APHA Weekly Report, August 11, 2010

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.

Lyons, NY Pomeroy Anvil Monument Dedication Remarks

Communities of Faith

On behalf of Bill Pomeroy and myself, thank you for joining us in honoring Reverend Francis Pomeroy and the First Presbyterian Church of Lyons. I would like to personally thank Reverend Lee Prong, Les Bartley, the members of the Session and Mark DeCracker for their interest and participation in this project and in making this dream a reality.

In preparing the text for the monument, I had the opportunity to research the life of Reverend Francis Pomeroy. While Francis’ ecumenical life is well documented, his private life is not, so this research has presented many challenges. There’s an old saying amongst genealogists, “If you can’t find the person you’re researching, look at their family and neighbors.” In doing that, a greater pattern has emerged, of which Francis played a part; that I like to think of as a community of faith.

Francis Pomeroy was the first child born to Timothy and Ann (Ashley) Pomeroy. He was baptized in the Church of Christ, in Northampton, Massachusetts, on June 7, 1767. Francis advertised in the Hampshire Gazette as an indigo dyer in March 1795. His uncle, William Pomeroy was a clothier, and we speculate that Francis may have apprenticed under him. Francis lived on land deeded to his father by his grandfather, Lt. Daniel Pomeroy, in Westhampton, Massachusetts, then a part of Northampton. One entry in the journal of Reverend Enoch Hale, the first pastor of the Congregational Church of Westhampton, (and the brother of Nathan Hale), notes the “raising of Francis Pomeroy’s shop house” on April 20, 1795. Francis was about 27 years old at that time, married with children, and appeared to be well established in his trade. Five months later, tragedy struck. Francis and his wife lost two infants on September 4, 1795.

Francis’ name appeared in a notice in the Hampshire Gazette, that listed letters remaining in the Northampton Post Office as of January 1, 1796. Francis and his family were enumerated in the 1800 US Federal Census in Simsbury, Connecticut. How long he was in Simsbury, what he was doing there, and why he moved there remain a mystery to us, but we speculate that this may have been the period in his life when he found his true calling, that of the ministry of the gospel.

Francis’ father Timothy died in Northampton on November 8, 1802. By that time Francis’ brother Timothy has already moved to Canada, and three of his sisters, Anna, Thankful and Lovisa had moved west and were early pioneers of what is now Skaneateles, NY. Francis joined the Church of Christ in Northampton in 1802. Had he moved back to Northampton to care for his parents?

According to the records of the Middle Association published in the Journal of the Presbyterian Historical Society, “at a meeting of the committee of the Middle Association in Homer, June 20th, 1805... Mr. Francis Pomeroy appeared... and requested license to preach the gospel. The Committee, having made the necessary enquiries, unanimously approved of him, and accordingly licensed him until the rising of the next annual meeting of the Association.” Francis Pomeroy was ordained in May 1806 and installed at the Congregational Church of Brutus, now known as the Presbyterian Church of Sennett. Thus began Francis’ long career as a missionary pastor. This career would culminate in Francis’ participation in the founding of churches in Ira Center, Huron, Clyde, Palmyra, Rose, and Newark. Francis’ ministry encompassed over 25 years of service.

Francis lived with his third wife, Mary (Sayre) Potter Pomeroy in Lyons, and purchased land on village lot 2, which adjoined the property where this church now stands. Francis died on December 18, 1836 in Lyons, and was buried in the Presbyterian Burial Grounds on this site where we now celebrate his life.

Francis was part of a larger movement by the Connecticut Missionary Society and the Middle Association to provide missionary pastors to open churches along the Military Tract and Western New York. Francis’ contemporaries included Reverend Seth Williston (a distant cousin), Reverend Levi Parsons (a distant cousin), Reverend David Higgins, (related through marriage), and Reverend Hugh Wallis. Francis was by no means “alone in the wilderness”. He was just one of several like-minded (and often times related!) ministers of the gospel who answered the call to bring the word of God to this area. He had family ties in Skaneateles and Pompey, NY. He was also a valued member of the communities he served.

Francis’ second cousin, Dr. Robert William Ashley, settled in Lyons by 1808. Town histories state that Dr. Ashley lived on the east corner of Broad and Queen Streets, which would have made him a neighbor of Francis. According to “Grip’s Historical Souvenir of Lyons”, Dr. Ashley was “a prominent member of the Presbyterian church. He contributed 120 silver dollars to be cast into the bell hung in the first house of worship in the town.” Dr. Ashley’s son, William Frederick Ashley published notices in the Western Argus relating to the administration of Francis’ estate. Dr. Ashley’s daughter, Mary Williams Ashley, married Hiram Gilbert Hotchkiss in 1833!

One wonders how many of the early residents of Lyons were related, and this begs the question “what holds a community together?” Is it kinship, proximity, necessity, prayer? And are these relationships any less vital and necessary today than they were 200 years ago? I think not. Look at your neighbor, you may not think you’re related, but if you go back far enough, you’re likely to find a connection.

Like the pastors who have served this church for 200 years, and the members who have faithfully attended services, this community of faith has built lasting relationships, and will continue to do so, far into the future. Thank you for allowing me to celebrate that community with you.

Remarks given at the dedication of the Pomeroy Anvil Monument at the First Presbyterian Church of Lyons, New York, by Nancy Maliwesky, Director, American Pomeroy Historic Genealogical Association.



© 2009 American Pomeroy Historic Genealogical Association