Traill (surname)

The surname Traill (also Trail, Traille, Traillie, Traily, etc.) Is derived from Norse to at least Norman via France (is not of French 'origin', 'origin' is the wrong word to use here, the first written records of it come from France via Normandy, its origin is Norse via Normandy at least), it does also seem to have some relation to words from the northern UK, pointing again to where it is derived from. It became "Traill" in Scotland (show any 'modern' non Scottish spread) and thence spread around the world.

The family is recorded in France from the 10th century, as Barons in Britain from the 11th century, as Lairds in Scotland from the 14th century and later in Orkney. In the 17th century they were prominent in Northern Ireland and also spread to various parts of the United States including the Cajun community. Other branches of the family settled in Argentina in the 19th century, and in the British Colonies.

France

The name is French. Goidfrid de Traillie came to England and held land in Bedford and on the Scottish border, both under William the Conqueror. The Traills held land at Trelly in France and later in Bordeaux. Before 1391, Sir John Trailly was appointed Mayor of Bordeaux. Some Traills still reside in France.[1][2]

The similarity to the name Tyrell raises the question whether the families are related, but the Tyrell family are descended from the family of the Count de Poix, of which the senior branch remained in France in the area known as Picardy. There is no known relationship between the two families in England: the Tyrells held land in the South in Devon and Somerset, unlike Goidfrid de Trailli (see above).

Scotland

The family started to leave England for Scotland and France after the death of Sir John Treyl in 1360, although his son John did return for periods and served as a member of the House of Commons of England. A few years before this Sir John's death in 1401, his son Reginald returned from Bordeaux and had sold up the English estates by his own death in 1404. Earlier in approximately 1385, Sir John's brother, Walter Treyl, Bishop of St Andrews, bought Blebo from the Church and later willed it to his nephew, Thomas.

William Dunbar in his Lament for the Makaris writes "He hes Blind Harry and Sandy Traill / Slaine with his schour of mortall haill / Whilk Patrik Johnestoun myght nocht fle",[3] citing him among a roll call of poets chiefly from the fifteenth century, but nothing else is known of Sandy Traill and no works have been traced.

Robert Traill of Greyfriars was born in 1603.[4] He was son of Colonel James Traill, of Killcleary, Ireland, Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to Henry, Prince of Wales, and grandson of the Laird of Blebo, and Matilda Melvill of Carnbee. He graduated with an M.A. from St Andrews on 21 July 1621. He later studied at the Protestant College of Saumur. He was an English tutor in France to the sister of the Duke of Rohan in 1628.

Blebo, a large rural property, was subdivided in 1609 by the Laird of the period, John Traill, in agreement with his eldest son in order to help his younger brother Thomas. The smaller portion became known as Blebo Hole. In the 16th century another brother of the same family, George Traill, migrated to Orkney, Scotland and thence to County Antrim, Ireland, now Northern Ireland.[5]

In 1722, lead and silver were discovered on the Blebo property. The area around the estate (Blebo Hole) is currently known as the community of Blebo Craigs. In Central Fife, Blebo lies three miles (five km) east of Cupar and comprises the village of Blebo Craigs, located a quarter-mile (0.4 km) northeast of Blebo House, together with the farms of Milton of Blebo, Blebo Mains, and Newbigging of Blebo. Kemback lies a quarter-mile (0.4 km) to the northwest and Pitscottie a half-mile (0.8 km) to the southwest.

A group of Trails came from Birsay on Orkney including Samuel Trail and his son James W. H. Trail. Thomas Stewart Traill was from Kirkwall.

Ireland

In the 18th/19th century the Reverend Anthony Traill (1745–1852) was Rector of Skull[6] and Archdeacon of the Diocese of Connor.[7]

His son, the Reverend Robert Traill (1793–1847) was also Rector of Skull during the Great Famine and tried to alleviate the lot of the poor and to draw attention to their plight.[8] He was also the first Irish translator of The Jewish War of Flavius Josephus.[9] His story was featured on TV in Victoria Series 2 Episode 6, which dealt with the impact on the Queen of the Famine, her correspondence and meeting with the Reverend.[10]

In 1904 Anthony Traill (1838–1914) was appointed provost (i.e. head) of Trinity College, Dublin.[11]

William Atcheson Traill (1844–1933) was an Irish engineer and co-founder of the Giant's Causeway Railway and Tramway Company, opened in 1887.

United States

In the mid 17th century, Trails acquired and settled land in the North America, in Massachusetts and in Maryland. The Maryland area, New Scotland Hundred, eventually became the city of Washington DC. The Maryland Trails also held estates in what are now Montgomery County and Frederick County. The name also spread to Louisiana, Alabama, and other parts of the southern United States. The name "Traille" is recorded in the Cajun community in the southern United States.[12]

Later dispersion

In the 19th century the sons of Robert Traill settled in Argentina, where his grandson Johnny Traill became the first Irish-Argentine 10-goal polo player. Other branches of the family settled in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

In literature

The book Silver River[13][14] by Daisy Goodwin gives a partly fictionalised account of the fortunes of her branch of the Traill family from her great-great-great-grandfather, Rector Robert Traill of Skull during the Great Famine of Ireland via their emigration to Argentina to herself in an attempt to understand her relationship with her mother, Jocasta Innes.

People with the surname Traill

See also

References
  1. "Catalogue description Petitioners: John Trailly. Name(s): Trailly, John Addressees: King and". Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  2. The Controversy between Sir Richard Scrope and Sir Robert Grosvenor in the Court of Chivalry A.D. MCCCLXXXV - MCCCXC, by Sir N. Harris Nicholas K.H., Vol II, p. 223 ff. ( in Internet Archive)
  3. "RPO -- William Dunbar : Lament For The Makers". Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2014., lines 69–71
  4. Scott, Hew (1915). Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation (Vol 1). Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd. Retrieved 27 February 2019.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. Traill, William (1883). A Genealogical Account of the Traills of Orkney, with a Pedigree Table ... Kirkwall, Orkney: J. Calder. pp. iii–v. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  6. PAPERS RELATING TO THE STATE OF THE Established Church of Ireland, Session 21 April to 23 November 1820, Vol. IX, p. 188 (in Google books)
  7. The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, AD 1824 5° GEO.IV, C.80., VI (p. 873) (in Google books)
  8. THE HISTORY OF THE GREAT IRISH FAMINE OF 1847, WITH NOTICES OF EARLIER IRISH FAMINES, REV. JOHN O'ROURKE, Dublin, JAMES DUFFY AND CO., 1902. (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/14412/14412-8.txt Archived 24 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine)
  9. "A translation of books 1 and 2 of the History of the Jewish wars by Josephus, in the handwriting of Rev. R. Traill, Rector, of Skull, with interpaged notes by Bp. Reeves, written c. 1839". Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  10. Saunders, Tristram Fane (2 October 2017). "Victoria: what is the truth about the Irish Famine, and who was Robert Traill?". The Telegraph. Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  11. Traill (surname)"Former provosts: Anthony Traill, 1904–1914 (c. 1838-1914)". Trinity College Dublin. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014.
  12. Acadian Memorial Archive, The (1998–1999). "Appendix C". Ensemble Encore. Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  13. Silver River, Fourth Estate, 2007
  14. "Review: Silver River by Daisy Goodwin". TheGuardian.com. 17 November 2007. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
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