The Tracewell family prominent in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky is traced to Edward Tracewell Sr. who married 1) Charity Skinner and 2) Dorcas Bonnifield. He was born Ederias Trachsel, the eldest child of Hans (John) Peter Trachsel and his second wife Catherina Maria Schreiber of Tom's Creek, Maryland, near Graceham. Several of the Trachsels anglicized their surname to Tracewell, including a cousin of Edward's, George Frederick Tracewell whose family settled in Paris, Kentucky. When researching either family, one should always consider the change in the surname.