The Eltweed Enigma

A. LaFrance   August 2013.

A. A. Pomeroy in the History and Genealogy of the Pomeroy Family, 1912, made the assumption that Eltwid Pomeroy's father, Richard Pomeroy, was "probably" the Richard Pomeroy born circa 1545 in Totnes, son of  Henry Pomeroy,(b c 1520),  son of Richard Pomeroy, (b. c 1482), the son of Thomas Pomeroy and Agnes Kelloway, based upon a very strong desire to find the “vital link” that supported family tradition. That “link,” was made with the support of his genealogist C. A. Hoppin, who was one of a group of genealogists of the period with a reputation of providing lots of records which seemed to point the way to a conclusion of ancestry, without the final proof.  

 J. Gardner Bartlett,  another genealogist working at the same time as Hoppin,  "known for his excellent Simon Stone, Gregory Stone, Robert Coe, and Henry Adams genealogies--"and for exposing the false ancestry of Eltweed Pomeroy of Dorchester, Mass., and Windsor, Conn,"  gained this latter recognition when he published,  in  The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Jan 1, 1914, his "expose," which consisted of  records and material demonstrating that Richard Pomeroy, son of Henry and Agnes Huckmore Pomeroy, lived and died in Devon,  and then went on to provid a "correct" pedigree for the descendants of Thomas Pomeroy and Agnes Kelloway.  Bartlett used the same techniques as Hoppin and other genealogists of the era; they built on work that had been done earlier, threw in some "newly found" records from the archives, and offered up their own version of things.     (A clip of Bartlett's  "correct" family is immediately below). Unfortunately,  Bartlett threw some extra mud into the mix.  Unfortunate, because not all of Bartlett's genealogies have "held up," either. 

Bartlett's Pomeroy  "pedigree" contains errors. 

1. The father of Agnes Kelloway was William, (not Thomas.)  (Note:  Agnes (daughter of William “the younger”] and granddaughter of William “the elder” (1469 will), with her husband Thomas Pomeroy, sued her father to claim the 40 li left to her in her grandfather’s will. 1486.)

2. The son and heir of Thomas was Henry, (not Thomas.) (IPM for Thomas.) 

POWLEY, , page 81:

1. Thomas Pomeroy ( - 1493),  (third son of Henry Pomeray (X) (q.v.ante) and Alice (Ralegh), married Agnes, daughter of John Kelloway, or Cayleway, of Sherborne.  

Children:

i. Henry, son and heir, was age 12 at his father’s death. 

“The Benolt visitation of Devonshire, 1531, gives Richard, Amy, Anne, Margaret, Thomasin and Elizabeth as children (of Henry), making (1) Richard to marry Elenor, third daughter of John Coker of Dorsetshire, from which union derived a Henry and a John (2) Amy to marry Thomas Tresoyell of cornwall, with Joan for issue, (3) Anne to marry Tristram Henscote of Exeter, with John, Nicholas and Agnes their offspring.”  

(Devonshire Visitation 1531: Ashmole MS. 7

(Note: Inquisitions Post Mortem, Henry VII, i. 398. 399. )

Powley’s error: Agnes was daughter of William, not John Kelloway.

Powley's Omission: He did not mention Richard Pomeroy, the son of Thomas and Agnes Kelloway. 

Research Note:  There are no other records that support Henry, "son and heir," lived to marry and have children.

The children cited by Powley belong to 2nd son, Richard Pomeroy. 

2. Richard Pomeroy, born 1492  married Alienora. (IPM of his mother, Agnes Bowrying alias Pomeroy alias Kelloway.) 

Alienora was Elinor Coker.

i. Henry Pomeroy, son and heir of Richard Pomeroy of Bowden in Totnes: 

Married Agnes Huckmore c 1543; (Marriage contract in IPM of her father, William Huckmore 1543. Hockmore William Great Totnes [Totnes] DEV     gentleman 1542   O ab   TAPS 34 Hen. VIII. Vol. 65 (38) Inquisition Post Mortem; daughter, Agnes & Christopher Blakaller, heirs.

 It has taken a long time to reason through what records are available to me, online, while at the same time ignoring the "published" genealogies and Visitations.

 Given the information available, (IPM's and Land Records) there several conclusions can be drawn:  

First, Bartlett was correct: there is absolutely NO evidence showing that  Richard Pomeroy, father of Eltwid Pomeroy of Beaminster, Dorset was a son of  Henry Pomeroy and Agnes Huckmore.  The date's simply don't work.

Elinor Coker Pomeroy was dead by 1545, when Richard Pomeroy married 2nd Anne Wykes. the widow of Thomas Arthur of Somersetshire.  

The clip below from A. A. Pomeroy's 3rd volume,  is  C. A. Hoppin's  sole defense against Bartlett's "exposing the false ancestry" of Pomeroy. 

Hoppin is unable to prove anything further, other than to suggest that John Pomeroy, Gent, in Dorset could be the John from Bowden at Totnes,  and in turn could be the father or grandfather of Richard Pomeroy of Beaminster.  

A suggestion left wide open to controversy. 

At the same time, Bartlett's "corrected" Pomeroy genealogy, published to demonstrate where Hoppin went wrong,  does not hold up either. 

It is an example of the total confusion everyone experienced when looking at this family, including : C. A. Hoppin, A. A. Pomeroy, Mr. Bartlett, VIvian and Powley: