John Truesdell

This surname of TRUESDELL was of the locational group of surnames meaning one who came from Troutsdale, a township in the parish of Brompton, near Scarborough in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The name was originally derived from the Old English word 'truhtstall' literally meaning the dweller by the trout-pool, from residence nearby. Habitation names were originally acquired by the early bearer of the name, who, having lived by, at or near a place, would then take that name as a form of identification for himself and his family. When people lived close to the soil as they did in the Middle Ages, they were acutely conscious of every local variation in landscape and countryside. Every field or plot of land was identified in normal conversation by a descriptive term. If a man lived on or near a hill or mountain, or by a river or stream, forests and trees, he might receive the word as a family name. Almost every town, city or village in early times, has served to name many families. The earliest of the name on record appears to be TRUZSTAL (without surname) who was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 in County Yorkshire, and TRUCESDALE (without surname) appears in 1314. Later instances of the name record a Phines Trusedell (aged 18 years) who embarked for the Barbadoes in 1635 (Hotten's List of Emigrants) and Ann Trowsdale, was buried at St. Michael, Cornhill, London in the year 1679. Surnames before the Norman Conquest of 1066 were rare in England having been brought by the Normans when William the Conqueror invaded the shores. The practice spread to Scotland and Ireland by the 12th century, and in Wales they appeared as late as the 16th century. Most surnames can be traced to one of four sources, locational, from the occupation of the original bearer, nicknames or simply font names based on the first name of the parent being given as the second name to their child. The associated coat of arms is recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. Ulster King of Arms in 1884. (Trudale) The lion is the noblest of all wild beasts which is made to be the emblem of strength and valour, and is on that account the most frequently borne in Coat-Armour.