Benjamin Franklin Tracy (April 26,
1830 – August 6, 1915)
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Benjamin Franklin
Tracy was a United States political figure who served as Secretary of the
Navy from 1889 through 1893, during the administration of U.S. President
Benjamin Harrison. His family is an
old one. It came originally from Ireland and settled in Vermont, removing
later to Massachusetts. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, Thomas Tracy,
his grandfather, settled in Tioga late in 18th century after moving from New
England and settled in New York State, first on Tracy Creek in Broome County
and later in Tioga. Benjamin Tracy, his father, was born in 1795 and lived
here till his death in 1883. When a lad he served in the war of 1812 and on
his return settled down as a farmer in Owego. Benjamin Franklin Tracy was
born on April 26th 1830 near Owego, Tioga County, New York. He was brought up
on the farm until sixteen years old, attending the common schools and Owego
Academy. At the age of nineteen he began the study of the law in the office
of Davis & Warner at Owego, and was admitted to the bar in May, 1851. In
that year, he married Miss Delinda E. Catlin, daughter of Nathaniel Catlin.
They had three children, Emma Eloise who became Mrs. Ferdinand B. Wilmerding,
Mary F. and Frank Tracy. He was in active
practice in Owego for ten years, being successfully pitted against the
veteran lawyers of the county. In November, 1853, he was elected district
attorney of Tioga County, being the only candidate on the Whig ticket
elected. Three years later he was re-elected for a second term as a
Republican. On April 1, 1858, was formed the law firm of Warner, Tracy &
Walker, This firm was dissolved in April, 1859, when Governor Walker removed
to Chicago, and was succeeded by Warner & Tracy, which his brother-in-law Isaac Swartwood
Catlin joined. In April, 1860
the partners separated. He
was active in connection with the formation of the Republican Party in that
part of the State, and became one of its local leaders. He claimed to be the
founder of the founder of the Republican Party in the state of New York. In
1861, Tracy was elected to the New York Assembly and was made chairman of
several of the most important committees. He recruited
soldiers to fight for the Union in the Civil War. Authorized July 22, 1862,
to raise a regiment in his district, in less than two weeks he reported his
regiment full and was appointed colonel in the 109th New York Volunteers and Isaac S.
Catlin, as Lieutenant- Colonel.
Receiving authority, he also raised another regiment within a month, and
would have raised a third, but was not authorized. His regiment was assigned
to duty in connection with the defence of Washington, and later in northern
Virginia. It afterward formed part of the Ninth Army Corps, and was actively
engaged in the Virginia campaign of 1864. At the battle of the Wilderness the
brigade was on the extreme right, and took part in some of the heaviest
fighting of the day. Under the heavy fire a portion of the line gave way. At
this critical moment Colonel Tracy seized the colours and carried his men
forward with a charge. This movement resulted in the capture of the works,
and for his gallantry he which he was later awarded a medal of honor; he
served as commander of the 127th Colored Regiment. Soon after, being
prostrated by sickness and sent home, he tendered his resignation, but in the
fall re-entered the service as colonel in command of the important post at Elmira,
New York, prisoner of war camp, where there were a large number of
Confederate prisoners and a camp and draft rendezvous. At the close of the
war he resigned, having been commissioned brigadier-general. |
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July 1, 1865,
General Tracy entered the law firm of Benedict, Burr & Benedict, of New York.
Six months later he removed with his family to Brooklyn, where he continued to
reside for many years. October 1, 1866, he was appointed by President Andrew
Johnson as United States attorney for the eastern district of New York, and at
once declared war against illicit distilling carried on through official
connivance. He convicted and sent to prison violators of the law in office and
out of office and stamped out the business. In 1868 he was frequently consulted
on the subject of revenue legislation, and drafted for the Congressional
committee the law relating to distilled spirits, which became the foundation of
our present internal revenue system.
In 1871, General Tracy he formed a law partnership with his brother in law General Isaac
Swartwood Catlin. Absorbed in his practice during the eight years
following, he rapidly attained a recognized place among the leaders of the bar.
His attention was given both to civil and criminal cases. He was associated
with William M. Evarts, Thomas G. Shearman, and John K. Porter in defence of
the famous suit brought against Henry Ward Beecher by Theodore Tilton,
delivering the opening address on his side, and with Mr. Evarts conducting the
cross-examination of the two principal witnesses, Tilton and Moulton. He was also
counsel for Judge Charles L. Benedict in the interesting suit of Lange vs.
Benedict (73 N. Y. 12) to recover damages for a sentence imposed by Judge
Benedict in a trial in the United States Circuit Court, the United States
Supreme Court having declared that the judge had exceeded his power. It was
held, however, that, being a judge of a court of general jurisdiction, he was
not liable for a judicial act in a matter within his jurisdiction, although the
act was excessive. Other interesting cases were the contest between Daly and
Livingston for the surrogate's office in Brooklyn ; the People vs. the
Commissioners of Public Works of Brooklyn, in which he convicted the board and
turned them out of office ; the People vs. the Commissioners of Charities, securing
a reversal for the commissioners in the Court of Appeals after their conviction
in the Supreme Court, and the suit of Kingsley and Keaney, contractors, against
the city of Brooklyn, for whom he recovered a hundred thousand dollars. During
this period he also appeared for the defence in five murder trials, in four of
which he secured an acquittal. At this time, he went into law partnership with
his son F. B. Tracy and William C. DeWitt.
For many years
General Tracy had been active in Republican politics in the city of Brooklyn.
In 1880 he was a delegate to the Chicago convention which nominated Garfield
for the presidency, being one of the famous "306" who held out to the
end for the nomination of General Grant. In 1881 he was the Republican
candidate for mayor of Brooklyn, and by his withdrawal in favour of Seth Low
insured the inauguration of a reform government. In 1882 he was a candidate for
judge of the Supreme Court, second department, on the Folger ticket, and shared
in that overwhelming defeat, though receiving 23,000 more votes than the rest
of the ticket.
On December 8, 1881,
he was appointed by Governor Cornell to the seat on the bench of the Court of
Appeals made vacant by the resignation of Judge Folger and the assignment of
Judge Andrews as chief judge. He occupied this position until succeeded through
the election of Chief Judge Ruger, January 1, 1883. His opinions appear in
volumes 88, 89, and 98 of the New York reports.
In 1889 he was chosen as secretary of the navy in the cabinet of President
Benjamin Harrison, his name having been found on both lists of acceptable
persons submitted by the rival Republican factions in this State. His success
in the administration of the navy department is universally recognized. During
his tenure, Tracy called for a powerful “two-ocean navy” that could win battles
easily. Taking up the work of naval reconstruction where Secretary Whitney had
left it and striking out in new paths he succeeded in giving the United States
the nucleus of a navy second to no other in the world in the character of its
ships. The three types of ship projected and constructed during his
administration, represented by the battle-ship Indiana, the armoured cruiser
New York, and the protected cruiser Columbia, are recognized the world over as
the most successful types of war vessels at the present day. His administration
also witnessed the creation and development of the naval militia, and was
characterized by reforms both in the methods of employing labour at navy yards,
which had hitherto been the seat of political corruption, and in the purchase
of supplies and the methods of account and disbursement of the public
funds. As a member of the cabinet he
also boldly enunciated the principles of international law governing the right of
asylum in foreign ports in the Barrundia case, and drew up a definition of
neutral duties as applied to the commanders of vessels of war during the
Chilean revolution. The position finally adopted by this government in
reference to the Behring Sea question was first suggested and outlined by him.
In February 1890,
tragedy struck the family. In a fire at his house in Washington, his wife, his
daughter Mary and a maid, Josephine Morell from France, died. His other
daughter, the widow Mrs. Wilmerding and her daughter, Miss Alice Wilmerding
were seriously injured by jumping from the burning building. Secretary Tracy
was found unconscious in the house and barely escaped with his life. Mr. Frank
Tracy, the Secretary’s only son was at the farm at Owego, N.Y.
At the end of the
Harrison administration, following his four years in the cabinet, General Tracy
resumed the practice of law, and has been counsel in a number of important
cases. He also served as counsel for Venezuela. In 1895 he received
the Medal of Honor for action at Wilderness, Va., May 6, 1864. He was
Presidential Elector for New York 1896 and failed candidate for mayor of New
York City N.Y. 1897. In 1897,
General Tracy was appointed by Governor Morton one of the nine commissioners to
draft a charter for the Greater New York, and by his colleagues was unanimously
chosen as president of this commission.
He was also renowned
for breeding trotters on his Tioga county farm.
Although he was a
member of the Episcopal Church, Pope Pius X gave Bishop Hendrick the white
skull cap he was wearing to carry as a gift to General Benjamin F. Tracy,
ex-secretary of the Navy. “It is wholly a token of the esteem in which the
Popes of Rome hold good citizenship, no matter what the creed of the man” said
the Bishop.
In his political
philosophy he welcomed the coming of women suffrage. He had a pessimistic view
of the development of government. “The furious speed with which we are rushing
into our new conditions will relolutionize our system before we know it. Every
tendency of the time is towards the obliteration of individualism, on which our
government was founded and which is the theory of our system, and toward the
supervision of the whole business of life, down to the small details, by the
government.”
Benjamin Franklin
Tracy died in 1915 at the house of his daughter Mrs. Wilmerding, as a result of
a street accident. He is interred at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, N.Y.
His brother-in-law was General Catlin. He is the great-grandfather
of Frederic René Coudert, Jr. Republican.
The USS Tracy
(DD-214) was named for him.
Ref:
Brooklyn
Daily Eagle August 7, 1915
Broome and Tioga County Business Directory 1872-3
Cooling, B. Franklin (1973) Benjamin Franklin Tracy;
Father of the Modern American Fighting Navy. Archon Books, CN.
Cooling, Benjamin F. (Collector)
Ms. Coll 42
Research source materials relating to the life and
career of Benjamin F. Tracy, Secretary of
the Navy, 1889–1893, for the work entitled Materials
include Xeroxed copies, holograph and typewritten notes from the National
Archives, Navy Department Archives and Library of Congress relating to Tracy’s
youth, education, legal training, Civil War record, post–Civil War career as
N.Y. Attorney, Secretary of the Navy including administration of the Navy Yard
and reforms, construction of the New Navy, Relations with Congress,
Administration of President Benjamin Harrison, Naval War College and A. T.
Mahan, Naval Reserve Militia and International Relations with Chile and
Caribbean, Bering Sea, Hawaii, and Venezuela, New York, Brooklyn politics and
final years, 1832–1915; Xerox copies of Annual Reports of Secretary of Navy and
Navy Department, 1889–1892; Reports of the Steel Inspection Board, 1890–1893;
Proceedings of the Board of Design of Ships; Copies of General Orders and
Circulars, 1887–1893; Typescript of and typescript of dissertation, “B. F.
Tracy, Lawyer, Soldier, Secretary of the Navy”; Copies of newspaper clippings;
Microfilm of Tracy papers.
17 boxes, 30 reels of microfilm
Naval War College, Newport, R.I http://www.usnwc.edu/getattachment/a03d2e5f-8597-4776-b9a9-4f051facf181/NHCArchivesWEB7-08.pdf
Historical Gazetteer of
Tioga County, NY 1785-1888
History of the bench and bar of New York. New York History Co., 1897-99. 2 v. : fronts., illus., ports.
Selkreg, John H. (1894) Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York. D. Mason & Co., Publisher
The
New York Times February 4, 1890
The
New York Times August 8, 1915
The
New York Times January 20,
1916
US Census
Speech
of Hon. Benjamin F. Tracy, before the Middlesex Club of Boston, Mass.
Lincoln's birthday, February 12th, 1898 (1898)
Also: Benjamin Franklin Tracy. "This memorial was
prepared for the Year Book of the New York County Lawyers' Association."-
by/signed: Frank H. Platt. New York? : s.n., 1916, 7pp. The Western Reserve Historical Society
One Hundred And Ninth Infantry.
Tracy, Benjamin F
Banklin.—Age, 32 years. Enrolled, July 22, 1862, at Binghamton, to serve three
years; mustered in as colonel, August 28, 1862; discharged for disability, May
17, 1864; awarded a medal of honor; subsequent service as colonel, One Hundred
and Twenty-seventh Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops.
Commissioned colonel,
October 3, 1862, with rank from August 20, 1862, original.
https://dmna.ny.gov/historic/reghist/civil/rosters/Infantry/109th_Infantry_CW_Roster.pdf
Civil War Medal of Honor recipients
Tracy, Benjamin F.
Rank and organization:
Colonel, 109th New York Infantry. Place and date: At Wilderness, Va., 6 May
1864. Entered service at: Owego, N.Y. Born: 26 April 1830, Owego, N.Y. Date of
issue: 21 June 1895. Citation: Seized the colors and led the regiment when
other regiments had retired and then reformed his line and held it.
https://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/citations2.html
First Baptist Church
of Owego, N.Y.
Marriages
J.R. Tracy and E.M. Havens 1865 Feb. 23
Baptisms
Ellen P Tracy 1868 Jul 5
George Tracy 1869 Mar 14
Funerals
Benjimin Tracy 1883 Feb 2, aged 87, Apalachin Tioga NY
George Tracy 1870 Aug 13, 48 years, Apalachin Tioga NY
George? Tracy 1868 June 7, Daughter of George Tracy 19
years, Owego Tioga NY
Mrs Tracy 1866
Sept 25, 72 years, Apalachin Tioga NY
Children of Pardon Yates and Lydia Tracy are:
i. G.
MORRIS YATES, b. Abt 1810, Apalachin, NY; m. JANE BROWN.
ii. ELIZA
YATES, b. Abt 1813, Apalachin, NY.
Children of Pardon Yates and Elizabeth Earsley are:
iii. LYDIA
YATES, b. Abt 1814, Apalachin, NY; d. 1899; m. SIMEON BROWN.
iv. TRACY YATES,
b. Abt 1817, ?Apalachin, NY; d. February 23, 1875, Apalachin, NY; m. MATILDA
STEVENSON.
v. MARIAH
YATES, b. Abt 1818, Apalachin, NY; d. April 06, 1912, Apalachin, NY; m. WARREN
BILLS.
vi. ELEANOR
YATES, b. Abt 1820, ?Apalachin, NY; m. JAMES GLANN.
vii. CATHERINE
YATES, b. Abt 1823, Apalachin, NY; d. 1915; m. EDSON EDWARDS.
viii. JOHNSON
E. YATES, b. Abt 1825, Apalachin, NY; d. February 16, 1901, Vestal, NY; m.
HANNAH ACKLEY, December 03, 1848, Owego, NY.
ix. ELIZABETH
YATES, b. Abt 1828, Apalachin, NY; d. 1886; m. IRA EDWARDS.
x. LODOSKY
YATES, b. Abt 1832, Apalachin, NY; d. March 09, 1913, Apalachin, NY; m. HARRISON TRACY.
See Tioga Co. NY., Historical Gazetteer 1785-1888, p.
453. Much information on this family has been provided by Taft Family Association
member Barbara Hoyes (604 Bay Green Drive, Arnold, MD 21012), a descendant of
Johnson E. Yates. Second marriage to Elizabeth Earsley (1789-1888) about 1814.
Broome and Tioga
County Business Directory 1872-3
Benj. Tracy, (Apalachin,) 8. D. 15, farmer 7.
Harvey J. Tracy, (Apalachin,) S. D. 15, farmer 79.
James R. Tracy, (Owego,) 8. D. 1, sawyer.
W. Harrison Tracy, (Apalachin,) 8. D. 31, farmer 124.
Historical Gazetteer
of Tioga County, NY 1785-1888 - Directory - Town of Owego, NY
B. F. & Son Tracey, (Apalachin) (Frank B.), props. Marshland
stock farms
Benjamin F. Tracey, (Apalachin) (B. F. Tracey &
Son)
Frank B. Tracey,
(Apalachin) (B. F. Tracey & Son)
Frank Y. Tracy, (Apalachin) (Howell & Tracy) h
Cross
Harrison Tracy, (Apalachin), farmer 110
Harvey J. Tracy, (Apalachin) stock raising and farmer
105
Howell & Tracy, (Apalachin) (G. W. H. & P. T.)
blacksmiths and horseshoers. Main.
Pardon Tracy, (Apalachin) (Howell & Tracy) h
Church
Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York
Chapter XV The Town
of Caroline
The next settlers in the town were Thomas Tracy and his son Benjamin, who in 1797, located near the site of the Charles P. Tobey dwelling. They were from Western Massachusetts originally, but came here from near the present village of Apalachin. After seven or eight years Thomas Tracy sold out to Samuel Rounsvell, who kept bachelor hall here many years, and Rounsvell sold to Walter J. Thomas about 1832. The son returned to their old home near Apalachin and reared a family. General B. F. Tracy, ex-secretary of the navy, is his son. A brother of Thomas Tracy, named Prince Tracy, also settled in Caroline a few years later than Thomas, but after the War of 1812 sold out to the Schoonmaker family and left town.
[Note: there are references to a Prince Tracy in Newburyport, Massachusetts up to 1782 http://www.traceyclann.com/files/Traceys%20of%20Enniscorthy%20and%20Newburyport.htm]
Historical Gazetteer of
Tioga County, NY 1785-1888
Town of Owego
Thomas Tracy came to this vicinity with his wife and
infant son, Benjamin Tracy, and settled near the mouth of Tracy creek Broome
county, in 1790. The creek received its name from Mr. Tracy. In 1801, he
removed with his family to Caroline, Tompkins county, and thence to the Holland
Purchase, near Buffalo. His son Benjamin, several years afterward, returned and
settled on the Apalachin creek, where he raised a large family of children, one
of whom is Gen. Benjamin F. Tracy, of Brooklyn. Benjamin Tracy died January 31,
1883.
John Jewett, a soldier of the revolution, came from
Putnam county in the fall of 1817, and located op the river road a mile east of
Apalachin. His son Asa married Bathsheba Wooden, by whom he had four children,
viz.: Maurice, of Apalachin, Harry of Owego, Emily, now deceased, and Matilda,
wife of Daniel Dodge, of Owego. Mr. Jewett died in 1819. Mrs. Jewett afterward
married Benjamin F. Tracy, and had four children, namely, George, now deceased,
Harrison and Harvey, of Apalachin, and Benjamin F., of Brooklyn.
Gen. Benjamin F. Tracy was born at Apalachin, in 1829,
and is the son of, Benjamin Tracy, of whom mention is made in the history of
the settlement of Apalachin. In early life he taught school in Owego, and
afterward studied and practiced law. In November, 1853, when but twenty-four
years of age, he was elected district attorney of Tioga county, and in 1856, he
was re-elected over Gilbert C. Walker, who was subsequently his law partner and
afterward governor of Virginia. The law firm of Warner, Tracy & Walker was
dissolved a short time previous to the breaking out of the rebellion. In 1862,
General Tracy was elected to the assembly, and in the same year he organized
the 109th regiment, N.Y. vols., of which he was the colonel. He served with
distinction in the battles of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania Court-house, and
after returning from the front was placed in command of the rebel prison camp
and headquarters for drafted men, in Elmira. At the close of the war he went to
Brooklyn, where he resumed the practice of law, October i, 1866, he was
appointed United States district attorney for the eastern district of New York
by President Johnson, and again January 23, 1871, by President Grant. At the
end of his second term he declined reappointment and renewed his law practice,
in company with his brother-in-law, General Catlin. He was a member of Plymouth
church, and in the celebrated Beecher-Tilton trial was prominent among the
counsel for the defence. General Tracy was appointed an associate judge of the
court of appeals of, this state, December 9. 1881, in place of Judge Andrews,
promoted to chief judge. At the close of his term of office he declined a
renomination. He is now out of active politics and devoting his attention to
his law practice in Brooklyn.
F. Tracy & Son's Marshland stock farms here,
consist of six hundred acres, on the river road, where they carry on very
extensively the business of breeding and raising the best blooded trotting
horses. They have been engaged in this business since 1878, and have constantly
on hand from one hundred to one hundred and twenty- five head of horses, and
employ about twenty- five men. As breeders of superior trotters, the Messrs.
Tracy have a wide spread reputation, and their system and equipments for
raising and breaking trotters are second to none in the country.
Melone, Harry Roberts (1932) History of
Central New York
Frank B. Tracy. A member of a distinguished family of New York, Frank B.
Tracy, of Apalachin, Tioga County, is a representative citizen of the community
in which he has spent his entire life. He was born at Owego, February 7, 1856,
the son of Gen. Benjamin Franklin and Delinva (Catlin) Tracy.
Gen. Benjamin Franklin Tracy was born April 26, 1830, in the town of
Owego, Tioga County, New York, and died August 6, 1915. He received his
education in the common schools, and at Owego Free Academy. At the age of
nineteen, he began the study of law in the offices of Davis & Warner at Owego
and was admit ted to the bar in May, 1851. When only eighteen years old, rep
resented his town in county conventions as a "free-soiler." In
November, 1853, he ran for District Attorney of Tioga County on the Whig ticket
and was elected, and again was elected in 1856. In 1861, Mr. Tracy was elected
to the Assembly. He was made chairman of the Railroad Committee and later of a
Special Committee on Precedence of Legislation, which virtually directed the
course of business of the Legislature. He was also a member of the Judiciary
Committee and chairman of the Republican Caucus. Mr. Tracy was designated, July
22, 1862, to raise a regiment in the district which included the counties of
Broome, Tioga, and Tompkins. Early in
August he reported the regiment (109th New York Volunteers) full, and was
assigned to the command as colonel. He immediately asked for the authority to
raise another regiment, which was granted, and on the 22nd of August, just one
month after he had entered on the work, he reported his second regiment (137th
New York Volunteers) as being also full. He asked permission to raise a third,
but this was not granted. August 27, 1862, the 109th New York Volunteers was
mustered in, and he was commissioned a colonel of that regiment. Proceed ing to
Washington, it was first assigned to duty in connection with the defenses of
Washington, and later in northern Virginia. Sub
sequently it was assigned to the Ninth Army Corps. At the battle of the
Wilderness on the 6th of May, General Hartranft's brigade was on the extreme
right and saw some of the heaviest fighting of the day. Under the hot fire of
the enemy, which was sheltered in works, a portion of the advancing line gave
way. Colonel Tracy's regiment halted, whereupon the colonel seized the colors and
led his men forward. For this act of heroism he was dec orated with a
Congressional Medal of Honor. Soon after Colonel Tracy was prostrated by
sickness and sent to the hospital, and finally tendered his resignation. And by
the autumn he had partially regained his strength, and was commissioned anew as
colonel of the 127th United States Volunteers. Later he was as signed to the
command of the important post at Elmira, comprising the prison camp and the
draft rendezvous. Colonel Tracy remained at this post until the close of the
war, when he resigned, having been brevetted Brigadier General. On July 1,
1865, General Tracy entered the law firm of Benedict, Burr and Benedict in New
York City. In February, 1866, he removed his family to Brooklyn. October 1, 1866,
General Tracy was appointed United States Attorney for the eastern district of
New York. During that time he broke up the Whiskey Ring in New York and Kings
counties, and was the author of the "Internal Revenue Law," which was
passed by Congress, in 1868, putting a tax of $1.10 per gallon on whiskey,
which was a law until the passage of the "Volstead Act." In March,
1873, he resigned from that office, and practiced law in Brooklyn and New York.
In the latter part of 1881, General
Tracy was appointed by Governor Cornell to a seat on the bench of the Court of
Appeals made temporarily vacant by the assignment of Judge Andrews as Chief
Judge. He served until the end of Judge Andrews' term, January 1, 1883, and
after that date resumed his private practice. In 1880 he was a delegate to the
Republican convention in Chicago, which nominated President Garfield. In 1889,
General Tracy was appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Harrison, being
affectionately known as the "Father of the United States Navy." After
leaving Washington, D. C, he organized the law firm of Tracy, Boardman and
Platt ; later he became chief counsel for Coudert Brothers, international
lawyers, with offices in New York City, and so remained until his death in
1915. He had also been the owner of "Marsh land Farm," Town of Owego,
Tioga County, where he became prominent and successful as a breeder of
thoroughbred trotting horses. He discontinued this hobby in 1889, but continued
as owner of the farm. His wife, Delinda (Catlin) Tracy, died in 1890. She was a
native of Owego. Her children were : 1. Emma, the widow of Ferdinand
Wilmerding, who lives in New York City. 2. Mary, who died in 1890. 3. Frank B.,
the subject of this sketch. Frank B. Tracy grew up on the family homestead near
Owego. He is a graduate of the Brooklyn (New York) schools, Brooklyn
Polytechnical School, Adelphia Academy, and was a member of the 1878 class at
Yale University. He then entered his father's law office, being admitted to the
bar in May, 1877. Mr. Tracy continued in practice at Brooklyn with his father
until 1885, and at that time returned to the town of Owego, where he has
continued to live.
On March 4, 1905,
Mr. Tracy was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Cornell, who was born at
Owego, August 11, 1883, the daughter of Edwin and Mary (Burt) Cornell. The
former, a native of Owego, died in 1932, and the latter died in 1927. She was
born in Florida. Two sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Tracy: 1. Benjamin
Franklin, born September 23, 1906, a graduate of Taft School in Connecticut,
and Yale University, Bachelor of Arts in 1928, now a law student at Cornell
University. 2. Thomas Brodhead, born April 1, 1908, attended United States
Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, for two years, and received the degree of
M. E., at Cornell University in 1931. He is now identified with the
International Business Machine Corporation at Endicott, New York, and lives at
the "Old Homestead." Mr. Tracy has always been a Republican. He is an
active member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, of Owego, and holds member ship
in the Owego Country Club, Tioga County Farm Bureau, and New York State Bar
Association.
Maine was
launched on 18 November 1889, sponsored by Alice Tracey Wilmerding, the
granddaughter of Navy Secretary Benjamin F. Tracy.
CENSUS RECORDS
1850 United States Census
Name: Benjamin Tracy
Residence: Tioga, New York
Age: 40 years
Estimated birth year: 1810
Birthplace: New York
Gender: Male
Film number: 444320
Image number: 00522
Reference number: 4
Dwelling: 1351
Household id: 1390
1860 United States Census
Name: Benjn Tracy
Residence: Tioga, New York
Minor civil division: Owego
Age: 64 years
Estimated birth year: 1796
Birthplace: New York
Gender: Male
Page: 114
Family number: 883
Film number: 803867
Digital GS number: 4237094
Image number: 00378
NARA publication number: M653
[NOTE: No listing for Benjamin Tracy of Tioga, New York in the
1870 or 1880 United States Census]
1870 Census – The Third Ward, Brooklyn, Kings, New York
|
Name |
Gender |
Race |
Age |
Birthplace |
Occupation |
|
Benjamin Tracey |
Male |
W |
40 |
NY |
Lawyer |
|
Delinda Tracey |
Female |
W |
41 |
NY |
Keeping House |
|
Emma S. Tracey |
Female |
W |
17 |
NY |
At school |
|
Mary F. Tracey |
Female |
W |
16 |
NY |
At school |
|
Frank E. Tracey |
Male |
W |
14 |
NY |
At school |
|
Elizabeth Ager |
Female |
W |
25 |
NY |
Domestic Servant |
|
Mary Thompson |
Female |
W |
25 |
NY |
Domestic
Servant |
1879 Brooklyn City
Directory
Tracy
Benj. F. lawyer, 189 Montague, h 148 Montague
Tracy
Frank B. lawyer, 189 Montague, h 148 Montague
1880 US Census
|
Name |
Relation |
Marital Status |
Gender |
Race |
Age |
Birthplace |
Occupation |
Father's Birthplace |
Mother's Birthplace |
|
Self |
M |
Male |
W |
50 |
NY |
Lawyer |
CT |
CT |
|
|
Wife |
M |
Female |
W |
52 |
NY |
Keeps House |
NJ |
NY |
|
|
Dau |
S |
Female |
W |
26 |
NY |
|
NY |
NY |
|
|
Son |
S |
Male |
W |
24 |
NY |
Lawyer |
NY |
NY |
|
|
Dau |
W |
Female |
W |
27 |
NY |
|
NY |
NY |
|
|
GDau |
S |
Female |
W |
3 |
NY |
|
NY |
NY |
|
|
Other |
S |
Female |
W |
28 |
IRE |
Waitress |
IRE |
IRE |
|
|
Other |
S |
Female |
W |
25 |
IRE |
Cook |
IRE |
IRE |
|
|
Other |
S |
Female |
W |
18 |
GER |
Nurse |
GER |
GER |
|
|
Other |
S |
Female |
W |
40 |
IRE |
Laundress |
IRE |
IRE |
Source Information:
|
|
Census Place |
1st Ward, Brooklyn, Kings
(Brooklyn), New York City-Greater, New York |
|
|
Family History Library
Film |
|
|
|
NA Film Number |
T9-0840 |
|
|
Page Number |
|
Name |
Relation |
Marital Status |
Gender |
Race |
Age |
Birthplace |
Occupation |
Father's Birthplace |
Mother's Birthplace |
|
Self |
M |
Male |
W |
52 |
NY |
Farmer |
NY |
NY |
|
|
Wife |
M |
Female |
W |
47 |
NY |
Keeping House |
NY |
NJ |
|
|
Son |
S |
Male |
W |
23 |
NY |
Works On Farm |
NY |
NY |
|
|
Son |
S |
Male |
W |
18 |
NY |
Works On Farm |
NY |
NY |
|
|
Dau |
S |
Female |
W |
16 |
NY |
Goes To School |
NY |
NY |
|
|
GSon |
S |
Male |
W |
8 |
NY |
Goes To School |
NY |
NY |
|
|
GSon |
S |
Male |
W |
6 |
NY |
Goes To School |
NY |
NY |
Source Information:
|
|
Census Place |
Owego, Tioga, New York |
|
|
Family History Library
Film |
|
|
|
NA Film Number |
T9-0937 |
|
|
Page Number |
|
Name |
Relation |
Marital Status |
Gender |
Race |
Age |
Birthplace |
Occupation |
Father's Birthplace |
Mother's Birthplace |
|
Self |
M |
Male |
W |
43 |
NY |
Farmer |
NY |
NY |
|
|
Wife |
M |
Female |
W |
44 |
NY |
Keeping House |
NY |
NY |
|
|
Son |
S |
Male |
W |
18 |
NY |
Works On Farm |
NY |
NY |
|
|
Other |
S |
Female |
W |
4 |
NY |
|
NY |
NY |
Source Information:
|
|
Census Place |
Apalachin, Tioga, New York |
|
|
Family History Library
Film |
|
|
|
NA Film Number |
T9-0937 |
|
|
Page Number |
|
Name |
Relation |
Marital Status |
Gender |
Race |
Age |
Birthplace |
Occupation |
Father's Birthplace |
Mother's Birthplace |
|
Self |
W* |
Female |
W |
49 |
NY |
Keeping House |
NY |
NY |
|
|
Other |
W |
Female |
W |
51 |
NJ |
Resturant |
NY |
NY |
|
|
Dau |
S |
Female |
W |
28 |
NJ |
At Home |
NY |
NY |
|
|
Dau |
S |
Female |
W |
26 |
NY |
At Home |
NY |
NY |
|
|
Dau |
S |
Female |
W |
16 |
NY |
|
NY |
NY |
|
|
Son |
S |
Male |
W |
14 |
NY |
Student |
NY |
NY |
|
|
Other |
S |
Male |
W |
25 |
NY |
Clerk In Saloon |
NY |
NY |
|
|
Other |
S |
Female |
W |
50 |
NY |
Domistic |
NY |
NY |
Source Information:
|
|
Census Place |
Owego, Tioga, New York |
|
|
Family History Library
Film |
|
|
|
NA Film Number |
T9-0937 |
|
|
Page Number |
* Widow of George Tracy
1901/02 Club men of New York :
their clubs, college alumni ...
TRACY, Hon. BENJ. F., lawyer, 71 Bdwy.—UL, Law, Bar, SubRandD, Met,
Ha-Bk, Ox-Bk, Bk-Bk. Waldorf-Astoria.
Directory of the living
non-graduates 1910 – Yale University
Frank B. Tracy (1874-75, 1878-80) Apalachin, N.Y. [Agr.]
Last update: 17 March 2024