Thomas Poynton Bancroft (1798-1852)
Merchant Banker, of Salem & Boston, Massachusetts
He was born an only child at Salem, Massachusetts, and orphaned at an early age was brought up by his great aunt, Hannah (Bray) Poynton (1718-1811) of Salem, widow of Captain Thomas Poynton (1711-1781). After her death in 1811, he was placed in the care of his uncle, Thomas Poynton Ives, of Providence, Rhode Island. He later returned to Salem where in the same year as his marriage (1822) he bought a house on Esssex Street from the heirs of John Cabot. He was a merchant and a director of several banks in Salem as well as of the Salem Marine Insurance Company. He subsequently moved to Boston, spending part of each winter in New Orleans, Louisiana. The last years of his life were spent at Hale Farm that he inherited in Beverly, Massachusetts. He died at New Orleans. He married Hannah, daughter of Supreme Court Judge Samuel Putnam and grand-niece of U.S. Secretary of State Timothy Pickering. They had six children.
