Thomas TROWBRIDGE

Male Abt 1600 - 1672  (~ 72 years)


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  • Name Thomas TROWBRIDGE  [1, 2, 3
    • Thomas Trowbridge was named in his father John's nuncupative will 1 July 1649 as "eldest son" when he moved from Taunton to Exeter, where he was fined for freeman L12. On 20 Dec. 1624, according to registers of St. Mary Arches, he m. Elizabeth Marshall. In his own parish of St. Petrocks were b. to him: 6 Mar 1627, Elizabeth;
      5 Nov. 1629, John;
      11 Dec. 1631, Thomas;
      and Sept. 1633, William.

      The child Eliz. d.y. & john, the s. & h. remained in England, d. 1653; local will, naming John Manning of New England, merchant, William Davis of Muskeeta, Newfoundland, implied that he had sailed the sea with father. sons Thomas (Jr.) and William emigrated with parents to Dorchester, Mass., were James Trowbridge was born; they moved to New Haven, where Elizabeth the mother died. three children remained to have large families. Thomas Sr. returned to Exeter to remarry, by license, widow Frances Shattuck 10 Feb. 1640 in St. David's church. She, his cousin, was dau of Dorothy Trowbridge, dau. of Thos. Trowbridge (sr.) of Taunton. Thomas, Jr. paid L4 subsidy at West Munction, nr. Taunton. by 1643 they were back inNew Haven, a family of 5, rated at L500. When Taunton, under colonel, later admiral Robert Blake, was besieged by the royalists, Thomas, served as captain in Cromwell's army, 1645. Later, he supported a wounded soldier's pension claim at Taunton Court of Sessions. He gave his New England sons power of attorney for property there 14 Jan. 1664. He and they traded to the Azores from both sides of the Atlantic. He was buried at St. Mary Magdalen Church, Taunton Somerset, 7 Feb 1672.

      Elizabeth, first wife of Thomas Trowbridge, and other of his children, was bapt. at St. Mary Arches Church, Exeter, 24 Mar. 1602 of a family of centre of commercial and civic power in the cathedral city. This was amply set forth in 1905 in an article by Emory McClintock, "Thomas Trowbridge and Elizabeth," NEHG 59 (1905): 291-297. Elizabeth's father, the Alderman John Marshall, Mayor in 1615, was d. by the dau.'s marriage. Her mother Alice was the second dau. of the name, bapt. at St. Kerrians church, Exeter, 7 June 1572, and marshall's bride 30 Aug 1695 at St. Mary Arches. Alice, bur. there 13 Jan. 1630/1, left her favourite dau. Mrs. Elizabeth Trowbridge, L50 and L10 piece of place. Alice's father was Richard Beavis, who d. in office as Mayor of Exeter 26 Aug. 1603. He had m. (1) Elizabeth Price, from the Welsh "Ap Rhys." mother of Alice marshall, and (2) Jane Huish, dau. of Henry Huish of Sands. [1]
    • He had been engaged as mercer in Exeter in 1632, and appears to have come to New England in 1636. He had been on voyages to and from the Barbadoes. It may be that he did not intend to settle permanently in New England for he left his oldest son in England under the care of his father in Taunton. He brought his wife and two youngest sons and first settled at Dorchester, Mass. By 1639, he had removed to New Haven. He and his wife are noted in the records of the town and church as "Mr. and Mrs.', a distinction that at that time was conferred only on persons of established gentility. In 1643, in the census, his estate is given as 500 pounds; a large sum for that time and place. (N.E. Reg., 59, p. 292). Soon after this, he returned to England, leaving his boys and property in the care of his steward, Henry Gibbons, from whom, after more than twenty years, it was not easy to obtain an accounting. (Savage 4, p. 333.) He never came back. After his return to England, he issued Jan. 19, 1663-4 a power-of-attorney, to his sons in New Haven. He was a merchant, having dealings with the West Indies and a man of Prominence in Taunton. [2]
    Birth Abt 1600  [1
    Gender Male 
    Burial 7 Feb 1672  St. Mary Magdalen Church, Taunton, Somerset Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2
    Person ID I68093  Main Tree
    Last Modified 20 May 2021 

    Father John TROWBRIDGE,   c. 25 Mar 1570, St. Mary Magdalen Church Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Relationship Birth 
    Mother Agnes PROWSE,   c. 15 Apr 1576, Tiverton Find all individuals with events at this locationbur. 6 Jun 1622, Taunton, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 46 years) 
    Relationship Birth 
    Marriage 31 Jul 1597  St. Peter's, Tiverton Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Family ID F33486  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 Elizabeth MARSHALL,   c. 24 Mar 1602, St. Mary Arches Church, Exeter Find all individuals with events at this locationd. poss. 1641, New Haven, Connecticut Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 38 years) 
    Marriage 20 Dec 1624  St. Mary Arches Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Marriage Fact 26 Mar 1627  parish Reg. of St. Mary Arches, Exeter, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Children 
     1. Elizabeth TROWBRIDGE,   c. 6 Mar 1627/8, St. Petrock, Exeter, England Find all individuals with events at this locationbur. 10 May 1630 (Age ~ 2 years)  [Birth]
     2. John TROWBRIDGE,   c. 5 Nov 1629, St. Petrock, Exeter, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1653, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 23 years)  [Birth]
    +3. Lieut. Thomas TROWBRIDGE,   c. 11 Dec 1631, St. Petrock, Exeter, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 22 Aug 1702 (Age ~ 70 years)  [Birth]
    +4. William TROWBRIDGE,   c. 3 Sep 1633, St. Petrock, Exeter, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Nov 1690, New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 57 years)  [Birth]
    +5. Deacon James TROWBRIDGE,   b. 1636, Dorchester, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 22 May 1717, Newton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 81 years)  [Birth]
    Family ID F27386  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 4 Mar 2016 

    Family 2 Frances SHATTUCK 
    Marriage 10 Feb 1640  St. David's Church Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Family ID F33488  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 21 Feb 2016 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsMarriage Fact - 26 Mar 1627 - parish Reg. of St. Mary Arches, Exeter, England Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - 10 Feb 1640 - St. David's Church Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBurial - 7 Feb 1672 - St. Mary Magdalen Church, Taunton, Somerset Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Sources 
    1. [S5840] Frederick Lewis Weis, Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonist Who Came to America before 1700.

    2. [S3597] Ernest Flagg, "Genealogical Notes on the Founding of New England" My Ancestors Part in that Undertaking.

    3. [S4758] Rev. F.W. Chapman, A.M., Ancestry.com: "The Trowbridge Family, or the Descendants of Thomas Trowbridge".