Rev. Thomas Trotter was born in 1782 in Berwickshire, Scotland.

He was a clergyman, educator, and author. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh before changing to theology. He was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1808 and was called to Johnshaven, Scotland, where he served for the next ten years. In 1818, he accepted a call from the congregation in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The parish at Antigonish covered an extensive area, but its population was small. To augment his income, Trotter farmed and, in 1819, opened a grammar school. He taught Latin and Greek and lectured on a variety of scientific issues, particularly geology. In addition to his preaching, teaching, and writing on various theological and scientific topics, he also served as a school trustee. He devoted considerable time to promoting better farming methods, and he built a grist mill and later a fulling mill. Trotter contributed letters and articles to the provincial press and occasionally to British publications.

In 1808, he married Elizabeth Eadie (1783–1866). He died on April 2, 1855, in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.