Family Group Sheet

William Treliving Trevan (1871-1930)

and Mary Elizabeth nee Henwood (c1872-1947)

Immediate Family Group

Father: William Treliving Trevan (1871-1930)
Mother: Mary Elizabeth nee Henwood (c1872-1947)
Married: 21 Feb 1892, Register Office, Plymouth
Children:
  1. William Henry Trevan (1892-6)
  2. Herbert Wilfred Tucker Trevan (1896-195x?) who married twice
  3. Beatrice May Trevan (1898-1955) who married Mr Townshend in New Zealand
  4. Richard Henry Trevan (1900-74) who married Rosina May Wright in 1926
  5. William John Trevan (1904-61) who married Dolly Allen
  6. Dorothy Jessie Vera Trevan (1910-) who married Jack Allen

Paternal grandfather: Henry Meirs Trevan
Paternal grandmother: Kezia Milton
Maternal grandfather: Henry Henwood
Maternal grandmother: Jenefer Ann Walters

A collection of obituary notices of their descendents clipped out of newspapers was collected by their grandson, Maurice, my father.

 

Brief Description

Bill is the first member of my family I heard many stories about his first-hand experiences from my grandfather, rather than him repeating stories he had been told. He was a fierce man with high Victorian standards. He was a butcher. According to the stories, he ran away from home to become a butcher, rather than following in his father's footsteps and becoming a shipwright in the Devonport Dockyard.

Audrey Gunn nee Trevan (1919-) remembers her father Sidney Herbert Trevan (1891-) going into his butcher's shop to talk to her "uncle Bill" in a letter. Bill was actually Sidney's uncle and her great-uncle.

He died in 1930 and his funeral cost 21 pounds and 10 shillings.

Stories

  1. There was an incident where another trader had his thumb on the scales to overcharge him, and Bill chased him down the street waving his butchers cleaver shouting 'Where's your thumb? I've paid for it so it's mine!'
  2. However, he wasn't always prone to threatening violence. In the pre-war days, in the evenings he would often play draughts with my grandfather. One evening eldest son Bert asked permission to go the the pictures, and it was granted. Bert left the room without shutting the door, and my grandfather Ritchie got up to shut it, but father Bill told him to sit down. Later in the game, Bill told Ritchie to go and fetch his brother back immediately since there was something he wanted to say to him. So Ritchie raced to the cinema and got Bert from the queue. When they got back to the house, Bill said to Bert 'Shut the door behind you.' By this time the queue had been let into the cinema and the doors were shut, so Bert missed his movie!
  3. Bill had one of the first cars in Plymouth, but when it came to a hill, it stopped working. In those days there were no petrol pumps and the petrol was gravity fed. So most people would have turned the car around and reversed up the hill. But not him. He got out and walked home. He lined the family up in age order, and asked 'Ma, want a car?'. Ma said 'No'. 'Bert, want a car?' and Bert said 'Yes', so Bert got his car.
  4. Later, when son Ritchie (my grandfather) was talking about emigrating to South America due to the problems of making a living in post WWI England due to the landlord of his kiosk increasing his rent so often, Bill bought the shop next door to his butcher's shop. He lined up the family and asked 'Ma, want a shop?' and Ma said 'Yes'. So she opened her china shop next door to Bill's butchers shop. A bit later the shop next to it was up for sale, so he bought it too and lined the family up again. 'Ma, you've got a shop. Bert, want a shop?' and Bert said 'No'. 'Ciss, want a shop?' and Ciss said 'No'. 'Ritchie, want a shop?' and my graddad said 'Yes' and didn't emigrate!
    The data from the Plymouth Directories doesn't quite support this story, since the 2nd and 3rd shops were acquired in 1912 and 1921 respectively, and it looks like they moved the china shop into the new shop and set up the baby carriage dealership in the 2nd shop. But I think it's a nice story.
  5. During WWI, he enlisted (in response to the Kitchener appeal? and at the same time as his eldest 2 sons?), but he was deemed to be too old for a fighting man, so he was sent to Eire for the duration of the war.

     

 

Links to Sources of Information

Wills

Bill died on 29 Jul 1930 when his address was given as 4 Cecil St, Plymouth. Letters of administration were granted at Exeter on 28 Aug to Mary Elizabeth Trevan, widow. His effects were 582 pounds 4s 10d.

 

Census and Other Sources of Addresses

Date Address Event Extra Info
29 Dec 1871 23, Exeter Street birth certificate  
19 Jan 1872 23, Exeter Street baptism at Charles Church  
1874 34, Buckwell Street baptism of sister at Charles Church  
1876 33, Flora Street baptism of sister at Charles Church  
1878 26, Frederick Street baptism of sister at Charles Church  
3 Apr 1881 26, Frederick Street 1881 census  
1882 26, Frederick Street baptism of sister at Charles Church  
1884 26, Frederick Street baptism of brother at Charles Church  
1887 26, Frederick Street baptism of brother at Charles Church  
5 Apr 1891 26, Frederick Street 1891 census  
21 Feb 1892 26, Frederick Street marriage certificate  
1893-1901 14, Flora Street butcher listed in Plymouth Directories  
12 Nov 1896 14, Flora Street butcher; baptism of Bert at St Peters  
19 Apr 1900 14, Flora Street butcher; birth of Ritchie  
31 Mar 1901 Plymouth 1901 census  
1903-9 28, Flora Street general shop listed in Plymouth Directories  
25 Jul 1905 28, Flora Street butcher; baptism of Ritchie and Cissie at St Peters  
25 May 1908 28, Flora Street butcher; baptism of Billy at St Peters  
1909-33 4, Cecil Street butcher listed in Plymouth Directories Bill died in 1930; from 1932-6 it was listed as William John Trevan
1912-21 6, Cecil Street glass and china merchant listed in Plymouth Directories In 1923-33 it was in son Ritchie's name as a baby carriage dealer
26 Aug 1913 4, Cecil Street butcher; baptism of Dolly at St Peters  
1920-1 2, Cecil Street listed in Plymouth Directories  
29 Jul 1930 4, Cecil Street butcher; death certificate  
1934-5 4, Cecil Street Electoral Roll St Peters Ward, Drake Constituency
"912 RW OW Mary Elizabeth Trevan"

Note also that 9, Cecil Street was listed in Ritchie's name in the 1932-3 directory

 

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Page created on 21 Mar 1999 and last modified 15 Sep 2002 and published

 

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