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Our Family Genealogy Pages

Thomas TROWBRIDGE
 1598 - BEF. 7 FEB 1671/72

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  • Birth  8 Feb 1597/1598  Taunton, Somersetshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender  Male 
    Died  BEF. 7 Feb 1671/72  Taunton, Somersetshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID  I14284  Brainard (Brainerd) / Foster / Fish
    Last Modified  24 Jan 2005 00:00:00 
     
    Father  John TROWBRIDGE, b. 25 Mar 1570, Taunton, Somersetshire, England  
    Mother  Agnes PROWSE, b. 14 Apr 1575, Tiverton, Devonshire, England  
    Family ID  F6631  Group Sheet
     
    Family  Elizabeth MARSHALL, b. 24 Mar 1601/1602, St. Mary's Arches, Exeter, England  
    Married  20 Dec 1624  St. Mary's Arches, Exeter, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Elizabeth TROWBRIDGE, b. 6 Mar 1626/1627
     2. John TROWBRIDGE, b. 5 Nov 1629
     3. Thomas TROWBRIDGE, b. 11 Dec 1631
    >4. William TROWBRIDGE, b. 3 Sep 1633, Exeter, Devonshire, England
     5. James TROWBRIDGE, b. 1636, Dorchester, Massachusetts
    Family ID  F6622  Group Sheet
     
  • Notes 
    • John; born 1510 in Hutton, Somersetshire, England. I do not yet know who his wife is. John is my 12th great grandfather. He died on 17-Feb-1574 at Hutton. He was the father of Thomas, born 1542 in Taunton, Somersetshire, England. Thomas married Joan Lawrence Hutchin sometime before 1570 and died on 20-Dec-1619 in Taunton. Thomas and Joan were the parents of John, born 25-Mar-1570 in Taunton. He married Agnes Prowse on the 31st day of July, 1597 in Tiverton, England. John was in the Woolen Trade business and well known in both Somersetshire and Devonshire.

      We will begin with Thomas, the second of the nine children of John and Agnes (Prowse) Trowbridge. He was born 08-Feb-1597 at Taunton, Somersetshire, England and baptized at the Parish of St. Petrock. He married Elizabeth Marshall on 26-Mar-1627 at the Parish of St. Mary Arches in Exeter, Devonshire, England. Elizabeth was the daughter of Alice Bevys and John Marshall, Sherrif of Exeter, and granddaughter to Richard Bevys, Lord and Mayor of Exeter (elected 1600, died in Office 1603) . It is Thomas who is our first ancestor in America, having arrived at Dorchester in the Massachusetts Bay colony in 1636.

      Owing to some religious difficulties arising in Dorchester, Thomas moved his family to New Haven, Connecticut sometime before 1644. Thomas actually spent very little time in America as he was involved in trading between the West Indies and England. In Taunton he was a "prominent citizen and wealthy merchant", his father having long since been identified with the woolen trade. As a young man, Thomas opened his business as a mercer in the city of Exeter.

      It is unknown exactly when Elizabeth died. What is known is that in 1644 Thomas left his sons in the care of his servant, Henry Gibbons. He remained in close contact with the boys, but never returned to America. Thomas died in Taunton in 1673. Mr. Gibbons was charged by New Haven town authorities with mismanaging the property and moneys of Thomas and the boys (Thomas, William & James) were then placed in the care of Sgt. Thomas Jeffrey and his wife, there they passed their boyhood.

      From Thomas our direct line follows his son, William, who was baptized on 03-Sep-1633 at the Parish of St. Mary Arches in Exeter. William was the fourth born of the five children of Thomas and Elizabeth. On 09-Mar-1655 he married Elizabeth Lamberton of the noteworthy Lamberton family in Milford, New Haven County, Connecticut.

      It was William, who upon reaching his majority, attempted to bring Mr. Gibbons to an account of the moneys spent during his stewardship:


      "William Trowbridge propounded to ye court if he might have an account of his father's estate that was left in New Haven, and for this end presented two letters from his father, one dated March 6, 1655, the other March 4, 1658, wherein his father writes, that he marvells that there is not an account of it given. It was told him that some time has been spent in searching ye records, but it could not be cleared. Wherefore he paying the secretary then ye secretary would afford him that help he could therein to clear it."


      "January 3, 1664, William Trowbridge having had a warrant for Henry Gibbons to answer him in action of ye case, was now called to clear this action. He required of Henry Gibbons an account of his father's estate that was left with him when he went to England. Wm. Trowbridge was asked by what authority he had made his demand? He showed a letter of attorney from his father, which being read was allowed and accepted. Henry Gibbons said that he had given him an account as well as he could, but the estate was taken out of his hands by order of authority here and therefore it must be referred to ye records. The records having been looked into formerly and matters not found so clear as was desired and there being much business at this time, the case was referred to another time."



      At the county court held at New Haven on June 10, 1664, before James Bishop, assistant and moderator, commissioners and a jury in the case of Trowbridge vs. Gibbons:

      "Wm. Trowbridge of New Haven, plaintiff, Henry Gibbons of same place, defendant, in the action of the case for an account of the estate of Mr. Thomas Trowbridge of Taunton in the realm of England mentioned in his letters of attorney dated ye 19th of January, 1662, and sometime in ye possession of trust of ye said Henry ye defendant disposed of and not accounted for."



      The records of the transaction concerning the estate were read. Mr. Gibbons made some restitution, in which the plaintiff "seemed to be satisfied".

      In 1664 William was master of the sloop COCKE, making many voyages out of New Haven. In July of 1667 he became one of the first residents in the parish of West New Haven. He built his house on Lamberton Farm in which he had received a 1/6th share from his father-in-law, George Lamberton. He owned an additional 144 acres on Long Island Sound near Oyster River. In early West Haven town records William is referred to as a "planter", in later records he is described as a "husbandman".

      William was nominated a Freeman (having exclusive rights in the community) of the colony of Connecticut on 13-May-1669. He and his wife, Elizabeth (Lamberton) were admitted as members of the First Church of New Haven on 28-Apr-1686.

      The next in our line would be Joseph, the son of William & Elizabeth, born in New Haven in 1676. He was the youngest of ten children. Very little is known of Joseph as he died young having fathered only 3 children: a son, Mathew, died while still an infant; a daughter, Anne, married Jacob Wakely; and the son David, our direct ancestor. What is known about Joseph is that he was a carpenter by trade, but farmed his own land. He married Anne Sherwood, the daughter of Captain Mathew Sherwood in 1708 at Fairfield. He and his wife were members of the Stratfield, Connecticut Congregational Church. He died sometime in May of 1715 as a Probate inventory of his estate was taken on the 31st of May, 1715. Anne then married Caleb Fairchild in 1716 and moved to Hanover, Morris County, New Jersey where she and Caleb raised David & Anne. Caleb & Anne had nine children together, I have not researched any of David's Fairchild half siblings; however, their names are Hezekiah (b.1717), Sarah (b.1722) Matthew(b.1720), Joseph (b.1724), Samuel (b.1726), Gershom (b.1728), Ebenezer (b.1730), Mehitable (b.1732) and Ezra (b.1734)

      David, born 30-Dec-1709 at Stratfield, Connecticut married Lydia Holmes on 03-Jul-1735 in Bedford, New York. They settled in what is now known as Morristown, Morris county, in West New Jersey. He homesteaded the area known as Trowbridge Mountain, having derived it's name from the fact that David, several of his sons and his grandsons built their farms there. David was a farmer by trade and he and his wife were members of the Baptist church in Morristown.

      The children of David and Lydia are known to have spread out into states such as: Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Vermont, Ohio, Michigan, New York, Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana. Hence, Trowbridge lines everywhere.

      Children of David and Lydia:

      Lydia Trowbridge b: February 23, 1769 in Morristown, Morris County, New Jersey
      Daniel Trowbridge b: December 28, 1737 in Morristown, Morris County, NJ
      d: Abt 1786 in survied his wife but died while youngest son was a little boy

      Shubael Trowbridge b: September 03, 1739 in Morristown, NJ
      d: March 12, 1782 in Morristown, NJ

      Ann Trowbridge b: November 15, 1740 in Morristown,NJ
      d: June 06, 1755 in Morristown, NJ

      Samuel Trowbridge b: February 23, 1741/42 in Morristown,NJ
      d: Aft 1800 in Frederick County, Virginia farm called "Apple Pie Ridge"

      David Trowbridge b: July 11, 1743 in Morristown, NJ
      d: in Washington County, Indiana

      Caleb Trowbridge b: May 29, 1745 in Morristown,NJ
      d: March 13, 1760 in Morristown, NJ

      Mary Ann Trowbridge b: October 17, 1747 in Morristown,NJ

      Tabitha Trowbridge b: 1748 in Morristown, NJ : Bef 1758

      Joseph Trowbridge b: April 16, 1749 d: July 07, 1753 NJ

      Absalom Trowbridge b: May 25, 1750 NJ
      d: September 10, 1824 in Randolph, New Jersey

      Tabitha Trowbridge b: 1752 d: in died @ age 21 years and 8 months, Whippany, New Jersey

      Job Trowbridge b: March 08, 1754 in Morristown, NJ
      d: August 12, 1821 in Hart County, Kentucky

      Joseph Trowbridge b: October 02, 1756 in Morristown, NJ
      d: 1815 in Catawissa, PA

      Ann Trowbridge b: January 30, 1763 in Morristown, NJ
      d: December 12, 1767 in Morristown, NJ

      Lydia Trowbridge b: February 23, 1769 in Morristown, NJ


      Daniel was the second child born to David & Lydia, born 28-Dec-1737 on Trowbridge Mountain in the county of Morris, the state of New Jersey. Daniel also was a farmer by trade and a member of the Morristown Baptist Church. He is said to have been a soldier in the War of the Revolution but I am awaiting the documentation before stating this as a fact. On 04-Oct-1764 he married Sarah Ludlum at Morristown. There is some discrepancy about her last name. It is recorded in the marriage as Ludlum; however, clearly the descendants of her family use the name Ludlow. (Another area of research that still needs to be done.)



      David, born 26-Jan-1768 at Morristown is the second of the seven children of Daniel & Sarah. He is listed in old records as a "weaver" and was thus employed as such in Morristown. In 1788 he married Hannah Beers, the daughter of Joseph Beers (another long time New Jersey family) and they had their first four children in Morristown. In 1791 he became a member of the Morristown Militia under Captain Joseph Halsey. Sometime in 1796 they removed to Painted Post in the county of Steuben in the state of New York where our Joseph Bears was born in 1797. (the surname Beers was pronounced Bears having derived from the name Bayer.) It is unclear where the spelling change took place. Joseph and his brother Henry both shared the same middle name, Beers. Our line spells it Bears and the line of Henry records it as Beers. Our only documentation of the Bears spelling exists in the family bible of Ruahma (Riley) Trowbridge. It is not known whether the family knowingly spelled it this way or whether Ruahma spelled it the way it sounded. It is known that when she gave some of her children this name as a middle name it was spelled Bears. (For anyone wishing to research this line, it will be necessary to research under the Beers spelling.) David and Hannah had five more children in Painted Post before moving to Cheviot, Ohio in 1818. Hannah died there in 1820 when her youngest child was but 12 years old. David & children then settled on Taylor's Creek in Greene Township. in the county of Hamilton, Ohio. David then married Catherine Dolph but no children were born of this marriage. In 1832 David moved to Milan, Ripley County, Indiana then on to Blountsville, Randolph County, Indiana where he died on 16-May-1859.

      Joseph Bears was born on the 28th day of September, 1797 in Painted Post, Steuben County, New York. He was the fifth of 14 children born to David & Hannah. He moved in 1818, with his parents, to Ohio where religious reformation under Barton Warren Stone was "waking up the people". Joseph, having been raised a strict Calvinist-Presbyterian, got into several religious controversies, particularly with Father Shumaker, and continually came off second best. (Christian Standard Dec. 1883)

      "He became satisfied that the Bible, and only the Bible, would do to tie up to as infallible, and dropping all his creed ideas, he began to study the Scriptures with an interest he had not hitherto known; and from his studies he learned and submitted himself to the Lord, fully determined to follow the teachings of the Scriptures."
      (The Christian Standard Dec. 1883)

      Joseph, having become knowledgeable not only in the Bible, but also in concepts of Mr. Stone, became the founder of the White Oak Christian Church in Cinncinati, Hamilton County, Ohio. He preached for congregations in Carthage, Mount Pleasant, Cumminsville & Miamitown in Ohio as well as many of the Christian churches in Kentucky and Indiana.

      "He was a preacher for 53 years, during all that time supporting his large family by his physical labor on his farm. Thus has passed from us a man full of years filled up in labor, not only for this life, but in preparation of the life to come."
      (The Christian Standard, Dec. 1883)

      The Disciples of Christ , offically known as The Christian Church is a protestant denomination that developed in 1836. It's founders were three men of Presbyterian background , Thomas Campbell and his son Andrew in Pennsylvania, and Barton Warren Stone in Kentucky, whom broke their denominational ties to enter into unity with "the body of Christ at large" and called themselves, simply, "Christians". They professed that "the purpose of the gospel is to make men brothers, not divide them into warring sects."

      Joseph married his first wife, Mary Chancey, on 04-Feb-1819 in Taylor's Creek, Hamilton County, Ohio. They had 4 children before Mary died on 30-Aug-1826. With the oldest child being only 6 years of age and the youngest being but 1, he quickly remarried on 20-Dec-1826 Ruahma Riley, (the sister of his brother Mathew's wife, Hannah. The Rileys were also an old Morristown Family). Joseph & Ruahma had 2 children in Ohio, before moving briefly to Boone County, Kentucky where our David Lindsley was born in 1834. By July of 1836 they are living in Milan, Indiana, finally settling in Muncie, Delaware County, Indiana. Joseph died here on 06-Nov-1883. He is buried (as is Ruahma) in the Tater Cemetery in Muncie.

      David Lindsley Trowbridge was born in Boone County Kentucky on 01-Feb-1834. He was the third child of ten born to Joseph & Ruahma, but the seventh child of his father. (Clearly Ruahma raised all 14 children and would have earned the title 'Mother')

      David came to Indiana with his parents somewhere around 1835. When he attained his majority he engaged in farming at Newcastle in Henry County. It is here that he married his first wife, Rebecca Stout on 28-Feb-1854. They had their first child in Newcastle in 1855. Within just a few short years he sold his farm and moved to Blountsville where he owned and operated a saw mill. One year later the mill was completely destroyed by fire, leaving him with little money. He managed to rebuild the mill and continued to operate it for nine years. It was during this nine years that David studied medicine, even practicing among the neighbors. In 1868 he moved to Cowan, Delaware County and began his official practice of medicine. During this time he continued to study medicine to ascertain the title of Surgeon. Rebecca died in Cowan on the 18th day of August, 1876. She was the mother of six children. He then married Amanda Clevenger on 10-Oct-1877 at Cowan.

      In 1881, Doctor & Surgeon David Lindsley Trowbridge, specializing in chronic diseases, moved to the town of Muncie. In politics he had always voted the Republican ticket until 1890. He then identified himself with the 'Peoples Party'. In 1892 he was the nominee for representative to the National Assembly and endorsed by the Democratic Party. He had four children with his second wife bringing the total count of his children to ten. Our Barton was of course one of them. By 1905 David had moved to Napoleon in the county of Ripley, Indiana where he and Amanda were viewed as "prominent factors" in the Christian Church. David died at 1316 Macedonia Ave, Muncie, Indiana on 22-Feb-1909 of paralysis. He was 75 years old. He, too, is buried at the Tater Cemetery in Muncie.

      More stories, while not of our direct line, but still noteworthy, are that of David's siblings and children. His brother Bartlette Henry, who so eagerly volunteered to Lincoln's call to save the Union in 1861, mustered into Company E of the 19th Indiana Volunteers, the "Iron Brigade", only to die two months later in Washington D.C. of typhoid fever. His regiment went on to do hard time in the infamous battle of Fredericksburg. This is rather sad to me as I have excerpts from a diary of a soldier in this regiment. He wrote with a heavy heart of the loss of those in his company from this dreaded disease. There are indications that David may have lost 2 of his brother-in-laws to the war that divided a Nation...I have not put much into extracting the real data from the females of our family; however, the death dates of 2 of David's sisters' husbands suggest that they too were victims of a war that had no rules.

      David's brother, Jasper J. Moss (b.1849) graduated from a "Music" school in Valparaiso, Indiana in 1870 having majored in vocal and instrumental music and was thereafter a teacher of the same until his untimely death in May of 1881. (the family reported in 1898 that the initial used in the twins names, Jasper J & James G, were just that, initials.) Jasper's twin brother James died 6 months later.

      His daughter, Rossella "Ethel" (b.1866) married Attorney John Wesley McKinley, the first cousin, one generation removed from the 25th President of the United States, William McKinley. This was seven years before he was elected President. John's father, Benjamin had grown up with William in Niles, Ohio. John & Ethel moved to Cannon City, Colorado (as did some of David's other children). The Trowbridge's of Colorado is a line yet to be explored.

      Barton Warren Stone Trowbridge was born 15-Aug-1881 at Muncie, Indiana. He was the second child of David and Amanda, the eighth child of his father. Before I go any further I would like to clear up any 'airs' regarding his middle names. I have found it recorded as William and as Warrenstone. I possess copies of some documents in which he was required to sign his name. He signed them Barton Warren Stone Trowbridge and Barton W.S. Trowbridge. (Could it be that he was the namesake of the afore mentioned Barton Warren Stone?) I do not know a lot about Barton, but would encourage any of the generation that knew him to take the time, for the sake of history, to record what they know and forward the same to me. I do know that he married Sarah Margaret Riley (relationship, if any, to Hannah & Ruahma Riley is yet to be determined) on Christmas Eve, 1905 in the town of Muncie and he was the father of 11 children. At the time of his death on 09-Jul-1947 he had been living in Chicago at 5842 Shields Ave. for two years and six months. He was employed at that time by the J.C. Furniture Mfg. Company as a night watchman. The cause of death is listed as seven days of Acute Cystitis and four days of Acute Pylonephritis. He was buried on the 11th day of July, 1947 at the Maplewood Cemetery in Anderson, Madison County, Indiana. (as was his wife upon her death in January of 1973).

      Being a firm believer in noting the possible genetic illnesses that can run in a family, I think it important to note that I find an alarming pattern of Heart Disease. One can also easily see the historical epidemics that touched our ancestors. It is sad to see the cases of some Trowbridge families that lost 2 or 3 children and spouses in a few weeks time to such plights as small pox or scarlet fever. As was common, when the family lost a child they would name their next child of the same sex after the deceased child. In one case the family named three consecutive daughters Sybil, all three died and the fourth was not named Sybil. One cannot help but wonder if the family thought the use of the name was their misfortune.

      It is clear that our Trowbridges adhered to the long standing use of the "naming pattern" They named their children after their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, inlaws, grandparents and close family friends. The most common procedure was to name their children after the surname of the spouse; this most often would be the child's middle name. However, if they thought it made a nice sounding first name they did that as well. In one case we have a male Trowbridge who married a female Rutherford. They named their son Rutherford Trowbridge, thus starting many generations of the name. (At last count we have some nine Rutherford Trowbridge's in our family) The more children they had the more names they would use extending to the maiden name of the grandmothers as well. When a family member died, all of the siblings would name a child after that person. It is not at all uncommon to see for example the death of one Samuel Trowbridge who may have seven siblings, next thing you know there would be seven more Samuels born over the next two or three years. (don't think that doesn't get confusing!)

      I will stop this here and another time write of the many descendants of our direct line, as well as that of other Trowbridges in the family. They consist of Preachers, Teachers, Farmers, Lawyers, Business owners, Military men, Ship Captains & Masters and the list goes on. There is also an entire line of our Trowbridge family that now spells their name Strowbridge, owing to the rumor that the brother of our ancestor Daniel, Shubael Trowbridge, once signed his name as S.Trowbridge and was mistakenly recorded thereafter as Strowbridge. Unbeknown to his descendants the spelling stuck. This line was known to have settled in Columbia County Pennsylvania by the early 1800's. All worth noting and remembering in the history of Trowbridge's in America. I leave you with the following quote concerning our Devonshire roots, extracted by Prof. C.W. Trowbridge of London, from a county survey office in Exeter:


      "Thence, Forton falls on by Trowbridge the ancient lands of a family that took the name there of, which Peter de Trowbridge held in King Edward the firsts time, and is now enjoyed by that name, who had it first from the Peverels, Lords of Talton."
      (Peverels' time line = circa 1272)

      I would like to take a minute to thank my first cousin, one generation removed, Francis 'Forest' Trowbridge, of Riverside, California for sparking my interest with his account of our Joseph Bears Trowbridge and his wives, of which without I would have had nothing to begin with. My thanks also goes out to my second cousin, Stacy (Trowbridge) Mina, of Mansfield, Massachusetts for sending me the efforts of her research on our family. Also to the long since deceased, Francis Bacon Trowbridge, author of The Trowbridge Genealogy (1908), who took the time to mail out hundreds of letters from 1898 to 1908 to Trowbridges across the U.S., thus providing me with occupations of our ancestors that I may otherwise have never known. I might also point out that I was several years into my independent research before ever knowing the book existed. And last but never least, my dear friend & fellow researcher, Charles Scott of Louisville, Kentucky who continues to send me beloved pages from the above said book. We continue to share data on our families and he as freely offered his assistance to the many Trowbridge researchers that have contacted me. He provided me with the Trowbridge Coat of Arms image that you see displayed at the top of this page. THANKS CHARLIE!!! You can view Charlie's Trowbridge family by clicking here - Washington & Harrison county Indiana Trowbridge Family


      Note: The materials used to compile these profiles as well as the Trowbridge Family Tree consist of various records i.e.; court, will, military, church, cemetery, birth, death & marriage, LDS-IGI, land, city directories and the Federal census. In addition to this, I referred to the many Biographical county sketches that were written about our family as well as the lineage of three other Trowbridge 'direct line' researchers; Linda Tindall, an author and cartoon line writer of Walnut Creek, California; and Mary Louise "Lou" Toms of Bedford, Virginia who is a double relative in that her Trowbridges also married into the same Beers family as ours. Lou sent me copies of their line's family Bible pages as well as pictures of one of her ancestors, Eliza (Trowbridge) Guerin. Both are also descended from our David & Lydia (Holmes) Trowbridge.

      Cheryl Trowbridge-Taylor
      born: 29-Apr-1961
      Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana

      daughter of Lawrence Allen Trowbridge Sr.
      born: 15-Nov-1937
      Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
      and Nancy Mae Shifkowski
      born: 08-Mar-1943
      Michigan City, LaPorte county, IN

      granddaughter of Clarence Grant Trowbridge
      born: 13-Jan-1908 Muncie, Delaware County, Indiana
      died: 24-Jan-1983 Fontana, San Bernadino County, California
      buried @ Graceland Cemetery, Valparaiso, Indiana
      and Louisa Bull
      born:02-Feb-1912 Chicago,Illinois
      died:07-Jan-1971 Valparaiso, Porter county, IN
      buried @ Graceland Cemetery, Valparaiso, Indiana

      gr-grandaughter of Barton Warren Stone Trowbridge
      born: 15-Aug-1881 Muncie, Delaware County, Indiana
      died: 09-Jul-1947 Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
      buried: Maplewood Cemetery, Anderson, Madison County, Indiana
      and Sarah Margaret Riley
      born:15-Aug-1887 Delaware County IN
      died:17-Jan-1973 Fontana, San Bernadino County, California
      buried: Maplewood Cemetery, Anderson, Madison County, Indiana

      the Joseph Bears (Beers) Trowbridge Family Bible
      Biographical Sketch of Dr. David L. Trowbridge
     

  
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