Theodore Medad Pomeroy (December 31, 1824 – March 23, 1905) was an American businessman and politician from New York who served as the 26th speaker of the United States House of Representatives for one day, from March 3, 1869, to March 4, 1869, the shortest American speakership term. He represented New York's 24th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1861 to 1869. He also served as the mayor of Auburn, New York, from 1875 to 1876, and in the New York State Senate from 1878 to 1879.
Early life and education
Theodore Medad Pomeroy was born on December 31, 1824. He spent his childhood in Elbridge, New York, where he went to live when he was nine years old. he took his seat at the extra session of the 37th Congress convened by President Abraham Lincoln, right after the start of the Civil War.
New York politics
After leaving Congress, Pomeroy was briefly out of politics. He returned to public life in the mid-1870s and was elected mayor of Auburn, New York, serving from 1875 to 1876, then as a member of the New York State Senate (25th D.) in 1878 and 1879.
Banking career
After the war ended, a boom in business production and industry began around the country. In the spring of 1866, the Merchants Union Express Company was organized to transport trade and goods across the United States with Elmore P. Ross as president, William H. Seward Jr. as vice-president, John N. Knapp as secretary, William C. Beardsley as treasurer, and Pomeroy as their attorney. By October 1866, the company was transporting goods across the major U.S. railroads and by the beginning of 1867, the company operated a network of express lines across the entire United States. the company was acquired and merged with the American Merchants Union, now known as the American Express Company. Pomeroy stayed on and served as first vice-president along with co-founder William Fargo and later with William's brother, J. C. Fargo, in 1868.
Personal life
On September 4, 1855, while serving his second term as District Attorney, he married Elizabeth Leitch Watson (1835–1892), the second daughter of Robert Watson, also of Auburn. Elizabeth's sister, Janet MacNeil Watson (1839–1913), married William H. Seward Jr. (1839–1920). Together, they had five children.
Pomeroy retired from public life in 1879 and lived at 168 Genesee Street in Auburn, where he died in 1905. Harriet Tubman (1822–1913) was a close friend of the family who helped care for the Pomeroy children. She attended his funeral and it was reported that only her flowers and letter were placed on his casket and buried with him. Lillias Dulles Hinshaw (1914–1987), a Presbyterian minister, and Avery Dulles (1918–2008), who converted to Roman Catholicism, entered the Jesuit order, and became the first American theologian to be appointed a cardinal.