Thomas Tracy

(1610-1685)

Thomas Tracy is Steven L. Berg's ninth great material grandfather.

There is no conclusive evidence as to the father of Thomas Tracy. Regardless if it were Paul or one of his brothers, Richard Tracy would be his grandfather. Even though there are compelling arguments that Thomas is from a different Tracy family entirely, I am going to accept the evidence that Thomas said that Richard was his grandfather.

Some have also made the argument that a Thomas Tracy who moved with his father, mother, and sister to Virginia is the same Thomas Tracy as is our ancestor. This argument is based on the premise that the Virginia Thomas returned to England and then re-emigrated to the colonies. However, during the time that the Virginia Thomas was living in England prior to returning to the colonies, there are records that our ancestor was already living in Connecticut.

Parents

Paul Tracy

Spouse

Mary Conway

Children

John Tracy

Information About Individual

Thomas Tracy was born during 1610 in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England.

Charles Stedman Ripley explains that "In 1636 when the fever of emigration was at its height and when men were emigrating who were in search of adventure and fortune as well as those who were seeking a home in a new land free from religious persecution and the oppression of an overbearing nobility Thomas Tracy joined a band of emigrants and sailed for America. In this act he was probably influenced by the fact that he was a younger son in a very large family and without prospects of inheritance."

Shortly after arriving in Watertown, Massachusetts, Thomas moved to Salem, Massachusetts and then to Saybrook, Connecticut.

In 1641, Thomas married Mary Conway1 in Wethersfield, Connecticut. She was the widow of Edward Mason. After Mary's death in 1659, Thomas married Martha Bourne who died about 1680. Thomas then married Mary Foote in 1683.

In 1645, "..he and Thomas Leffingwell,2 with others, relieved Uncas, the Sachem of Mohegan, with provisions when he was besieged at Shattuck's Point by Pessachus, Sachem of the Narragansetts, which led to the subsequent grant of the town [of Norwich]." (Liston, 23)

In 1660, Thomas was one of the original proprietors of Norwich, Connecticut where he would live the rest of his life. During that time, he would represent Norwich twenty-seven times in the legislature. Other community service performed by Thomas included:

In genealogical documents and histories, Thomas is typically referred to as "Lieutenant Thomas Tracy." His military service began when he was selected as a ensign in the first trainband of Norwich. In 1663, "he was commissioned lieutenant of the New London County Dragoons raised to fight the Dutch and Indians." (Ripley, 14) Then, in July 1675, he attended Captain Wait Winthrop when he went to convince the Narragansett Tribe to keep them from joining King Philip during King Philip's war.

When Thomas died on 7 November 1685, he left an estate of approximately 5,000 acres.

1Many of the records list Mary Conway as Mary Mason. "Mason" was the name of her first husband. Other records list no last name.

2Thomas Leffingwell is my ninth great maternal grandfather. Leffingwell's granddaughter, Elizabeth Leffingwell married Thomas' grandson John Tracy. John and Elizabeth are my seventh great maternal grandparents.

Photo Gallery

Documents

Additional Documents

For More Documents

For more documents including those that have names of living individuals, please contact me at: steve@stevenlberg.info.

Library

Caulkins, Frances Manwaring. History of Norwich Connecticut from Its Posession by the Indians to the Year 1866. np: Friends of the Author, 1874.

The Celebration of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Primitive Organization of the Congregational Church and Society, in Franklin, Connecticut, October 14th, 1868. New Haven, CT: Tuttle, Morehouse, and Taylor. 1869.

Cutter, William Richard. (ed.) Genealogical and Family History of Western New York: A Record of the Achievements of Here People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation.. Vol. 2. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1912.

Hart, Craig. A Genealogy of the Wives of the American Presidents and Their First Two Generations of Descent. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2004.

Hurd, D. Hamilton. History of Essex County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men. Volume 1. Philadelphia: J. Lewis and Company, 1888.

Liston-Griswold, Mattie. Tracy Genealogy: Ancestors and Descendants of Thomas Tracy of Lenox, Massachusetts. Kalamazoo, MI: Doubleday Brothers and Company, 1900.

Ripley, Charles Stedman. Ancestors of Lieutenant Thomas Tracy of Norwich, Connecticut. Boston: Alfred Mudge and Son Printers, 1895.

Tracy, Evert E. Tracy Genealogy: Ancestors and Descendants of Lieutenant Thomas Tracy of Norwhich, Conn., 1660. Albany, NY: Joel Munsell's Sons Publishers, 1898.

Portrait of King Philip

Engraving of King Philip by Benjamin Church, 1881.

In July 1675, Thomas Tracy attended Captain Wait Winthrop when he went to convince the Narragansett Tribe to keep them from joining King Philip during King Philip's war.