The Trumbull Family

Joseph Trumbull (1737-1778)

The eldest of the Trumbull children, Joseph worked with his father in commerce and was the first Commissary General of the Continental Army. He married Amelia Dyer in 1777. Joseph died in Lebanon in 1778 from a lingering illness.

Jonathan Trumbull, Jr

Governor Jonathan Trumbull, Jr (1740-1809)

The second child of Governor Jonathan Trumbull followed his father into politics becoming Connecticut's governor from 1798 until 1809. His career started as a military officer, the United States House of Representatives speaker, and Connecticut's lieutenant governor.

During his military career, he had numerous roles, including serving as the paymaster and aide-de-camp to General George Washington.

Faith Trumbull

Faith Trumbull (1742-1775)

Faith was schooled in Boston and studied painting. She took this knowledge and applied it to embroidery. Her pieces were often based on famous paintings. She married Colonel Jedediah Huntington of Norwich and had one child. She committed suicide when she was 33 years old.

Mary Trumbull (1745-1831)

She married William Williams, a Lebanon merchant, delegate to the Continental Congress, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

David Trumbull (1751-1822)

Worked with his father in trade. He built a large home across the street from his parents which is now known as Redwood. David married Sarah Backus in 1788.

John Trumbull

John Trumbull (1756-1843)

The paintings of John Trumbull represented the best of the art from the American Revolution. John was born in 1756 in Lebanon, Connecticut, the sixth child of Governor Jonathan Trumbull and Faith Robinson Trumbull. He died in New York City in 1843 and is buried with his wife, Sarah Hope Harvey, at Yale University. Throughout his life, he studied painting in London and was imprisoned there in retaliation for the hanging of British agent Major John Andre. John's paintings reflect the country's founding scenes and hang in the United States Capitol rotunda, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Old State House in Hartford, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

He was present at the battle of Bunker Hill and was an aide-de-camp for General George Washington. Tours at the Governor Jonathan Trumbull House share many family stories about John, including how he fell down a staircase in the Trumbull home and lost vision in one eye. John was not encouraged to become a painter; rather, his father actively discouraged him. Overcoming numerous obstacles, he remains one of America's finest painters.