The son of Martin and Sybil Hunt Pomeroy and the third child in a family of nine. While still very young he was hired out to his uncle as a farm hand until he was fifteen years of age. One night he tied his belongings in a red handkerchief and journeyed to New London where he became a crewmember of a whaling vessel. Six years later the ship was dashed against the rocks off the coast of Peru, but Francis managed to swim ashore and was found by the son of a family who took him home. He remained for two years and learned to read and write in Spanish. He then made his way to New Orleans and finally Salem, Massachusetts where he met Irene Ursula Haskell who had recently joined the LDS Church and he also became a member. Francis and Irene were married the following year and they moved to Nauvoo, Illinois. Francis became a member of the first company of pioneers and came with them to the Salt Lake Valley. In 1849 he went on a mission to California returning the following year and on April 3, 1853 he married Sarah Matilda Colburn and in 1858 married Jessamine Routledge as plural wives. On June 15, 1860 Irene Haskell Pomeroy died. She had borne him seven children. Two years later Francis sold his farm and city property and moved his family to Weber, Utah where he remained for two years. Apostle Charles C. Rich later persuaded him to join him in Idaho. Moving his family to Paris he took charge of the building of the first sawmill in that valley. The cold weather soon compelled him to move to a warmer climate and after hearing reports of the Salt River Valley in Arizona he moved there and eventually settling in Mesa. He was instrumental in bringing water to that vicinity through the utilization of the old Montezuma canal and later became one of the directors of the canal. He was also made trustee of the township and justice of the peace. As "pacifier" in the district, not only among the white population but also among the Indians and Spaniards, Francis was often called upon to help settle disputes. This, no doubt, inspired the authorities of the Church to set him apart as Indian missionary. A year later he was made president of the Indian mission which position he filled until his death. — adapted from bio by Francis T. Pomeroy
(Alt. birthdate 20 Feb. 1820)