T*R*L Surnames
Known variations include: Taral, Tarall, Tarel, Tarell, Taril, Tarill, Tarl, Tarral, Tarrall, Tarrell, Tarrill, Teral, Terall, Teril, Terill, Terl, Terral, Terrald, Terrall, Terel, Terell, Terrel, Terrell, Teril, Terril, Terrill, Theral, Therel, Therell, Therrell, Theril, Therill; Thiral, Thirel, Thiril, Thirl, Thirrel, Thirril, Thorl, Thorvil, Thurvil, Tiral, Tirel, Tiril, Tirl, Tirrel, Tirrell, Tirril, Tirrill, Tural, Turel, Turil, Turl, Turrel, Turrell, Tyral, Tyrall, Tyrel, Tyrell, Tyril, Tyrill, Tyrl, Tyrral, Tyrrall, Tyrrel, Tyrrell, Tyrril, Tyrrill, etc.
The Terrell Trails masthead contains the following introduction:From the castle of Ralf, Sire de Tirel near Paris France; to England; to Ireland; to the USA; and beyond--these are some of the Terrell Trails upon the sands of time.
We do not claim either that anyone living today is a direct descendant of RALF, or that documents exist to prove lineage to him. He was living about 950 A.D. This is merely the earliest use of the name that we have found. We have also found evidence that the name was Germanized as VON GRABEN, but we have no knowledge of their coming to the USA. We have not attempted to locate descendants of that branch.
Welcome!
The Terrell Society of America was incorporated in 1985 and we operate from the homes of the individual officers who volunteer their time.
We are a mutual assistance organization. We collect, store, and share information about ancestors with any variation of the TERRELL surname and their descendants. In the past, we have done so through dues and donations from our members and others seeking answers to TERRELL questions.
Leave us a message if you have copies of source information (wills, deeds, marriage records, news item involving a TERRELL or descendant etc); that may not be readily available to other visitors.
Please pardon us as we migrate from the previous layout to this new one. We will gradually be adding new data and features as we complete our migration. Currently, we have disabled login registration until we have information that can be viewed only by registered users. In the meantime, please feel free to browse our site as we add more content.
The Terrell Society of Americahas ceased accepting new members and will continue to operate the website until funds run out.
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FeaturesNewsletter People Search
We have published over 2,500 pages in our quarterly newsletter, Terrell Trails. The Master Index to Terrell Trails includes volumes 1-15 (16-22 not indexed yet), combined with some of our Lending Library selections. There are over 100 surnames as of 01/10/2007. Use the Newsletter People Search link to see if yours is included (or select it from the More pulldown menu above).
References List
We have compiled a list of some references that you may find useful in your investigation of your TERRELL lines. This list identifies where you may be able to find a free (or almost free) copy of some of the selected entries on tn-line. Use the References link or select it from the More pulldown menu above.
Navigation Tips
The Find, Media, and Info pulldown menus above are the primary methods, designed into the TNG website software, to view/access/and provide data from GEDCOMs. The More menu is what we've customized to allow access to the research that we already have (or will provide in the future). We will be providing a FAQ list in the future, but for now you may seek generic answers here: TNG Main Site
Recommended First Steps
Our GEDCOM, which is the driving force for most of the features on this site is still in its infancy. For now, if you have not developed your own Terrell pedigree, we recommend looking for information in Documents under the Media menu or searching for others in our Newsletter Articles or our Source References under the More menu. If you already have a lineage then try to search for further generations. If the information is not there than check back in the future.
Navigation Tips
The Find, Media, and Info pulldown menus above are the primary methods, designed into the TNG website software, to view/access/and provide data from GEDCOMs. The More menu is what we've customized to allow access to the research that we already have (or will provide in the future). We will be providing a FAQ list in the future, but for now you may seek generic answers here: TNG Main Site
Link Conventions
When we have a link to an internet reference it will look like this. and when we have a link within the Terrell Society site it will look like this. We make this distinction because following a link to another site (e.g., for a PDF document/file) could take a long time to download. It is recommended, if you’re not sure how long it will take, that you right-click and open the link in another tab or window of your browser.
Top 50 Surnames in Our Family Tree
Some Terrell Ancestry Issues
As Terrell descendants in America, our quest may be to identify/document (as well as possible): 1) our known descent from a Terrell immigrant to this country, 2) our ancestry from an English Terrell, and 3) our probable descent from Ralf, Sire de Tyrrel, of Poix (France) and his forebears. If you trace back your Terrell line and reach an impenetrable "brick wall" that doesn\'t mean you are not descended from a certain Terrell ancestor. For example, if your ancestor can be proven to be descended from one of a set of brothers then you still know you\'re descended from their father (and can proceed). However, if you are looking for ancestry from the spouse of a Terrell ancestor then you (usually) have to know the exact direct lineage. As an example: if you want to claim descent from Ann Marney (who married Sir Thomas Tyrrell of Heron, England) who, in turn, was descended from William the Conqueror (and through him many other royal families) you have to make sure you can prove descent from/to Sir Thomas Tyrrell.
Tradition is sometimes all we have to go on when we're talking about 100s of years ago, but some of that was brought into question by O.F. Brown (and others). The following chart shows parts of one traditional pedigree taken from Emma Dicken (by way of Joseph Henry Tyrrell's work), which is consistent with that by Nellie Ayres [L107]. Although your exact line could follow different paths, all American Terrells who are descended from the Virginia immigrants appear to have come from only a small number of immigrant ancestors.
In Joseph Henry Tyrrell's work (and repeated by Emma Dicken)
he claims that Sir Thomas Tyrrell is the direct ancestor of Robert Terrell of Reading, England. However, O.F. Brown,
in his 1982 book, provides reasonable evidence to disprove this and blows that part of the more recent traditional
lineage out of the water. As an aside, many of us have relied on such works as Burke's
| Generation | Tradition | O. F. Brown |
| Note | Nellie Ayres postulates back to 1300 BC | --- |
| 1->45 | Antenor(BC 443)->Ansegius (?-698), Duke of Brabant | --- |
| 46 | Pepin d' Heristal (le Gros) | --- |
| 47->54 | Childebrand I->Waleran | --- |
| 55 | Walter I, Count of the Vexin and Amiens, -- Living 995 | --- |
| 56 | Ralf, Sire de Tirel and Poix | --- |
| 57 | Fulk de Tirel | --- |
| 58 | Sir Walter (I) de Tirel(<1030-@1080), 2nd Lord of Poix -- = (2) Alix de Fremontiers -- accompanied William the Conqueror in 1066 | Sir Walter (I) de Tirel((@1000-1010)-?) |
| 59 | Sir Walter (II) de Tirel = Anne de Clare | Sir Walter (II) de Tirel((@1030-1040)-<1086) -- He accompanied William the Conqueror -not his father -- of Langham |
| 60 | Sir Walter (III) Tirel(?-1136) = Adelaide Giffard -- alleged slayer of King William Rufus | Sir Walter (III) Tirel(@1060-@1118) = Adelice de Clare -- of Langham and Poix |
| 61 | Sir Hugh (I) Tirel, 4th Prince of Poix(?-1159) -- In the Crusades @1147; m. Ada comte D'Aumale | Sir Hugh (I) Tirel (@1080-<1130) -- In First Crusade @1098 |
| 62 | Sir Hugh (II) Tyrrell, 6th Lord of Poix -- 1173, 1st Baron of Castleknock, Ireland -- In Ireland 1169 with Strongbow; buried 1199 | Sir Hugh (II) Tyrrell((1105-1110)-> 1147) -- In the Crusades @1147; -- Posessed of the manor of Langham in Essex (disputes owning 'Castle of Cnoc') |
| 63 | Sir Roger Tyrrell of Avon, Hants or Hampshire | --- |
| 64 | Sir Edward Tyrrell, of Avon | --- |
| 65 | Sir Galfrid Tyrrell, of Avon | --- |
| 66 | Sir Edmund (or Edward) Tyrrell = Jane Borgate | --- |
| 67 | Sir Hugh Tyrrell, of Great Thornton Essex = Jane Flambert -- living 1378 | (possible)Hugh (?-1313) - brother to a Walter |
| 68 | Sir James Tyrell = Margaret Heron -- knighted before Ardes 1380 | Sir James Tyrrell (@1265->@1343)= (2) > 1305 Margaret Heron |
| 69 | Sir Walter Tyrrell, of Heron = Anna Swynford | Thomas Tyrrell(<1290-@1355) "the elder" = Alice Blaund -- of Heron in East Horndon, Essex |
| 70 | Sir Thomas Tyrrell, of Heron = (2) Elizabeth Flambert (= (2) Nicholas Haulte) -- fought at Agincourt | Sir Thomas Tyrell, Kt (@1310- < March 1382) = Alice d'Adeleigh -- "the younger", of Heron, Essex (possible son) Walter Tyrell,(?-1395) of Tweed, Essex (possible grandson) Walter Tyrell,(<1340-> 1406) of Heron = Eleanor Flambard -- sons Sir John, Edward (d. 1442), Richard, Thomas(@1400-@1444), William -- parentage murky-provides 3 plausible pedigrees |
| 71 | Sir John Tyrrell (?-1437), of Heron = Alice de Coggeshall | Sir John Tyrell(@1370-1437), of Heron (proven son of Walter & Eleanor) -- = (1) Alice de Coggeshall (?-1422) -- (son) William Sr. (founder of the Tyrells of Gipping & stowmarket) -- (son) William Jr. (founder of the Tyrells of Beeches) -- (son) Sir Thomas |
| 72 | Sir Thomas Tyrrell(?-1476), of Heron = Anne Marney | Sir Thomas Tyrrell(<1428-1476) = Anne Marney --- (sons) Sir William, Humphrey (?-1471), Robert(see p. 110), Thomas of South Ockendon (ancestors of the Thornton Tyrells) |
| 73 | Sir Thomas Tyrrell(?-<1490), of Ockendon = Elizabeth Le Brun | Sir Thomas Tyrrell(?-@1480), of South Ockendon = Elizabeth Bruin |
| 74 | William Tyrrell(?->1468), of Ockendon = Elizabeth Bodley | William Tyrrell(<1460->?), of Ockendon = Elizabeth Bodley |
| 75 | Humphrey Tyrrell(?-15 Jan 1548), of Thornton Hall = 1519 Jane Ingleton | Humphrey Tyrell(?-Jan 1548/9), of Thornton Hall = Jane Ingleton |
| 76 | George Tyrell(?-16 May 1571), of Thornton, Ockendon, and Bruyn = (1) E. Montague (double descent from King Edward I) | George Tyrrell(@1530-10 May 1571) = (1) Helen/Elinor Montagu -- of Thornton, Ockendon, and Bruyn --(sons) Sir Edward of Thornton, William of Ockendon, Thomas of Rushton |
| 77 | William Terrell, of Bruyn and Reading) = (MNU) Richmond | The connection breaks down -- This chart shows O.F.Brown's suggested ancestry of (with enhancements by other knowledgeable persons) Terrell Immigrants to Virginia |
| 78 | Robert Terrell (?-12 June 1643), Councillor of Reading = Jane Baldwin at St. Giles, Reading; 29 June 1617 | --- |
| 79 | Richmond Terrell(b. 1624) --emigrated to America 1624 --brother William (b. < 22 June 1629) in America 1658->1665 | --- |
| Generations 66->76 are consistent with the Buckinghamshire & Essex visitations. See here for some excerpts we've saved. |