Trull Family

Origins of the Trulls

I have yet to find any clear evidence showing that Trull was originally spelled as Trowell (particularly in the context of this family line), but for what I can find online, it seems to generally be believed that the spelling of the surname changed from Trowell to Trull some time after immigration to North Carolina from England. It appears that the change happened sometime in the mid-to-late 1700s, assuming the two names are indeed related; Joseph Trowell was documented living in Chowan Co., NC in 1721, then the next record I can find for a Trowell/Trull in NC is for a Stephen Trull, reported living in Anson Co., NC in 1790 on the census.

According to Ancestry.com, on the name Trull:

"English (Gloucestershire and Kent): nickname from Middle English trulle 'trollop; strumpet' or from Middle English trol; trulle 'sorcerer; demon'. English: variant of Trowell. German: nickname for a street entertainer or a cheat from a noun derivative of Middle High German trullen 'to juggle' also 'to cheat'. German: from a short form of the female personal name Gertrud (see Trude)."

Ancestry also says of the surname Trowell:

"English: habitational name principally from Trowell in Nottinghamshire named in Old English with treow 'tree' + wella 'well; spring; stream'. It may occasionally come from one or more places similarly named including Trowell in Chipstable (Somerset)."

Ancestry attributes both of these entries to Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022. There is also a Trull village in Somserset, England that may or may not be related to the surname.

Source: Rootsweb.com

"Joseph Trowell & Honer Brian were married the last of October 1683"

"Susanah Trowell daughter of Joseph Trowell & Honer his wife was borne 9th July 1685"

Source: North Carolina Births, Marriages, Deaths, Flesh Marks & Brands 1656-1739 (pages 13 & 26 - free account required to view)

Allen TRULL I and Stephen TRULL

Stephen Trull was listed on the 1790 census as a head of household living in Anson Co., NC. I believe this Stephen Trull could have been the father of Stephen Jackson Trull (born 1815, the last of 10 children). An Allen Trull was reported on the 1800 census as a head of household also living in Anson Co., and there is a Stephen Trull noted again as head of household on the next line as well. According to WikiTree, Stephen and Allen were brothers - and had a third brother named Solomon as well. This info is said to be from an unsourced family tree handed down to one of Solomon Trull's descendants, Janice.

On the aforementioned 1800 census, Allen Trull's household is noted as having 1 white male under the age of 10 and 1 white male of 16 years, but under 26 years. There are also 2 white females under the age of 10 and 1 white female of 16 years, but under 26 years noted. This suggests that particular Allen Trull (Allen Trull I/Sr.) would have been between the ages of 16 and 25 in 1800. The Allen Trull that married Millie Price (Allen Trull II/Jr.) died Sept. 16, 1847 at 43 years old, according to probate/will records and a death notice published in The Charlotte Journal. This suggests he was born in about 1804, and seems to support that the Allen Trull on the 1800 census is not the same individual who died in 1847.

Source: 1800 census (requires a free account to view) for Anson Co., NC. Click the above image to view the full scanned page.

Allen TRULL II and Milea "Millie" Price TRULL

Allen Trull II was born in about 1804 in North Carolina, and died Sept. 16, 1847, in Union Co., NC. He married Millie Price, whose name I have also seen written as Milea, Mary, Milly, and Molly on various records. She was born in about 1804 in North Carolina as well. I'm unsure of when she passed away, but I cannot find any records for her past 1860, so I suspect that she died that decade. Allen and Millie had 7 children: William, Rebecca "Becky", Mary "Polly", Francis Marion, Andrew "Andy" G., Charles "Charlie" Evans, and Laura E.

Rebecca, Mary, and Francis were all born blind, leading to this branch of the family being dubbed "The Blind Trulls" by some. Francis in particular was often referred to as "Blind Trull."

Source: The Charlotte Journal, Jul 3 1835 - Dec 7 1851 Part II. Death Notices, showing Allen Trull II's death date and age at death.

"The petition of Molly Trull widow & (?) of Allen Trull humbly showeth unto (?) your worship that Allen Trull departed this life about the 15th of September last leaving your petitioner his widow unprovided for."
Source: Allen Trull's will and probate records, 1847.

"Gary i (sic) have information on Francis Marion Trull and wife Hester Stegall. He is my gg (sic) grandfather. I also have his father, Allen Trull II. Hester's father is Auther B. Stegall."
Phone number blurred for privacy.

"Gary this is a start. Solomon Trull and Allen Trull I are brothers. Solomon's son Jackson B. Trull and Allen I son (of) Allen II are 1st cousin's (sic). Jackson's son Calvin and Francis M. are 2nd cousin's (sic). Give me a call, i (sic) have a huge file on the Trull's (sic). Charles Trull"

Pictured above are comments from the retired Genealogy.com forums, left by a Charles Trull claiming to be a great great grandson of Francis M. Trull. This info is unsourced of course, but it seems to corroborate that there were two Allen Trulls that were father and son, and that Allen Trull I and Solomon Trull were brothers. Charles does have accurate info on Francis Marion and Hester Trull as well. I would be interested in what further info Charles has on our family, but sadly I haven't been able to get in touch with him.

*****

Probate records, Allen Trull II's will, marriage records, and a family bible establish Millie Price as the wife of Allen Trull II:

Source: Allen Trull's will and probate records, 1847.

A comment from the Genealogy forums detailing contents of a Trull family bible, supposedly passed down to a descendent of Bessie Trull Pressley - a great-granddaughter of Allen Trull II. Text transcription here. This is the only source I have at the moment for Millie's maiden name. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get in contact with the Carrie that posted this, so I haven't been able to actually see the bible she details here. However, none of this info contradicts my research, so I'm inclined to believe it is accurate. I would love to see this bible some day for myself - it's a long shot, but Carrie, if you see this, please do get in touch! I would love to add pictures of the bible to this website.

Census records show Millie as head of household, still living together with all of her children in 1850 - Allen II had passed away 3 years prior. In 1860, Millie is still the head of household, and living with children Mary, Francis M., and Rebecca.

Source: The 1850 census (free account required to view). You may also simply click on the images above to see the full scanned pages.

Interestingly, daughter Rebecca was recorded as being 26 years old in 1850, and this census also states that she was blind. However, presumably the same Rebecca on the 1860 census was not noted to be blind, and was said to be 21 years old - a somewhat strange inconsistency. I also noticed that daughter Mary was not noted as blind in the 1850 census, but the 1860 census states that she was born blind. I have to assume this was an oversight, but I still wonder!

Francis Marion TRULL and Hester Stegall TRULL

Source: The Monroe Journal, published Dec 18, 1906 (text transcription here)

Source: The Charlotte Observer, published Mar 24, 1875 (text transcription here)

Source: The Semi Weekly Eagle, published Jul 17, 1872 (text transcription here)

Charles "Charlie" Evans TRULL, Rhoda P. Helms TRULL, and Sarah Fisher TRULL

Charles Evans Trull was born in about 1838 to Allen Trull II and Milea "Millie" Price Trull. He married first Rhoda P. Helms on March 17th, 1859. After Rhoda's death on August 22nd, 1898, he then married Sarah Fisher on July 23rd, 1901 in Lincoln County.

Marriage record for

Published in The Monroe Journal on Nov 30, 1909

Robert "Bob" TRULL, Lizzie Medlin TRULL, and Edie Hilton TRULL REID

Robert Chester TRULL and Annie Mae Shuman TRULL

Photo from Ancestry.com (membership required to view)

Photo from my family's personal photo collection.

Robert C. Trull's death certificate.

Floyd Augustus TRULL and Claudia Irene Smith TRULL

Floyd Augustus Trull was born 24 September 1919 in Union Co., NC to Robert Chester Trull and Annie Mae Shuman Trull. He was the third of five children: Robert Chester "Pete" Trull (1916-1990), Mary Elizabeth Trull (1918-1918), Grace Mae Trull Allison (1923-1995), and Drucilla Louise Trull Rowell (1929-1984).

Floyd and Claudia Irene Smith married 9 November 1942.