P. P. Pomerene, M.D.
There are many worthy and able physicians in Ohio, and among them Dr. Pomerene, of Berlin, Holmes County, stands in the foremost rank. The confidential labors of the physician and surgeon, be he ever so successful, necessarily prevent a complete record of his life, and rob him of much well-earned repute. One timely act may immortalize the name of warrior or stateman, while the duties of one who serves the public to better purpose are performed with such quiet unselfishness, in darkness, winter and storm, and often so far away from the busy centers of the world, that they are rarely noticed and never appreciated.
Dr. Pomerene has the advantage of ancestry of high character. The grandfather, Julius Pomerene, a man of fine education, and of French nativity, came to America with Gen. La Fayette to fight for the liberation of a land that had appealed so strongly to the sympathy of the French. He was a commissioned officer, but no record has been kept as to the exact position he occupied. At the conclusion of the war he decided to remain in America, and located at Lancaster, Penn. He was married to Martha Heller, a cultivated lady of German descent, and their children, in order of age, were as follows: Annie, Henry, Julius and David. In 1797 he removed with his family to Allegheny County. During their journey over the mountains they endured great hardship by reason of a scanty store of provisions and poor accommodations of camp hospitality. He located on a farm that had just been reclaimed from the forest. In 1800, while he was assisting in the erection of a log cabin, one of his associates, by an unfortunate glance of an ax, severed Mr. Pomerene's hand at the wrist. Lockjaw ensued, and death followed in short time. The widowed mother with her children was left in straightened circumstances; she found herself in a new country, far from friends, with some land, the title of which was by no means clear of incumbrances. She was compelled to leave the farm for seven years, under stipulation that the amount of a lease for that period go for back payments. She was under the painful necessity of entrusting her children to the care of strangers, and of subjecting herself to servile toil.
The son, Julius Pomerene, father of our subject, was born in Lancaster County, Penn., February 9, 1792. With his mother and sister he removed to Holmes County, Ohio, in the spring of 1821, and there, as a farmer, spent the remainder of his life. December 16, 1823, he was married to Elizabeth Piersol, then a resident of Holmes County, but a native of Slippery Rock, Penn. Six children, four sons and two daughters, were born to them.
Peter R. Pomerene, the subject proper of this biographical memoir, was born in Holmes County, Ohio, September 18, 1832. He remained at home until seventeen years of age, giving earnest attention to farm work as the seasons permitted, while winter found him seeking just as eagerly after such knowledge as the district school might supply. To this he now added a winter at the Western Star Academy of Summit County, supplemented by a term at the Fredericksburgh school. His literary education was ended, and lack of finances had deprived him of the one desire of his life, a university course. He turned to teaching, not from the love of the occupation, we are well assured, and in this last resort for the intelligent needy passed two years, now and then stealing an hour which was zealously devoted to medical lessons. He had placed himself under tuition of his brother, Dr. Joel Pomerene, of Middletown, Holmes County. In the winter of 1854, we find him attending lectures at the Western Reserve Medical College of Cleveland, and with the expiration of his first course came likewise the last of his funds. Diplomas, however, in those days, were matters of luxury, not of necessity, so he located in Berlin, Holmes County, February 27, 1855, and commenced the practice of his profession. In the fall of 1860, he proceeded to Philadelphia, where he attended a course of lectures at Jefferson Medical College, from which institution he graduated in the following spring. Thus newly equipped, the Doctor returned to Berlin, resumed his practice and has remained there since.
Dr. Pomerene has been eminently successful, winning for himself a high and honorable position in the medical profession. Nature admirably prepared him for that form of work, and he has ever been a close student and a hard worker. He is a skillful practitioner and surgeon, and has practiced his profession in all its branches. A review of his practice would easily disprove the prevailing opinion that the surgeon must live in the city. The most important as well as the minor operations are included in his list of accomplishments. He is one of the most genial and hospitable of men, making stanger as well as friend feel at home. He is liberal in his views, and while holding earnestly to the faith that is within him, has respect for the beliefs and opinions of others. He is generous, and many of the poor and suffering have grateful cause to remember that fact. Although busy day and night in his profession, he finds much time for reading general as well as medical literature. He is thorough and earnest in all he undertakes, and has the undivided good-will and respect of the community in which he dwells. Dr. Pomerene is one of the charter members of the Holmes County Medical Society, organized in 1858; and was made a member of the Ohio State Medical Society in 1870, and of the American Medical Association in 1878; he is also a member of the International Medical Congress. It is no undue praise, but a simple acknowledgment of his worth and success, to say that in the thirty-four years during which he has practiced medicine and surgery he has done as much business as any other practitioner in the State.
Dr. Pomerene was twice married. His first wife was Lorhetta, daughter of Bezaleel and Annie (Wise) Maxwell, of Holmes County. She died May 17, 1862. One son and two daughters were born to that union, viz: Ada Z., wife of Arthur Wilson, of Philadelphia; Haidee Aldee, who died at the age of two years, and Da Costa, a minister in the Presbyterian Church, located at Salem. January 1, 1863, Dr. Pomerene was married to Elizabeth, daugher of Peter and Esther Wise, of Berlin Township, and seven sons and two daughters were born to them, viz: Atlee, a lawyer at Canton, Ohio; Harry P., a student at Jefferson Medical College; Celsus, a law student at Cincinnati; Lister, a student at the Medical College of Ohio; Ida and Ora, attending seminary at Nottingham; Lee, at Wooster University; Melvin and Budge, at home.
From Commemorative Biographical Record of the Counties of Wayne and Holmes, Ohio, J. H. Beers & Co., Chicago, 1889