The Generations of My Family

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

I’m often asked how many generations and how far back I’ve traced my family ancestry.  One branch of my family tree has deep roots in England.   

My grandparents are Helen Winifred Tooley Tracy (and Roland Martin Tracy);

daughter of Frances Louise McDonald Phillips Tooley (and Dr. James William Tooley);

daughter of Ella Louise Elliott Mc Donald (and Michael Mc Donald);

daughter of George Washington Elliott (and Juliana Crofoot Elliott);

son of Elizabeth "Betsy" Benjamin Elliott (and Chester Elliott);

daughter of Jesse Benjamin (and Rachel Bunn Benjamin);

son of Abial Benjamin (and Judath Ford Benjamin);

son of Joseph Benjamin, Jr. (and Elizabeth Cooke Benjamin);

son of Joseph Benjamin (and Sarah Clarke Benjamin);

son of Abigail Eddye Benjamin (and John Benjamin)*;

daughter of Mary Fosten Eddye (and Rev. William Eddye)**;

daughter of Elizabeth Ellen Munn Fosten (and John Fosten);

daughter of Stephen Munn and Bridget Saxby Munn of Cranbrook, Kent, England. Stephen was born in 1514 and Bridget in 1516.

* The earliest (known to me) to come to the new world were John Benjamin (born 1598 in Healthfield, Sussex, England) and his wife Abigail Eddye Benjamin (born October 6, 1600/01 in Cranbook, Kent, England). They married about 1619 and came from England by way of the ship Lyon, arriving, according to Governor Winthrop's diary, on September 16, 1632. They made their home in Watertown (now Cambridge), Massachusetts where his library of some 27 books was the marvel of the colony.  They were considered both scholarly and refined. He became a freeman November 6, 1632. John held the office of constable of Cambridge, Massachusetts. 



** Abigail was the daughter of Rev. William Eddye and Mary Fosten Eddye. Rev. Eddye had been educated at Trinity College in Cambridge, England and served as vicar at St. Dunstan, Cranbrook, England from 1589 until 1616.

St. Dunstan Church, Cranbook, England

 

Trinity College at the University of Cambridge