Longtime New Kent historian Jackie Pomeroy succumbs

Jackie G. Pomeroy, a native of New Kent, passed away on Thursday, October 24, in Bentonville, Arkansas.
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he was born in Richmond in 1929 and spent most of her life in New Kent County. She was one of six children born to Clarence Alderbert Pomeroy and Mary Beverly Rice.

She attended New Kent Elementary and High School, and also attended the College of William and Mary before transferring to a business school in Richmond where she completed a nine month course in bookkeeping and secretarial skills. She began her career at the Medical College of Virginia and Tredegar Ironworks. She also was the first dispatcher and secretary for New Kent Sheriff’s office.

Jackie was a self-styled New Kent genealogist and made keeping track of local histories her life’s work. She helped numerous people with their family research, and in 1976, she began collecting documents, newspaper clippings, periodicals and historical excerpts from one county court or another.

As a longtime member of the New Kent Historical Society, she volunteered at the old jail where she organized documents that had been donated, and information that she collected into a logical, local history collection of the county. In 1985 she was hired as the clerk for the Heritage Public Library in Providence Forge. She spent many hours volunteering at places, such as the Charles City Center for Local History, and New Kent Courthouse where she cataloged books, newspaper articles, and other dated resources.

In addition to being a longtime member of the New Kent Historical Society, she was actively involved in many other organizations. She served as a member of the Martha Dandridge Women’s Club, New Kent Historic Commission, the 1976 Bicentennial Commission Research Committee, and volunteered with the New Kent Brown Bag Program. Jackie also wrote a regular article for the local newspaper entitled “Days Gone By.”

Jackie was New Kent’s authority on local history and genealogy. She spent most of her life restoring the lost history of New Kent County.

The New Kent Historical Society salutes Jackie Pomeroy and says goodbye to a dear and dedicated member.