Loyd says that “the actual place from which the family took its name is a difficult question. At first sight there is much to be said for Tracy-sur-Mer (Calvados, arrondissement Bayeux, canton Ryes)...[but] it is shown by the Bayeux Inquest of 1133 that [the place] was then held by William Picot, [therefore] such a theory becomes untenable. Two other places of the name remain – Tracy-Bocage (Calvados, arrondissement Caen, canton Villers-Bocage) and Tracy a fief in Neuville (Calvados, arrondissement and canton Vire). As regards the first it lies wide of any of the ascertained lands of the family...[the second] is somewhat more hopeful...whatever the origin of the name...the Tracies were under-tenants in the département of La Manche of the comté of Mortain. In view of this it is not without significance that Stephen was count of Mortain and that Henry de Tracy of Barnstaple was the king’s most prominent and persistent adherent in Devon”.
The Tracy family provides yet another example of bogus descents which were fabricated in later centuries, presumably to provide more illustrious ancestors for contemporary family members. The result for the present-day is considerable confusion and inaccurate information in many published secondary sources. The following is an attempt at finding a way through the puzzle, but it does not claim to provide the definitive answer to all the difficulties.
“William de Tracy" donated property to Mont Saint-Michel on becoming a monk there by charter dated 1110, signed by "…Guillelmi de Traceio, Rohes[ie] uxoris sue, Turgisi filii sui, Henrici filii sui, Gieve sororis sue”. 1
Research Notes: