As the family story would have it, our line begins in the Massachusetts Colony with Henry Trussell. Henry was from Liverpool, England and was the son of Captain Henry Trussell of the Royal Navy. The Captain's father was a local Merchant in the same city. Sometime prior to 1640, our Henry, presumably a young teen, was kidnapped by the crew of a ship destined for the Colonies. At that time young men were often kidnapped and sold into a seven year apprenticeship upon their arrival in America. Henry T. escaped with a friend about the time the ship arrived in Massechusetts and, as a free man, he founded the New England Trussell Family. The story comes to us from his great-great-great grandson, Luther and, not surprizingly there are no formal records to verify the story. The earliest record we have of Henry No. 1 being in America is one of taxes he paid in Salisbury, MA in 1640. Twenty two years later, we find record of his testifying in court in Amesbury, MA. Another Henry Trussell, presumably his son, married Martha Ring, also in Salisbury, MA in 1688. Their son, Moses, who lived in Haverhill, MA. is our direct descendent. The Trussells stayed in the vicinity of the Massechusetts/New Hampshire border for more than 100 years, but after the Great Awakening, Moses Trussell and his wife Jane, after becoming "Free Will Baptists", moved accross the border to Plaistow, NH.