Marshall Pomeroy Elementary School

School Name Stories: Marshall Pomeroy Elementary School was named for farmer and orchardist Marshall Pomeroy.

Marshall Pomeroy, born in 1835, came to California from Somers, Connecticut in 1858, having taken a steamship to the Isthmus of Panama, which he crossed with his fellow travelers on foot, with pack animals, and then took another steamer north to San Francisco.

His father, Warren Pomeroy, had arrived here in 1849 in search of the newly-discovered gold. He but did not find his treasure in the mines, however, but rather in the rich soil of the Santa Clara County, where he purchased farm land.

When Marshall arrived, he farmed with his father for some years, and then purchased 180 acres in Milpitas, where he raised grain and stock.

During the Civil War Marshall Pomeroy was a member of the Alviso Rifles, but was never called up for duty.

In May, 1867, Marshall Pomeroy married Miss Ella French, who came to California with her parents as a child in 1852. Ella (Elvina) French’s father, Alfred French, had also been a miner for a while.

Then Mr. French settled in Sacramento County, where he served as a member of the State Legislature. After that he moved to Milpitas and it was here that these two young people met. Ella’s father was the same Alfred French who was the proprietor of the longtime (1860s-1890s) French’s Hotel in Milpitas.

Marshall and Ella Pomeroy farmed in Milpitas until 1875, when they moved to San Jose. Mr. Pomeroy was appointed a deputy sheriff, serving the term of four years. He then decided to return to farming.

He bought 208 acres two miles west of Santa Clara on the San Francisco road and went in for raising hay, grain and stock.

Marshall and Elvina Pomeroy had five children: Irwin, Clarence, Delia, Warren, and Clovis.

As his older sons grew up, they encouraged him to plant an orchard, and with their help, he planted 100 acres in prunes and 20 acres in apricots. Marshall also installed a pumping plant for irrigating the ranch, and built drying and packing houses, until he had one of the best fruit growing and packing establishments in the valley.

In their later adulthood, his son Irwin became manager of the Pomeroy Orchard Company and chairman of the board of trustees of the California Prune & Apricot Growers. Clarence assisted in the management of the Pomeroy Ranch, and Warren and Clovis became proprietors of Pomeroy Bros., a large clothing store in San Jose, while Delia and her family assisted with the needs of the family home.

In 1900 Marshall Pomeroy purchased a residence at 429 North Third Street, San Jose, where he and his wife lived until her death in 1917 and his in 1921.

mhs May 2018