Mary Pomfret ca. 1648-1738 My 8th Great Grandmother on My Father’s Side

This book by Cynthia Vold Forde and
Anne Curtis Terry includes a chapter
about Mary Pomfret, my 8th Great Grandmother

Mary Pomfret was the daughter of William Pomfret and Mary King – that is according to a short bio found on the FindAGrave site, which is to say it may not be reliable information. In researching Mary I found no other sources to support her parentage.

Records note that she was born about 1648 in a place called Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire, England. Newport Pagnell is about fifty miles north of London. Not surprisingly I have found very few records that prove what is known about Mary. One exception is the book The Spirit in The South, Stories of Our Grandmothers Spirits compiled by Reverend Dr. Cynthia Vold Forde and Anne Curtis Terry. This book includes an entire chapter on Mary Pomfret Waller written by Eugenia Waller. Eugenia’s relationship to Mary is not revealed. Presumably, she is a direct descendant so a reliable source. This source provides a lot of information about Mary’s husband Dr. John Waller and his ancestors but scant detail for Mary herself.

Historic building in Newport Pagnel where Mary
and her husband Dr. John Waller lived.

John and Mary were married on January 13, 1669, in the Church of St. Michael in Walton Parish in Newport Pagnell. The church register provides support for this fact. Some sources suggest that Mary may have been married before and was widowed. Between the ages of 23 and 36, Mary gave birth to eight children including William in 1671, John 1673, Mary Elizabeth 1674, Thomas 1675, Steven 1676, Benjamin 1678, Edmund 1680 and James in 1683. Seven sons and one daughter.

When Mary was about 75 her husband died. The essay by Eugenia Waller includes a description of Mary’s presence at John’s funeral – how she was dressed and what was said during the funeral service. What happened next is debatable. Sources provide two different stories and both present good arguments for their belief of what happened to Mary. Eugenia and others tell us that Mary left England shortly after her husband’s death and went to live in the Colony of Virginia where her sons William and John and daughter Mary were living. Eugenia provides a detailed description of the family mementos Mary packed to take on the trip to give to her children. One item is described as an antique bowl that was given to Mary and John as a wedding gift. 

The conflicting story argues that Mary Pomfret was not mentioned in her husband's will and that that suggests that she pre-deceased him. They also suggest that even if Mary was alive when her husband died she would have been quite old and that it was unlikely that she would choose to leave England and her children that were still in England.

Another view of Newport Pagnel found on Google

Supposedly, Mary died on September 9, 1738, in Virginia and may be buried in the family cemetery on her son Col. John Waller’s property in Spotsylvania. Again, the source of this information is FindAGrave and thus not wholly reliable. On the other hand, had Mary died in England she would have been buried with her husband. Since she is not there that suggests she may very well have gone to Virginia.

Note: As always I’ve tried to be accurate with the facts of Mary Pomfret’s life but when writing about events that occurred over 350 years ago it is not easy. If anyone reading this sees a false statement I welcome feedback with proof. 

Sources for this post: The Spirit of the South by Forde and Terry; Genealogies of Virginia Families from the William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine Vol. 5; Wikipedia; and FindAGrave.