Lt William POMFRET^[1]

Abt 1590 - 1680  (~ 90 years)

• Name	William POMFRET
  Prefix	Lt
  Birth	Abt 1590	England
  Gender	Male
  Immigration	1624	Monhegan, Lincoln, Maine
  	Representing Abraham Jennings of Plymouth, England
  Census	1640	Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire   [2]
  HIST	Pomfret, a corruption of Pontefract. 1 Lt. William Pomfret, planter, Dover. A distiller in 1675, he was within reason the distiller who with Geo. Dugdale, tailor, offered himself to go to N. E. in 1622, and was at Monhegan 1624; … At Dover Neck, he bot from Thos. Johnson in 1639; in Oct. 1640 sent security to Geo. Druell, mariner, London, for passage of w. -Hosanna- and dau.; w. Rose liv. 1675. Dover continually honored him, tho James Nute told ab. his deceitful heart. Com.t.e.s.c. 1643 and often; Lt. by 1646; gr.j. 1646, 1655-6; selectm. 1647-8, 1662; town clerk 1647 to 1665 or perhaps 1670; he, Thos. Leighton and John Dam had mill priv. at Bellamy's Bank 1649; Clerk of the Writs 1657; Comr. for the town. Lic. at times, and prosec. for selling without in 1670. … In Mar. 1679 he deeded to (great) gr.s. Pomfret Whitehouse. He d. 7 Aug. 1680, leaving will proved 7 Sept. fol., not extant. Only kn. ch. Elizabeth, came with mo.; m. Dea. John Dam(2). NOTE: There is no Great Migration sketch for this man, so he was likely not at Monhegan in 1624. —— The name Pomfret comes from Pontefract. The name means 'broken bridge' and is part French, part Latin. Pontefract was the name of a famous castle and town in Yorkshire built by Ilbert de Lacy, one of Willliam the Conqueror's barons, who was given lands in Yorkshire as a reward for assisting William in conquering England. In 1090 the name Pontefract was in the records. In 1190 it occurs under the spelling Pumfrate, reflecting the Nornam/French pronunciation. Shakespeare referred to "bloody Pomfret" castle in 'Richard II' (Richard was imprisoned and murdered here). Pontefract Castle was enormous. It was besieged many times during the Civil War, and the township suffered greatly. It was finally surrendered in 1649 and the local townsfolk demanded it be torn down. The ruins of the castle stand today. Many Yorkshire people carry the name Pomfret. Ilbert de Lacy was also given lands in Lancashire, in the Blackburn area, and many Pomfrets live there, too. It is possible they took this name as a surname during the Middle Ages when surnames became customary, e.g. John of Pomfret would become simply John Pomfret.  [3]
  HIST	Honoured Sir- NORTHAM [now Dover], 4, 1 month 1640. Wee the Inhabitants of Northam make bould to trouble yon with theise few lynes certifyinge you that whereas wee suppose Capt. Underhill hath informed you and the rest of you brethren of the Matchesheth bay that we are all willinge voluntarily to submit our selues to your gouernment upon fformer Articles propounded, truth it is we doe very well aprove of your Judicious wages and shal be very wyful yt please God to enlarge us that we may be free from other engagements and promises wch some of us are obliged in to the owners or patentees from whom under his Mat's Letter Pattents we enioy our free liberty: wch causeth us not for present to submit to any other goverment than that wch wee have already entered into combination to observe according to the King's Maties lawes untill such time as the owners came over to us wch we suppose wil be about three months hence, and thence our propositions considered as the Lord shall direct us wee will labour more to satisfy you-But for the proceedings of Captayne Underhill's seeking to undermyne us and contrary to his oath and fidelity as we suppose intrusted to him hath went from house to house and for his owne ende, by flattery and threatening gotten some hands to a note of their willingnes to submitt themselves under your goverment and some of those are men of other combinations, others strangers that have noe habitation, to bring his purposes to pass, wee doubt not but you are too well acquaynted with his stratagems in plotting his owne designes wch wee refer to your grave judgements-some of those that subscribed to his note have this day utterly protested against their own act for he hath raysed such a Mutinee amongst us wch if we take not course for the stopinge thereof it maye cause the effusion of blood by reason he hath by his disignes privately rent the combinations as much as in men lyeth contrary to his act, that is that we should continue in the same Goverment, except an agreement or cause shewed to the contrary in open court agreed on by the Maior part, thus much we thought good to acquaynt your worships withall beseeching your favourable construction hopinge you will weigh our cause in equity and conscience and not any way to enforce us to any act whereby we should breake promises or covenant wth the patentees or amongst ourselves wch in soe doing we should sinne greatly, we should sinne greatly. Wee heartilye desire your prayers for us and comit you to the pro- pection of the Almighty-at yor service to command. [Translation: we are willing to be governed by you but don’t take away our land, and don’t believe the rumors about us.] Thomas Larkland William Jones John Follett [i32926] Robert Thos Durstin Thos Roberts [i5309] Samuel Haines Bartholomew Smith John Dame [i477] Bartholomew X Hunt William Walden John X Tuttle [i46810] Henry Blck Thomas X Layten Edward Starbuck [i5292] William Pomfrett [current record] William Furber [i4879] William Storer John X Hall [i33065] Philip Swadden Richard Walden [i33280] Edward Colcorde Robert X Huckins [i4917] Richard Pinckum [i7411] Thomas
  IMMF	Y
  MILF	Y
  MILX	Militia
  NTWY	Original settler of Dover, NH
  Occupation	Dover town clerk: Planter, Distiller
  Religion	Puritan
  Residence	24 Oct 1640	Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire   [4, 5]
  _UID	4B85A463F3EA484CA5F7FB2C227947927F22
  Death	7 Aug 1680	Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire   [6]
  Person ID	I1383	main
  Last Modified	12 Jun 2024

  
  

  Family	Hosanna MNU,   b. Abt 1590, London, Middlesex, England d. Abt 1641, Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire (Age ~ 51 years)
  Marriage	Abt 1614	England
  Children	1. Elizabeth POMFRET,   b. Abt 1620, Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire, England d. 27 Jan 1680, Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire (Age ~ 60 years)
  Family ID	F646	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	20 Sep 2012

  
  

• Notes

  m2 Rose who died aft. 1675. William apparently frequently traveled between England and Maine as a representative of Ambrose & Abraham Jennings and other traders, before settling in Dover. Known to have gone as far south as Virginia. Lt William in 1640 sent security to George Druell, mariner, of London, for passage of wife Hosanna & daughter Elizabeth. A grant of 200 acres made to William Pomfret in 1656 (Dover Records) was "laid out" on 24 October 1719, one hundred of the acres going to Ephraim Wentworth. 1640 - signed the Dover Combination. —— Was town clerk 1647, many years; d. in Dover, Aug 7, 1680. Had many grants, being here in 1639, at least, when he bought of Thomas Johnson. He had a clerkly education, showing elegant penmanship, correct English, and some Latin. Often “Pomfret.” —— On 1 March 165[0/]1, "Anthonie Emerey of Coleharbore in the Province of Maine" sold to William Pomfrett of Dover "all those two houses in Dover late in the tenure & occupation of me the said Anthonie Emerey together with the garden thereunto belonging and also one lot or parcel of enclosed ground near adjoining to the said two houses, containing by estimation three acres & a half" [NHPP 40:72-73]., , [7, 8, 9]

  
  

• Sources

  [S1] New England Historical and Genealogical Register, The, (NEHGS, Boston, MA), 33:97. [S241] Misc, New Hampshire: Miscellaneous Censuses and Substitutes, 1640-1890 (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2013. From records supplied by Ancestry.com). [S4] Sybil Noyes, Charles Thornton Libby and Walter Goodwin Davis, Maine and New Hampshire, Genealogical Dictionary of, (The Southworth-Anthoensen Press, Portland, ME. 1928-1939). [S1] New England Historical and Genealogical Register, The, (NEHGS, Boston, MA), 111:45. [S187] Frank R. Holmes, New England Families, Directory of the Ancestral Heads of, (Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, 1974), cxci. [S1] New England Historical and Genealogical Register, The, (NEHGS, Boston, MA), 7:125. [S47] Torrey, Clarence Almon, New England Marriages To 1700. [S1] New England Historical and Genealogical Register, The, (NEHGS, Boston, MA), 33:93. [S41] Anderson, Robert Charles, The Great Migration Study Project, 442.