Etrulia "Truly" Trousdale Latchaw was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1914 to Winn Trousdale and Roxa Gaylord Trousdale. She received her B. A. from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, in 1935, and took her M. A. degree from the University of Minnesota in 1948. She worked as an educator in theatre. Truly Trousdale Latchaw died May 2, 2010, at age 96.

Latchaw’s father and three uncles were from Estherville, Iowa. Merle Mortimer was the oldest brother, followed in descending age by Earle Eugene, Winn Walton, and Boyd Buckmaster. The four men established the vaudeville act, The Trousdale Brothers in 1896 and also performed in opera houses and tents as The Trousdale Family Swiss Bell and Concert Company. In addition to bells, they played several musical instruments, including a glassophone, which is a glass xylophone. The brothers sang solo as well as quartet numbers. Boyd performed female impersonations in plays, and the older brothers performed as Irish characters or in blackface. The wives and friends of the Trousdale brothers performed with them. Trained dogs, ponies, and goats were part of the act as they traveled throughout the Midwest. According to Truly Trousdale Latchaw in her Master's thesis, they performed in 26 states and 232 towns, in addition to Canada, from 1896 to 1915. Live performances by handbell players lost popularity with the advent of radio entertainment. However, Boyd continued performances until 1930 with the Boyd B. Trousdale Players, initially based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. After five years, Boyd's company moved to North Carolina, then back to Iowa, on to Montana, Wyoming, and finally returned to several Iowa towns – Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, and eventually Sioux City.