Holbrook line: Medad Pomeroy 1730-1801

 Oh, the bubbles I am about to burst with this blog post!  I was really excited to find a lot of good stuff about this ancestor, until I was able to figure out that most of the "good stuff" is about at least two other men by the name of Medad Pomeroy.  One, the Revolutionary War Medad, cannot possibly be the one born in 1730 because his pension application states that he was 72 years old in 1830.  So this is Medad, the son of the Medad I am writing about, because the younger Medad was born in 1758.  (The son does have a fascinating story and it's worth pursuing, as a collateral relative but not as an ancestor.)  There is also a lot of information about "Dr. Medad Pomeroy", who has different birth and death dates, as well as different parents, than our guy.  Our Medad was not a doctor and he was not the son of Seth Pomeroy.  Our subject, and Dr. Medad, however, were each great grandsons of Medad the son of Eltweed Pomeroy.  

Now that I've thoroughly confused you, let's see what we do know about the Medad Pomeroy was born December 17, 1730 in Suffield, Hartford County, Connecticut.  When he was born, however, the town was considered part of Massachusetts, and the dispute between the two colonies wasn't settled until 1749. (This goes along with my slightly tongue in cheek belief that our ancestors found the most difficult ways and places to live, just to make it harder for us to find them and sort it all out.)  Medad's parents were Medad (do you see why there is confusion about all these men?) and Hannah Trumbull Pomeroy.  He was one of at least seven  children, which makes it a little surprising that he was the one given his father's name.  Perhaps his parents were, after all, hoping to make it a little less confusing to future family members, by giving other names to their sons.

We know very little about Medad's specific upbringing.   It appears likely that he was the Medad Pomeroy who was part of the French and Indian War, although I have not yet located information showing when and under whom he served.  (Some think this was his father Medad, but there seem to be enough listings that both men could well have served.)

During the French and Indian War, Medad found time to marry.  He first married Eunice Southwell on August 18, 1757, the daughter of Ebenezer and Elizabeth Judd Southwell.  They had two children together, Medad of the Revolutionary War, and Eunice.  Sadly, Eunice died just ten days after her daughter was born.  It's a wonder that our Eunice survived; there must have been a wet nurse of some sort involved.  Medad, with two children under the age of 4, next married Phebe Kent on July 8, 1761.  She gave birth to a son, Phebus, on January 6, 1762, and died 19 days later.  Now Medad had three children, and once again we wonder how Phebus survived.  (He was another Revolutionary War soldier, so it's a good thing he did survive!) Medad then married Mary Wilcocks or Wilcox on December 4, 1764.  She may have been more than a few years younger than Medad, probably having been born between 1740-1745.  Medad and Mary had as many as nine children together, with the youngest being born in 1784.  Mary would have been a busy lady, with three step children to care for also!

The only clue I've found so far to any potential civil service would be that there was a Medad Pomeroy who was a justice in the 1760s, but I'm not sure whether this was our Medad or not.  Medad the grandfather died in 1767, and he'd held many town offices.

It would be interesting to know when and why Medad left Suffield (his last marriage was in Suffield, in 1764) and went to Northampton, Massachusetts, where he had deep roots. We know that he was there in 1799, when the selectmen found him to be a lunatic and unable to care for himself. THe 1800 census shows that he and Mary were both over 45, and there was also one male aged 26-44 and one female 16-25 living with them.    We don't know what form of dementia Medad had, nor do we know when it first became evident.  

Medad died in Northampton November 13, 1801 and it took a long time to settle the estate.  It appears that Mary got her 1/3 widow's dower, but that bills against the estate took most if not all of the remainder.  There was no will, but there is a large estate packet found on American Ancestors which includes an inventory and then a long list of payments made to the guardian the selectmen had appointed, and other payments made by the estate.  Mary died in 1821 but I've not found a will for her, either, and I don't know whether she re-married.  

There is more research to be done for Medad, but this will at least give a starting point.  Can we find proof that Medad was in the French and Indian War, and what service he might have done? Are there church records?  What did he do for a living?  When did he become disabled by his dementia?  We do know enough to disregard references to Dr. Medad, to a pension application in 1820 in Pennsylvania, and to the Medad who was of Northfield, (as opposed to Northampton).  That's a start!

The line of descent is:

Medad Pomeroy-Eunice Southwell

Eunice Pomeroy-Libbeus Stannard

Libbeus Stanard-Luceba or Euzebia Fay

Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy

Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick

Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants