Thomas Trowbridge moved from Taunton, England where he was born, to Exeter in Devon and establishd 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. Alce 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 wife, 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 mispelling 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.