Trefren, Trefethren, Treveathen, Trevethan, Trevethen, Trevethin and Trefethen


    History:

  1. THE NAME: from Trevethan in Gwennap, England (Cornwall?); ‘the Meadow-town’
  2. May also signify a town among trees, or ‘the old town.’
  3. Pryce translates it as the ‘birds town.’
  4. TREVEATHAN would mean ‘the rich & fruitful town.’
  5. There’s an area of Pontypool known as Trevethin, with an ancient parish church dedicated to St. Cadoc. A short history of it is in a book titled “Trevethin, Pontypool: A short history of the parish and and its churches” by The Rev. Canon Vaughan W.T Rees, B.A. Vicar. Published by Hughes and Son, the Griffin Press (January 1, 1934). ASIN : B00089FCYW. (from the GWENT COUNTY COUNCIL; Miss M.L. Gibbons [letter to Parker S. Trefethen0670])
  6. TREVETHAN (from Surnames in Cornwall, 1953; Blewett, Richard Rodda; 1953: excerpts from ‘West Britton’ newspaper) Places/Names: TREVETHAN... in Eval Parish 1474, 1510, 1549. In Budock Parish; Trefudon, 1306; Trefuthon, 1325, Trefuthen, 1327 & 1517. Tremuthon 1342, Trevethan 1470. Trevethan in Gwennap Parish, Trefudon 1302, Trefuthan 1326, Trefuthyon 1516, Trefuthan 1558.
  7. “Surnames in Cornwall, 1953” is a Scrapbook of newspaper clippings and personal notes compiled by Blewett entitled :- “Surnames in Cornwall (1953). A census and a survey with material towards a study of Cornish Celtic surnames. A complete analysis of the Electoral Register of Cornwall 1953.” This is currently (11 March 2021) held by the Morrab Library, not in the National Archives.
    1. I, Andrew Trefethen, have looked over the pages of the scrapbook and there many cornish names beginning with "TRE". Richard Blewett put together this scrapbook back in 1953. This scrapbook is currently being held by the Morrab Library. on this date, 22 March 2021, I went to their website and saw the library is closed. However, when I e-mailed them I received an answer. They were kind enough to provide me with photos of the pages with cornish names beginning with "TRE". They have kindly asked me not to publish these photos, and I will honor their request. But I am permitted to transcribe the information that I see. With much appreciation, I thank you, Morrab Library! Here is the transcribed text for “TREVETHAN”:
    2. “TREVETHAN. - 0-16-24-15-9=64. Camborne 6. Illogan 7, St. Day 1, Falmouth 2, St. Agnes 2, St. Allen 4, Newlyn East 1, Perransabuloe 11, Perranporth 5, Truro 1, Bodmin 2, Calstock 4, St. Germans 5, St. Winnow 4, St. Issey 2, St. Mabyn 2, Mawgan-in-Pydar 1, Padstow 2, Tintagel 2 (nineteen places). Place-names, 1, Trevethan in St. Eval parish, Trefethen 1474, 1510 and 1549. 2, Trevethan in Budock parish, Trefudon 1306, Trefuthon 1325, Trefuthen 1327 and 1517. Tremuthon 1342, Trevethen 1470. 3, Trevethan in Gwennap parish, Trefudon 1302, Trefuthan 1326, Trefuthyon 1516, Trefuthen 1558. Derivation - buthyn and its variants vethan, vethyn=meadow. Homestead in or by the meadow.”
  8. TREFREN: Source 36 has found the son of James TREFREN 1185 War of 1812 Pension File proving the Trefren/TREFETHEN link. In it, Jonah Marsh TREFREN's1203 wife states that although she & her children spell their name Trefren, her husband usually spelt it TREFETHEN. He’s apparently the ancestor of all Trefrens in the U.S.
  9. TREFETHREN: There are several instances where James TREFREN’s1185 name was spelt ‘TREFETHREN’ (especially before 1805), which is a clear indication that his descendants belong in this listing.
SOURCES:
  • 87. History of the United States Navy-Yard, Portsmouth, N. H. by George Henry Preble; U.S. Government Printing Office Jan 1892
  • St Cadoc's Church Trevethin
  • Richard Blewett’s scrapbook from the Morrab Library




  • Updated March 22, 2021 by Andrew Trefethen
    Deprecated: Directive 'allow_url_include' is deprecated in Unknown on line 0