After the Norman Conquest of 1066, there was a wave of migration to England which also brought the name Trowbridge. The surname was derived from the Old English word for wooden bridge, according to House of Names. Click to learn more about the family history.
Initially, I always check the Ancestry.com site to see what information they have. Five hundred fifty seven thousand historical documents is quite a bit of information to sort through. With 80,000 birth, marriage, and death certificates, there’s at least a few Trowbridge ancestors in the Ancestry database to research on.
Population
According to the House of Names, was first found in Devon and it is believed they descended from two Norman knights, Richard and Reginald, who held the lands of Modbury from the Count of Mortaine which was shown in the Domesday Book, surveyed in 1086 A.D. The website gives a lot of great information on the origins of this surname and their activity before migrating over to America.
Between 1840 and 1920, Trowbridge families were reportedly found in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Scotland. The year 1880 held the most Trowbridge families in America.
There were 69 Trowbridge families living in New York in 1840 which was about 30% of all the recorded Trowbridge’s in the United States at the time.
There were 341 Trowbridge families living in New York in 1880 which accounted for about 15% of all the recorded Trowbridge’s in the United States.
By 1920 there were 150 Trowbridge families living in New York accounting for about 12% of all the recorded Trowbridge’s in the states. New York had the highest population of Trowbridge families in each of those years.
Occupations
In the late 1800s, Trowbridge families held a small variety of different jobs between the United States, Canada, and England.
In the United States, 32% of Trowbridge’s were Farmers which was the most common occupation for these families. An occupation that was less common among the Trowbridge family was Carpenter.
In Canada, 60% of Trowbridge’s were Farmers which was the most common occupation for these families. An occupation that was less common among the Trowbridge family was Saw Tiler.
In England, 5% of Trowbridge’s were Agricultural Labourers which was the most common occupation for these families. An occupation that was less common among the Trowbridge family was Farm Labourer or Shepherd.
Life Expectancy
Early on, life expectancy for Trowbridge’s was a bit lower than that of the general population.
In the United States, between 1952 and 2004, Trowbridge life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1960, and highest in 1992. The average life expectancy for Trowbridge in 1952 was 44, and 74 in 2004, according to Ancestry.com.
Family Members I’ve Found So Far
- Isaac
I obviously still have a lot of work to do in order to fill this family out and discover my roots. I will be working on that in the weeks and months ahead.
Have you found any Trowbridge’s in your family tree yet? Where did they come from? When did they immigrate and where to? What jobs did they work? I have so many questions!
As always, I will come back and update this page as I learn more about the Trowbridge family.
Happy Searching!
~Kris
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