APHGA Report, September 9, 2010

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.

APHGA Weekly Report 10/13/2009

The Great A. A. Pomeroy Book Update Project

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Pomeroy Anvil Trail

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


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

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

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

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

The Pomeroy Collection

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

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

The Mary Ann Coe Project

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

© 2009 American Pomeroy Historic Genealogical Association