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In 2003 we broke through a brick wall that had been holding up research for years !
We knew a great deal about Richard Pomeroy , his work record and his descendants but we did not know his origins
Then we found him in the 1851 census
Richard Pomery living at 7 Mitre Square, Dukes Place, St. James, City of London, a lodger, widowed, age 70, retired clerk East & West India Docks born Warrington Devon
E xcept there isn't a WArrington . There is a WERRINGTON near Launceston...
and there we found him My 4 times great grandfather Richard Pomery was born in Werrington near Launceston 1781
I had no idea just what I would uncover when I began looking at my family tree. Now I have discovered two new English cousins, as well as some more distant cousins,in every sense, in America, South Africa and Australia and in 2012 I have just added another English Cousin ( by DNA) who has tracked his branch to Portsmouth !
I am now hopelessly addicted to genealogy and as this site grows I see no possibility being cured !!
This website is the result of my researches ; Most of the handdrawn illustrations are my own.
We now have a DNA connection between the modern Poms on this tree and he Armorial Pomeroy family in Brixham – whose ancestors owned Berry Pomeroy Castle before 1547 See webpage Collaton Pomeroys.
As well as the known connection that Robert G Pomeroy represents in CA there is also a connection with Cork in Ireland and Front Royal in Virginia - a DNA Link. We don’t know from where or when that part of the family went to Ireland
The Cornish part of the early tree 1720 onwards is taken from several sources.; the local parish registers as found in Phillimore on the Nigel Batty Smith Website UK genealogy, and some from Chris Pomery’s sources at Pomerology and IGI.
The earlier part of this tree is largely unconfirmed other than what is found in IGI, which should NOT be regarded as reliable.
However AJP suspects that the Lewannick/ Werrington family had become gentlemen farmers or possibly Yeomen -
there is indications of with 3 lives leases;
Yeoman which was a status rather than an occupational description. These were substantial farmers with good houses, land with an annual income above £40 a year (in C17 & C18th) , who travelled ‘to get riches’. Many held subordinate roles in local government.
Roger Pomeroy, b 1762, married a Grace Vosper , a Yeoman family who had dealings with Rodd of Trebartha, a large landowner in this part of the country and connections with The Collaton Pomeroys who are of the armorial tree.
WERRINGTON is a parish, on the banks of Yeo about two miles north of Launceston.
In 1249 it was called Wufrinton, 1324 it was called Worryinton, the land was held by the Abbey of Tavistock under King Edward, who had 116 villiens, 25 borders, 20 serfs and 25 freed men
'the manor paid 20 pounds ‘by tale and under jing' (Yet to discover a meaning to this )
Once in Devon it is now in Cornwall since boundary changes the parish contains the small villages of Yeolmbridge, Druxen, Eggbeer, and numerous farms.
Its population is small and scattered. C19th there were 75 houses 104 families with around 249 women & 240 men., 347 of whom had agricultural occupations, 7 did manufacturing work and 135 had other occupations.
After so many years we have one brick out and could peep through the gap into his past ! It was an exciting moment !
An enquiry to the Online Parish Clerk & the Parish registers of Werrington brought the discovering of his entire family :-
Richard Pomery was born on 7th Jan 1781 son of John and Elizabeth Pomery nee Evans in Werrington in Devon, now in Cornwall.
He had older brothers,
William born 1st Oct 1775 , John born 6th Sept 1778 and a half sister Elizabeth born on 22 Feb 1784.
The family may have consisted of 9 children- 5 from John Pomeroy’s 1st marriage to Elizabeth Williams which produced
Roger b 1762, Mary b 1763, Elizabeth b 1765, Ann b 1768
4 siblings from father Johns' 2nd marriage to Elizabeth Evens
3 sons and a daughter . Richard was the youngest son
A death and burial of Elizabeth Pomery, buried 29th Nov 1774 was probably half sister Elizabeth born 1765.
Where they were living in the parish I have yet to discovered (2024)
https://sites.google.com/site/pomeroytwigs2/home
Country life was never easy and the C18th & C19th were a particularly hard time for country people, It looks idyllic but it was the work of an Ag Lab was often back breaking & the wages were poor. Children were apprenticed at 7 or 8 if they were lucky age 12 or 15, to apprentice masters who ruled their lives until they were 21 !
Just a few of the nearly 600 records of Apprentices
William Abbott Apprentice Indenture 1754 Premium £10. 0s 0d to Robert Pearse Master Weaver Launceston Cornwall
John Ball son of Samuel Ball a Mercer ,Apprenticed by Indenture 1715 ;Premium £14. 0s 0d to John Jeanes Ironmonger Laun'ston
Richard Cowles Master Sadler Apprenticed William Surcombe son of William Registration year 1747 Premium £15 .0s 0d Launceston
John Glanvill Master Carpenter apprenticed John Blake son of John in 1753 by Indenture Premium £10. 0s Launceston
John Martin Apprentice by Indenture 1759 Premium £5 to Richard Sturbridge Master Tailor Launceston
John Pearse Apprenticed 1806 to James Prockter Master Watchmaker Launceston
Devon 1781 Apprentice and Master 67A-99/PO6
Elizabeth Oldridge apprenticed to John Pomeroy, yeoman 1739
Samuel Pomeroy age 11 apprenticed to John Bishop 1818
John Caseley apprenticed to John Pomery, yeoman 1720
Thomas Doble to John Pomeroy for Boycombe estate 1784 East Devon
Susanna Anning age 11 to Mr John Pomeroy for Shutes assignment to Robert Seller, tailor endorsed
More about Werrington Her
Visitations Martyn gives us Elizabeth Pomeroy dau of .... Pomeroy of Werrington
Elizabeth Pomery born about 1632 married William Martyn 1652 in Werrington .but there are now known Pomeroy properties in that immediate area
So WHY Werrington? ? Unless the Martyns had connections with the family at Werrington Park & its Big House & estate
2022 & AML, after many years of diligent research, has shown that Elizabeth Martyn was probably one of the 8 children of John Pomeroy by his very young wife Maria Seccombe
John was 3rd son of Thomas Pomeroy & His wife Elizabeth Hengscot of the Ilsington line.
John was about 38 when he married Mary Seccombe, who was only 13 years old, married in 1626 at Lynton, North Devon. Their grandson heads the modern Pomeroy ,Lord Harberton, family.
One of the most significant buildings in the parish is Werrington Park which once belonging to the Duke of Bedford with the parish church opposite the Lodge at the estate entrance. Russell was made Earl of Bedford after his successful suppression of the Prayerbook Rebellion of 1549, one of his many rewards was the manor of Werrington . He later it sold to a nephew of Sir Francis Drake whose heirs sold the property to the Morice family in 1661.
Sir William Morice was Secretary of State to Charles II. The Barton estate belonging to the Duke of Northumberland, who resided there occasionally.
Werrington Park,below is described as a neat mansion with a park of 355 acres extending into Cornwall.
The inner court of Werrington House showing the older building behind the neat white facade
The Werrington estate was acquired in 1620 by Sir Francis Drake, 1st Baronet (1588-1637), of Buckland Monachorum in Devon, nephew of the famous Admiral Sir Francis Drake (d.1596).
In 1631 he obtained a royal licence to empark lands in Werrington and St. Stephen by Launceston and later rebuilt the manor house. In 1649 Sir Francis Drake, 2nd Baronet (1617-1662) purchased the nearby manor of Launceston and the borough of Newport in the parish of St. Stephen, and moved his main residence to Buckland Monachorum, whereupon he sold Werrington to Sir William Morice
There were 11 MARTYN children born to William Martyn & his wife Elizabeth in North Tamerton to be found in OPC/Cornwall she died in North Tamerton 1672 age about 36, presumably in childbirth .
3rd son . John Pomeroy “Put To The Law” (1588->1655) is consistent with their location in London around the Inns of Court & the Bb's at St Dunstan in the West which is on Fleet Street in Farringdon Without, just outside the original walls of the City of London
John Pomeroy & Maria Seccombe had 8 children
John born 1629 St Dunstan's in the West in London
Mary who may have been the first born but died & was buried in 10 Aug 1630 in St Stephen by Launceston in Cornwall
Dorothy, born St Stephens by Launceston 1631 married Sir James Langham in 1695
Susanna b 1632 ,
ELIZABETH Martyn born 1634 ,married 1652 died 1672
Frances b 1636 ,
Arthur Dean of Cork
Thomas 1638.
The Martyns were a very very successful & wealthy, Exeter & Totnes merchant family
- 8 May 1611 William Martyn of Totnes, Merchant, marriage by licence to Anna Hockmore, da. of Richard Hockmore, Gent., late of Bury Pomeroy, deceased. 2nd wife was Dorothy Savory dau of Christopher Savoury, High Sheriff of Devon issue 4 sons 2 daughters by his second marriages
133 before that in 1478 Henry Pomeroy married Agnes Hockmore.
From AML in MA a note . USA The New World
John Martyn came from a family in Cornwall and became Trelawny's governor in Maine;
Martyns had connected with Pomeroys in Cornwall. Trelawny came from Cornwall; he paid a Merchant in Plymouth to apprentice him as a Merchant Trader...-and they had to sponsor him in either Portugal or Spain as part of the deal. Trelawny sponsored a trade route between Ireland, New England and Portugal. DATES_ circa 1620 +
His sister Barbara Pomeroy, married Stephen Southcott in Dec 1611. He died in 1613 & the widow ed Barbara then married Arthur Seccombe by licence on 27 Nov 1620 in St Stephen By Launceston. Seccombe was father of Maria her brother Johns' wife who was 13 when they married .
Barbara Secombe ne Pomeroy had 3 Seccombe children ' -
1631 Nathaniell s/o SECOMBE Arthure (Gent.) Barbe
1633 Ambrose s/o SECOMBE Arthure (Gent) & his wife Barbara
1634 Susanna SECCOMBE baptised father Arthur (gent.)
There was a Barbara Seccombe who died 11 April 1669
Agnes Kelloway , granddaughter of Anna Cammell was married in about 1478 to to Thomas the 4th son of Henry Pomeroy & Alice Ralegh ; she must have been 20 years or more younger than him.
After Thomas died in 1493 she married Thomas Bowring Esq., who in 1494 became Lord Chief Justice in Ireland
Her children were Richard who married Elinor Coker ,
Henry who married Agnes Huckmore daughter of a William Huckmore .
Anne who married Tristan Hengscott
Thomasine who married William Barrett.
Other ship masters were involved. Trelawny had a Settlement deal in Maine, with Leonard Pomeroy of Plymouth . Thomas Pomeroy (possibly Leonard's nephew ) remained in Plymouth, and acted as Trelawnys agent, and Owen/Edwin Pomeroy of Plymouth , probably another nephew, ships master, had a fishing station on the other side of Richmond Island from Martyn.
During the English Civil Wars William Pomeroy (cordwainer) in Plymouth was ,like Trelawney, a Royalist, in the Parliamentarian town of Plymouth,. He left the country, and after the Restoration in 1660 William was given command of a ship . When he died in the Kings service he left a very young family & his widow was given a pension.
Was this William also a nephew or grand nephew of Leonard Pomeroy merchant & Mayor in Plymouth ? AML thinks probably.
Was one of his young children the Richard or Thomas who ended up at the Isle of Shoals? Probably
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