William Tryon (1737 - 1812)

Born 13 Feb 1737 in Middletown, Hartford, Connecticut

Ancestors

Husband of Catherine (Codner) Tryon — married 14 May 1756 in Middletown, Connecticut

Descendants

Died 10 Jun 1812 at age 75 in Greenfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Michael Maranda [send private message] and Michael Tryon [send private message]

Biography

William Tryon was born in 1737, the son of William Tryon and Sarah Goodrich ^[1]. He married Catherine Codner on 4 May 1756^[2] and they had 6 or 7 children. He died of cancer in 1812 in Greenfield, Massachusetts ^[3][4], and is buried in the Log Plain Cemetery.

Research Notes

The following is an excerpt from "Tryon Family in America" by Wesley Tryon, second edition, 1980. Some of the information does not match current records but it is an interesting historical reference.

William Tryon, twin and first son of William Tryon and Sarah (Goodrich) Tryon, was born at Middletown, Connecticut on September 26, 1737. He married Catherine Codner, daughter of John Codner and Elizabeth (Clark) Codner, of Middletown, at Middletown, May 14, 1756. She was born on May 6, 1736, and died at Greenfield, Massachusetts, on September 10, 1828, at the age of 90 years. William was known as Captain Tryon, and died of cancer at Greenfield, on June 10, 1812, at the age of 75 years. They were both buried, according to the History of Deerfield, Massachusetts, by Sheldon, in the so-called Log Plain Cemetery in Greenfield. On two well-preserved and beautifully carved slate stones are the following inscriptions: "In Memory of Captain William Tryon who died June 10, 1812 Aged 75

His days are spent, his race is run,

He's no more known beneat[h] the sun.

We trust his spirit dwells above

In realms of everlasting love."

Beside his grave is the following inscription: "Mrs. Catherine relict of Capt. William Tryon died Sept. 10, 1827 aged 90."

"Captain William Tryon was ship's captain plying between America and England, and on one trip brought back, as a wedding present, an oak chest for his daughter Elizabeth 5.86e, which is still in the possession of one of his descendants in Connecticut. Capt. William Tryon and his wife Catherine lived in Middletown, Connecticut, until June 1790, then in the city of Berlin, Connecticut. Possibly in 1804 and not later than 1807, they moved to Greenfield, Massachusetts, where their daughter Irene 5.86b and her husband Ephraim Hubbard were living. The children of Capt. William, so far as known, are listed. It is believed that there were other children also, but their names have not been ascertained." The above paragraph is quoted from the paper prepared by Mrs. Martha Barner 10.300a, now on file in the D. A. R. Library in Washington, D. C. The seven children of Capt. William and his wife Catherine found listed are:

William

Irene

Elijah

Timothy

Elizabeth

Elisha

Lucy Jane

Excerpt from "The Bulkeley genealogy: Rev. Peter Bulkeley, being an account of his career, his ancestry, the ancestry of his two wives, and Descendants of Rev. Peter Bulkeley, 1933":

"He lived in Middletown until about December 1786, was resident in Berlin, Connecticut, in June 1790, and later removed to Greenfield, Massachusetts" It lists his children: William, Irene, Lucy, Elizabeth, Elijah, and Timothy.

Both the above sources suggests he move from Middletown to Berlin by June 1790 and we indeed find no William Tryon in the Middletown 1790 census. We do find a William Tryall in Berlin who is likely him. At that time there are 2 males over 16, one male under 16, and 4 females in the household. The over 16 son would be Timothy who married three years later in Berlin. The under 16 son would be Elisha/Elijah. The women would be his wife Catherine, daughter Elizabeth, daughter Lucy who married there in 1794, and another unknown female. Note that there is a 6 November 1793 marriage record in Berlin for Phebe Tryon, m. William Gaylord Cobley of Harwington ^[5]. She is daughter of John Tryon, the only other Tryon resident of Berlin at the time and so is not the unknown female in William's census record.

Son Elisha is an ongoing genealogical problem. He is not in the Bulkeley genealogy but is in TFA. In TFA it is noted he was born 1776 and married "The widow Clark" in 1798. That Elisha was "of Glastonbury" in the records ^[6][7]. That person is Elijah Tryon. There is another son, Josiah Tryon who is closely associated with William's son Timothy in Buckland, Massachusetts 1800-1810, is about the same age (b. 1765-1775) who we've concluded is another son of William. The name Elisha may be a mistake and is Josiah instead.

It should be noted that we have no original documentation of the whereabouts of William and Catherine after the birth of son William in 1757 in Middletown, Connecticut, until the 1790 census in Berlin. The birthplace of the other children has generally been given as Middletown but there is no record of their births. Irene marries in Middletown in 1782 and Elizabeth, Timothy, and Lucy are in the Berlin area in 1793-1795 when they marry. This is consistent with the TFA and Bulkeley genealogy timeline above and suggests all the children were born in Middletown.

Sources

1. ↑ Connecticut Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection); Middletown Vital Records 1651-1854, page 269. Original record Vol. 1 page 76 (Ancestry.com)
2. ↑ Connecticut, Marriage Index, 1620-1926; Film Number: 001513707 (Ancestry.com)
3. ↑ Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 (Ancestry.com)
4. ↑ Massachusetts, Compiled Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1700-1850; New England Historic Genealogical Society; Boston, Massachusetts; Vital Records of Greenfield, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Ancestry.com)
5. ↑ Connecticut, U.S., Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920, Volume 005 Berlin, p. 145
6. ↑ Early Connecticut Marriages, Book 4, Chatham, Portland, p. 103 (ancestry.com)
7. ↑ Connecticut, Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920 for Elisha Tryon, Volume 091, Portland (ancestry.com)

• Connecticut, Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection), William, son of William & Sarah, b. Feb 13, 1736/7, Middletown Vital Records 1651-1854, p. 269, original v. 1, p. 76 (ancestry.com)

• Connecticut, Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920 for William Tryon, Volume 070 Part 2 Middletown, baptism 17 Jul 1737 (ancestry.com)

• Connecticut, Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection), William m. Catherine Codner, May 14, 1756, Middletown Vital Records 1651-1854, p. 269, original v. 2, p. 219 (ancestry.com)

• Connecticut, Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection), William, s. William and Catherine, b. Feb. 7 1757, Middletown Vital Records 1651-1854, p. 269, original v. 2, p. 219 (ancestry.com)

• "United States Census, 1790," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHKK-K7Z : accessed 11 November 2020), William Tryall, Berlin, Hartford, Connecticut, United States; citing p. 451, NARA microfilm publication M637, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 1; FHL microfilm 568,141. Note: not certain this is him but it fits the time and place.

• "United States Census, 1800," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHR9-L2V : accessed 11 November 2020), William Tryon, Berlin, Hartford, Connecticut, United States; citing p. 562, NARA microfilm publication M32, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 1; FHL microfilm 205,618.

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74470034, memorial page for Capt William Tryon (13 Feb 1736–10 Jun 1812), Find A Grave Memorial no. 74470034, citing Log Plain Cemetery, Greenfield, Franklin County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by DeeB (contributor 47264619).

• Capt. William Tryon's Find a Grave Memorial 74470034