Down the Rabbit Hole: How a Pomeroy Resurfaced With a Revolutionary War Burial

The American Pomeroys is the sister organization to the William G. Pomeroy Foundation and so, from time to time, our work overlaps. This is especially true when your work actually stretches between the two: first as archivist and collections manager and second as a grant reviewer. Since December 2024 I have been fortunate to be one of the reviewers for the Patriot Burials® historic marker program, a partnership between the Sons of the American Revolution and the foundation to recognize and preserve the memory of Revolutionary War patriots. For more information on this program, check out the main description for this program here and also dig into the Foundation’s Marker Map to see where these markers are located.

So how does a grant overlap with the work of the American Pomeroys? By happenstance really. While reviewing a marker for the Draper Hill Cemetery in Westford, Otsego County, NY, I look at the Find a Grave page for the proposed patriots. For Draper Hill, that included Edward Wright. As soon as I started reviewing his profile his spouse’s name popped up: Chloe Pomeroy Wright. Now, this isn’t something I was expecting and so, down a rabbit hole I went. For anyone who researches for fun or professionally like me, rabbit holes aren’t always a bad thing. Sometimes they lead to incredible unexpected findings or turn up a little-known tidbit of history for trivia night.

Chloe Pomeroy was born on April 25, 1753, to Samuel Pomeroy and Chloe Kingsley Pomeroy, in Southampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts Bay Colony. [1] Around May 25, 1772, she married Edward Wright, Jr., son of Edward Wright, in Chester, Hampshire County, Massachusetts Bay Colony; unfortunately, the identity of Edward’s mother is not documented in existing genealogical records.[2]

Very little is documented about Chloe’s life, and the surviving records are sparse. In October 1785, she is named in her father’s will, receiving five shillings.[3] In 1790, while she is not specifically named in the federal census, circumstantial evidence suggests she was living in Chester with Edward, where they had married.[4]

By 1800, Edward appears in the federal census living in Worcester, New York, followed by Westford, New York, in 1810 and 1820.[5] Although spouses were not listed by name in these early censuses, it is reasonable to infer that Chloe resided with Edward during these years. Chloe died in 1820, though her exact date of death is unknown.[6] Edward outlived her by approximately eleven years, dying on May 28, 1831.[7]

While the names of Edward and Chloe’s children are recorded in the American Pomeroys genealogy database, they are not enumerated here, as the focus of this post is Chloe herself and the unexpected rediscovery of her story.

For the Patriots Burial program, we typically rely on two key elements to include a patriot’s name on a maker: can we prove their service (civil or military) and is their burial stone original? The former takes a bit of a deeper dive into military history while the latter is usually done visually by Find a Grave or through burial records if they exist. Both Edward and Chloe’s stones are original and sparsely decorated. Chloe’s stone is a simple field stone with her name and year of death shallowly engraved. There’s a bit more writing in between, but it’s not completely legible. The stone is considered well-preserved as most stones of this age and material aren’t intact or so badly weathered they’re basically blank. Edward’s stone is an example of one that’s weathered, but with being partially buried is still legible (his name is a bit shallow, but visible in the Find a Grave images.

Ultimately, the documentation submitted with the marker application successfully demonstrated Edward Wright’s Revolutionary War service—notably, as a member of Col. Seth Pomeroy’s Regiment—along with the service of three additional individuals identified by the local organization working in partnership with the Empire State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.[8]  As a result, in early 2026, a blue-and-red Patriot Burials® marker will be placed at Draper Hill Cemetery, drawing attention both to these four patriots and to the cemetery itself.

While Chloe Pomeroy Wright’s gravestone does not record her maiden name, the marker application process, combined with existing genealogical documentation and a bit of “rabbit hole” research, has ensured that her name and story—however fragmentary—are now better documented and preserved for future generations.

Remember: if you are not preserving your family’s history, no one else may be either. Document your research, preserve vital records and family photographs, and share your findings with relatives so that they can be passed down from one generation to the next.

[1] "Massachusetts, Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5NS-HPX : 14 January 2020), Chloe Pomeroy, 1753.

[2] "Massachusetts, State Vital Records, 1638-1927", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCWG-NZ6 : 28 December 2022), Cloe Pomeroy in entry for Edward Wright, 1772.

[3] Hampshire County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1660-1889. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2016, 2017. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives and the Hampshire County Court. Digitized mages provided by FamilySearch.org)

https://www.americanancestors.org/DB1653/rd/39977/116-31-co1/1044372420

[4] The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC; First Census of the United States, 1790.; Year: 1790; Census Place: Chester, Hampshire, Massachusetts; Series: M637; Roll: 4; Page: 139; Family History Library Film: 0568144.

[5] Year: 1800; Census Place: Worcester, Otsego, New York; Series: M32; Roll: 25; Page: 668; Image: 93; Family History Library Film: 193713.

Year: 1810; Census Place: Westford, Otsego, New York; Roll: 34; Page: 240; Image: Nym252_34-0127; Family History Library Film Roll: 0181388.

Fourth Census of the United States, 1820; Census Place: Westford, Otsego, New York; Page: 34; NARA Roll: M33_74; Image: 46.

[6] “Chloe Pomeroy Wright (1753-1820) - Find a Grave...” Find a Grave. Accessed January 6, 2026. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64696501/chloe-wright.

[7] “Edward Wright Jr. (1748-1831) - Find a Grave...” Find a Grave. Accessed January 6, 2026. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5381986/edward-wright.

[8] Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War: A Compilation From the Archives, vol. 17 (Boston, Massachusetts: Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1908), 925.