. The Trumbull family had their roots in early America from the time the colonies began. There is a John Trumbull listed on documents starting in 1640 in Massachusetts who hailed from England, near the Scottish border. He was believed to be the first ancestor of Col. John Trumbull to live in America from their family seat of Scotland. In Scotland, it was believed that their family was known as “Turnbull” after a young man managed a heroic feat of saving the King from a charging bull. The King, very grateful, changed the family name to Turnbull and granted them an estate near Peebles, which is about twenty miles south of Edinburgh. They were also gifted a coat of arms that includes three bulls’ heads and the Latin phrase, “Fortuna Favet Audaci” or “Fortune Favors the Brave.” From this auspicious beginning, about 100 years later, Col. John Trumbull was born.
Trumbull’s father, Jonathon Trumbull, had been the son of an uneducated farmer, but he desired better for his family and so he sent the young Jonathon Trumbull to Harvard where he graduated in 1727. Jonathon Trumbull held a distinctive position in early American politics, having been the first Magistrate of Connecticut to be appointed by the English King before the war and then retaining his position during and after the war by election to Governor by the American people. He was known as the “Rebel Governor” in some circles but had the respect of many, both in England and America.Col. John Trumbull enjoyed immensely his family and history. It was often said that Trumbull had an air of superiority and considered himself to be “emphatically well born.”
. GOVERNOR JOHN AND FAITH TRUMBULL FAMILY HOME, 1740, LEBANON, CONNECTICUT.
The house that Trumbull grew up in still stands in Lebanon, Connecticut. By his own account, Trumbull’s childhood was quiet and sometimes lonely. He was the youngest of six children, four boys and two girls. His father was the Governor of Connecticut, first under the King of England and then under the new government of America. The family was prosperous and able to enjoy the luxuries of the upper class, even while a puritanical streak was still going strong in early American Connecticut. Their family was religious and adhered to the austere practice of religion, a form of Puritanism, that was popular at that time. Trumbull was baptized as a baby at the First Congregational Church on June 13, 1756.
JOHN TRUMBULL, SELF PORTRAIT, 1773. UNITED STATES.
