Descendents of John Trevan (c1698-1769)
To exchange information please email to mary.trevan@wxs.nl
Page created in 1998, last modified 9 Sep 2002 and published
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This parish lies in the extreme south east of Cornwall, including that part of the River Tamar which lies directly opposite to Devonport, which became a separate parish of Torpoint in 1819. Around the time that my Trevan branch of the family moved here it was a thriving shipbuilding town and the Carew family were having Antony House built. The house is now a National Trust property and the Pole-Carew's still live there. This is the family of Carew's which includes the author of a history of Cornwall in the early 17th century.
John and Francis and their family then moved to live at the nearby parish of St. Germans.
St Germans is believed to take its name from Saint Germanus who was Bishop of Auxerre and who lived from 380 to 448. In c926/931 King Athelstan set up a Cornish diocese on the Saxon model and he chose Conan to be the first Bishop. He gave him St Germans for a cathedral. In 1050 the then Bishop of the Sees of Cornwall and Crediton, Leofric, moved his cathedral to Exeter. From then until 1876 Exeter was the ecclesiatical capital of Devon and Cornwall until the Bishopric of Truro was established.
St Germans is mentioned in the Doomsday Book. It was 24 hides and belonged to the Church, half to the Canons and half to the Bishop. There were 54 villagers, and 32 small holders. 'In this manor there is a market on Sunday, but it is reduced to nothing by Count Mortain's market which is nearby in a castle of his, on the same day.'
Some time after the cathedral was moved a Priory was established at St Germans, probably in the late 12th century. The main building work of the Norman church was completed by 1261. During the Reformation and Dissolution of the monastries much of the glory of St Germans was destroyed. After the monks left noone tended to the drainage system of the church and the ground beneath it became waterlogged. In Carew's Survey of Cornwall written in 1602, he records the effect of this neglect in 1592. 'A great part of the Chauncell fel suddenly downe upon a Friday, very shortly after publick service was ended, which heavenly favour of so little respite saved many persons lives with whom immediately before it had been stuffed, and the devout charges of the well disposed parishioners quickly repayred this ruine.'
Following the Dissolution, in 1540 the priory was leased as a private residence by the King's agents to John Champerdowne, a squire from Devon, who leased it for 16 pounds 15 shillings 11 pence per annum. A year later he died and his widow purchased the freehold of the estate from the Crown for 434 pounds. She remarried and made it over to her son, Henry Champerdowne of Modbury who sold it to John Eliot of St Germans for 500 pounds. From 1573 the property was known as Port-Elyot, and later as Port Eliot. Edward Eliot was raised to the peerage in 1784, the grounds were remodelled in 1792 when the parish circumference was 20 miles and it encompassed 15 villages. In 1815 his son became the Earl of St Germans, at the property has remained in the family until the current day.
Daughter Elizabeth remained after her marriage to Samuel Goyne as did Frances after her marriage to Richard Pawley. They had children baptised in the parish. Son Sampson married Frances Lord in St Germans but then moved to the neighbouring parish of Sheviock where their daughter Jane had been baptised 3 years ealier.
The other 4 moved to the area of modern day Plymouth in the neighbouring county of Devon (John, Matthew, William and Anne). Susannah Trevan married in St Budeaux in 1761, one of the parishes where Matthew, William and Anne lived for part of their lives, so it seems highly probable that she was also related to them.
So all those named Trevan had moved away from the parish by about the 1780s, leaving behind the Goyne and Pawley / Hancock families.
Sheviock is an agricultural parish lying between the southern banks of the river Lynher to the north and the English Channel to the south. St. Germans lies to the west and Antony to the east. The 1801 census indicates that there were 78 houses in the parish of which 2 were uninhabited. The remaining 76 houses were occupied by 89 families. The population comprised 214 males and 195 females making a total of 409 persons. The occupational breakdown shows
4 years after his father died, Sampson and Frances's son John (1776-1850) fathered an illegitimate son John by Ann Clinnick, before marrying Christiana Henwood (1779-1846) by licence at St. Teath on 5th Nov 1799, and they lived in Sheviock. Christiana came from a family which had a long line of yeomen. John and Christiana had eight children who were all baptised in Sheviock. John acted as a Parish Constable for several years and later became one of the Church Wardens. There are references to John in the book about Sheviock by Kempthorne which are from references in the various church account books. Also there are some regular payments made by the parish to Ann Clinnick for her son.
Christiana died in Sheviock in 1846 and John died in Torpoint in 1850. Both were buried in Sheviock. Her headstone had sunk until only a few inches were showing above the surface by the 1970's, and a former researcher of the Trevan's, with the consent of the vicar, pulled the headstone out of the ground so that it could be read. It is now propped up at the edge of the churchyard, and the inscription can be read.
Both John and Francis were buried in Landrake churchyard, as was their son-in-law Richard Pawley and son Sampson, and so it seems probable that they were living in the parish at the time of their death.
This is the same parish that Samson Trevehen son of Reginald Trevehn of St Teath was married in and all the known baptisms of his children ahve been found. Unfortunately in 1698, when I am looking for the baptism of my earliest known ancestor, John, there was a son of Sampson who was buried here rather than being baptised. So, there are 2 missing entries for the baptisms of both these John's. Also, when Sampson was baptised in St Teath and reputedly fathered a son there he was referred to as Samuel.
There is also a 3rd family where the earliest known ancestor is found in Landrake. This is William Trevehen. Possibly he was the illegitimate son of Sam's youngest sister Grace, born and baptised in St Teath before she married William Saverry there the following month.
There are also a few loose ends being a missing burial or remarriage for Ann nee Sargeant, 2 missing baptisms for John's, and a missing baptism for a Sampson. Possibly with paying for 2 baptisms and 3 burials within the space of a 12 months (Jan 1697-Mar 1697 + Apr 1698-Dec 1698) the family made the economy of not paying to have their children baptised any longer. Or maybe they moved to another parish between 1690 and 1697 and the baptisms are just waiting to be found there!