moved to Smith Co., TN about 1804.  This is confirmed by the earliest land deed in that county and the statement in 1884 of a 90 year old Negro that he had been a slave in the family of John Trousdale and that he was about ten years old when the family came direct from North Carolina (recorded by Miss Burta Ferrell in 1944).
    In Smith Co. (formed from Sumner in 1794) John Trousdale settled on the north bank of the Cumberland River east of Caney Fork River.  The "Trousdale Ferry" is mentioned in the earliest "Court Minutes".  John was on jury duty several times in 1809.  His stock mark was two swallow forks, one on each ear.  Throughout his name is recorded as "sr" or "Sen'r" (Smith Co. Ct. Min).  In the Shepherd Bible his name is followed by "Sgt" indicating previous unrecorded military service either in the Revolution or in one of the Indian expeditions.
    John's eldest son, William, predeceased him, naming him as his father and, with John Harvey, an administrator.  In the 1820 census John Sr. and his wife were living alone, had 8 slaves; the families of Polly (widow of William) and John Jr. living on adjoining plantations.  In the 1830 census, the elderly couple, both between 70 and 80, had 27 slaves.
    John Trousdale Sr.'s wife, the mother of his children, is another unsolved problem, both her given name and her family being in question. 
Funk" and "Kirkes" say that her Christian name was "Elizabeth"; while the latter, based on correspondence in 1917 and now lost, adds that she "was Elizabeth Stockard, daughter of Jesse Stockard and Amelia Gordon of Chesterfield, Va".  The reappearance of these names in the children and grandchildren seems to confirm the statement.  On the other hand the reliable Bible records of both "Shepherd" and "McClain" are in agreement of the entry of "Jane Trousdale, wife of John Trousdale Sr., born 22 March 1757, died 27 February 1832.  This would suggest that Jane was a second wife or that her full given name might have been "Elizabeth Jane".  Her age compares appropriately to that of John Sr. and it agrees with the census.  Elsewhere "Moore" believes this wife to be Elizabeth Stockard, eldest child of James Stockard and Ellen Trousdale, but with the variant that Ellen is a sister of Capt. James Trousdale.  It is difficult to harmonize this relationship inasmuch as such an Elizabeth must have been born decades ahead of the birth of Ellen Trousdale's other children.  In conclusion the "Kirkes" explanation appears reasonable and it is probable that John Sr.'s wife was "Elizabeth Jane Stockard" as stated.

Children of JOHN TROUSDALE and ELIZABETH (?) are:
21. i. WILLIAM⁴ TROUSDALE, b. Abt. 1783, Orange Co., NC; d. December 08, 1819, Smith Co., TN.
22. ii. ELIZABETH GORDON TROUSDALE, b. December 26, 1788, Orange Co., NC; d. June 01, 1863.
iii. JANE TROUSDALE, b. 1789; m. REV. JOSHUA M. COFFEY, 1810; b. 1789, Watauga Co., NC; d. October 03, 1842.

Notes for REV. JOSHUA M. COFFEY:
Burial place source:  Tennessee Bible Records, 1933, p.145.
In 1820 he was living in Smith Co., TN his family then consisting of males: one 26/45, three under 10; females: one 26/45, two under 10 (Census).

More About REV. JOSHUA M. COFFEY:
Burial: McMinnville, TN

23. iv. JOHN TROUSDALE, JR., b. May 10, 1792, Orange Co., NC; d. May 28, 1879, Smith Co., TN.
v. MARGARET TROUSDALE.

7.  WILLIAM³ TROUSDALE, JR. (WILLIAM², JOHN¹) was born Abt. 1758, and died 1833 in Lauderdale Co., AL.  He married CATY MCCAULEY December 26, 1801 in Orange Co., NC. 

Notes for WILLIAM TROUSDALE, JR.:
SOURCE:  "The Trousdale Genealogy" by Karl Truesdell, 1952; Enlarged by Theodore McKee Trousdale, Jr., 1960.
    Parentage is positive, see Deed, below.  The bondsmen for the marriage were William McCauley, her brother, and John Taylor.  On 24 Aug 1803, William McCauley an extensive landowner deeded to William Trousdale "jr" "in consideration of love and affection" for the "sum of 5 shillings" 200 acres on New Hope Creek (Orange Co Deeds XI 80).  The same year James Stockard, another presumed brother-in-law, sold him 24-3/4 acres on the Great Alamance (op cit XI 279).  Previously on 2 Dec 1797 the State had granted William 125 acres adjoining Sharpe and McCulloch (agents for the Granville patent) (NC Land Grant 96-39).  There is no record of the ultimate disposition of any of the forgoing tracts.
    The family moved out of North Carolina before 1810 and lived for a while in Maury Co., Tenn where possibly all but the eldest child were born (Kirk).  The family moved to Alabama before 1820 and in 1830 (the earliest enumeration) was living in Lauderdale Co.  At this time the family consisted of males: one 60/70, one 15/20; females: one 40/50, one 5/10, and six slaves.  Their son John and his family were adjoining; William is not accounted for (Census).