Lt.
Thomas
Tracy
Born about in England
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of
Unknown (Unknown) Tracy
— married
about 1641 [location unknown]
Husband of
Martha (Bourne) Tracy
— married
about 1679 in Norwich, Connecticut
Husband of
Mary (Foote) Tracy
— married
about 1683 (to before 7 Nov 1685) in Connecticut
Descendants 
Father of
John Tracy, Thomas Tracy II, Jonathan Tracy I, Miriam (Tracy) Waterman, Solomon Tracy, Daniel Tracy I and Samuel Tracy
Died
at about age 75
in Norwich, New London, Connecticut Colony
Profile managers:
Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree 
[send private message], Jana Last [send private message], Martin Tracy [send private message], John Putnam [send private message], and Laurence Houlgate [send private message]
[send private message], Jana Last [send private message], Martin Tracy [send private message], John Putnam [send private message], and Laurence Houlgate [send private message]Profile last modified
| Created 14 Sep 2010
This page has been accessed 10,988 times.
| Thomas Tracy migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 340) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm |
Biography
Lt. Thomas Tracy immigrated from England and became one of the original 35 purchasers of Norwichtown, Connecticut, New England, in 1659. The town's original deed states:
- "Lt. Thomas Tracy, commissary in Philip's War. b. Hayles, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England. In early manhood crossed the sea. Stayed in Salem until 20 Fe. 1637 then removed to Wethersfield, Ct., later to Saybrook and finally settled in Norwich..."
There was a "Hayles Abbey" and village 2 miles NE of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, in the Middle Ages. An alternate spelling is "Hailes". It is 12 miles east of Tewkesbury. No proof has ever been found that this is where Lt. Tracy was born. See below for a discussion of his disputed parents and origins.[1][2]
Lt. Thomas Tracy is inaccurately said to have married at Wethersfield, Connecticut a first wife possibly Widow Mary (Maria) Mason. (Her identity is in question as it has been shown that the Widow Mason (given name unknown) died as the Widow Mason, while Thomas was living in Saybrook). However, this wife, whomever she was, was the mother of most, if not all, of his children. That she was Mary, widow of Edward Mason, has been dis-proven. See NEHG REGISTER 61(1907):93 - Dwight Tracy, M.D., D.D.S.. ALSO SEE: Jacobus, Donald Lines, The Waterman Family. New Haven, Connecticut:Edgar F. Waterman, 1939. 1:692
Children (by first marriage to unknown wife) per the Tracy genealogy:
- John (1642),
- Thomas (1644),
- Jonathan (1646),
- Miriam (1648)
- Solomon 1651
- Daniel (1651)
- Samuel (1654).
Lieutenant in King Philip's War. He was of Salem in 1637, and later of Saybrook, Wethersfield, and, in 1662, Norwich,CT. He was a carpenter.
His second wife, married by Feb 1679/80, was Martha Bourne Bradford Tracy, widow of John Bradford and daughter of Thomas Bourne and Elizabeth ____ Bourne. Martha was not the mother of any of his children.
His third wife, married after Jul 1683, was Mary Foote Stoddard Goodrich Tracy, widow of John Stoddard and John Goodrich Jr, and daughter of Nathaniel Foote and Elizabeth Deming Foote.
Information from the Pilgrim Society documentation:
"In 1645 he went to relief of Uncus, Sachem of Mohegans, when he was besieged at Shattucks Point by Naragansetts. Appointed in 1661 by General Court to try the Bond of New London; 1662 he was chosen on of the Court of Commission; in 1666 he was appointed Ensign at Norwich 1667-1678 deputy from Norwich to Colonial Assembly (Connecticut) in which he sat as member for more than twenty sessions. In 1673 appointed Lieut. of Forces in New London County to fight Dutch and Indians. 1674 was Quartermaster of Dragoons and in 1678 was appointed a Justice. He was one of the founders of both of the towns of Saybrook and of Norwich, Connecticut."
Disputed Parents & Origins
- The origins and parents of Thomas Tracy are unknown. He is not the son of Paul Tracey, 1st Baronet which appears to be an attempt to falsely connect him to English nobility.
Dr. Dwight Tracy in his 1908 pamphlet, "The Tracys in America -- Recently Discovered English Ancestry of Governor William Tracy of Virginia, 1620, and of his only son, Lieutenant Thomas Tracy of Salem, Massachusetts and Norwich Connecticut" tried to show that he was the son of Gov. Wm. Tracy. John G. Hunt in his "Fiction Versus Possibility in the Tracy Genealogy" did a fairly decent job of debunking that claim. Gov Tracy's son William seems fairly clearly to have died by May 29, 1633.
Lt. Charles Stedman Ripley in 1895 tried to show that Thomas was the son of Paul Tracy, Bart., and the grandson of Richard Tracy of Stanway. He bases much of this claim on family tradition, which holds that Thomas himself claimed to be the grandson of Richard Tracy. Ripley does a pretty decent job of eliminating Richard's sons Nathaniel and Samuel as Thomas's father and concludes that Thomas must be Paul's son.
Ripley, however, shows very little real evidence of Thomas's descent and accepts some questionable assertions rather uncritically. Both Donald Lines Jacobus in "The Waterman Family" (vol 1, 1939, pp. 691-694) and John G. Hunt did a fairly good job of arguing against Paul and all of the Tracys of Stanway.
Hunt himself put forth the notion that Thomas was from the Tracys of Norwich, England. This claim was evaluated in "The Origins of Thomas Tracy of Connecticut", research for Mrs. Edward A Williams done in February 1986 by the genealogists of Debrett Ancestry Research in England. They came to no final conclusion, but hold out substantial hope.
A previous version of this profile, citing only online trees,[3] claimed that Thomas was the son of Stephen Tracy and Tryphosa Lee, but there is no evidence to support these origins. Please use the G2G discussion forum to discuss evidence for his origins.
To date there is no reliable evidence of Thomas's ancestry. All of the connections except the possibility that he is from the Norwich Tracys have been discredited. Deed of the Town of Norwich, Connecticut
- "Lt. Thomas Tracy, commissary in Philip's War. b. Hayles Tweksbury, Gloucershire, England. In early manhood crossed the sea. Stayed in Salem until 20 Fe. 1637 then removed to Wethersfield, Ct. later to Saybrook and finally settled in Norwich. Was well educated, held many important offices, legislative, military, and magesterial. married mary, widow of Edward Mason; and second, Martha, widow of Gov. Bradford's son John 0 and daughter of Thomas Bourne of Marshfield, Massachusetts."
- In the old burial ground of Preston, CT there is a long row of graves marked by rough fieldstones. The first one is lettered L.T. for Lieutenant Jonathan Tracy.
- Lt. Jonathan was one of the original settlers of Preston, cT, first town recorder, first lieutenant of trained band 1690. Selectman 1698. Deputy for Preston 1299, 1700, and 1710. First Justice of the Peace.
Sources
- ↑ Martin Booth Tracy, Ph.D. "Lt. Thomas Tracy (1610-1685) of Norwich, Connecticut." The Connecticut Nutmegger, 49(3), March, 2017: 201-223, Link at AmericanAncestors.org (by $ubscription.) and also his book, The Puritans Thomas & Stephen Tracy: A Personal Quest for Family Lineage.
- ↑ Matilda Ormond Taylor Birchard Abbey, Genealogy of the Family of Lt Thomas Tracy, D.S. Harkness & Company, Printers,Milwaukee, 1888 (Note that this source provides information that is sometimes questionable and occasionally may have been proven to be inaccurate.)
- ↑ Ancestry Family Trees
- Martin Booth Tracy, "Lt. Thomas Tracy (1610-1685) of Norwich, Connecticut." The Connecticut Nutmegger, 49(3), March, 2017: 201-223. Link at AmericanAncestors.org (by $ubscription.)
- Donald Lines Jacobus, The Waterman Family. Volume 1. Descendants of Robert Waterman of Marshfield, Massachusetts through Seven Generations (New Haven, Conn.: Edgar F. Waterman, 1939), 691-694.
- Brainerd T. Peck, “Pre-American Origins, Proven & Disproved, Questionable,” The Connecticut Nutmegger, 6 (1973): 206.
- Paul C. Reed, “Research Report (#38083-SETO),” (August 2, 1993). Lineages, Inc. Salt Lake City, Utah, 4.
- David L. Greene, Lt. Thomas Tracy of Saybrook and Norwich: His (Unknown) Origin and (Unknown Wife), Hear-Saye, Quarterly Journal of the Saybrook Colony Founders Association, Volume XI, No. 3 (Fall 1996): 540-542.
- Meredith B. Colket, Jr., Founders of Early American Families: Emigrants from Europe 1607-1657 (Revised) (Cleveland, Ohio: The General Court of the Order of Founders and Patriots of America, 1985), 317-18.
- Roger Thompson, Divided We Stand: Watertown, Massachusetts 1630-1680 (Amherst, Mass.: University of Massachusetts Press, 2001), 11-19.
- Roger Thompson, Mobility and Migration: East Anglian Founders of New England, 1629-1640 (Amherst, Mass.: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1994), 206.
- Patterson, D. Williams, John Stoddard of Wethersfield, Conn., and his descendants, 1642-1872 a genealogy, Published by Rev, E. W. Stoddard, 1873. Pg. 13. (Online at: https://archive.org/details/
- Abbey, Matilda. Genealogy of the Family of Lt. Thomas Tracy, of Norwich, Connecticut (D.S. Harkness & Co., Milwaukee, 1888) Genealogy of the Family of Lt. Thomas Tracy, of Norwich, Connecticut, page 7: A Google Book.
- Pg. 33 - The Goodrich Family in America. A Genealogy of the Descendants of John and William Goodrich of Wethersfield, Conn., Richard Goodrich of Guilford, Conn., and William Goodridge of Watertown, Mass. Lafayette Wallace Case M.D., Author Role: Editor Publication: Fergus Printing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1889, Second Date, 1984
- https://archive.org/stream/myforefathersthe00brad#page/n547/mode/2up
- F.A.G. Memorial https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21945755
- Geneology of Family of Lt. thomas Tracy of Norwich, CT. by Mathilda O. Abbey. D. S. Harkness & Co. Printers 1888. Milwaukee, WI.
- Old Houses of Ancient Town of Norwich. 1660 - 1800 by Mary E. Perkins, Norwich, CT.
- Tracy Geneology by Evert E. Tracy, MD.
- Norwich Vital Records Vol. I pp. 10, 11
- Preston Vital Records Vol. I pps. 13, 53
- Preston, CT, Vol. II pp. 15-2, New London, CT Probate Records
- http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=3e46629e-2158-4d93-830b-bbac41979b0a&tid=2701874&pid=677 No sources
- Records fo the Virginia Co. Jan. 26 1619. Vol. I pages 296, 379, 520. Library of Congress
- Original letter relating to William Tracy in Archives of Lenox Library, New York, in charge of Wilberforce Eames, librarian.
- Connecticut Soldiers in the Pequot War of 1637, by Shepard, James, Publication date 1913 via Archive.org [1], Page 30.
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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 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:
- Martin Tracy
:
Family Tree DNA Y-DNA Test 37 markers, haplogroup R1b1b2a1a2d, FTDNA kit #N39431 - S. Tracy :
Family Tree DNA Y-DNA Test 37 markers, haplogroup R-M269, FTDNA kit #473927
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
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Thoma, child of Richardi Crary, was baptised in December 1606 in Stanway, Gloucestershire, England.<ref> Baptism: "Gloucestershire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1813"
Gloucestershire Archives; Gloucester, Gloucestershire; Gloucestershire Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number: P308 in 1/1
Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 4732 #2845208 (accessed 28 January 2024)
Thoma Crary baptism in Dec 1606, child of Richardi Crary, in Stanway, Gloucestershire, England. </ref>
Ann
You are completely correct it is filia and Bona for name. Thanks for that correction.
Ann
Ann
"Thomas Tracy was a son of Sir Paul Tracy, Bart., of Stanway, County of Gloucester, England. He was born in the year 1610 on the Tewksbury estates, probably- at the manor of Stanway." "He died at Norwich. November 7, 1685,* in the seventysixth year of his age." The Asterix refers to the footnote: "* Records of the Town of Norwich, Connecticut." And again, on pg. 16 "Lieutenant Thomas Tracy died in Norwich, Connecticut, November 7, 1685, in the seventy-sixth year of his age, therefore he was born between the dates November 7, 1609, and November 7, 1610 {old style)." ... "Of this we are very certain, for his immediate descendants write these facts, the information having been obtained from Thomas himself." HOWEVER... N.B. I have not seen the names of the descendants nor their written notes, as Ripley does not name them or provide them; I am not aware of anyone in the last 200 plus years having found them - and surely more than one professional genealogist has looked. Much information provided by Ripley, has been since proved to be of questionable accuracy, or, totally wrong. e.g., "Thomas Tracy was a son of Sir Paul Tracy, Bart., of Stanway, County of Gloucester, England." That's a maybe at best (See notes by Martin Tracy); "... he married, in 1641, Mary, the widow of Edward Mason" That's been proven to be wrong several times. Ripley cites Norwich Town records... it has been a long time since I personally reviewed those records and my notes are in storage, but I suspect that while they give the date of his death, I don't recall that it gave his age. Maybe other researchers have seen other references to his age at the time of his death. That age would not be out of line with the known facts of his life and the appointments Lt. Thomas received.
While the latter source augments our knowledge of Lt. Thomas Tracy, it is nevertheless problematical in spots. For example: (1) the article begins with the statement that Lt. Tracy was born about 1610. The associated endnote simply says, "He was age 75 at death." It is this absence of supporting evidence for Tracy's age at death—and consequently his year of birth—that prompted my initial comment. (2) On page 206 is the statement that "[t]he wife of Thomas Tracy may have died in Saybrook sometime after the birth of Daniel in 1654." Daniel's estimated birth year is generally put at 1652, with that of the last child, Samuel, estimated as 1655. (At the end of a seven-child birth order, a three-year interval between the last two children is the standard estimate.) I believe the author intended Samuel rather than Daniel. (3) A reference on page 209 to Lt. Tracy's third wife says that she died in 1685, "probably before Thomas, because there is no mention of a widow in his will." There is no will to be found for Lt. Tracy—only an estate settlement, in which £540 was distributed among six sons and a son-in-law (see Waterman, 695). (That Tracy's last wife is not mentioned in the distribution does suggest that she had died by the time it was made.) (4) The first full paragraph on page 210 gives both 1661 and 1662 as the first year in which Lt. Tracy served as Norwich deputy to the Connecticut General Court [_recte_ General Assembly (renamed 1662)]; the latter year is correct. (5) Sachem Uncas is said on page 213 to have bequeathed 5,000 acres, appraised at £560, to Lt. Tracy in Uncas's will of 29 February 1675, and that Tracy was one of sixteen Norwich Englishmen who received "a large tract" bequeathed in 1676 by the sachem's son, Joshua Uncas. This misinterprets and mischaracterizes what was but a single bequest. The great Mohegan sachem Uncas (Joshua's father) left no will when he died, in 1683 or 1684. His son Joshua, who predeceased him, left a will dated 29 February 1675[/6], in which he bequeathed to thirteen Norwich men and (toward the end) two others [one of Stonington, the other of New London] a tract "westward of Appaguage, and Eastward from Willimantucke River, South from Appaguague Pond, eight miles broad . . . to be divided and distributed amongst them and every of them as my Father Uncas shall se[e] meet and Convenient." The specific acreage that each man was to receive or did receive is not recorded. (Earlier in Joshua's will, he bequeathed 5,000 acres to each of three [Saybrook] men; Tracy, obviously, was not among them.) The so-called appraised value of the tract (£560) almost certainly represents a misstatement of the £540 total estate distribution, which was in cash.
Back to Lt. Tracy's age at death: As I indicated in my initial comment, Lt. Tracy's Norwich death record fails to include his age at death, and his gravestone is not extant. These are by far the two most likely sources of such information. The bottom line is that there seems to be no primary source to support an age at death of 75 and consequently no basis for calculating a birth year of 1610—surely not with the air of certainty that tends to accompany such pronouncements.
edited by Gene Zubrinsky FASG
Thanks,
John Kirk
I have also published a book entitled: The Puritans Thomas & Stephen Tracy: A Personal Quest for Family Lineage. Its available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kindle.
Martin Booth Tracy
http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Tracy-853 http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Tracy-56
And we need to remove the parents shown because they are disputed.
If you have any questions or concerns we can open a discussion on G2G. Please use keyword PGM and include a link to the profile.
Thanks for your help!