Trusselle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Trusselle reached England in the great wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name Trusselle is for a packer. The name was originally derived from the Old French word trousser, meaning to package.

In France, "Guido Trussel was a distinguished Crusader 1096. He was Lord of Montcheri, and Seneschal of France. Osbert Trussel in 1165 held a fief from the Earl of Warwick, and Fulco de Trussel one in Norfolk from the see of Ely 1. William T., son of Osbert, was a benefactor to Sulby Abbey, Northamptonshire." 2

Two villages are named Trussell in England: Marston Trussell, a village and civil parish in the Daventry district in Northamptonshire; and Acton Trussell a village in Staffordshire. Richard Trussell was lord of the manor Marston Trussell Hall in 1233, but the Trussells of Marston died out in the 14th century and the Hall later became the family seat of a Bennett family.

Early Origins of the Trusselle family

The surname Trusselle was first found in Warwickshire where they held a family seat at Billesley. "Milo de Brai, father of Hugh Trussel, married c. 1070, Litheuil, Viscountess of Troyes; and c. 1064 founded Longport Abbey, Normandy. Guido Trussel was a distinguished Crusader 1096. He was Lord of Montcheri and Seneschal of France." 2

"The most distinguished personage of the name was the famous [Sir] William Trussell, who was in such estimation with the [House of] Commons in convention assembled, as to be chosen their organ [representative] to pronounce the deposition of the unfortunate Edward II." 3

"An ancient Norman family, located, in the reign of Henry I., in Warwickshire. The baronage mentions, as of this family, Richard Trussel, who fell at the battle of Evesham, temp. Henry III." 4

"Trussell is the name of a distinguished Northamptonshire family of the 14th and 15th centuries, now rarely represented in the county, that hailed originally from Billesley, Warwickshire, in the 12th century." 5

"In 1844 was found, without the walls of the present churchyard [of Billesley, Warwickshire], a stone coffin, containing a head, supposed to be that of a member of the Trussell family (anciently connected with the parish) who was slain at the battle of Evesham." 6

Early History of the Trusselle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Trusselle research. Another 142 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1195, 1221, 1265, 1318, 1319, 1322, 1326, 1330, 1342, 1620 and 1642 are included under the topic Early Trusselle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Trusselle Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Trusselle are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Trusselle include Trussel, Trussell, Trussele, Trusselle and others.

Early Notables of the Trusselle family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was William Trussel or Trussell sometimes styled Baron Trussell (fl. 1330), son of Edmund Trussel of Peatling in Leicestershire and Cubblesdon in Staffordshire. "He was pardoned as one of the adherents of Thomas of Lancaster on 1 Nov. 1318, and was returned as knight of the shire for Northampton in 1319. Both he and his son were in arms with...
Another 67 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Trusselle Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Trusselle family

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Trusselle, or a variant listed above: John Trussell who settled in Virginia in 1622; Ann Trussell who landed in America in 1761; and Franklin Trussell landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1867..

Citations +

Liber Niger Scutarii ("Black Book of the Exchequer"), containing reports by county on feudal holdings in England in 1166 (reign of Henry II)
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Burke, John Bernard, The Roll of Battle Abbey. London: Edward Churton, 26, Holles Street, 1848, Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.