John Prowse

Notes:

"Clothier of Chevithorne"

John married Elizabeth Collack on 1 Jun 1567 in Tiverton, Devonshire, England. Elizabeth (daughter of Robert Collack and Richarda) was born in 1546 in Taunton, Somerset, England; died on 12 Jul 1585 in Tiverton, Devon, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

AGNES (or ANNIS) PROWSE, was bapt. Tiverton 15 April 1576, and m. to John Trowbridge, bapt. St. Mary Magdalen Church 25 Mar. 1570, son of Thomas(Sr.). The marriage was preceded by a settlement made by Thos. which granted to Agnes an annuity of 30 for life issuing from all his lands at Rowbarton, occupied by his mother-in-law, Alice Hutchings, for her life. On the same day, John was admitted to a life interest in his father's properties at Obridge and Staplegrove and Pyrland, partly occupied by Thomas' wife Johane (nee Hutchings). Agnes' marriage took place at St. Peter's, Tiverton, 31 July 1597, 13 1/2 months before her father's death. Agnes herself was bur. Taunton 6 June 1622. The above Thomas Trowbridge Sr. was a leading citizen and charitable founder, a mercer, with a Tudor mansion, extant, in the high street, and had served as constable and portreve of the castle manor.

Agnes married The Elder John Trowbridge on 31 Jul 1597 in St Peters, Tiverton, England. John (son of The Elder Thomas Trowbridge and Joan Lawrence) was born on 25 Mar 1570 in Taunton, Somerset, England; was christened on 25 Mar 1570 in St Mary Magdelaine, Taunton, Somerset, England; died on 25 Jul 1649 in Taunton, Somerset, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Richard married Elizabeth Chilcott on 25 Feb 1589/90. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Baptism: 30 Jan 1860; All Saints', Dorchester, Dorset, England

John married Grace Browne on 21 Jan 1595/96. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Birth: 1 Sep 1591, Tiverton, Devon, England

Family/Spouse: Agnes Tanner. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

THOMAS TROWBRIDGE, b. ca. 1600, and named in his father John's nuncupative will 1 July 1649 as "eldest son" (PCC pro. 25 Feb. 1649/50) when he moved from Taunton to Exeter, where he was fined for freeman 12. On 20 Dec. 1624, according to registers of St. May 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; Sep. 1633 William. The child Eliz. d.y. & John, the s. & h., remained in England, d. 1653: local will, naming John Maiming of New England, merchant, Wm. Davis of Muskeeta, Newfoundland, implied that he had sailed the sea with father (vide Trowbrdge Family). Sons Thomas (Jr.) and William emigrated with parents to Dorchester, Mass., where 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, dau. of Thos. Trowbridge (Sr.) of Taunton. Thos. Jr. paid 4 subsidy at West Muncton, nr. Taunton. By 1643 they were back in New Haven, a family of 5, rated at 5OO. 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. (Trowbridge Family (1872); The Gen, cit).

-From: Ancestry of Bob and Mary Beth Wheeler
Mary Beth Wheeler

Thomas Trowbridge removed from Taunton, England where he was born, to Exeter in Devon and established himself there as a mercer. He married an Exeter girl in 1627. "In the Exeter records, his marriage license appears as follows: '26 March 1627 Mr. Thomas Trobridge and Elizabeth daughter of Mrs. Alice Marshall widow married, Jeremy Short parson.'" [William Richard Cutter, "Genealogical & Family History of the State of Connecticut," Vol. I, (Orig. publ. NY, 1911; repr. by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, 1997), pg. 210.]

The ancestry of Thomas Trowbridge can be traced back to Hugh Capet, King of France, died 996 and his wide, Adelaide of Poitou, through Thomas's mother, Agnes Prowse. See Ancestors of American Presidents, pp. 191-192.

Thomas was one of the early settlers of Dorchester, MA, and of New Haven, CT, a merchant engaged in the Barbados trade from Jan. 1637 to 1639. He came from Taunton, Somerset, where his father had established a charity for poor widows which was still being administered in the mid-19th century. He was at Dorchester in 1636, where his wife became a member of the church in 1638. Their son James was baptized there in 1637 or 1638. They are referred to in Dorchester records as "Mr. & Mrs." a distinction confined at that time to persons of gentility. He was likely a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company there, the name 'Thomas Strawbridge, 1638' likely a misspelling of his name. Thomas removed his family to New Haven 1639-1641 and appears in the census of 1641. His estate is given at 500 pounds, a large sum for the time, and his household consisted of 5 persons (he, his wife and 3 surviving sons. Records seem to indicate that his wife had died by the end of 1643, possibly in 1641.

He returned to England about 1641-1644 and left his 3 sons in charge of Sgt. Thomas Jeffries who came from the vicinity of Taunton, England and appears in probate records at New Haven, CT and was at Dorchester 1634 and New Haven 1637 or 1638. Thomas sailed for England leaving his houses, goods, lots and estates and chattel in trust with his steward, Henry Gibbons, who kept possession of Thomas's estates at New Haven for many years. It appears that Thomas never returned to New England.

In 1662, 18 years later, sons Thomas, William and James obtained power of attorney from their father, making his property over to them jointly and severally, and they sued Gibbons for possession. The suit was finally settled by Gibbons making a deed of property to Thomas, Jr. to take effect after the death of Gibbons.

Thomas, Sr. died at Taunton, England 1672, apparently never having returned to New England.

"The Ancestry of Lorenzo Ackley & his wife Emma Arabella Bosworth," N.G. Parke & D.L. Jacobus, 1960, pg. 136 speculates that Thomas may have been born about April, 1598, although provides no basis for the speculation. A baptism record has not been found. He was the eldest son and the date is a reasonable possibility.

Thomas married Elizabeth Marshall on 26 Mar 1626/1627 in St Mary's Arches, Exeter, Devonshire, England. Elizabeth (daughter of The Younger John Marshall and Alice Bevys) was christened on 24 Mar 1602/03 in St Mary Arches, Exeter, Devon, England; died in 1641 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Thomas married Frances Godsall on 10 Feb 1640/41 in St David's, Exeter, Devonshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Tracy married Aldred Seaman on 1 Jan 1637/38. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Christened:
St Mary Mag, Taunton, Somerset, England

Elizabeth married John Huxley on 2 Jun 1616. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married Judith Rose about 1628. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Prudence married William Mace on 1 Jul 1621. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Agnes married Robert Moggridge on 22 Apr 1632. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Agnes married Charles Wither on 13 Dec 1629. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Will: 1709, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA
• Will: 1715, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA
• Probate: Jun 1717, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA

Notes:

James Trowbridge was likely born at Dorchester after his parents immigrated and was baptized there in 1637 or 1638. After his family's move to New Haven, CT, his mother died and, at about age 8, in 1644, his father returned to England, leaving James and his two brothers in the care of a Sgt. Thomas Jeffries, possibly a relative from the Taunton, England area.

As the result of a lawsuit against their father's steward in New Haven, James acquired his father's property in Dorchester, MA and moved there, where he married his first wife in 1659. He removed to Cambridge Village, now Newton, in 1664. After the death of Deacon John Jackson, his second wife's father, he was chosen Deacon of the church at Newton.

In 1675 he purchased 85 acres of land and a dwelling house and out buildings from Dep. Gov. Danforth; he had occupied this land for some years. He was chosen one of the first Selectmen at the organization of the town 27 Aug. 1679 and held that office for 9 years. He was clerk of the Writs in 1691 and 1693, and Commissioner, Lieutenant and Representative to the General Court in 1700 and 1703.

James married Margaret Atherton on 30 Dec 1659 in Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA. Margaret was born on 30 Apr 1638 in Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA; died on 17 Aug 1672 in Newton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA; was buried in Newton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

James married Margaret Jackson on 30 Jan 1673/74 in Newton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. Margaret was born on 20 Jun 1649 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA; died on 16 Sep 1727 in Newton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

William Trowbridge was brought in childhood by his parents from England, first to Dorchester in the MA Bay colony, and then to the plantation of New Haven. When his father was called back to England, he and his brothers were left in charge of his father's former servant, Henry Gibbons. The latter mismanaged the property left for the boys' support, and after a time they were taken away from him by the town authorities and put under the care of Sergt. Thomas Jeffrey and his wife, and in their home William and his brothers passed their boyhood. His schoolmaster was Mr. Ezekiel Cheever.

Soon after reaching his majority, William Trowbridge made an attempt to bring Gibbons to an account for his stewardship. His efforts were continued over a series of years, but gained little result during his father's lifetime. A few years after the latter's death, Gibbons made some restitution as can been seen in his father's notes.

William Trowbridge is usually described in the public records of that time as a "planter", and later on as a "husbandman". In 1664 he appears to have been master of the sloop Cocke, making voyages out of New Haven. In July, 1667, he sold his house and lot in the village of New Haven, and probably about that time became one of the first residents in the parish of West Haven. He probably built a house on that part of the "Lamberton Farm" that through his wife came into his possession on May 4, 1677. His share was one-sixth of the Lamberton farm, and it included all the land between the present Campbell and Washington avenues from Brown street nearly to Long Island Sound. He also owned 144 acres on the Sound near Oyster river.

William Trowbridge was nominated a freeman of the colony of CT on May 13, 1669. He lived on his farm in West Haven the remainder of his life. He made gifts to his children during his lifetime of much of his real estate, so that the inventory of his estate mentions but 55 acres of "second division" land and a small amount of personal property. He made no will. He and his wife were admitted members of the First Church in New Haven on April 28, 1686.

Will of William's brother John which mentions William:
English Origins of American Colonists, p.66
Will of JOHN TROWBRIDGE of Exeter, co. Devon. There is oweinge unto me from my uncle Mr. James Marshall of Exon, merchant, 49, and from my father Mr. Thomas Trowbridge 10 which I lent him, and I have sent for Muclinx (sic) eight peeces of Sarges, cost twentie pounds And twentie fowre pounds Mr. Jno: Manninge of New England, merchant, owes me, and twentie one pounds Mr. William Davis of Muskeeta in Newfoundland owes, which I have ordered George Pardon, master of the Willinge Minde, to receive of him this yeare there and carry it with him for St. Lukas and bring home returnes with him, All which summes amounts unto 129, of which if it please God to take me hence 20 shal be disbursed for my buriall, and of the other 109 I give unto my honored father fortie pounds, to my brothers Thomas, William and James Trowbridge betweene them 50, to my aunt Mace 5, and to my cozen James Marshall 14. Dated at Taunton, 20 Oct., 1653. Witnesses to the identity of the handwriting: James Marshall, senior, Christo: Clarke, junior, Chr: Dore. 26 June, 1654, commission to Thomas Trowbridge, father and principal legetary named in the will of John Trowbridge, late of the city of Exeter, deceased, to administer. (P.C.C. Alchin, 492.)

Died:
Age: 55

William married Elizabeth Lamberton on 9 Mar 1656/57 in Milford, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Elizabeth (daughter of George Lamberton and Margaret Lewen) was born in 1630 in London, Middlesex, England; died about May 1716 in West Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

English Origins of American Colonists, p.66
Will of JOHN TROWBRIDGE of Exeter, co. Devon. There is oweinge unto me from my uncle Mr. James Marshall of Exon, merchant, 49, and from my father Mr. Thomas Trowbridge 10 which I lent him, and I have sent for Muclinx (sic) eight peeces of Sarges, cost twentie pounds And twentie fowre pounds Mr. Jno: Manninge of New England, merchant, owes me, and twentie one pounds Mr. William Davis of Muskeeta in Newfoundland owes, which I have ordered George Pardon, master of the Willinge Minde, to receive of him this yeare there and carry it with him for St. Lukas and bring home returnes with him, All which summes amounts unto 129, of which if it please God to take me hence 20 shal be disbursed for my buriall, and of the other 109 I give unto my honored father fortie pounds, to my brothers Thomas, William and James Trowbridge betweene them 50, to my aunt Mace 5, and to my cozen James Marshall 14. Dated at Taunton, 20 Oct., 1653. Witnesses to the identity of the handwriting: James Marshall, senior, Christo: Clarke, junior, Chr: Dore. 26 June, 1654, commission to Thomas Trowbridge, father and principal legetary named in the will of John Trowbridge, late of the city of Exeter, deceased, to administer. (P.C.C. Alchin, 492.)

Thomas married Sarah Rutherford on 24 Jun 1657 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Thomas married Hannah Nash on 2 Apr 1689 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]