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Thomas Tryon (abt. 1678 - 1748)

Thomas Tryon
Born about in Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut, British Colonial Americamap
Son of and [mother unknown]
Husband of — married before 1 Jun 1713 [location unknown]
Husband of — married about 1725 [location unknown]
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 70 in Glastonbury, Hartford, Connecticutmap
Problems/Questions Profile managers: Michael Tryon private message [send private message] and Michael Maranda private message [send private message]
Profile last modified | Created 10 Sep 2010
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Contents

Biography

Thomas, third son of William Tryon of Wethersfield, was born about 1678. He is arguably the least well understood of Williams sons. Some of the unusual or poorly understood aspects of his life include:

As with all the sons of William, there is no record of his birth
He married in 1713 at the age of about 35 which is unusually late for the time
Only one child is recorded for this first marriage, birth date unknown
He has four more known children from 1728 to 1741 with a different wife
There is definitive genetic evidence of another son, Benjamin, born in the 1720s
This profile is thought to possibly be a mix of two Thomas Tryons, father and son.

Please read the Research Notes for what we know of this person or persons.

Research Notes

Most of what we know of Thomas is through the research of Gale Ion Harris who published his findings inThe American Genealogist (TAG). "THOMAS TRYON was born say 1677. He was apparently the Thomas, "Iate of Glastonbury deceased," in January 1748/9. He married first, by 1 June 1713, Rebecca Dix, born in Wethersfield on 17 March 1686/7, daughter of John and Rebecca (Goff) Dix, and second Abigail (unknown), the mother of his children born in Glastonbury from 1728 to 1741. Thomas was a "shipwright" of Wethersfield in June 1713. On 3 March 1713/4, he conveyed to George Stillman, merchant, all rights he had in the Wethersfield estate of his "late father William Tryon." Thomas "Trian" signed a petition on 17 October 1718 for a schoolhouse "at the south end of Wethersfield... at Rockehill." By 1 October 1723, Thomas was "of Glastonbury," directly across the Connecticut River from Rocky Hill, when he purchased a half acre lot there from his brother David Tryon."

From "Rebecca Goffe, wife of John Dix of Wethersfield, Connecticut": "On 1 June 1713, Thomas Tryon of Wethersfield, shipwright, and "Rebecca my now marryed wife" quitclaimed "unto our brother John Dixx of Wethersfield, housewright," their interest in the estate "left by our father John Dixx late of Wethersfield dec'd"; Thomas and Rebecca acknowledged in Wethersfield on 4 Feb. 1714/5." "On 6 April 1713, Thomas received a share of his father William Tryon's estate at Wethersfield (Manwaring, 2:316-17; see also Stile's Wethersfield, 2:717, which shows no marriage for Thomas)." Note here that Stile's also does not show any marriage for brother Joseph or Abel who were married with many children by this time. This timeline suggests that the author of the Rebecca Goffe manuscript assumed that they married in April or May of 1713 at which point she is 26 and Thomas about 35 which is fairly late for the time. The birth of son William is not recorded but has been assumed 1714 based on this marriage time and his reported age at death. The phrase "my now married wife" is suggestive and could mean recently married or second wife. There are no records of Rebecca's death.

From probate records: "Tryon, Thomas. Court Record, Page 87 - 9 January, 1748-9: This Court appoint William Tryon of Glastonbury to be guardian to Abell Tryon, a minor, 13 years of age, and Elyard Tryon, 7 years, children of Thomas Tryon, late of Glastonbury deceased. Recog., £600. Page 94 - 8 March, 1748-9: Abell Tryon, now 14 years of age, son of Thomas Tryon, late of Glastonbury, residing in Wallingford, in the County of New Haven, chose Lt. Josiah Robinson of Wallingford to be his guardian. Recog., £500." William is thought to be the older half-brother to Abel and Eliud. Older brothers Timothy and Thomas may not have been old enough at the time to be guardians of Abell and Elyard (Abel and Eliud) but old enough to not need guardians of their own. There is a record of a Lt. Josiah Robinson in Wallingford and Meriden, New Haven, who was about 25 at the time, married and starting a family. No family connection is known though it is thought he could be a cousin; Abel's mother, Abigail, may be Abigail Robinson.

From The Tryon Family In America (TFA): "THOMAS TRYON 2.1d, third son of William Tryon 1.1 and Mary (Steele) Tryon, was born at Wethersfield, Conn., about 1678, and died before 1748. He was a merchant, and married Abigail (---), lived at Glastonbury, Conn., and Wallingford, Vt., and fathered at least six children, names of only four found: Thomas, Jr., 3.4a, Timothy 3.4b, Abell 3.4c, Elyard or Eloid 3.4d. The Court of Wallingford, New Haven County, Vt., appointed William Tryon, of Glastonbury, Conn. to be guardian of Abell and Elyard in 1748, and a year later, when Abell was 14, he chose Lieut. Josiah Robinson, of Wallingford, to be his guardian. This from Probate Record 1745-1750, p. 671." NOTE: This TFA record is incorrect. It should be Wallingford, Connecticut, not Vermont. The original specifies New Haven County which is in Connecticut while Wallingford, Vermont, is in Rutland County. Also note that the guardian William is not noted as a son of Thomas which is one of the reasons it is thought that this may be the record of the son of Thomas, Thomas, who had these four children, and that the guardian, William, is Thomas's brother and son of the Thomas of this profile (see below).

An alternative to the above that has support in the Tryon research community is that this Thomas only had two sons, William and Thomas. This is the view presented in a Tryon family tree in a manuscript by Donald Lines Jacobus in the Connecticut Historical Society collection [1] [2]. This view was also supported by Dan Brevik of the old "Tryon Union" who stated he had seen this in a book in the Connecticut Historical Society collection, presumably this same Jacobus manuscript or whatever source Jacobus found. In this alternative, son Thomas married Abigail and had children Thomas, Timothy, Abell, and Eliud. The birth year of this missing Thomas is tightly constrained by the birth year of presumed mother Rebecca Dix, 1687, and the birth year of his first son, Thomas, in 1728. If he was born about 1707, Rebecca would be 20 at his birth and he would be 21 at his first son's birth. Earlier marriages and births were unusual in this time and place. Alternatively, the mother could have been an earlier wife of Thomas allowing for an earlier birth of son Thomas, say 1702 when Thomas would be about 24 years old, which would make this son about 25 when he married Abigail.

In the guardianship decision, Abell and Eliud would be going to their uncle instead of their half-brother. Therefore this profile may be a mix of two Thomas Tryons, father and son.

He likely died in late 1748 because the earliest probate document is dated 9 Jan 1748/9 which is 9 Jan 1749 in the modern calendar. If the two Thomas Tryon theory is correct, this would be the death of the son born early 1700s.

September, 2023

There is another Thomas Tryon mystery. A recent series of "Big Y-700" genetic tests has revealed that a direct father-to-son descendant of Thomas's son Eliud shares a genetic mutation with a direct father-to-son descendant of Benjamin Tryon of Coxsackie, NY. There is a published story of that family that says Benjamin's father was a sailor who quit on Long Island and made his way up the Hudson valley, settling in Coxsackie, NY, and raising a family. Given the birth year of Benjamin of about 1725-1735 based on his childrens' births, this means Benjamin must be a son or possibly grandson of the Thomas of this profile. The story is told and published much later and is clearly embellished, but there could be some truth to the sailor from Long Island because that is where we find Thomas's son Eliud living before he moved to Goshen, NY, in the 1770s. There are also two newspaper notices announcing the death of a Thomas Tryon in Coxsackie in 1803 at the age of at least 100. "Tryon, Thomas, died at Coxsackie, age 110, some of his friends say 120. (Aug. 13, 1803)" [1], "Tryon, Thomas, d. in Coxsackie, aged at least 100 (C.C. Aug. 13, 1803)" [2]. These ages are also likely exaggerated but it does suggest an elder Thomas Tryon did live there of the age to be a father or brother of Benjamin. I'm more inclined to believe that Benjamin is a brother, another son of Thomas, brother to Eliud and the others. Only Abel and Eliud are noted the the 1749 probate abstract but any son born before say 1730 would be living on their own and not noted (only guardianships were noted). The birth year of Benjamin is only constrained by the baptism of a daughter who appears to be their last child in 1760 so a birth before 1730 is reasonable.

Sources

  1. U.S., Newspaper Extractions from the Northeast, 1704-1930, New York, New York Weekly Museum, Aug. 13, 1803 (ancestry.com)
  2. U.S., Newspaper Extractions from the Northeast, 1704-1930 for Thomas Tryon, Massachusetts, Columbian Centinel, 13 Aug 1803
  • "William Tryon of Hartford and Wethersfield, Connecticut," Gale Ion Harris, The American Genealogist, July/October 2008.
  • "Rebecca Goffe, Wife of John Dix of Wethersfield, Connecticut," Gale Ion Harris, The American Genealogist, April 1993.
  • The Tryon Family In America, Second Edition 1980, Wesley Tryon, [3]
  • A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records, by Charles W. Manwaring, R. S. Peck & Co. Printers, Hartford, CT, 1904, Volume 3, Page 671




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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Thomas by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. Y-chromosome DNA test-takers in his direct paternal line on WikiTree: It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Thomas:

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Categories: Tryon Family in America, Tryon Name Study