Trembath researchers(Note : the following document was compiled by my ( Charles Trenbeth) great-aunt Janet May Trenbeth around 1960, with material in parentheses added by my aunt, Eleanor Coder, around 1980.)
The Trenbeths
"Aye, by Tre, Pol, and Pen, Ye shall know Cornish Men"
Thus runs an old rhyme in the Duchy of Cornwall, that southwestern corner of England. These words Tre, Pol, and Pen are prefixes: Tre means a homestead and its surrounding buildings; Pol, a pool, pond, or well; Pen, an end, chief, hill, or headland.
Trenbeth means House of the Grave (bedh); Polperro, Peter's pool; Penarth, House of the High Hill.
The Cornish were not of Anglo-Saxon origin, but were of earlier Celtic origin like the Welsh. (Editor's note: I'm much interested in archaeology, and more rece nt research than Aunt May was aware of indicates that the ancestors of the Welsh and Cornish people came from the area that is now Spain and Portugal about 2000 B.C., long before the Celts arrived in England. This explains why many Cornish people are dark-haired and olive-skinned as my father, William Percy Trenbeth, was, rather than sandy- or red-haired as were the Celts.) They were driven from central England by the Anglo-Saxons and Romans; they took refuge in the southwestern corner of England as did the Welsh in the mountains of Wales. There the Welsh language is still found, but Cornish is almost extinct.
The first Trenbeth of whom I ever heard was my great-grandfather, William, who was a soldier in Wellington's army and after the Battle of Waterloo guarded French prisoners at Dartmoor Prison in Devon. That prison still exists and is used to hold hardened criminals.
My great grandfather probably came from the region about Penzance, for a reference at Newberry Library, Chicago, says it is a name common around Penzance. (Editor's note: in the telephone book for the Penzance area there are pages of Trembeths, and Trenbaths, but not a single Trenbeth, which probably indicates a spelling change sometime in the past.) He left his early home and journeyed, apparently on foot, along the coast road. That was a dangerous thing to do, for in those days that road was the habitat of smugglers, or "rackers" (wreckers) as they were known. These put up false lights to lure ships to dangerous rocks and then se ized their cargoes to smuggle into caves along the coast. There is still one known as the "Tea Cave". At any rate, my great grandfather reached the port of Padstow and settled in St. Merryn's Parish nearby. There he married and had five children: three daughters and two sons.
The next I learn of him and his family was that on April 4, 1849, he, his children and grandchildren set sail for Canada on a lumber boat named the Clio. It probably also bore the initials P.W. as all boats from Padstow do to this day. This boat carried emigrants to Canada and returned with a cargo of Canadian lumber. William Trenbeth was a widower at that time - for his wife had died the year before. His youngest daughter, Ellen, used to say that the ship sailed on her fifteenth birthday.
William was too old to serve as an emigrant, but because of his service to the Crown he was permitted to leave with his entire family and some neighbors from St. Merryn's Parish. His older son Richard had married Grace Ivey, and his three older sons, William, another Richard, and Henry, were born in St. Merryn's Parish. The name Ivey seems well-known in that area, because there is a nearby inlet called "Mother Ivey's Cove." Later a fourth son was born to Richard and Grace Trenbeth after their arrival in Canada, and he was named Ivey.
The two older daughters had married brothers: Mary became Mrs. John Raby and Fanny, Mrs. William Raby.
The Clio reached Montreal in May 1949, after a very cold voyage across the Atlantic. My cousin, Ada Raby of Cobourg, Ontario, has the large copper kettle which they used for making tea. They then carried the tea to their berths in order to keep warm. She also has my great grandmother's wedding shawl. My great grandmother was buried in the churchyard that surrounds St. Merryn's Church, but I could not find her grave on my visit there because of the high grass and tangle of weeds. At Ivey Trenbeth's request, I went to see the vicar of that church but he was not available that day. Later he sent me the data that Ivey wanted, and in return I sent him an English pound note and asked if he could not use it to have the grass mowed in the churchyard. St. Merryn's and its churchyard are very old. Merryn is supposed to be a corruption of Marina, one of the female saints. There is an old saying to the effect that there are more saints in Cornwall than there are in heaven, probably Celtic saints, as many came over in early times from Ireland. One is said to have floated over on a leaf, probably a coracle.
On reaching Montreal, the family of Trenbeths moved on to Cobourg, Ontario, on Lake Ontario. There a relative, Stephen Ivey, lived. The Raby families settled at Precious Corners near Cobourg, but the sons did not remain there. William Jr., moved to Port Hope, seven miles west of Cobourg, where he lived the rest of his life. His older brother, Richard, went three miles to the west of Port Hope, to a small community known as Port Britain. He was induced to buy land there by the prophecy that the two towns would eventually unite. About a hundred and fifteen years have passed, but as yet the prophecy has not been fulfilled.
The youngest daughter, Ellen, married John Lang, and her descendants are still in the Port Hope-Toronto region.
William Trenbeth Sr. died at Port Hope and was buried in a small cemetery known as the "Bible Christian Cemetery." Years later the Port Hope High School was built nearby, and soon the cemetery was needed for the expanding school. The bones of the old settlers were then moved to the newer "Union Cemetery" on the outskirts of Port Hope. There is a section given to them, but it would be difficult to identify any graves. (Editor's note: in the fall of 1979 my husband and I went to the Union Cemetery in Port Hope, but even with the help of the caretaker, we couldn't find a single Trenbeth grave, even that of my cousin Caroline, who was born and presumably died in Port Hope in the 1950's.)
The older son, Richard Trenbeth and his family lived at Port Britain, as mentioned before. His sons were William, Henry, Richard, and Ivey. William Trenbeth married a cousin, Catharine Ivey. Later he left her and went to Buchanan, Michigan, to live. His family heard no more of him until the time of his death. When that occurred, his three brothers attended the funeral there.
Henry Trenbeth married and went to Herkimer, New York, to live. He had one son, Frank, an organist. Frank had three children but all died before reaching their majority. When the last two died very suddenly, Frank , who had been ill at the time, died too, a week after his children's death. Richard Trenbeth married and went to Rochester, New York, to live. He lived there many years; upon his retirement, he returned to Cobourg, Ontario. He was childless.
Ivey Trenbeth married Margaret Walker, and they lived at Port Britain until a fire destroyed their home. Then they moved to 67 Charles Street, Port Hope. Their children were Mabel and Caroline. Mabel died in her teens, but Caroline lives in the family home. She is the last of her family and of the elder Richard Trenbeth line.
William Trenbeth Jr. 1823-1906 My grandfather, William Trenbeth , spent the rest of his life at Port Hope after his arrival there in 1849. Later he married Eliza Beatty (1826-1921) whose family had emigrated from County Monaghan, Northern Ireland. Their children were William Beatty (1856-1930), John (1858-1905), and Mary Ann (1860-1931).
William Beatty married Margaret Sharp Cornish, a widow, and by her he had one son, George Roy. Roy, as he was more commonly called was born at Port Hope (Aug. 26,1890), but he spent his later life in Toronto, where he died in 1957. His wife, Lena Cochran Trenbeth, still lives there. Their family consisted of two sons, Roy William Beatty, and George Elmer.
Roy William Beatty has four children, David, Linda, Bill, and June. (Editor's note: as of fall 1979, David Trenbeth had one son Mark, and Linda has two daughters whose names I neglected to get. Bill and June were living with their paren ts, Nancy and Beatty, as Roy's wife prefers to call him.)
Elmer George has one son Richard. (Note: Richard's wife was expecting when I visited in Toronto in fall 1979.)
All of the descendants of William Beatty Trenbeth are currently living in the Toronto area.
John Trenbeth - (1858 - 1905) John Trenbeth married Jane Hamilton at Port Hope, but most of their married life was spent in the United States, chiefly at Evanston, Illinois. (Note: my grandfather was a carpenter with a "wandering foot", and the John Trenbeths spent a lot of time in t he far west: Aunt May was born in Montana, and her sister Ida was born and died in infancy in Salt Lake City,Utah.) John Trenbeth was killed in a construction accident in Evanston, Illinois, at the age of 47. Jane Hamilton Trenbeth died in Evanston at t he age of 77 in 1936. Their children were William Percy Trenbeth (1885-1952), Janet May, who compiled this history (1887-1968), Agnes Hamilton (1889 - 1948 ( at Evanston)), Ida who died in infancy, and George Robert (1903 - 1978).
William Percy married Charlotte Kraatz, and their children were William James ( 1915 - 1976), Richard Paul, and Eleanor Charlotte. William James married Marjorie Ferguson, they had two sons, Bruce Douglas, and Charles Stephen. (Note: Jim, as we called him, lived more than 20 years in the Los Angeles area, and his two sons - both married, still live in the Los Angeles area. Neither have children at this updating.)
Richard Paul married Mel Weichert, who died in 1973; he married Joan Harrington in 1975. Richard's three children are Richard, who has a daughter Amanda; Nancy Hamilton, and Brooke. Richard Jr. lives in Chicago; Nancy lives in Seattle; and Brook lives in California.
Eleanor married Norman Coder, and their four children are: Linda, married, has two daughters; William Norman, married, no children, Paul; and Martha.
George Trenbeth (my uncle) married Alice Johnson, but they had no children. (My aunts May and Agnes were not married.)
Mary Ann Powers ( 1861-1931) My father's only sister, Mary Ann, married LaFontaine Baldwin Powers. Their early married life was spent near Brandon, Manitoba, but later they moved to St. Catharine's, Ontario, where they lived until they died. Their children were: William, Evelyn, M innie, Mabel, Annie, and Charles.
William served with the Canadian forces in World War I; while on furlough in Ireland met and married an Irish girl, Jean. Their only child was a flier in World War II and was killed in France. He married an English woman by whom he had one son. Mother and son now live in New Zealand.
Evelyn Powers married William Qua, and they had a son William. Minnie Powers married Albert Sutherland, and their only son is named Thomas. Mabel Powers married William Hoare and had two children, Franklin and Margaret. Annie Power s married Arthur Naylor; they had one child, a daughter named Helen. Helen married Verne Robson, and they live at St. Catharines. Charles Powers lives on the family fruit farm near St. Catharines. He has six children: Charles, Mary Ann (named for her grandmother), Jean, Martha, William, and Ethel. Most of these live in the St. Catharines area.
The following is an expansion of the family of William Percy Trenbeth, son of John Trenbeth:
William Percy Trenbeth, born Aug 2,1885 in Peterborough, Ontario, moved with his family to Evanston Illinois in 1896. He died in Chicago, Ill on April 27, 1952 in Chicago, Ill. He married Charlotte Bertha Kraatz on Sept. 15, 1914. Charlotte Kraatz was born on Nov. 2, 188 4 in Whiting, Indianna. She died in Chicago, Ill., on Dec. 29, 1969.
William Percy's elder son, William James Trenbeth, was born on July 13, 1915 in Chicago, Ill., and died on April 11, 1976, in Inglewood, California. He married Marjorie Frances Ferguson on April 18, 1942, at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. Marjorie Frances Ferguson was born on Sept 4, 1921 and lives in Torrance, California. His older son Bruce Douglas, was born on June 24, 1947 in Battle Creek, Michigan, and lives in Hawthorne, California . He was married to Marjorie Poe from 1975 to 1980 and had no children. William James' second son Charles Stephen was born on Sept 18, 1950, and he married Hsiao-Ching Pang ( also called Dawn) on Nov 9, 1975 in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Charles a nd Dawn now live in Morro Bay, California. They have no children.
William Percy's younger son , Richard Paul, was born on Mar 5, 1918 (location?), and today lives in Aptos , California. He married Melbacorine Edna Wiechert ( date? ) . She was born on Nov 26, 1919 in Belleville, Illinois, and died in Oct. of 1973 in Evanston, Illinois. Richard Paul remarried to Joan Harrington on Nov 26, 1975, both living in Aptos, California. Richard Paul's son, Richard Paul Jr., was born on July 20, 1943 in Belleville , Illinois. He married Roberta Mary Jakus on Oct 20, 1977 in Chicago, where they reside today. They have two daughters, Amanda Holly, born Dec 13, 1978 in Chicago, and Brittany Chistina, born on July 13, 1983, also in Chicago. Richard Paul Sr's older daughter, Nancy Hamilton, was born on July 25, 1949 in Evanston, Ill. She married John Elmer Carson on July 7, 1984 in Toluca Lake, California, and they now reside in Seatlle, Wash. They have no children. Richard Paul Sr's younger daughter, Brooke Strea m, was born on March 7, 1953 in Evanston, Illinois. She married Ron Laning in 1980 and had two daughters, Ashleigh (born June 8, 1981 in Lake Arrowhead, Calif.), and Chelsea (born July 10, 1986 in Lake Arrowhead, Calif.) She divorced and married Garry Bai ley in 1987, and had a son, Bryson, born on July 7, 1988, also in Lake Arrowhead, California. Brooke and Garry live in Morgan Hill, California.
William Percy's daughter, Eleanor Charlotte, was born on Aug 7, 1919 in Chicago, Ill. She married Norman Bruce Coder ( born June 2, 1914 in Johnstown, Pa.) and they both reside in Rockville, Maryland. Their elder daughter, Linda Marian was born on Aug 20, 1945 in Evanston, Ill. She married Stephen Brown and they have two daughters, Holly, and Elise (birthdate s unknown - they are both married, and in their early 20's and Elise has one son, Noah. Name of husbands unknown at this time). Eleanor and Norman's elder son is William Norman, born on May 25, 1949 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He married Marsha Robbins ( marriage date unknown at this time) They live in Massachusetts and have an adopted daughter, Christie (birthdate unknown at this time). The younger son is Paul Robert, born on Nov 15, 1950 in Cheverly, Maryland, and still resides in that state. The y ounger daughter, Martha Jean was born on Aug. 15, 1955 in Tacoma Park Maryland and resides in ( location unknown at this time) }
Back to Jean's Genealogy Index
