Descendants of John Trousdale
1704-1779
Submitted by Brittany Maynard
I can trace part of my family back to Ireland where my 8th great grandfather was born in 1704. His name was John Trousdale. That name comes from a place called Troutsdale, a township in the parish of Brompton near Scarborough England. He came to America about 1730. He probably was part of the Protestant population who left Ireland to avoid over population and starvation conditions.
He settled in South Carolina after a short time in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. John bought land in there next to the Haws river. His sons became landowners on both banks of the Haws River. John was a tailor there with his wife, Elizabeth, and their three sons. They were William, John jr., my grandfather, and James who became a Captain in the Revolutionary War.
At that time people wanted to overthrow the English government. In the war, John was too old to serve as a soldier so in December 1776, he helped the State military and was paid for it. This was stated in the North Carolina Revolutionary Accounts VIII #697. He might have made uniforms, since he was a tailor. There is a record of his will in North Carolina Archives stating he was "weak in body" and leaves "all belongings and natural possessions among all my children at the time of my wife's death." This is how it read.
My son William, to receive more than a child's part.
My son John, to receive certain clothing and more than a child's part.
My son James, to receive a child's part.
My daughter Margaret, to receive a child's part.
My daughter Mary, to receive one shilling.
William and John had been made executors of the estate, but on the front page read, "William refused; John qualifies." According to our family history, this will was written by a lawyer and John probably died soon after it was written. They say that Mary was cut off with "one shilling" means that she was disinherited.
John jr. did not serve in the war, but like his brother William gave food and supplies and cash to the State Military according to the North Carolina Revolution Accounts C98 #3170. He acquired 620 acres around the Haws river, Orange County Deeds XI 142. He bought and sold several hundred other acres and even gave 600 acres to the University of North Carolina by quick claiming it. He also bought 640 acres in Montgomery County, Tennessee on the north side of the Cumberland River. That is where my grandfather Alexander, John jr.'s oldest son lived. John junior's younger brother, served under General George Washington at Yorktown and for his service in the war, was given 640 acres in Tennessee. He settled there in 1796 when Tennessee became a state. Most of the land was bought by the Tennessee Legislature to make Sumner County. Captain James had 41 acres left and used one for his house. The rest he gave to make the city of Gallatin. James built the first house in that town. Today it is the County Seat. One of the lots was bought by John Bowen who built a brick house that became Trousdale Place. When Bowen died, William Trousdale, James's son, bought it and continued to carve the name of Trousdale into the history books. William served with General Andrew Jackson in the war of 1812 and the Seminole War. In 1848, President James T. Polk made him brigadier general for his service in the Mexican War. He became a lawyer and later served in the Senate. William was called the 'Warhorse of Sumner County" and was elected Governor of Tennessee also in 1848. After he was governor, President Franklin Pierce appointed him Ambassador to Brazil. He died in 1872.
His son Julius Augustus Trousdale took over Trousdale Place after his mother died. He was in the Civil War and served on the Confederate side. He became a lawyer and later became a senator. He had four children who died at birth and the fifth, Mary, died young from a bad fever. Julius died soon after because he was do heart broken that his last daughter had died. That was 1899. When he died, his wife Annie Berry Trousdale, gave Trousdale Place to the National Daughter's of the Confederacy and they have held monthly meetings there ever since. There is also a Civil War Museum.
Alexander Trousdale, John junior's son, served in the North Carolina Militia in the Revolutionary War. In 1790 he moved to his father's 640 acre tract on Blooming Grove Creek in Montgomery County, Tennessee. His brothers soon followed. He married Fannie Clendennin. She was killed when a tree fell on her while riding through the woods during a storm. Her baby James was in her arms, but he wasn't hurt. He lived to be 77 years old. Alexander married Edah Pearce, mother of William Pearce, my grandfather, in 1799. William was born in 1803. Alexander sold his land in Tennessee and moved his family to White County, Illinois around 1813. He started the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in 1819. Today it is known as the Village Church. Alexander lived there until he died in 1834.
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