Samuel G. Pomeroy Bio. Hancock County, WV ********************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ********************************************************************* Submitted by: Valerie F. Crook The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 221-222 Hancock County SAMUEL G. POMEROY. Some individuals are fortunate enough to inherit the spirit of industry, financial sense and business capability which help to make them suc- cessful in their life work, while others are obliged to strive against adverse circumstances and only attain prosperity and position because they have developed winning charac- teristics themselves. Pughtown numbers among its most responsible and representative men some who have been satisfied to work out their destiny along the even lines of ordinary occupations. They have not sought the ap- plause of admiring throngs, nor have they desired to wrest wealth from speculative enterprises, but, doing the duty that lay nearest at hand, have gained material advance- ment and the respect of their fellows. In this category may be included Samuel G. Pomeroy, who is engaged in the general merchandise business at Pughtown, a commu- nity in which he is well known and highly regarded. Mr. Pomeroy was born at Pughtown, October 14, 1867, a son of Rev. Joseph S. and Isabel (Griffith) Pomeroy. Rev. Joseph S. Pomeroy was married in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, in 1849, and came to Hancock County, West Virginia, as pastor of the old Flats Presbyterian Church near Pughtown, the only church of that denomination in Hancock County, whose members were scattered for a radius of twenty miles in every direction. He lived at Pughtown, where he bought a home, which is now occu- pied by his son. Reverend Pomeroy served the old Flats Church until 1877, a period of twenty-eight years, during which time he labored faithfully, zealously, cheerfully and unselfishly in behalf of his flock and his church, and built up a large and prosperous congregation. He then spent nine years as pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Mounds- ville, following which he returned to his old home at Pugh- town and went into semi-retirement, although he continued to visit various churches as the demand arose until within two or three years prior to his death, when advanced years caused his complete retirement to a life of rest after a long and eminently useful career. He died in August, 1907, at the age of eighty-five years, being buried at the Flats Cemetery, while his worthy wife survived him twelve years, passing away when but one month and six days less than ninety-five years old. After he had retired from regu- lar active work as a minister Reverend Pomeroy was called upon frequently to officiate at special events. He was called upon to act at funerals, and was popular at marriages. During his long career he married parents and later their children, and buried several generations of the same family. He was also a popular lecturer, being a man of broad information on a number of interesting and important topics, and his voice was frequently heard from the platform. He and Mrs. Pomeroy were the parents of the following children: John B., who became a minis- ter of the Presbyterian faith, preached in North Dakota, Illinois and Ohio, retired to his home at Findlay, Ohio, and died there in 1920; Chester, who for a time operated the store started by his father soon after the Civil war at Fairview, now Pughtown, and later became a merchant at East Liverpool, Ohio, where he died;; Samuel G., of this record; Jennie, who died in Colorado as the wife of Boss Carney; Clara, who married D. L. Evans and died at Pugh- town; Myra, unmarried, formerly deputy postmistress at Pughtown and with her brother, Samuel G., in the store, and who has remained as his constant companion and housekeeper; and Ella, who married Frank McClellan and went to Colorado. Samuel G. Pomeroy received a public school education at Pughtown and as a youth entered the store of his brother Chester, whose interest in the business he later bought. He has continued in the same line to the present, and this enterprise now has the distinction of being the oldest continuous business in Northern West Virginia. Mr. Pomeroy carries a full line of general merchandise and has developed an excellent business, his customers being drawn from all over the surrounding countryside. His old establishment, the original one, was destroyed by fire in 1906, but was replaced immediately with a more modern structure, the present one. In business circles Mr. Pomeroy is known as the man of the strictest integrity and probity. He has never evinced other than a good citi- zen's interest in polities, although his father kept posted on election returns and was able to recall the returns of every county in the state, a mathematical talent that was also possessed by his son Chester. Samuel G. Pomeroy is unmarried and resides with his sister Myra, a capable housekeeper and a woman of many virtues and numerous friendships. They are faithful members of the old Flats Presbyterian Church, to the movements of which they con- tribute liberally. While he does not take an active part in public life, Mr. Pomeroy is a friend of progressive and constructive enterprises tending to advance his com- munity, and such receive his unqualified support.