project. We couldn’t have done it without you!

In preparing for the dedication speech, Nancy abstracted Dr Thomas Pomroy’s four prescription books, which are currently in our collection. We realized during this process, that one of the books had not been photographed, so this is now been added to our conservation projects.

The Mary Ann Coe Project

Bill and Nancy had the opportunity to visit the Pompey Historical Society and photograph an old account book dating from 1801 through 1802. This account book appears to have been connected with an early mercantile store in Pompey. The book was later used as a scrapbook, and many of the original accounts have been covered over with articles from early papers which have been pasted over the pages. Roy Dodge found this book a few years ago and has done an abstract of the names found in the book. Nancy created an index connected with the photographs she took of the book and will be giving a copy to the Pompey Historical Society. In this way, the contents can be viewed without further damaging the already fragile book. We will be asking permission of the Pompey Historical Society to post the index of the book on our website. Nancy has created a database to keep track of all the names identified in many of the early records of Pompey that the APHGA has collected. It is our hunch that Mary Ann Coe either went to Norwalk, OH with people she knew, or was influence to move to Norwalk by those people. We are trying to identify early settlers of Norwalk, OH who lived previously in Pompey. One new connection was Reuben Pixley, Jr., and early settler of Pompey who was also an early settler of Norwalk, OH and helped to build Platt Benedict’s house. Reuben married Rebecca (last name unknown) and the two are buried in the Berwyn Cemetery in LaFayette, NY. Also in Pompey at an early date was a Rebecca Pixley, who married Stephen Shattuck in 1799. Reuben Pixley, Jr. was a near neighbor of the Shattucks, as were the Coes. Is this the connection that prompted Mary Ann to move to Norwalk?

Nancy continues her work writing the Mary Ann Coe book.

We have added 2,311 new people, 2,184 new sources and 14,344 new citations to our genealogy databases since our last blog post.

Pomeroy Anvil Monument Dedication in Pembroke, Maine

2010-07-19T16:52:00.002-04:00

Bill, Sandra, Bill's niece Laura, Jerry and I attended the dedication ceremony of the 8th Pomeroy Anvil Monument in Pembroke, Maine on July 4, 2010 in Pembroke, Maine. The monument was dedicated to Dr. Thomas W. Pomroy, the "Clairvoyant Physician".

We attended the pancake breakfast at the Crescent Lodge, saw the parade, visited Dr. Pomroy's Pool House and met the current owners, who were so accommodating - thank you for your hospitality. We also were given a guided tour of Dr. Pomroy's old property and got some great photos of the old foundation walls.

You can't find a nicer place than Pembroke, Maine. We highly recommend a visit! Don't forget to stop by the American Legion Hall on Front St. to see the monument, and pop in at the Pembroke Historical Society.

APHGA Report for the Month of April 2010

2010-04-28T15:24:00.002-04:00

The Great A. A. Pomeroy Book Update Project

Several new members have joined the APHGA, each sharing their research for later publication of an updated genealogy of the descendants of Eltweed Pomeroy. Based on our extensive US and Canadian Pomeroy research we also expect to publish books on other large Pomeroy families who are not descended from Eltweed. One large family that settled early on in the colonies is that of Richard Pomeroy, who settled on the Isles of Shoals (then MA, now NH) by 1670. Other Pomeroys connected with that area are Leonard Pomeroy, a merchant in Plymouth, England and a Thomas Pomeroy who was also an early settler of the Isles of Shoals. Nancy, Ed, and several APHGA members are researching these early settlers to identify whether they were related.

One family previously identified by Albert A. Pomeroy in his genealogies “The History and Genealogy of the Pomeroy Family...” as descendants of Eltweed Pomeroy seem more likely descended from Richard Pomeroy of the Isles of Shoals. This is the family of Benjamin Pomeroy and his wife Anne. According to A.A. Pomeroy, Benjamin was born in 1724, the son of Eldad Pomeroy and Sarah Wait. Benjamin and Anne had at least 4 children: Richard, b. 5 Aug 1750; Deliverance, b. 11 Mar 1753; Anna, b. 14 May 1755 and Margaret, b. 22 May 1758. According to A.A. Pomeroy, Benjamin “settled in Georgetown, Me.”

Other records associated with the history of Maine, identify a Benjamin Pomeroy, born in 1707 in ME who married “Ann” and had at least five children: Benjamin, b. 24 Jan 1741; Richard, b. 5 Aug 1750; Deliverance, b. 17 Mar 1753; Ann, b. 14 Mar 1755 and Margaret b. 22 May 1758. This Benjamin is identified as the son of Richard Pomeroy and Deliverance Berry.

Benjamin, son of Eldad would have been rather young to have been married and to have had a child by 1741. Additional research will be done, including a review of the Church of Christ, Congregational (Northampton, MA) records which were microfilmed and available through the Family History Library. We are hoping to find birth and/or baptismal records for the children of Eldad Pomeroy and Sarah Wait. We are also pursuing a search of early Maine vital and Church records.

We would love to connect with Plymouth, England Pomeroy descendants who may be related to Leonard, Thomas or Richard Pomeroy, to learn more about these families.

Mary Ann identified some new Pomeroy researchers who are descended from William Pomeroy, b. 13 Aug 1801 in NY State, who married Sarah L. Gleason on 31 Mar 1828 in Wayne County, NY. William died in 1866, probably in Van Wert, Van Wert County, New York. Sarah was b. 10 Dec 1808 in Manchester, Ontario Co., NY and died about 1842 in Brantford, Province of Ontario, Canada. She was the daughter of Bazaleel Gleason and Abigail Howland. William and Sarah had at least six children: Henry, b. 10 Nov 1829; Francis Cole, b. 26 Jan 1830; Carlos, b. 16 Feb 1832; Eliza Ann, b. 12 Aug 1834; Clarissa, b. 26 Jan 1836; and Sarah Jane, b. 30 Jul 1839. It is likely that the elder five children were all born in New York, while the youngest, Sarah Jane, was born in Canada.

Other researchers identify this William as the son of Phineas Pomeroy (Phinehas, Medad, Joseph, Medad, Eltweed) and Rebecca Sarah Spaulding, but our research leads us to believe that this is unlikely. According to Phineas Pomeroy’s Revolutionary War Pension, his son William was born 29 Jan 1781. We believe that William Pomeroy, son of Phineas, married Polly Yeomans and settled in Roulette, Potter County, Pennsylvania. So, the question remains, who were the parents of William Pomeroy, b. 13 Aug 1801 in NY, who married Sarah L. Gleason? Based on proximity Nancy feels it is possible that William was a son of Rev. Francis Pomeroy (Timothy, Daniel, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed), but more research needs to be done. Is anyone else researching this family?

Also, has anyone done any research on Ralph Gordon Pomeroy, b. 26 Apr 1893 in Cleveland, OH, resided at 113 South St., in Lockport, Niagara Co., NY on 5 Jun 1918 (WWI Draft Registration). Mary Ann found an obituary in the Chicago Tribune, dated 3 Oct 1918: “Ralph Gordon Pomeroy, aged 26 years, at Marine hospital Oct. 1 [1918] beloved son of Jessie M. Cutler of 4326 Lake Park av. Funeral from chapel at Forest Home cemetery, Thursday at 2 p.m. Services by Landmark lodge, No. 422, A.F. and A.M.”

Is this Ralph the son of Irving L. Pomeroy (Luther, Milton, Titus, Ebenezer, Eldad, Caleb, Eltweed) b. Apr 1868 in Lockwood, d. 13 Feb 1941 in Chicago, who was living with his mother in Lockport in 1900 and 1910, and identified as a widower in the US Federal Census. If so, was Irving divorced, not widowed?

Barb continued her review of Pomeroys found in early newspapers and continued her research of the life of Marcus Mills Pomeroy (Hunt, Hosea, Ebenezer, Ebenezer, Eldad, Caleb, Eltweed) for an article she will be writing. She is also continuing to review and transcribe Pomeroys in the 1865 NY State Census – she’s currently reviewing Kings County.

Barb continues to enter Eltweed descendants with missing information into a spreadsheet so we can keep track of what research needs to be done for the upcoming book. Barb has entered over 1500 records so far. Barb will be working with Betty to better identify where research still needs to be done, by family and by place. Barb also attended the Association of Public Historians of New York State Conference in Buffalo, NY this past weekend. If you are doing genealogical research in New York State, you’re lucky. Did you know that in 1919 NY State passed legislation to create officially appointed historians in every town, village, city, borough and county across the state? These historians can be very helpful in researching the communities in which your ancestors lived. For a listing of NY State Historians, check out the APHNYS website at http://www.aphnys.org/index.cfm . (Barb can be found in the Lake Ontario Region directory!)

Betty continued her review of Pomeroys in Northampton, MA census records that were previously unmatched. Betty has also been entering early CT vital records from the Barbour Collection. Betty has also been researching female Pomeroys whose married names are identified in these records by collecting census information for these families and entering that information into our databases. Betty has also been working to connect the many Parsons in our database to identify relationships between these people. Betty traced the Joseph Lathrop family. Joseph, b. 23 May 1815 in West Springfield, MA, married Abigail Alexander Pomeroy on 16 Oct 1838. Abigail, b. 16 Sep 1815 in Warwick, MA was the daughter of Medad Pomeroy (Medad, Seth, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed) and Jerusha Alexander. Betty was able to trace these families through the 1850 to 1870 US Federal Census records. She also researched the James Leander Pomeroy family. James was b. Nov. 1845, in New Gloucester, Cumberland Co., ME, son of Edward Pomeroy (Warham, Enos, Caleb, Samuel, Caleb, Eltweed) and Ann A. Rogers. Betty has been able to bring this line forward two generations based on Census record research. James and wife Laura settled in Gloucester, Essex Co., MA. If anyone else is connected with this family, we’d love to compare notes!

Betty also went to the Onondaga County Public Library with Lee and Ed and helped Lee to review and transcribe Pomeroys and collateral lines in the New York State Vital Records index. She and Lee also reviewed the Parsons vertical file at the library. Betty also continued her review and transcription of Pomeroys in the 1865 NY State Census. She is currently working on Poughkeepsie, NY records.

Lee continued to match Pomeroys found in 1911 Canadian Census records and British Columbia Marriages and Death records indexed on Ancestry.com. She was able to identify a “Honna Purmoy” as Hannah, the spouse of Oliver Pomeroy, son of George A. Pomeroy (Silas, Abner, Caleb, Samuel, Caleb, Eltweed) and Rebecca Palmer. Lee also organized a research trip to the Onondaga County Public Library to review Pomeroys in the NY State Vital Records index and Maine and Onondaga County records. Lee has been keeping a spreadsheet of the transcribed vital records for later data-entry.

Lee connected with a Pomeroy family when she was in Roscoe, NY on Saturday, April 20th. This family descends from Eltweed. Lee has contact information and has handed it over to Nancy. She also reviewed Pomeroy information in the Cortland Library, in Cortland, NY that same day.

Lee contacted the Sr. Managing Editor at the Syracuse Post Standard to clarify our understanding of their copyright practices and spoke with Pat and Barb about articles being planned. She prepared a report on the publication project for Project Roots department members.

Ed continued to research and data-enter information found on Pomeroy families who lived in Stark County, OH and later moved to Dekalb County, IN. Ed will be reviewing Hancock County, ME grantor/grantee indexes at the Family History Library this week. Although these deeds are available online, they early books are not indexed, so he will be copying Pomeroy, Lunt and Coffin entries to identify which books and pages the deeds are on. Ed is also planning a trip to the Onondaga County Library in Syracuse with Lee and Betty. Ed will continue his review of the Maine Vital Records CD collection available at the library. Ed’s previous visit turned up some very useful information, including the marriage information for William Pomeroy and Nancy Grant, and Samuel Pomeroy and Lydia Gatcomb.

Ed identified a new Canada/Maine Pomeroy family that was living in Catalina, Newfoundland. This was George Pomeroy, b. abt 1816 who married Elizabeth (maiden name unknown). He died 1 May 1905 in Catalina. Elizabeth, b. abt 1822, d. 18 Oct. 1898 also in Catalina. The couple had at least one child, William James Pomeroy b. abt 1816 who d. 1 May 1905 in Catalina. William married Emily Sharp on 1 Mar 1890 in Catalina, and the couple had at least four children, all born in Catalina: Mary Ann Pomeroy, b. 11 Dec 1890; Jessie Pomeroy, b. 1 Sep 1894; George Pomeroy, b. 2 Dec 1897; and Rene Pomeroy, b. 30 Sep 1900. Does anyone descend from this family? If so, please contact us!

Pat researched an interesting record that Nancy found in Ancestry.com’s U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798 – 1914, database. Thomas Pomeroy, (according to this record) was born abt 1799 in Pompey, Onondaga Co., NY and enlisted 2 Sep 1813 (at the age of 14!) into the U.S. Army Artillery. He joined in Greenbush, NY under Capt. Barker for service of five years. Other records in this same database identify Thomas as being born in Onondaga Co., NY and being a musician in the army at the tender age of 9. We would love to figure out who this Thomas was. There were no Pomeroys listed in the 1800 US Federal Census in Pompey, NY. There were Pomeroys who settled early in Otisco, but no Thomas that matches the description above. Who is this young man?

Nancy checked our blog’s web statistics and was pleasantly surprised. We are averaging 200 unique visits to our blog site per month, since the blog was started just six months ago, with a record 256 visits in March 2010!

The Pomeroy Collection

Nancy scanned, conserved and organized the archive of letters associated with the Frederick Lawrence Pomeroy (James Clark, Stephen, Ebenezer, Ebenezer, Eldad, Caleb, Eltweed) family which was added to the collection recently.

Nancy has accessioned several genealogy and historical society newsletters, journals and magazines. Nancy also purchased and received the book “Local Color, Stories of Westhampton’s First 225 Years”, edited by Jacqui Hickey LaFrance, James E. Bridgman and Sarak K. Mulvehill and published by the Westhampton Historical Society. This is a reprint of the book that was published originally in 2003.

Two new and interesting additions to the collection are large felt advertising pennants for Pommery Champagne. Our facilities team has just hung one on the outside wall of the Project Roots Office. Nancy feels like celebrating! (Well, Nancy always feels like celebrating...)

The Pomeroy Anvil Trail

Work is well underway on the Pembroke, Maine, Pomeroy Anvil Monument dedicated to Thomas W. Pomeroy, a very successful clairvoyant physician who was born in Pembroke. Thomas lived and practiced in New York City from 1880 to 1926, but he and his wife returned to Pembroke every summer where they built a lavish summer home. Thomas was a Master Mason and member of the Crescent Lodge 78 for 73 years. The Town of Pembroke and the Pembroke Historical Society are planning a dedication ceremony on July 4, 2010 after the parade. The monument will be installed at the American Legion on Front Street. Now’s the time to get your hotel reservations if you plan on coming to the dedication – Nancy, her husband Jerry and Bill and Sandra Pomeroy have their reservations and are looking forward to the event. Nancy was so impressed with the people of Pembroke when she and Jerry went on a scouting visit to Pembroke last July. She and Jerry are looking forward to their return visit.

The Mary Ann Coe Project

Nancy has started to write the Mary Ann Coe book. This has been a very rewarding and eye-opening endeavor so far. It’s incredible how the simple act of writing a narrative makes you think of additional research and helps you to see the subject of your research in a different light. Nancy is compiling research done on the Coe family in the towns of Durham, CT; Granville, MA; Ballstown, NY; Paris, NY; and Pompey, NY, and would love to talk with other people researching the Coes or the towns listed above.

Pat continued her research on Carlos C. Coe, a relative of Mary Ann who was an early balloonist in New York State. Pat took a field trip to Rome, NY and visited the Jervis Public Library, the Rome Historical Society and the Rome Cemetery, as part of her Carlos Coe research. While not much was found on Carlos, Pat did collect information on Pomeroys from the Rome and Utica area, including the family of Daniel C. Pomeroy (Silas, Nathaniel, Noah, Noah, Joseph, Medad, Eltweed). Pat is also researching the Adam Junkins family in Cadiz, OH. Adam was the brother of Benjamin Junkins, Mary Ann’s second “husband”. Pat also researched NY State’s insolvency laws for an article we hope to have published soon.

In between packing and moving, Judy has continued to transcribe articles in the Firelands Pioneer Journal and has made some great headway in entering Pomeroy vital records.

We have added 320 new people, 165 new sources and 2686 new citations to our genealogy databases over the past three weeks.

APHGA Bi-Weekly Report 4/7/2010

2010-04-07T12:34:00.007-04:00

The Great A. A. Pomeroy Book Update Project

Ed, Betty, Barb and Nancy have been busy reviewing the research on the book that has been completed to date, and accessing and organizing the work yet to be done in order to set a publication date for the book update project. Nancy is considering publishing in phases, starting with the first five generations down from Eltweed, in 2011, with additional publications of three to five generations in length, dependent on the number of families this encompasses. As the generations go forward, the number of people in the family tree increases exponentially, so we may need to publish at three generation intervals after the initial book containing the first five generations is published.

Barb is identifying what information is missing from our Eltweed database and tracking it on a spreadsheet. Betty has organized the vital records that need to be matched and entered by priority (pre-1850 being the highest priority, 1850-1930 is medium priority, 1930 forward is low priority.) Ed has prioritized all NewEnglandAncestor.com databases by the above mentioned priorities. Nancy is organizing the many, many files of research on her desk by priority and will be handing the highest priority research on to Betty, Ed and Judy to enter. Barb also continues her review of Pomeroys in “America’s Historic Newspapers” database.

Judy and Betty are entering high priority vital records. Judy is focusing on MO marriage records and Quebec Vital and Church Records and Canadian Soldiers of the First World War. Betty is currently working on the Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records available on Ancestry.com. She is matching and entering Pomeroys and collateral lines. Betty has also been reviewing the Gerald A. Parson’s book on the Parsons lineage to see if she can connect any of the various Parsons identified in the A.A. Pomeroy books. Betty also prepared a list of NY Pomeroys and Collateral lines by priority, for a field trip to the Onondaga County Public Library. She will be helping Lee finish transcribing the NY State Vital Records index.

Ed continues to enter Maine and Canadian records into our Unlinked Pomeroy database. Nancy handed off a large Long Island Plantation and Tremont, ME Pomeroy/Lunt file which Ed is entering. Ed also prepared for his visit to the Onondaga County Public Library and will be reviewing their large selection of Maine vital records on CD.

Ed and Lee have been working on the Jeremiah Pomeroy family of Starks, Somerset County, ME, and Nancy had been corresponding with a genealogist and his client, who is a descendant of this family. Jeremiah Pomeroy was b. 10 Oct 1774 in ME, and married Elizabeth Parker (b. 10 Jul 1786, ME) by 1800. The couple had the following children: Betsey, b. 21 Nov 1801; Joshua P. b. 2 Sep 1803; Benjamin b. 1 Aug 1805; Polly, b. 26 May 1809; Nehemiah, b. 2 Apr 1811; Elizabeth, b. 27 Feb 1813; Phebe H. b. 17 Mar 1815; Eunes H (Eunice?), b. 26 Feb 1817; Jeremiah, b. 9 Feb 1819; Simeon Goodin, b. 7 May 1822; Rebecca Jane, b. 9 Mar 1824; and Richard H, b. 3 Oct 1826, all children born in Starks. Of these children, Nehemiah moved to Mercer County, Illinois by 1857; Jeremiah moved to Mercer Co. by 1850, then to Iowa by 1880; Simeon moved to Boston, MA by 1850 and later to Worcester Co., MA; while Richard, the youngest child, stayed in Somerset Co., ME. Is anyone else working on this family? We would love to know who Jeremiah’s parents are!

Ed and Nancy are also trying to identify the parents of an Albion Pomeroy, b. abt 1826 in ME, who married Betsey (last name unknown), who was b. abt 1832 in Canada, East. Albion was living with the William Ward family in Fort Winnebago, Columbia County, WI when he was enumerated on 5 Sept 1850 in the 1850 US Federal Census. By the 1860 US Federal Census he was living with his wife and children in Beloit, Rock Co., WI. By the 1870 US Federal Census he was living with his wife and children in Cass, Clayton Co., IA, and by the 1880 US Federal Census he was living in Precinct A., Seward Co., NE, where he was still living when the 1900 US Federal Census was taken. Albion and Betsey had the following children: Clinton Henry, b. abt Aug 1855, in WI; Lysander F., b. abt 1860 in WI; Nancy Jane, b. abt 1863 in IL; Minnie L., b. abt 1867 in IL; Ellen, b. abt 1872 in WI, and Frank, b. abt 1874 in IA.

Other Pomeroy families found in Beloit, WI were brothers Nathan H. and Alonzo Pomeroy, sons of Richard and Elizabeth “Betsey” (Daggett) Pomeroy. Richard was b. 1771 in ME and married Elizabeth (b. abt 1775 in MA) by abt 1796. Their children include: Catherine, b. 7 Jul 1797, d. 26 Sep 1800 in Starks, ME; Hiram, b. 6 Nov 1799 in Starks, John, b. 13 Jul 1802 in Starks; Robert L., b. 22 May 1804 in Starks; Nathan H., b. 22 May 1804 in Somerset Co., ME (possibly Starks); Alonzo, b. abt 1807 in ME, (possibly Starks); and Betsey Pomeroy, b. 5 Sep 1809 in ME (possibly Starks).

Nathan H. Pomeroy married Mary (last name unknown), date unknown. Mary was born abt 1806 in ME. The couple may have had two daughters, based on the 1840 US Federal Census, but we can’t be sure as yet. By the 1850 US Federal Census Nathan and Mary were living in Beloit, WI with Nathan’s parents and Elizabeth and Andrew Hunt, both born about 1834 in ME. Are these children related? By the 1860 US Federal Census Nathan and Mary are living in Shirland, Winnebago Co., IL. Also in the household was Nathan’s mother. Nathan may have married twice.

Alonzo Pomeroy married Sarah K (last name unknown) by 1832. Sarah was b. abt. 1812 in ME. By the 1860 US Federal Census, the two were living with their children in Beloit, WI. Their children include: Francis B., b. abt 1833 in ME; Lydia E., b. abt 1839 in ME; Atwell W., b. abt Nov 1842 in ME; Alonzo Franklin, b. abt Oct 1846 in ME; and Lillian, b. abt Jul 1859 in WI.

The fact that Nathan, Alonzo and their father Richard Pomeroy were all in Beloit, WI around the same time that Albion Pomeroy was, makes us wonder whether these families were related. Is anyone else researching these lines?

Lee continues to abstract Pomeroys in the New York State Vital Records Index at the Onondaga County Public Library. She has also been leading the Publication Project and has been finding out about copyright issues related to publishing articles in local papers. Judy wrote a short piece on finding Spencer Pomeroy’s Insolvency Papers at the Onondaga County Courthouse. Pat is working on a follow-up piece explaining the NY State Insolvent Debtor laws. The proposed third piece will be an abstract of Spencer’s Insolvency papers. Lee has also been matching Pomeroys in the 1911 Canadian Census. Lee also reviewed Pomeroys in the British Columbia Marriage Index, 1872-1924, which has been made newly available on Ancestry.com

Barb, Rick and Caryn continue to review and transcribe Pomeroys in the 1865 NY State Census. Barb has offered to start the one county that had not been reserved by the other researchers... Kings County! We wish you the best of luck Barb!

Rick helped with a filing project as part of his work writing applications for various lineage societies for Bill. Rick is currently working on Bill’s application to the National Society of the Sons of American Colonists.

Barb and Nancy also attended the second planning meeting of the Central New York Genealogical Society’s 50th Anniversary Conference Committee. The conference will be scheduled for October 2011 in Syracuse, NY. Nancy is on the vendor and speaker sub-committees.

Caryn and Nancy continued to research Edwin Guilford Pomeroy (Francis A., Francis W., Spencer, Pliny, Daniel, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed) and the McKeen Motor Car Company for a article being written on the subject by a local free-lance writer. Nancy started to look at early residents of Tiffin, OH (where Edwin grew up), and noted that many were also early residents of Norwalk, OH. This information may prove useful in our ongoing research of Mary Ann Coe (former wife of Spencer Pomeroy, and great-grandmother of Edwin).

Nancy also checked the Pomeroy message board on Ancestry.com and reviewed recently posted messages. One of particular interest concerns the parentage of a John P. Pomeroy, b. abt 1794 in possibly CT, who settled in Saint Lawrence Co., NY by 1830. He married Narcissa Henderson in Hopkinton, St. Lawrence Co., abt 1819 and the couple had the following children: David, b. abt 1819 in Hopkinton; Chester, b. between 1820 and 1825 in Hopkinton; Jesse Henry, b. Oct 1821 in NY (probably Hopkinton), Eldridge G, b. Aug 1833 in Hopkinton; Delia b. between 1825 and 1830 in Hopkinton; Lucretia, b. abt 1825 in Hopkinton; Earl, b. abt 1827 in Hopkinton; and John Willard, b. abt 1831 in Hopkinton. According to the author of a message on the Pomeroy board, John P. Pomeroy was the son of Josiah Pomeroy, who was the illegitimate son of Josiah Pomeroy and Lavina (or Lavinia) Phelps. Josiah the son was b. 11 Nov 1772 in Hebron, Tolland Co., CT. His alleged father, Josiah Pomeroy, was b. 18 Jun 1745 in Hebron and d. Jul 1812, the son of Rev. Benjamin Pomeroy (Joseph, Medad, Eltweed) and his wife Abigail Wheelock. We are currently been doing research to see whether we can prove a connection between Josiah (son of Lavina Phelps) and John P. Pomeroy. Our research has led us to Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., MA, where early on are found several Josiah Pomeroys working and living in the area. According to Pittsfield history books, Lemuel Pomeroy (Lemuel, Seth, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed) the well known arms manufacturer and miller, went into business with Josiah Pomeroy, also a miller and distant relative. Prior to pursuing this research, we believed that Josiah Pomeroy, Sr (Benjamin, Josiah, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed) b. 5 Jan 1778 in Northampton, MA who married Ruth Thayer, Charlotte Smith and Phebe (last name unknown) was the Josiah who was in business with Lemuel Pomeroy, but now we are wondering if the miller in Pittsfield was really Josiah, son of Lavina Phelps. Two Josiah Pomeroys show up in early census records for Berkshire County, MA. One is living in Hinsdale and the other in Pittsfield. The headcount of people living in the Hinsdale Josiah Pomeroy family seem to match Josiah Pomeroy, Sr., husband of Ruth Thayer. This Josiah died 11 Jun 1861 in Leverett, Franklin Co., MA, while the miller, Josiah Pomeroy of Pittsfield apparently died in 1851.

Lavina Phelps married Capt. Daniel Pepoon in Hebron, Tolland Co., CT on 28 Dec 1780. The couple had three children, Nancy, b. 9 Aug 1783; Joseph, b. between Sept 1781 and Nov. 1785; and Lavinia, b. abt 1785. Lavina (Phelps) Pepoon d. 1 Nov 1785 in Hebron. Daniel had moved with his children to Stockbridge, Berkshire Co., MA by 1790. He was for a time the proprietor of a coffee house in Pittsfield, and one of the incorporators of the Berkshire Bank. We are wondering whether Josiah, son of Lavina, grew up in this family. If so, it would put him in the right place at the right time to be the miller Josiah who went into business with Lemuel Pomeroy. If anyone else is researching this family and can provide insight on which Josiah was in business with Lemuel, we would love to hear from you!

The Pomeroy Collection

Just added to the collection is a group of about fifty letters, notes, telegrams and other ephemera associated with Frederick Lawrence Pomeroy (James Clark, Stephen, Ebenezer, Ebenezer, Eldad, Caleb, Eltweed) and family. Frederick was born 15 Jan 1855 in Cortland, Cortland Co., NY, and as a young man of sixteen worked as a clerk for the Utica, Ithaca and Elmira Railroad. He married Ophelia Taylor Williams on 9 Jun 1880 and continued his career in the railroad business. IN 1897 he was the general manager of the Nickel Plate Fast Freight Line in New York City, and in 1901 was the Assistant Traffic Manager of the New York Central Railroad. His family lived in Brooklyn, on President St. In Oct. 1906 he and several other NY Central and Hudson River Railroad workers were indicted for granting freight rebates to the Sugar Trust. Frederick died of heart disease on 26 Nov. 1906 before the case was settled. His wife continued to pursue Frederick’s interest in the case until it was dropped. The collection includes several letters of condolence to the widow and the couple’s only child, Fred Lawrence Pomeroy, along with extensive correspondence from Rev. A. J. Lyman, the minister of the South Congregational Church of Brooklyn, NY, and a handwritten letter from F.E. Harriman, on Grand Central Station letterhead. This was a bit of a mystery to us, as we are familiar with Edward Harriman, president of the N.Y. Central Railroad, but are not familiar with F.E. Harriman. Nancy found on Google Books, the journal “Freight, The Shippers’ Forum” Vol X, No. 11, published in NY in November, 1909, which mentions F.E. Harriman on page 335. According to the article “Traffic Club of New York” F.E. Harriman was at that time the Coal Traffic Manager of the New York Central Lines. Was he related to Edward Harriman?

The Pomeroy Anvil Trail

Work continues on the Pembroke, ME monument.

The Mary Ann Coe Project

Judy continues to transcribe and enter articles from the Firelands Pioneer that relate to early residents of Huron County, OH. Pat continues to research early residents in Huron County, OH in an effort to identify where these settlers came from, prior to settling in Huron County. She has found many links to Western and Central New York, Hampshire and Berkshire Counties, MA and Tolland County, CT. She is also working on filling in the Coe line, especially those who settled in the Central New York area, including the eminent balloonist Carlos C. Coe.

Pat has been researching the family of Major Joseph Strong, who married second wife, Lucy Elderkin, in Manlius, NY on 24 Oct. 1799. Lucy was the sister of Mary Ann Elderkin. Mary Ann married twice, first to a Henry Clark and second to a James Jackson, and she was a member (as Mary Ann Jackson) of the Trinity Presbyterian Church in Manlius when Sarah L. (Allen) Pomeroy was a member. Lucy and her husband Major Joseph Strong and their family moved to Lyme, Huron County by 1813. Major Joseph Strong descends from Justice Joseph Strong, b. 2 Dec 1672 in Northampton, Hampshire Co., MA, who married Sarah Allen. We have not yet traced whether Sarah Allen, wife of Joseph Strong, was related to Sarah L. Allen, wife of Pliny Pomeroy.

We have added 540 new people, 183 new sources and 3499 new citations to our genealogy databases over the past three weeks.

APHGA Bi-Weekly Report 3/19/2010

2010-03-19T17:19:00.001-04:00

The Great A. A. Pomeroy Book Update Project

We’ve been getting a lot of e-mails from Pomeroy descendants or people who know Pomeroys, it’s been really exciting. I can’t help but think that the show “Who Do You Think You Are” may have something to do with the increased interest in genealogy!

APHGA Members Jeannie Y and Diane L have been helping Nancy read through several volumes of Hancock County, Maine deeds, which have been digitally scanned, but the early books are not indexed, so it’s a matter of looking page to page to identify Pomeroys, Lunts and Coffins. What we’re trying to do is find some record that connects William Pomeroy, b. 9 Jul 1789 in Trenton, Hancock Co., who married Nancy Grant, to a William Pomeroy (b. between 1750 and 1774) who is living in Orphan Island, Hancock County, with a small family according to the 1790 US Federal Census. Other possible children of William Pomeroy are Hannah Pomeroy who married John Gatcomb, Samuel Pomeroy b. abt 1789 who married Lydia Gatcomb, and John Pomeroy, b. abt 1790 who married Rachel Grant, sister of Nancy Grant. Jeannie gets a gold star for having read the largest number of deed books!

We heard from a West Virginia Eltweed Pomeroy descendant just this week and she’s been sending lots of great information. We’re curious to learn why Daniel Pomeroy (Hiram, Daniel, John, John, Noah, Joseph, Eltweed), b. May 1848, in NY (probably Pendleton, Niagara Co.), left New York state, after serving as a Private in Company I, of the 2nd Mounted Rifles Regiment of NY and settled in Missouri for a time (where he married Harriet “Hattie”) only to move again to Lincoln, Tyler County West Virginia by 11 Jun 1900 (according to the US Federal Census). Is anyone else researching this line? If so, we’d love to hear from you!

Another researcher contacted us about Jeremiah Pomeroy, b. abt 1777 in ME and found in 1820 in Starks, Somerset County, ME. Also in Starks according to the 1820 US Federal Census were John Pomeroy, of 45 years and upwards, Richard Pomeroy, of 45 yrs of age and upwards, and Benjamin Pomeroy, aged between 26 and 45. It seems likely that these heads of household are related, and we have certain information about each separately, but would like to connect them. In an interesting coincidence (Hank Jones would laugh if he read this), we were contacted about a Pomeroy family living in Economy, Indiana in the 1930s. It would appear, from our research that this family connects to the Richard Pomeroy found in Starks in 1820. There is also a connection to the Daggett family, Elizabeth Daggett married Richard Pomeroy and her nephew married a Lydia Pomeroy. A Lydia S, Daggett, 30, b. ME, was found living with the Albion Pomeroy family in Beloit, Rock County, Wisconsin according to the 1860 US Federal Census. Albion Pomeroy was the father of Clinton H. Pomeroy who settled in Economy, Indiana.

Judy and Ed have been entering Canadian Census records into our various Pomeroy databases. Judy as also been entering Pomeroy related Drouin records that Lee has translated and matched. When Betty is not entering vital records and related Parsons found in the Parsons Family Genealogy written by Gerald Parsons, she has been continuing to organize vital records that need to be entered, based on a priority system that we recently came up with. She has gone through the majority of files and is also matching the records in those files. She, Ed and Judy will be entering those records based on their priority.

Barb continues to review the Eltweed database and identify descendants with missing information. This is being stored in a spreadsheet so that we can sort by time period, place, or name to help us identify where further research is needed. She also continues to research Pomeroys found in America’s Historic Newspapers online. She, Betty, Caryn and Rick also continue to review, transcribe and match Pomeroys found in the 1865 NY State Census.

Lee is completing her match of Pomeroys in the 1911 Canadian Census, she has also started to organize our Publication project, identifying possible articles and publications of interest.

Caryn continues to research Edwin Guilford Pomeroy’s friends, family and acquaintances found in his two address books, and Nancy has been entering that information; and other early Tiffin settler information into our databases. Nancy met with Richard Palmer to hand over research done on Edwin and the McKeen Motor Car Company for an article that Richard will be writing.

The Pomeroy Collection

Nancy processed a number of journals, magazines and newsletters from various genealogical and historical societies, which have been donated by Bill Pomeroy. Nancy just received a copy of a reprint of the book “Local Color, Stories of Westhampton’s First 225 Years” edited by Jacqui Hickey LaFrance, James E. Bridgman and Sarah K. Mulvehill, originally published in 2003 and out of print for 7 years. Contact the Westhampton Historical Society (Westhampton, Massachusetts) for a copy before they sell out!

The Pomeroy Anvil Trail

Nancy is working with members of the Pembroke Historical Society in Maine to install a Pomeroy Anvil Monument dedicated to Thomas W. Pomroy this coming summer. The dedication is scheduled for the morning of the 4th of July and will immediately follow the parade, which ends at the American Legion Hall.

The Mary Ann Coe Project

Judy and Pat continue to research early Huron County, Ohio to identify where the early settlers of this county came from. As suspected, many came from Hampshire County, Massachusetts via Onondaga County, New York. It must have been extremely frustrating to keep running into old neighbors, especially when one took such measures to leave them behind! Judy continues to transcribe and enter research found in the Firelands Pioneers into our database, while Pat has been entering 1820 US Federal Census records for the county and researching those settlers to see if there were any familial or geographical ties to Mary Ann (Coe) Pomeroy Junkins Powers.

Rick continues to abstract the Bela Coe probate records (over 300 pages!). He has transcribed the will, and the inventory and has also created a spreadsheet of names found in the probate file with pertinent information and page numbers.

We have added 1399 new people, 182 new sources and 4498 new citations to our genealogy databases over the past two weeks.

APHGA Report for Month of February 2010

2010-03-03T15:36:00.002-05:00

The Great A. A. Pomeroy Book Update Project

Over these past few weeks Nancy and Caryn continued to research Edwin Guilford Pomeroy (Francis Austin, Francis W., Spencer, Pliny, Daniel, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed), and his connection with the McKeen Motor Car Company. We have branched out and are looking at co-workers and friends in order to find as much information about Edwin as we possibly can. Caryn found a wonderful website hosted by the Greater Omaha Genealogical Society that has indexes of vital records. Additional information can be obtained through the Society for nominal costs. We encourage you to visit their website at http://omahamarriages.wordpress.com/.

We’ve also been looking at what we’ve accomplished this past year, and have set goals for this year. We’ve broken the goals up into several projects which will be led or co-led by our researchers.

Lee will be heading up the Publication Project. Our goal is to publish articles in local newspapers and genealogical and historical society newsletters and journals relating to the research we’ve been doing. Our goal is to increase the awareness of the APHGA and to spotlight some of our researchers’ writing skills.

Betty and Ed will be reviewing research we’ve already gathered that has not previously matched any of the many families in our various Pomeroy databases. They will be doing additional research to connect these as of yet unconnected people.

Barb is taking a closer look at our Eltweed database to identify where we are missing information on Pomeroys and where we need to fill in additional information along collateral lines. She’s created a spreadsheet to keep track of this information and Betty and Ed should find this helpful as they are going through unmatched records.

Rick is heading up the Lineage Society project. He will be learning the ins and outs of successful lineage society applications, while applying for Bill’s membership to these societies. As Rick gains knowledge in this area he will be able to help guide other APHGA members as they navigate these often tricky waters.

Caryn will be taking over the data-entry of the George Pomeroy genealogy into its’ own database.

Lee continued to review and transcribe Pomeroys in the NYS Vital Records index at the Onondaga County Public Library. She also copied various Pomeroy, Ball, and Coe records found in the vertical files at the library. She also reviewed and copied Pomeroys in Border Crossings through Canada/Maine, and re-examined the Drouin Vital & Church Records, 1621-1967 for additional matches.

Rick, Barb, Caryn and Betty continued reviewing the 1865 NY State Census available through FamilySearch.org. Betty and Ed continue to add matched US and Canadian vital records, military records and border crossings to our various databases. Ed has been entering a large Pomeroy family who settled in Cobourg, Province of Ontario, Canada. Barb continued to review Pomeroys in America’s Historic Newspapers.

Rick copied several Erie County, NY probate records including James W. Higgins, Thomas A. Pomeroy, Oliver Pomeroy and Ralph M. Pomeroy. Nancy has been researching a Pomeroy family from Maryland and has linked them to Chuck Pomeroy’s Front Royal, Virginia family.

Have you been watching “Faces of America” hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. on PBS? If so, don’t miss “Who Do You Think You Are” airing this Friday night at 8pm on NBC. We’re interested to see whether the NBC show is using autosomal DNA testing as “Faces of America” is. FamilyTreeDNA will be launching their own autosomal DNA testing in March. For a great explanation of the different types of DNA tests available and what they mean, check out the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation’s website at http://www.smgf.org/education/animations/intro.jspx .

The Pomeroy Collection

Nancy transcribed the address books of Etta May (Stansberry) Pomeroy. Etta May was married to Edwin Guilford Pomeroy (Francis Austin, Francis W., Spencer, Pliny, Daniel, Ebenezer, Medad, Eltweed). Etta May was the daughter of James Harvey Stansberry and his first wife Rebecca Jane Burtlow. Etta’s siblings were Albert, Charles, William Taylor, Alphia Armintta, and Martha Ellen. Etta May also had half siblings Sarah M, James Arthur, Rebecca, Samuel Earl and Glen Stansberry, through her father’s marriage to Isaphena Wall. A letter in the Etta May Stansberry collection also indicates that Etta May may have had another half sibling, Edith (Stansberry) Harter. We are researching to identify who Edith’s mother was. One of the last notations in a small address book written in Etta May’s handwriting has shed some light on the final resting place of Etta May’s sister Alphia Armintta. We have traced Armintta to the Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Queens, NY. Nancy has ordered a death certificate to verify that the Armintta Clark buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery is indeed Etta May’s sister. Nancy was able to get the death certificate number thanks to the efforts of Italian Genealogical Group. This organization has posted NY City and surrounding area vital records indexes on their website, free of charge. You can visit them at http://www.italiangen.org. Our hats off to these researchers!

The Pomeroy Anvil Trail

Nancy has been communicating with Arthur Carter of the Pembroke Historical Society in Pembroke, ME regarding the installation of a Pomeroy Anvil Monument dedicated to Thomas W. Pom(e)roy, the Clairvoyant Herbalist. Arthur, a member of the New Brunswick Genealogical Society, has offered to bring our Pomeroy research up at the next meeting. We’re trying to confirm that Thomas’ father David and Uncle Benjamin were the children of Richard Pomeroy and were baptized at St. Stephen. If so, does this family descend from Richard Pomeroy of the Isles of Shoals?

The Mary Ann Coe Project

Pat and Judy will be co-leads on the Mary Ann Coe Project. They will be assessing the Huron County, Ohio research that remains to be transcribed and entered into our databases. We have been combing the Firelands Pioneer back issues to better familiarize ourselves with the early settlers in the communities where Mary Ann, her Coe uncles and husbands lived. We’re working to identify where these early settlers came from to see if there are relationships we have been previously unaware of. We’re hoping that these relationships give us further insight into Mary Ann’s life and also identify new areas for additional research.

Rick has finished copying the Bela De Cost Coe probate file and has started to transcribe the will, and inventory and has started to create an every name index.

We have added 1150 new people, 258 new sources and 5512 new citations to our genealogy databases over the past month.