From Normandy to Devon; to Dorset, Cornwall, Ireland and Beyond:

Although the documents that record the heads of various Pomeroy family clusters go back to the mid 1500's at best, we find, as we explore, older records that mention the name,  of various spellings, going back many more hundreds of years. 

While most of our earliest known forbearers cannot be connected to those historical figures,  items that relate to the Pomeroy's of an earlier time are most interesting. 

‘We find but few historians, of all ages, who have been diligent enough in their

search for truth; and it is their common method to take on trust what they deliver to

the public, by which means a falsehood once received from a famed writer becomes

traditional to posterity.’

1  John Dryden, quoted in J. Potter, Good King Richard ?  (London: Constable, 1983), pp. 166-7.

This site serves as a depository for my internet explorations, conversations, and little discoveries. 

It is my desire not to contribute to further falsehoods, but rather to locate the  simple truths  based upon those records available online.      PLEASE do not treat the information on this web site as authoritative. 

Note: Work in progress: I've been working on the early orgins of Eltweed Pomeroy in England for some time and it is possible I don't finish the project in a timely fashion.   Because this is a public page, I expect it will be easy to cut and past  what I've posted here. Please extend me the courtesy of waiting until everything has been properly sourced. 

1. Descendants of Eltweed Pomeroy belong to a genetic group of Pomeroy's with early origins in Devon.  The public page of Family Tree DNA-Pomeroy surname project has this genetic group identified.  Y700 results show this group underwent of period of rapid expansion and dispersal between 1500-1560, from the immediate area of Totnes in Devon to Somerset and Dorset, followed closely by a branch going to Ireland and Wiltshire. This all occurred prior to the keeping of BMD records, so we have to rely on the Archives and YDNA testing. 

2. No, A. A. Pomeroy, (History and Genealogy of the Pomeroy Family, Volume III, 1923)  was not wrong, but he wasn't right, either.  The National Archives do provide sufficient evidence to connect one of the Pomeroy Genetic B families, with early origins in Clapton in Gordano, Somersetshire, to Thomas Pomeroy and Agnes Kelloway of Bowden at Totnes.  (Richard Pomeroy, their 2nd son, married first Elinor Coker, and second Anne Wykes Arthur, widow of Thomas Arthur of Clapton in Gordano.). Both the Wykes and the Arthurs had holdings in Somerset and Dorset.   

3. Cutting to the chase, I propose to provide all the archives, and backstory to support this connection. It will be a short story with a very long set of footnotes.  I now realize why POWLEY used the format he did...it was the only way to fit everything in. 

John Pery holds by copy a cottage with appurtenances and eleven acres of land lying in the common field of Crukerne, and

renders per ann. vjs. v\\]d.

County

Somerset

Crewkerne

Church name (Links to more information)

St Bartholomew

Register type (Links to more information)

Parish Register

Burial date

16 Feb 1587

Burial person forename

John

Burial person surname

POMMERYIE

Burial person abode

Huishe

File line number 962

Huish: Hewish;  Near Crewkerne:

BURIAL:

Richard

Last name

Pommeroie

Death year

1629

Burial year

1629

Burial date

24 May 1629

Church; St Aldheim & St Eadburgh

Crewkerne was the mother church of  the area and many marriages, births and burials for people from the surrounding area were held there, and the records note frequently...NAME immediately followed by “Of Huish.” 

In Crewkerne church records none of the Pomeroys were “of this parish,” but “Of Huish,”   

What is curious is that they are NEAR Clapton and Henley, right next to Crewkerne. 

Henley was one of the properties Anne Wykes brought to her first marriage to Thomas Arthur.  Anne Wykes married 2nd Richard Pomeroy, of Bowden at Totnes.  About the time of his marriage, he sold most of his holdings in the Totnes area.   

A. A. Pomeroy latched on to Richard Pomeroy, buried FEB 1612 (old style) in Symondsbury as THE father of Eltwid because his genealogist, C. A. Hoppin,  couldn’t find any record of a Richard Pomeroy in Beaminster. HE IGNORED the record two lines above the Elinor Pomeroy record, of Joan Pomeroy wife of Richard Pomeroy, buried Feb. 1611. AND he chose Elinor buried April (Old Style) 1612 as the wife of Richard Pomeroy, father of Eltweed, and therefore the mother of Eltwid. Wrong. 

Elinor was not the wife of Richard Pomeroy, but the wife of Richard Pomeroy alias Wrickson.  And that there is an entire family of Pomeroys in Symondsbury using  Alias Wrickson.

Richard Pomeroy ALIAS WRICKSON , husband of Elinor, was contemporary with the other Wricksons;  William Pomeroy alias Wrickson and John Pomeroy Alias Wrickson in the records.  I suggest they were ALL siblings.  They were all OLDER by about 10 years than Eltwid, but TOO YOUNG to be the Parents of Eltwid.

If  Eltwid was a sibling he would ALSO CARRY the Alias Wrickson surname.