Thomas Troy

-

Jacob Cazeneuve Troy's parents, Thomas Troy and Mary Cazeneuve, were married at Wilmington, near Dartford in Kent, on 24 June 1744. It is not known why they married there; neither is known to have had any connection with Wilmington. A marriage in 1744 would suggest a birthdate for Thomas of 1715-1720. Nothing is known of his family or origins. 

Thomas and Mary Troy are known to have had three children. Susannah, baptised at St Margaret's Rochester in April 1746 and buried at St Mary's Chatham on 8 July the same year; Mary, baptised at St Margaret's in May 1747 and Jacob Cazeneuve, baptised at St Margaret's 12 March 1748 (Old Style, by the New Style or present day calendar 1749). 

Thomas Troy's wife Mary, formerly Cazeneuve, was buried at Chatham on 12 August 1760.

The transcript of the marriage entry in the Wilmington parish registers states that Thomas Troy was an 'Officer in rm' (sic). In the record of his daughter Mary's baptism in 1747, his name is given as 'Lieutenant Thomas Troy'. 

'RM' is usually understood to mean 'Royal Marines', but the Marines did not officially become Royal until 1802.

Marines were soldiers who served on board Royal Navy ships. Companies of Marines had existed intermittently since the reign of Charles II, under the authority of the Army. 

They fought and boarded at close quarters, defended the ships in action and provided the ships disciplined military force. They provided raw muscle power for many ship routines but could not be forced to go aloft. They also  performed an amphibious role, attacking and holding coastal positions, and they served as garrison troops on naval bases. [Source]

During the eighteenth century, their numbers increased in wartime, but they were often paid off or disbanded in peacetime.

In 1755 the existing Marine regiments were brought permanently under Admiralty control. They were organised into fifty companies in three divisions, based at Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth. 



Marine Corps, 1755-1770

Thomas Troy was a First Lieutenant in the 27th company, based at Chatham. Early in 1756 he was named adjutant and in September promoted to Captain in the 92nd company at Chatham.  [The London Gazette]

The reorganisation of the Marines coincided with the outbreak of the conflict known in Britain as the Seven Years' War. The war involved all the major European powers; Britain's principal opponent was France. The different combatant nations had different resons for fighting; between Britian and France, the war was about competition for naval, maritime and colonial power. The Seven Years War can claim to be the first world war; there was fighting in Europe, in India, in North America and the Caribbean. 

During the war, Thomas Troy served aboard HMS Centaur, a 74 gun ship which had been captured from the French in 1759. 

1759 was the Annus Mirabilis, the 'wonderful year' referred to in the song Heart of Oak, written by the actor David Garrick. That year, a succession of victories around the world, on land and sea, turned the tide of the war in Britain's favour.  It was also when William Pitt the Elder established his reputation as a war leader, although he was not Prime Minister.

The war ended with Britain the dominant European power in North America and in India, and the first British Empire at its peak.

HMS Centaur was in the West Indies during the war, but it is not possible to say what action Thomas Troy may have seen or taken part in.

HMS Centaur chasing the Vaillant and Amethyste, 
January 1760 

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

'Thomas Troy, Captain of the 92d Company of Marines now belonging to His Majesty's Ship Centaur' made and signed his will on 10 December 1760. It was witnessed by Centaur's captain, Arthur Forrest, and two others. His wife had died the previous August; very likely the news of her death prompted him to make his will, or to make a new will. 

In his will, instead of the usual request for his body to be buried in a particular churchyard, or simply 'in the Earth from which it came', Thomas Troy commends his soul 'into the hands of Almighty God' and his 'Body to the Earth or Sea as it shall please God'. 

The date of Thomas Troy's death and place of burial are not known. He might have been killed in action, or died of wounds, or died of the fever or dysentery that afflicted so many British soldiers and sailors who served in the West Indies. In the siege of Havana, in 1762, the British lost 1,000 men killed in action or died of wounds, and 5,000 who died of disease. 

Thomas Troy's will was proved in London on 5 October 1762.

Thomas Troy left his estate to be equally divided between his 'loving son' Jacob Cazeneuve Troy and his 'loving daughter' Mary Troy, when they reached the age of twenty-one, or married. When their father's will was proved, Jacob and Mary were aged respectively thirteen and fifteen. 

Mr Jacob Cazeneuve (Thomas's father-in-law) and Jacob's son Mr John Cazeneuve, both of Chatham, were named executors. Jacob and Mary were probably brought up by their Cazeneuve relations. 

War may impact lives in many ways. If the Seven Years War had not been fought, or if Thomas Troy had survived, his son Jacob's life might have taken a different course and Troy Town might never have existed. 

Captain Thomas Troy is known today only to those who research the Troy family history. Almost nothing can be discovered about his personal life, and nothing is known of his origins. But his name is remembered in Troy Town.


Next: Early residents of Troy Town

___________________

See my historical mystery fiction on Amazon Kindle here



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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jacob Cazeneuve Troy Part III His Will

-
Image
Jacob Cazeneuve Troy inherited substantial amounts in money and property from his grandfather Jacob Cazeneuve and his uncle John Cazeneuve. His first wife, Mary, was also a considerable heiress; she inherited one thousand pounds from her father Richard Cooke.  It's not known how successful any of Jacob's own business ventures were, but at the time of his death in 1798 he seems to have been a well-to-do man. J acob's will was made on 14 April 1798 and proved on 18 April 1799. In his will, Jacob described himself as 'distiller and wine merchant'.  The will is long, verbose and repetitive, to take account of all the eventualites that could arise.  The principal provisions were: His freehold estates were to be sold and the proceeds invested in government stock or other secure stock by the trustees, William Lovell Ruffin, surgeon of Chatham, and Stephen Simson, gentleman of Deptford.  One half of the proceeds or income were to be paid to 'his dear wife' Smart Bra...
Read more

King Street

-
Image
King Street, sometimes King's Street, is named after the King's Field, one of the names of the piece of land on which it was built.  Nothing of the original King Street remains; the only buildings that pre-date the First World War are those at the junction with Delce Road. 47 King Street, at junction with Delce Road, original (c.1900?) shop front still visible Thanks to sale notices in the local newspapers, we do have some idea what the original, late eighteenth century, buildings were like. The Kentish Gazette 16 August 1793: To be SOLD by AUCTION Under a Commission of Bankruptcy A very substantial new-built Brick DWELLING-HOUSE, 20 feet in front, 100 feet deep, situated next the PORTLAND ARMS, in King Street, Troy Town, and contains an excellent butcher's shop and slaughter-house, a parlour, four chambers, kitchen &c, &c. The east end of King Street in 1909. Portland Arms indicated in blue, 47 King Street in red. Reproduced with permission of the National Librar...
Read more

'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times'

-
Image
When the development of Troy Town was underway, Britain, and Europe, were undergoing rapid change. In 1786, when the building of Troy Town began, King George III was not yet half way through his long reign. He had begun to suffer from the periods of 'madness' that would eventually incapacitate him permanently and lead to the establishment of the Regency.  Men still wore knee-breeches and stockings. Powdered hair and wigs became less popular after a hair powder tax was introduced in 1795. Women's fashions were becoming simpler, as they moved towards the high-waisted styles associated with the Regency period.  The French Revolution broke out in 1789. It was initially welcomed by many in Britain, who recognised the need to limit the power of the French monarchy, to introduce a genuinely representative assembly or parliament, and to end the condition of serfdom under which many French peasants still lived.  However, the mood in Britain changed in 1792 with the execution of...
Read more