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The legend has it that In about 1782,when young (Ole) Richard was still at school and yet a teenager, heard that there was ship in port which was taking passengers to "free America" . this part of the story might indicate that he was from a modestly comfortable family because if they were truly poor he would have been working by the age of 8 or 9. News from a port would indicate that they were somewhere near or on the coast
The legend tells that on his way home from school one day he simply handed his books to his sister and gave her a message for his mother: "Tell Mam I have gone to America"
He never returned home.
IWonder what happened ; surely his parents would have gone looking for him, how did this young chap manage to make that long and perilous sea journey? Perhaps he signed on as a deck hand or a cabin boy, it was not uncommon ...Who knows.

There is mention of a Richard Pomeroy in a census in Alexandria , Virginia in around 1787 but the connection is unconfirmed as yet.
Ole Richard arrived in Front Royal Virginia before 1788 and on 5 Nov 1792 married Mary Lehew daughter of an inn keeper in Front Royal..( Link to references)
Chuck has recently found a record of Richard around 1788 which he is researching
There is a Richard Pomeroy in the 1787 census of Alexandria , however we can't prove that he is 'ole' Richard' .
Chuck's Ole Richard named his first son Alexandria (after the port city near Washington DC) and in true Irish tradition named his second son after his father.... James !!! This was Chucks great-great-grandfather. Chucks grandfather's name was Walter James Pomeroy and his grandfather was James Pomeroy son of "Ole Richard".
Chuck has recently found a Walter Pomeroy in Alexandria Virginia in 1798 who was a cloth merchant selling to a 'Big House' owner in Warren County, Virginia, up until about 1800.

Could these two Walter Pomeroys be one and the same man?

A clue may be that Chuck's family traditionally give their children a name of an American President.

We have not as yet found the link between our families but DNA tells us there is a connection. Somewhere.

Chuck's oral legend has three Pomeroy brothers , we are not certain of their names but call them Richard, James, William, ( there may have been a Henry in there) and they arrived in Waterford, Ireland sometime around 1750.
One of the brothers had a son, Richard ,who settled in Millstreet, a tiny community in County Cork, and later was assigned/or leased Claramore . He married Mary Dunn in 1798. That was the start of the Pomeroy's of Clara.

Another Pomeroy, possibly the son of one of the orginal three, called Henry, leased or somehow become the owner of Knockhill about 7-10 miles away. The beginning of the Pomeroy's of Knockhill.

Meanwhile, in Waterford one of the original brothers, James, was working in the shipping /fishing/ merchant business near the waterfront where he married and raised a family of at least sons , Chucks ancestor whom we call Ole Richard', and at least one sister.

Chucks Story. The Family Legend ~Virginia and Ireland
~This is the legend~ the reality may be even more entertaining.

A 200 year break in time to 2000-2002

CharlesWilson (Chuck) Pomeroy in Virginia USA and Richard Anthony (Tony) Pomeroy in Australia took a DNA test .
They were somewhat surprised when the results showed that Pomeroy's of Clara in Ireland and Tony Pomeroy in Australia and Chuck Pomeroy of Virginia are all genetically connected.

Tony in Australia has Richard Pomeroy, as his great x 3 grandfather, as do Pat and Annie in England. The recent breakthough indicates North Cornwall or North Devon were the origin of this family. We know that the Richard Pomery who was Tony, Pat and Annie's great X3 grandfather was born 1781 his older brothers 1775 and 1778 in Werrington Devon . We believe their grandfather was born in nearby Lewannick 1720 ; their father 1746's....
But where do they connect to the Irish Pomeroys of Clara.
Before that the family seems to have come from somewhere else. Possibly Linkinhorn or on the southern side of Bodmin where there are well researched Pomeroy families. We have yet to find out.
Chuck has his Poms in Ireland around 1750 .
BUT which generation might have taken ship and left the West Country for the Emerald Isle? From where did they go? Was it a small west country port like the north Devon port of Bideford which had a thriving trade with Ireland at that time , or did they go further afield?

This leads us back to the BIG question for Chuck :~ Where in this part of Ireland was it most likely, in 1782 , that news might have come of a ship going to America . Where would that ship have left Ireland from, to make landfall in Alexandria, Virginia ?
Cork or Cobh is favourite for this story.

The other question is~ Where did they come from before they appeared in Ireland.?
and yet another question from Annie. Why on earth did they go to Ireland? Unless they had money or land or the promise of work to go to, it was hardly a choice for certain advancement if these young men were poor. Connections must have existed. Could it be in the form of a connection with the Samuel Pomeroy family?

to quote somebody else
'In Ireland bad harvests in 1726-29 led to a famine,this was followed by another terrible famine in 1741. Harvest failures, high rents and payment of tithes were some of the factors which convinced many to risk the hazardous sea crossing to America.'

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