Treverton’s may be few in number but some have managed to leave their mark in the history books of the world. From the United Kingdom to South Africa, Australia to South America, and the United States into Canada, Treverton stories and myths abound. Here are but a scant few:

RICHARD TREVERTON - born in late summer of 1850, in the village of Camborne, Cornwall, son of Henry Row TREVERTON and his second wife Elizabeth. The family moved to Wales some time between 1851 and 1861 (Census records) and settled in the Newport, Monmouthshire area. At the age of 26 years Richard enlisted in the Royal Regiment of Wales, 2nd Battalion 24th Foot at Monmouth, Wales and was assigned the rank of Private, “G” Company. Less than 3 years later on January 22, 1879 Richard, along with 1200 of his fellow British soldiers, would meet their deaths during the infamous Battle of Isandhlwana which effectively marked the beginning of the Anglo-Zulu War in South Africa. The encounter at Isandhlwana in 1879 is considered to be the worst defeat ever suffered by British forces at the hands of natives. An estimated force of between 20,000 and 25,000 Zulu warriors attacked the British field camp at Isandhlwana and although the 24th Regiment fought desperately they were overwhelmed with only a few survivors managing to retreat from the site. In total 1277 Troops and 52 Officers were killed. Pte. Richard Treverton received the South Africa Medal 1877 - 1879, posthumously, for operations against the Galeka, Gaika and Zulu tribes. (I am still searching for the medal.)

So famous was this battle and the one that occurred the following day at Rorke’s Drift, that two Hollywood movies were made depicting the events. The Battle of Ishandlwana is recreated in the movie ‘ZULU DAWN’ and the Battle of Rourke’s Drift is depicted in ‘ZULU’. Both are rated as two of the best of all time in their category and highly recommended.

RICHARD JOHN ‘SNOWY’ TREVERTON was born circa 1878 in the bustling goldfields of Sago (Sago Hill), Tasmania. Richard married in 1909 and was supporting his small family as a copper miner employed with the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company. On the 12th of October 1912 a fire broke out underground in the North Lyell mine where Richard was working. Despite frantic efforts above surface, forty-two men lost their lives in a disaster that shocked the mining world. On the tenth day with the fire still burning 18 workers were still unaccounted for, it was decided to seal the mine. 5 months later those men were found. The recovered bodies were placed in eighteen coffins and transported on flat bed railway trucks for the funeral procession into Queenstown cemetery. In a Tasmanian newspaper story appearing in the Dundas Herald in November 1912, it is reported that John ‘Snowy’ Treverton died a hero as he attempted to save the lives of his fellow miners. A full account of the Mount Lyell Mining Disaster can be read in Patsy Crawford’s book entitled “God Bless Little Sister”, published in 2004, ISBN 0-9752152-0-5.

STEPHEN TREVERTON was born about 1810 in Tresamble, Cornwall, and has the notoriety of being mentioned in both ‘A History of the Parish of Gwennap in Cornwall’ by C. C. James, and ‘A History of Cornish Methodism’ by Thomas Shaw. He is described as a local preacher and class leader with the Methodists. After an unrestrained career in early youth, he became converted and by sincerity of purpose and intense religious zeal he exercised a great influence for good on the lives of his fellow miners and all others with whom he came in contact. He was a burly, unemotional man of strong character and often held religious services underground (in the mines). Once in the pulpit at Scorrier dealing with St. Peter's denial of his Lord he was quoted as saying:

'Ah! Peter', 'No wunder ye danied the Lawrd. He went down to the ketchen, my friends, after the sarvent maids, a coortin' ov 'em; an' hem a marred man!'

MARY TREVERTON - It was 1846 and 21-year-old Mary Treverton was living at home with her parents in the small village of St. Mabyn Cornwall. By all reports she was a feisty lass with a fiery temper and could hold her own with the best of them - male or female. Mary had taken up with a rogue by the name of Samuel Hockin, 30 years her senior, and the two of them had been carrying on a volatile relationship for the past several years. Sam was married, but not to Mary.

Early on Sunday morning October 10, 1846, a local villager on his way to work, turned a corner near the center of the village and stumbled over the body of Samuel Hockin, his head caved in and a very large rock lying not far away. Further investigation by the local constable discovered that Hockin had last been seen in the wee hours of the morning leaving the Treverton family home after paying a visit to Mary. Described as the ‘abandoned woman’ Mary, who had a history of violence against Samuel Hockin, was immediately arrested and charged with his murder. The entire story both before and after the crime is exceedingly interesting and it would certainly make a good ‘made for TV’ who-done-it. By the way, Mary was found ‘not guilty’ and released, due in large part to what appeared to be very sloppy police work.

SIR TREVERTON? - It would not be considered good Treverton folk history if I failed to mention the belief held by a number of family members. There are those within the Treverton Clan that harbour the belief that our ancestors, and the Treverton surname, have a direct tie to the legendary King Arthur of ‘round table’ fame. History tells us that one of Arthur’s castles was located at Tintagel Cornwall, which is less than 14 miles from St. Issey, Cornwall. Tintagel is believed to have been the birthplace of Arthur, and some believe his place of death as well. It is a long honoured Cornish belief that one day Arthur will return to rescue the Cornish from bondage.

Referring back to the ‘Origin’ of the surname ‘TREVERTON’ it has been stated that the name Treverton is linked to the place name Trevarthian which comes from the Cornish “tre-Arthien” meaning “Arthien’s homestead”. Interesting! Of course you must take into account a lapse of supporting documentation spanning a period of 200 years, but it works for me. Sir Larry has a nice ring to it.

Treverton Preparatory Schools and College:
A private school located in Mooi River, in the Kwazulu-Natal Midlands of South Africa and founded in 1939 by Peter Binns. The school’s written history attributes it’s name to the Cornish village of Treverton however there is no record of the existence of such a place. Correspondence with several individuals who attended the college in the 1940’s, and who knew Percy Binns personally, suggest that he named the school in honour of a Treverton relative or benefactor who donated the property on which the school was built. This seems much more plausible and there were several Treverton’s in the South African goldfields during this timeframe.

Treverton Creek, Queensland, Australia
Treverton Street - North Kensington (Victorian London Street)
Treverton Drive, Scarborough (Toronto), Ontario, Canada
Treverton Park, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Treverton Drive, Carlisle Crossing (Huntingdon), Fort Wayne, Indiana
Treverton Place, Raleigh, North Carolina 27609
Treverton Crescent, Windsor, Ontario, Canada (named in honour of the Windsor Treverton’s)
Treverton Road, Trenton, Ontario Canada

Treverton Pennsylvania, USA: According to the Northumberland County Historical Society in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, the mysterious town of Treverton never existed. Treverton and Port Treverton appear in many historical documents, numerous municipal, state and federal records, and in hundreds of genealogical family trees. It is said that the factual name of both the Village and the Port is TREVORTON, named after John B. Trevor, a prominent banker from Philadelphia who had invested heavily in the area. However, I have historical material that clearly identifies a town/village called TREVERTON.

So the question still remains. Is there or was there a municipality in Pennsylvania known as Treverton?

Green City in the Sun - Barbara Wood
In 1919, inspired by dreams of fortune and dynastic power, the aristocratic TREVERTON's arrive to establish an estate on the homeland of the Kikuyu in Kenya South Africa. The family is greeted with fear and suspicion and none more than Dr. Grace Treverton.

The Dead Secret - Wilkie Collins, 1857 - The plot turns around "the dead secret" of the Treverton family, a secret hidden by an old family servant against the dying wishes of Mrs. Treverton. “Not just a book but a story; not just writing but storytelling”.

Harry Treverton: A Story of Colonial Life by William Henry Timperley. Timperley was the Superintendent of the Aboriginal prison on Rottnest Island, Western Australian in the late 1880’s. Harry’s adventure story is based on Timperley's own experiences as a young man in the Swan River Colony. It was first serialized in the popular English periodical The Boy's Own Paper, from September 1887 to December 1887. Authorship in the periodical was incorrectly attributed to Lady Broome, wife of the governor of the colony at the time, who had provided the author with editorial assistance. The letter, which she wrote to Timperley in which she suggested likely reasons for the mistake, was published in the The West Australian newspaper on 23 February 1888. In 1889 the story was published in book form and is now considered a rare and collectable volume on the early history of Australia. The J S Battye Library of Western Australian History located in Perth has two copies of "Harry Treverton - his tramps and troubles" in its rare book collection.

Pirates’ Creek, A Story of Treasure-Quest by S. Whitchurch Sadler, Royal Navy - 1883. This story takes place during the Napoleonic Wars and Harry Treverton leaves Devon to seek his fortunes. He gets caught up in a mired of land and sea adventures and eventually finds himself in the West Indies where he discovers buried treasure on Pirates Creek on the coast of Cuba. He returns home to save the tottering credit of his patron and then marries the patron’s daughter. In the interim Harry spends his time retaking ships from the French, escaping from Spanish prisons and risking his young neck at every turn.

Pioneer Life on the Bay of Quinte (Ontario, Canada) - Historical non-fiction, 1000 pages, originally published in 1904 with a facsimile edition printed in 1972. Currently available. One chapter - a 600 word narrative, dedicated to the life and times of Samuel Treverton and his wife Harriet Parsons, both born in Cornwall in 1826. Their wedding trip coincided with their emigration to Ontario, Canada where they began a new life, career and family.

The BOYS’ OWN PAPER - Harry Treverton A Story of Colonial Life was first serialized in the popular English periodical The Boy's Own Paper - price one penny. The complete story appeared in issues from September 1887 to December 1887. The paper was printed by the Religious Tract Society of London England, which was founded in 1799 for the publication and dissemination of Christian literature.

PLUCK AND LUCK - Harry Treverton or, A Boy With Pluck’. The Pluck and Luck publications were issued weekly by Harry E. Wolff, Publisher, Inc., New York, New York. In issue No. 1418, dated August 5, 1925 the story of ‘Harry Treverton or, A Boy With Pluck’ appeared which was attributed to a Richard R. Montgomery. Mr. Montgomery’s writings however are identical to those of William Henry Timperley in his story ‘Harry Treverton, A Story of Colonial Life’ written in 1887. Mr. Montgomery’s account differs only in the fact that he has omitted a few chapters along the way and dropped a paragraph here and there. Since Mr. Timperley died in 1909 it appears that Mr. Montgomery brutally plagiarized Timperly’s story right down to the name of our hero - Harry Treverton.

TREVERTON SHOES - Manufacturer: NINE WEST

These shoes were made available to the retail market in 1999 - 2000. NINE WEST is a leading manufacturer and retailer of women's fashion footwear, accessories, and clothing.

They are described as 'Classic but modern styled Nine West penny loafers with a stack heel...a great pair of shoes that go with everything from knee skirts to jeans...simple and comfortable'. The shoe style is called Treverton. It is made with a leather upper and a man-made sole/heelTreverton Railroad.

The Treverton Railroad

Circa 1855, made its connection with the great southern anthracite coalfields in Pennsylvania, USA. The rail line was located half way between Sunbury and Halifax Pennsylvania. The Company Map and profile of the Sunbury route is pictured as surveyed by Geo. P. Worcester, Civ. Engineer.

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©2006 Larry Treverton