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Robert Watson Pomeroy (June 21, 1902 – January 4, 1989) was an American businessman and politician from New York.

Early life

He was born on June 21, 1902, in Buffalo, New York, the son of Robert Watson Pomeroy, Sr. (1868–1935), a Yale graduate who was an industrialist and financier in Buffalo and New York, and Lucy (née Bemis) Pomeroy (1869–1958), a former president of the Palmetto Garden Club. He attended the Hotchkiss School. He graduated with a Ph.B. from Yale University in 1924.

His paternal grandparents were Elizabeth (née Watson) Pomeroy, and Congressman Theodore M. Pomeroy (1824–1905) who served as the 26th Speaker of the House following Schuyler Colfax and was a close friend of U.S. Secretary of State (under Lincoln) William H. Seward.

Career

After graduating from Yale, he engaged in the management of investments. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of captain. After the war he entered politics as a Republican.

Pomeroy was a member of the New York State Assembly (Dutchess Co.) from 1948 to 1964, sitting in the 166th, 167th, 168th, 169th, 170th, 171st, 172nd, 173rd and 174th New York State Legislatures. He was a leading conservationist, and was Chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Natural Resources from 1959 to 1965.

He was a member of the New York State Senate in 1965 and 1966; and a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1967.

Personal life

In 1930, he married Estelle Condit Bassett (1907–1988), the daughter of Carroll Phillips Bassett and Margaret (née Condit) Bassett. Together, they were the parents of two children:

• Marnie Pomeroy (b. 1932), a Sarah Lawrence College graduate who moved to Ottawa, Canada and co-founded The Ladysmith Press.
• Robert Watson Pomeroy III (b. 1935)

He died on January 4, 1989, at his home in Millbrook, New York, of heart failure; and was buried at St. Peter's Episcopal Cemetery in Lithgow.

References

1. ^ "R. W. POMEROY DIES; FINANCIAL LEADER; Director of Buffalo Bank, the Erie Railroad and Part Owner of Silver Mine" (PDF). The New York Times. April 18, 1935. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
2. The Yale Literary Magazine. Yale Literary Society. 1889. p. 430. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
3. "MRS. R. W. POMEROY SR" (PDF). The New York Times. April 19, 1958. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
4. ^ Robert Pomeroy, 86, An Ex-Legislator, Dies in the New York Times on January 10, 1989
5. Pomeroy, Robert Watson (1910). A Sketch of the Life of Theodore Medad Pomeroy, 1824-1905. Cayuga County, New York: Cayuga County Historical Society. p. 68. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
6. "G.O.P. TO PRESENT NEW FACES IN FALL; Derounian Only Ex-Member in Serious House Race" (PDF). The New York Times. April 3, 1966. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
7. Directory of Delegates and Staff of the NYS Constitutional Convention (1967; pg. 80)
8. "ESTELLE C. BASSETT ENGAGED TO MARRY; Will Become Bride of Robert Watson Pomeroy Jr. of Bedford Hills, N.Y. BOTH OF COLONIAL STOCK Miss Bassett Introduced to Society Three Years Ago--Fiance a Graduate of Yale" (PDF). The New York Times. May 24, 1930. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
9. The New York Red Book. Williams Press. 1955. p. 205. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
10. Woodcock, George (1976). Canadian Poets, 1960-1973: A List. Dundurn. p. 47. ISBN 9780919614147. Retrieved 17 December 2018.

External links

• Robert Watson Pomeroy at Find a Grave
• The Auburn, NY Pomeroy Anvil Monument

• 1902 births
• 1989 deaths
• People from Millbrook, New York
• Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly
• Republican Party New York (state) state senators
• Yale University alumni
• United States Army officers
• Businesspeople from Buffalo, New York
• Politicians from Buffalo, New York
• 20th-century American businesspeople
• 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature