Henry TREW (as it was spelled then) is said to have emigrated from theneighborhood of Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England. He settled atSalem, MA, in 1644, but one record has him coming to this country asearly as 1630. A large chart bearing the title "Genealogy of theFamily of True, in America", has the notation: "Deed or Bill of Sale.I, Edward gibens doe acknowleg to have Received of henry True ofSalem four pound for the House in Salem, which was Mr. Strattens; andby this payment doe give him fulle perseson of the said house; to himand his forever. the 16 day of August 1644 by me Edward gibens," andin another place, " 'Henry Trew g.l. (Granted Land) 1649.' Felt'sAnnals of Salem." Shortly after his arrival he married Israel Pike,whose brother was Major Robert Pike. One source indicates the year ofHenry's death as 1660. SOURCE: Records of my father, Oscar TrueBabcock. Chart, "Genealogy of the Family of True, In America",compiled by H. A. True, M.D., Marion, Marion Co., Ohio, January, 1864.-- Bryce Babcock Note on the name: The name appears to have aGaelic origin. The Irish Gaelic "trius" and the Scots Gaelic"triubhas" were singular nouns used to denote "close fitting shorts".In Scotland, while male inhabitants of the Highlands traditionallywore the kilt, Lowlanders generally wore what we now call "pants", agarment with legs that was drawn on over the feet (hence also the term"drawers"). In Gaelic these were referred to as "trews" or "trouse",the term being borrowed into English in the 16th Century as "trewsers"or "trousers". After the 1745 uprising by the Highland Clans insupport of Charles Edward Stewart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") was putdown by the English forces of King George II, the wearing of theirtraditional dress by the Highlanders was proscribed. Many Highlandershad their kilts sewn into trews and "tartan trews" became a commonform of apparel throughout the country. In the south of Scotlandand the bordering English county of Yorkshire, the family name Trewe,Trews or Trew, was not uncommon. After Henry Trew of Salem emigratedto this country, he apparently changed the spelling to True. I havenot found any records that indicate a reason or reasons for thischange, but the spelling of True has been used by this branch of thefamily at least, ever since. However, I also have a document onthe True family, from an organization called Family History ofSurnames, which says the name True (including alternate spellings ofTruue, Trew, Trewe, Truwe, Trow, and Trowe) is Anglo-Saxon in origin,having been first recorded in Warwickshire, England in 1180. So Ican't be positive of the Gaelic origin as stated above. This documentdoes indicate that a William Trewe lived in Yorkshire, England in1301. (The different spellings of names in those days was common,with variations sometimes occurring between father and son. Evenliterate people like William Shakespeare varied the spelling of theirown names.) SOURCES: Ayto, John, "Dictionary of Word Origins",Arcade Publishing, Inc., New York, 1990. Mackie, J.D., "A History ofScotland", Penguin Books, New York, 2nd Ed. 1978. "The Ancient Armsof True", no author given, 1998, Family History of Surnames, Mesa, AZ.
One source lists the year of her death as 1700.