Stephen Jackson TRULL (see photos below) was born in NC in 1815. He was the youngest of ten children born to barrel maker Stephen TRULL and his wife Mary GRIFFIN. Around 1837 or 1838, Stephen Jackson married a young lady named Lydia and settled down in Anson Co. NC to farm and raise a family. Lydia was born about 1816 in NC and her maiden name is thought to have been WALDEN. It seems likely that Lydia might have been the daughter of either William or John WALDEN, both of whom were living in Anson Co. at the time of the 1820, 1830 and 1840 Census. William apparently had two daughters about Lydia's age, one of whom either died or married in the late 1830s. It is suspected William and John Walden were two of the four sons of a John WALDEN listed in the 1800 and 1810 census for Anson Co. who is reported to have died in 1817. The other two brothers were probably the Thomas WALDEN who was listed in the 1820 census for Anson Co. but no later census and the Jonathan WALDEN who listed as a head-of-household in the 1830 and 1840 Census for Anson Co. Most likely Jonathan was unlisted in the 1820 census because he was living with a brother's family and only heads-of-households were listed by name in censuses before 1850.
Around 1846, Stephen Jackson and Lydia Trull migrated from NC to Fayette Co. AL with a group of family and friends that included Stephen's older brother Griffin TRULL, Griffin's wife Sarah SHEPHERD, their children and numerous relatives of Sarah Shepherd Trull. Jonathan Walden also migrated from NC to Fayette Co. AL around the same time (based on the birth states of Jonathan Walden's children reported in census data). It seems very likely that Jonathan Walden and his family made the move from Anson Co. NC to Fayette Co. AL in the same group with Stephen Jackson and his brother Griffin Trull. Census data shows William Walden remained in North Carolina until his younger children reached adulthood and married. Then, sometime in the 1850s William Walden moved to Fayette Co. AL along with his sons Jesse and Francis WALDEN and his daughter Rebecca with her husband George HORNE and her in-laws James and Mary HORNE. It is not known what happened to John Walden and his family after the 1840 census for Anson Co. was taken.
Shephen Jackson and Lydia had three children at the time they moved to Alabama: sons Kenneth P. (b. abt 1839 NC) and John Wesley (b. abt 1842 NC) and daughter Etha Lecter (b. abt. 1844 NC). Their fourth child, another son, was born in 1846 soon after they settled in Alabama. This third son was generally listed as John G. Trull in most censuses but once was listed as Jonathan. It seems unlikely that there were actually two sons named John. Probably the older one was named John Wesley and called "Wes" while the second one was named Jonathan (for Lydia's uncle?) and probably called "Jon." A second daughter Mary Ellen was born in Alabama a couple of years later in 1848. According to family stories, Stephen J. Trull settled in Alabama for only about 5-7 years. Then he moved his family across the Alabama-Mississippi state border in the early 1850s and settled in Monroe County Mississippi where he and Lydia remained for the rest of their lives. Their last child Rebecca was born in late 1852 in Mississippi.
Stephen Jackson Trull, his wife and all of their children were living together in Monroe Co. MS at the time of the 1860 census. Stephen J. was listed in the census record as a carpenter and his oldest son as a laborer. Presumably their lives were fairly happy and stable. Around 1861 the eldest daughter Etha Lecter married a neighbor boy George W. SANDERS and about a year later Stephen's and Lydia's first grandchild was born. However, the outbreak of the Civil War in the early 1860s quickly ended all the tranquility of their lives.
Soon after the war began, Stephen's two oldest sons Kenneth P. and John W. Trull and his son-in-law George Sanders all enlisted in the Confederate States Army. Kenneth served one term in the 1st Regiment, Mississippi Infantry and three terms in the 43rd Regiment, Mississippi Infantry while John W. served one term in the 24th Regiment, MS Infantry. George W. Sanders served one term in the 43rd Regiment, Mississippi Infantry and possibly other terms with other regiments. Being over the age of 45, Stephen Jackson was not required to serve but he enlisted for one term in the 3rd Battalion, MS Infantry (State Troops) where reportedly he served as a cook.
Census data and family records show that Stephen Jackson Trull and his son-in-law George W. Sanders survived the Civil War. However, it is not known for sure if either of Stephen's two older sons survived. Neither Kenneth or John Wesley have been found in census data in Monroe Co. MS after 1860. The fact that Etha Lecter Trull Sanders named a son John Wesley SANDERS in the early 1870s is suggestive she may have been honoring her brother, possibly her dead brother. In any case, no other hints have been found as to what happened to John Wesley Trull after he served his one enlistment term in the CSA during the Civil War.
There is census data into the 1920s that suggests the possibility that eldest son Kenneth P. Trull did survive his four enlistment terms in the CSA. A "K.P. Trull" who was about the correct age to be Stephen's son was listed in census data for Sacramento Co. California between 1880 and 1920. This K.P. Trull never married, but he worked as a servant or laborer for various people over that forty year period. He was listed variously as K.P., Kennis P., King P. and Kenneth Postell Trull, and his birth state was listed as NC in three censuses and MS in the fourth. It seems very likely this man was Stephen's son Kenneth who was so traumatized by the Civil War that when he was released from service, he drifted far away from his family in MS and from memories of that war to settle in Brighton, CA. The fact that someone told the census taker of 1900 that he was born in Mississippi suggests that he might have been in mail contact with his family back in Mississippi, leading that person to believe Kenneth was born there. Or possibly that person had heard him tell stories about his family in Mississippi. There is probably no way now to prove or disprove whether that K.P. Trull was Stephen's and Lydia's son.
After the Civil War, fifty-year-old Stephen J. Trull apparently had only the help of his youngest son John G. (Jonathan?) Trull to help him support a wife and two daughters during the hard times of reconstruction. His daughter Etha Lecter and son-in-law George Sanders lived near by and probably helped out as best they could, but George and Etha Lecter had six children of their own over the years to support. By 1880, Lydia Trull and son-in-law George Sanders had died. So, Stephen and John G. probably had to help Etha Lecter support her children in addition to supporting themselves and daughters Mary Ellen and Rebecca Trull.
In 1881, J.G. Trull married local girl Ellen N. BICKERSTAFF in Monroe Co. MS. Their son John H. TRULL was born about a year later. Ellen apparently died possibly in giving birth to her son John (or for some other reason) not long afterwards. Very likely her husband J.G. Trull was so torn up by the death of his wife that he could not cope with his sorrow and with taking care of his son. For what ever the reason, J.G. Trull put his son in the care of his father and unmarried sister Mary Ellen and left Monroe Co. to live the life of a riverboat gambler on the Mississippi River. Young John had to grow up quickly for his aging grandfather and unmarried aunts expected him to help support the family from an early age. Young John probably resented his father for deserting him and leaving him to a hard and difficult childhood. John H. Trull's descendants report that he grew up wanting to leave the farming life in Monroe county as soon as possible. After he married, he and his wife moved away from those unpleasant memories of hard work on a farm to city life in Birmingham, AL.
Stephen Jackson Trull was cared for in his old age by his three daughters. In 1909 he died at the age of 93 in Monroe Co. MS. Reportedly, he saw his brother Griffen Trull only once after he moved to Mississippi, despite the fact that they both lived in neighboring counties for over 40 years after that move.
The picture of the younger Stephen Jackson Trull (at left, taken probably around 1863) is an enhancement
of a tintype belonging to his descendent, Stephen Trull.
The picture of the older Stephen J. Trull (taken probably around 1890-1895) is an enhancement
of a picture belonging to another descendent, Walter M. Tyler.
~ Stephen Jackson Trull Family Genealogy ~
01 Stephen Jackson TRULL, b. July 17, 1815 NC; d. Feb. 5, 1909 MS
+ Lydia (WALDEN?), b. abt. 1816 NC; d. bet. 1870-1880 MS
02 Kenneth P. TRULL, b. abt. 1840 NC; d. after 1862
02 John Wesley TRULL, b. abt. 1842 NC; d. aft. 1861
02 Etha/Ertha Lecter TRULL, b. abt. 1844 NC; d. Jan. 2, 1924 MS
+ George W. SANDERS, b. abt. 1842 MS; d. abt. 1872 MS
03 George SANDERS, b. abt 1862 MS
03 Mattie SANDERS, b. abt 1864 MS
03 Stephen SANDERS, b. abt 1866 MS
03 Mary/May SANDERS, b. Nov 24, 1868 MS; d. May 5, 1922
+ a HERNDON?
03 Lillie Hughes SANDERS, b. abt 1869 MS
03 John Wesley SANDERS, b. abt 1872 MS
+ Lillie Ameratta ADAIR
02 John (Jonathan?) G. TRULL, b. 1847 AL, d. aft. 1882
+ Ellen N. BICKERSTAFF, b. abt. 1853 MS; d. cir. 1882;
m. Oct. 11, 1881 MS
03 John Henry TRULL, b. July 29, 1882 MS; d. Feb 1973 AL
02 Mary Ellen TRULL, b. 1848 AL; d. Sept 7, 1906 MS
02 Rebecca Ann TRULL, b. Nov 24, 1852 MS; d. Feb 17, 1913 MS
Sources:
1.
Census Data Anson Co. North Carolina 1790-1850 2.
Census Data Fayette Co. Alabama 1840-1880 3.
Census Data Monroe C. Mississippi 1850-1920 4.
Census Data Sacramento Co. California 1870-1920 5.
Family Bible of Etha Lecter Trull Sanders; names, birth and death information entered by Lillie Hugh Sanders. 6.
Information and pictures provided by Stephen Trull, descendant of Stephen Jackson Trull's son John (Jonathan?) G. Trull. 7.
Information and pictures provided Walter Tyler, descendant of Stephen Jackson Trull's daughter Etha Lecter Trull. 8.
Information about Waldens and Trulls of Anson and Union Co. NC and Fayette Co. AL found on the Trull Family Forum at www.genforum.com. 9.
Information about Waldens and Trulls found on the Anson Co. NC message board at http://boards.ancestry.com/. 10.
Information about Waldens and Trulls found on the Fayette Co. AL message board at http://boards.ancestry.com/. 11.
Information about Waldens and Trulls found on the Anson Co. NC Forum at www.genforum.com. 12.
Information about Waldens and Trulls found on the Fayette Co. AL Forum at www.genforum.com. 13.
Information about Waldens and Trulls found on the Union Co. NC Forum at www.genforum.com. 14.
Information about Waldens and Trulls of Anson and Union Co. NC and Fayette Co. AL found on the Walden Family Forum at www.genforum.com. 15.
Irene Holloman Harthcock, a "Trull Family History" as told to her by Irene Waldrop Holloman around 1958. 16.
Trull, Henry R. , "Trull Book", 1993.
