This unusual surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational name from a place called Trubshaw, north of Tunstall in North Staffordshire. The placename is composed of an Olde English personal name, from the Olde English pre 7th Century "trow, trew", faithful, steadfast, plus the second element "-sceaga", a small wood, copse, shaw. During the Middle Ages, when migration for the purpose of job-seeking was becoming more common, people often used their former village or hamlet name as a means of identification, resulting in a wide dispersal of the surname, often in a number of variant forms. The surname is widespread in the Church Registers of Staffordshire, which include the following early recordings: the christening of Ellin Trubshawe at Haughton, on December 25th 1578; the christening of Margrett Trubshawe, also at Haughton, on April 18th 1585; and the marriage of Joan Trubshawe and Edward Sawyer on April 12th 1602, at Rugeley. James Trubshaw (1777 - 1853) was an engineer, employed at Buckingham Palace; he was responsible for the construction of Grosvenor Bridge at Chester in 1833, and Exeter Bridge, Derby. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ralfe Trubshawe, which was dated October 7th 1576, marriage to Syble Albrighton, at Haughton in Staffordshire, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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