Robert Tracy (1655–1735) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

judge.

Life

Born at Toddington in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, he was fifth son of

Robert Tracy, 2nd Viscount Tracy of Rathcoole Sir Robert Tracy, 2nd Viscount Tracy (c. 1593–1662) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England variously between 1620 and 1640. He fought for the Cavaliers, Royalists in the English Civil War. Tracy was the son of John ...

, he was the eldest son of his second wife, Dorothy, daughter of Thomas Cocks of Castleditch,

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

. Robert's paternal grandmother, Anne, was daughter of

Sir Thomas Shirley Sir Thomas Shirley (1564 – c. 1634) was an English soldier, adventurer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1584 and 1622. His financial difficulties drove him into privateering which culminated in his captu ...

of Wiston, Sussex. He matriculated from

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...

, on 29 October 1672, and entered the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

the following year. Tracy was called to the bar in 1680. In 1692 he stood for election to Parliament at

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Ri ...

in a by-election to replace Lord Capell, but was defeated by Sir Francis Winnington.Paula Watson / Andrew A. Hanham
Tewkesbury
in ''

The History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in ...

: the House of Commons 1690-1715'' (2002). In July 1699 he was appointed a judge of the King's Bench in Ireland, but the following year he was transferred to England on 14 November as a

baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was ...

. In Trinity term 1702 he was removed to the

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

. He was appointed a commissioner of the Great Seal while the lord-chancellor's office was vacant from 24 September to 19 October 1710, and from 15 April to 12 May 1718. He was one of the judges who gave an opinion on

Henry Sacheverell Henry Sacheverell (; 8 February 1674 – 5 June 1724) was an English high church Anglican clergyman who achieved nationwide fame in 1709 after preaching an incendiary 5 November sermon. He was subsequently impeached by the House of Commons and ...

's trial and he took part in trying the Jacobites at

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

in 1716. On 26 October 1726, Tracy retired from the bench with a pension of £1,500. He died at his seat at Coscomb in Gloucestershire on 11 September 1735.

Family

By his wife Anne, daughter of William Dowdeswell of Pull Court, Worcestershire, he left three sons—Robert, Richard, and William—and two daughters—Anne and Dorothy. Dorothy married John Pratt, fourth son of

Sir John Pratt Sir John Pratt (1657–1725) was an English judge and politician. He was Lord Chief Justice of England from 15 May 1718 until 2 March 1725. He was appointed as an interim Chancellor of the Exchequer on 2 February 1721 until 3 April 1721. Lif ...

, chief justice of the King's Bench.

References

Attribution

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tracy, Robert 1655 births 1735 deaths English barristers 18th-century English judges Barons of the Exchequer Justices of the Common Pleas Younger sons of viscounts