old messages lost when switching to new vz email servers

received a message from Verizon requiring that we stop using their old POP&SMTP servers (incoming.verizon.net and outgoing.verizon.net) and switch to new ones (pop.verizon.net and smtp.verizon.net) and stop using any connection that's not encrypted. Sounds like a good idea.

The ipad user of the family has dozens (hundreds?) of old messages in the inbox folder and sent folder. When switching to the new servers, these folders come back empty. the account functions normally, mail can be sent and received, but not history exists from before the switch. If I point back to the old servers and cold restart the ipad, the history comes back, but the newer messages sent and received through the new servers are gone.

The objective is to point to the new servers but retain the history. Verizon says that it's not their problem because the history is no longer present on any server and is clearly living somewhere on the ipad, the challenge is to convince the mail app to display it which verizon says is an apple problem.

I tried to copy old messages to the account that's looking at the new servers but I cannot copy messages to a different pop account, can only copy to imap and verizon apparently does not offer imap access. `I cannot find any way to back up the messages and restore them to the new account's empty folders. i cannot find any way to open a general folder that's not associated with some email service.

any suggestions?

-Duard