Our Maryland Heritage Book 26

The Trail descendants are the subject of the twenty-sixth book in this series onMaryland families which is focused on but not restricted to those membersof the family who have their origins in Frederick and Montgomery Counties.Divided into ten chapters the first chapter discusses some of the earliestrecords of the Trail family found in Maryland references including a line ofdescent from John Trale of 1475 through six generations to David Trail theAnglicized version of the name born c.1695. Subsequent chapters followvarious descendants including James Trail (1730) James Trail Jr. (1748)William Trail Susanna Trail Nathan Trail Edward Northcroft Trail andGulielma Maria Trail (1794). As an added guide each chapter is preceded by achart of the line of descent leading to the subject of the chapter. The finalchapter includes some miscellaneous information that has not been placedwithin the framework of the families discussed in the main body of the text.The author has compiled an extensive source of information about the Trailfamilies of Maryland using census information court data church andcemetery records and many other resources available through the records ofthe Montgomery County Historical Society. The work exhibits a diligent effortto address conflicting information and when possible to resolve suchconflicts. It includes when available personal details of a descendants lifesuch as place of residence occupation subsequent marriages and cause ofdeath. The author handily achieves his stated goal which is to “gather all ofthe available material into one convenient package which should be accurateenough to provide the casual reader with an insight into their family history.”Any researcher interested in these family lines will find The Trail Families avaluable resource. A bibliography and a full name index are included.