Jacob Cazeneuve Troy Part I Family

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The man responsible for the development of Troy Town was Jacob Cazeneuve Troy. He was the third (known) child of Thomas Troy and Mary, formerly Cazeneuve. He was baptised on 12 March 1748 at St Margaret's, Rochester, according to the baptism register. 


St Margaret's Church, Rochester

In the 1740s, when Jacob Cazeneuve Troy was baptised, the new year began on Lady Day, 25 March, so that January, February and most of March came at the end of the year, rather than the beginning. It is clear from the baptism register that, by present day dating, Jacob Cazeneuve Troy's baptism, and therefore probably his birth, was actually in 1749.

In 1750, Parliament legislated to say that from 1752, the new year would begin on 1 January. Henceforward this became known as New Style and the new year beginning on 25 March became known as Old Style.

Even before this, some parish registers and other documents began the new year on 1 January, so it is important to be certain which style is being used. To avoid confusion, creators of documents sometimes used the format 12 March 1748/9.
 

At this time, different countries were following different calendars, so that the UK calendar had fallen eleven days behind that used in much of Europe. The 1750 legislation also said that in 1752, Wednesday 2 September would be followed by Thursday 14 September, to bring Britain into line with most of Europe. 

The financial year still needed to last 365 days, so the start of the financial year in 1753 was pushed forward from 25 March to 5 April. In 1800 it was moved forward another day, to 6 April, where it has remained ever since. 

The Orthodox church still follows the old style calendar, so that Easter and Christmas are celebrated on different dates from other Christian denominations.

Thomas and Mary Troy's  two older children, Susanna and Mary, were baptised at St Margaret's in 1746 and 1747. Susanna was buried at St Mary's, Chatham in 1746. 

Jacob's mother Mary Troy, formerly Cazeneuve, was buried at St Mary's, Chatham, in 1760. Thomas Troy was dead by 1762. There will be more about Thomas Troy in a future post.

After their parents died, the surviving children Mary and Jacob were probably brought up by their Cazeneuve relations. The Cazeneuve family had been established in Chatham since the beginning of the eighteenth century. Their family history will be discussed in more detail a future post.

Jacob Cazeneuve Troy married Mary Cooke (Miss Polly Cook, as she was referred to in the marriage notice in the Kentish Gazette) at Chatham in 1776. Mary was baptised at Chatham in 1758, the daughter of Richard Cooke, a linen draper of Chatham, and his wife Frances, formerly Sisley.

Jacob and Mary Troy had ten children, identified from parish registers and from Jacob's Will. 

Fanny baptised 13 August 1777
John baptised 10 March 1779 (born 8 February) 
Caroline baptised 12 April 1780
Mary baptised 6 February 1782
Richard baptised 19 March 1783 (born 14 February)
Thomas Cazeneuve baptised 28 April 1784 
Sarah baptised 20 July 1785 (born 19 June)
Jacob baptised  15 August 1786 (born 30 May)
Letitia baptised 3 October 1787 
Ann baptised 23 February 1791

All were baptised at St Mary's Chatham. Dates of birth were not routinely included in baptism registers, but there are marginal notes giving the birthdates of four of Jacob's children.

Four of the children died in infancy or childhood: 

Fanny, buried 17 April 1787 (aged nine)
Caroline, buried 18 June 1787 (aged seven)
Jacob, buried 9 September 1786 (aged under one)
Letitia, buried 28 December 1789 (aged two)

Burial registers do not normally state cause of death, but there was nothing unusual in such a high rate of loss, even among well-to-do people. Bubonic plague had died out in England in the seventeenth century, but many other infectious diseases still killed many people every year. For infants, 'failure to thrive' and poor maternal health could also play a part, especially when a woman had her children as close together as Mary Troy seemed to. Around two years was a more usual gap between baptisms, in my experience of family history research. 

Historians suggest that the rate of infant and child mortality peaked in the mid or late eighteenth century. In the middle of the eighteenth century, two-thirds of all children died before their fifth birthday, it is suggested. 

Mary Troy, formerly Cooke, died in 1795 and was buried at St Mary's, Chatham. 

In December 1796, Jacob married Smart Bradley Graham at Chatham. She was the daughter of Waxham Graham of Shorne, formerly of Jamaica, and his wife Mary, formerly Bradley. Jacob and Smart Bradley had one daughter, Smart Waxham Troy, baptised at Chatham in January 1798.

Jacob Cazeneuve Troy died on Sunday 9 December 1798, according to the announcements in the Kentish Gazette and Kentish Chronicle. 
Sincerely regretted by a numerous acquaintance, after a long and painful illness, which he bore with great patience and resignation. To say he was a firm friend, an indulgent parent, and a loving husband, is his least panegyric; he has left to his children an unsullied name and reputation.
Jacob Cazeneuve Troy was buried at St Mary's Chatham on 14 December 1798. The Troy tomb is on the right. 


The tomb was photographed and the inscriptions transcribed by members of the Kent Archaeological Society.





Next: Jacob Cazeneuve Troy Part II Business Interests

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The author has lived all her life in Kent, apart from a few years elsewhere as a student. She has a lifelong interest in local history, especially the history of Kent, and has been researching family history for decades. This blog brings together those interests in an ongoing study of the history of a small area of a smallish English city. The author also writes historical mystery fiction, which can be found on Amazon Kindle: see links at the foot of each blog post.

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