Elizabeth TRACY^[1]

1698 - 1769  (70 years)

• Name	Elizabeth TRACY
  Born	6 Apr 1698	Norwich, New London, Connecticut
  Gender	Female
  Died	26 Jan 1769	Norwich, New London, Connecticut
  Person ID	I14789	Main
  Last Modified	21 May 2009

  
  

  Father	John TRACY,   b. 19 Jan 1673, Norwich, New London, Connecticut ,   d. 27 Mar 1726, Norwich, New London, Connecticut  (Age 53 years)
  Mother	Elizabeth LEFFINGWELL,   b. 1676, Norwich, New London, Connecticut ,   d. 25 Oct 1737, Norwich, New London, Connecticut  (Age 61 years)
  Married	10 May 1697
  Family ID	F4929	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Samuel BACKUS,   b. 6 Jan 1693, Norwich, New London, Connecticut ,   d. 24 Nov 1740, Norwich, New London, Connecticut  (Age 47 years)
  Married	18 Jan 1716	Norwich, New London, Connecticut
  Children	+ 1. Elizabeth Tracy BACKUS,   b. 21 Feb 1721, Norwich, New London, Connecticut ,   d. 1 Jul 1745, Norwich, New London, Connecticut  (Age 24 years)   2. Samuel BACKUS,   b. 1 Jan 1717,   d. 2 Oct 1796  (Age 79 years) + 3. Asa BACKUS,   b. 3 May 1736, Norwich, New London, Connecticut ,   d. 23 Jul 1788, Franklin, New London, Connecticut  (Age 52 years)   4. Ann BACKUS,   b. 10 Jan 1718,   d. 29 Dec 1756  (Age 38 years)   5. Isaac BACKUS,   b. 9 Jan 1724,   d. 20 Nov 1806  (Age 82 years)   6. Elijah BACKUS,   b. 4 Mar 1726,   d. 4 Sep 1798  (Age 72 years)   7. Simon BACKUS,   b. 17 Jan 1729,   d. 16 Feb 1764  (Age 35 years)   8. Eunice BACKUS,   b. 17 May 1731,   d. 10 Aug 1753  (Age 22 years)   9. Andrew BACKUS,   b. 16 Nov 1733,   d. 20 Nov 1796  (Age 63 years)   10. Lucy BACKUS,   b. 19 Apr 1738
  Last Modified	30 Jul 2017
  Family ID	F5828	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Born - 6 Apr 1698 - Norwich, New London, Connecticut Married - 18 Jan 1716 - Norwich, New London, Connecticut Died - 26 Jan 1769 - Norwich, New London, Connecticut  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Notes

  History of Norwich, page323, relates a story about the nature of Elizabeth, or as she is called in the story, "the widow Elizabeth Backus". During the mid 1700s, about 1745, the Separatist Church was formed as a splinter group off the State recognized Congregationalist Church. These souls did not feel that they should be required to pay the government tax leveed to support the main church as they did not participate, yet the Separate churches were not recongized by the Legislature. At Norwich, the number of Separates was considerable, and their influence still greater, so that at one period they out-voted the standing regular church, and declared that they would not support a minister by a tax. The other party appealed to the Legislature and obtained an order to enforce the rates. "The widow Elizabeth Backus was one of the first company of seceders, and a zealous partizan of the cause. Her son had previously suffered an imprisionment of twenty days, and herself, on a dark night in October, 1752, about nine o'clock, was seized by the collector, carried to jail, and kept there thirteen days. Her tax was then paid, but without her consent, by her son-in-law Gen. Jabez Huntington. At a subsequent period, her grandson, Gen Jedidiah Huntington, pledged himself to pay her rates annually, that the venerable lady might not be disturbed by any solicitations for that purpose." Her son Isaac Backus had later written of this enforcment, "They went on in such ways for about eight years, until the spiritual weapons of truth and love vanquished those carnal weapons, which have not been so used in Norwich since."

  
  

• Sources

  [S44] Orcutt_001 gedcom file, Robert Waddell.