David Trevor - Help

[Neophyte]

David Trevor died in December 1916 in 'Aston'. The 1911 census had him living at 370 Green Lane Small Heath Birmingham. His wife Mary Jane Trevor had died in 1915, also in Aston.

None of the main Birmingham cemeteries (Witton, Yardley, Lodge Hill, Brandwood End, Handsworth, Sutton Coldfield) have any record of the burial of a David Trevor in 1916.

Are there any other local cemeteries that I should try? (I accept that the couple may be buried in a churchyard, but my hunch is that they were buried in secular graves).

Regards


Neophyte

 

[Astoness]

you seem to have checked all the obvious ones and i have just checked keyhill and warstone lane as they are online but although there are 8 burials for the trevor name no david or mary jane...maybe some of our other members can advise

lyn

 

[pjmburns]

Perry Barr crematorium opened in 1903 so you could try there. Or is there likely to have been a family grave - did they have connections outside of Birmingham?

 

[Alberta]

Could he have been buried in another place that they loved as often people were and still are.
I see interestingly that his occupation was a Ventriliquist and photographer and the family spent many years living in Ashby de la Zouch.In fact their children were born there.
Also Marys family were from Wolston Warks.
David and Mary were married in Hampton in Arden in 1870 so were they buried where they married.

 

[Neophyte]

Thank you for the replies; most helpful. I will try Perry Barr crematorium. As to being buried in another place, David's (third) wife died in 1915 and I suspect that if I locate her grave, I will locate his. I have tried Ashby de la Zouche and there is just a young son buried there, who died in 1875. I think I have to start looking at cemeteries nearer Mary's home area. She died aged 66; he died aged 88 or 89.

Neophyte

 

[pjmburns]

If he was well known as an entertainer have you tried a newspaper search? It is possible there might have been a death notice or report.

 

[Neophyte]

There are one or two reports of his death in music hall/entertainment newspapers; the earliest was published on 20 December 1916, but no information as to where he was buried. I don't think the Birmingham Mail carried any reports. A death certificate would give the exact date of death, but I am pretty sure he died at his Small Heath address. I must have a look at Hampton in Arden and SS Mary & Bartholomew church.

Kind Regards

Neophyte

 

[pjmburns]

Online Hampton burial records stop in 1899 - this makes me wonder if burials stopped then. It is quite a small churchyard.

 

[Neophyte]

Janice

Thank you; I fear you are probably correct

Neophyte

 

[Neophyte]

Dear All

Thus far, no luck in my search for David Trevor's grave.

One possibility is that he (and his wife) are buried in St Martin's church Birmingham; his parents were married there and he was christened there. They may well have had a family plot in the churchyard. If anyone happens to be in Birmingham Library and can search for a record of Trevor family grave I would be very grateful, and could reciprocate with a "look-up" at the British Library or similar.

Regards

Neophyte

 

[sospiri]

Neophyte,

He's not listed in The Stage Year Book obituaries for 1916 or 1917 or in the Theatrical & Musical Deaths List, which I took over maintenance of a few years ago, not that either of those contain burial places. I've also checked the British Library Newspaper Archive which includes both the Birmingham Mail and The Era, bot no mention of your David Trevor there either. If I think of anything else I'll post again.

Maurice

 

[sospiri]

Following on from my previous post, the only mention of David Trevor as a ventriloquist was this one from the Leicester Chronicle dated 22 April 1893. Still no joy with the burial though. :-(

Edit: I couldn't find any mention of him as a photographer either. But just a hunch, have you checked Southam for burials? Whilst searching I came across a crime where Mary Jane Trevor of Southam was the victim of theft from a property she owned in Southam. If you want the clippings I can post them here.

Maurice

 

[sospiri]

Neophyte,

Finally getting somewhere. He performed mainly under the name Professor Trevori or Signor Trevori. Hence several more newspaper enries have appeared for his performances, but only this one relating to his death from The Era dated 20 December 1916.

Maurice

 

[pjmburns]

Perhaps he wasn't buried but left his body to medical research?

 

[sospiri]

A possibility, Janice. There also seems to be a connection between Ratcliffe College, the Catholic Independent School in Leicestershire and our Trevori. Several Old Ratcliffians were buried in the churchyard at Ratcliffe on the Wreake, but I can't find any online burials for that parish. Was he a Catholic? Did he attend that school? Just another possibility.

Maurice

 

[pjmburns]

Catholic burials are often not online. However, as he was christened at St Martins and I think his parents are buried there (I have found a burial for David Trevor in 1847 - possibly his Father, but the record does not give plot details) I think it unlikely he was a Catholic unless a late convert.

 

[sospiri]

Having been through the censuses, I tend to agree, Janice. The 1851 show him as a Professor of [scribbled out] obviously wrongly transcribed as "Maker" but could easily be Music. Missing on the 1861, but probably in theatrical digs and not recorded. There I have to leave it for a few hours.

Maurice

 

[Neophyte]

Thank you for these messages. I will have a look at a possible Southam burial. I suspect Maurice's Mary Jane Trevor was Trevori's wife (born Mary Jane Lester). She predeceased him & he may be buried with her;so this is a very beguiling lead. The 1895 cutting is interesting because it shows Tevori as a member of some sort of ensemble. He started his performing career as a musician. As a ventriloquist and conjurer Trevori was a busy local performer but does not seem to have worked much in music hall or in theatres & hence did not have any national fame.

I have not come across evidence of any Catholic connection, but - as has been suggested - he might have been a late convert.

Thank you all again

Regards

Neophyte

 

[pjmburns]

Having been through the censuses, I tend to agree, Janice. The 1851 show him as a Professor of [scribbled out] obviously wrongly transcribed as "Maker" but could easily be Music. Missing on the 1861, but probably in theatrical digs and not recorded. There I have to leave it for a few hours.

Maurice

1861 he is in Wiltshire listed as a ventriloquist and with wife Eliza (can't remember if she is number 1 or 2).

 

[sospiri]

Janice,

Thanks for that - correct on Ancestry, but completely missing however you enter it on FindMyPast. I've emailed them about this as it could be the whole page is missing from their index, but I haven't bothered to check their images yet - that's their job! And Eliza was wife number 1.

Maurice

 

[MSB]

Fascinating to pick up this thread more than 4 years after its first posting, following an impulsive Google search for 'Professor Trevori'.

David Trevor (b.1828) was my great-great-grandfather, and I have inherited a collection of news cuttings and other ephemera relating particularly to his performing career. He travelled quite widely and performed before the nobility and gentry (or at least their household staff), including at Windsor Castle during Kaiser Wilhelm's state visit, no less. I don't know if he was a well-known perfomer nationally, but we have some fragments of theatre bills and a goodly collection of information about him. However not all of it is organised as I don't yet have time to investigate him systematically. I'm descended from his son Harry, who settled in Ashby-de-la-Zouch.

If he appears in odd places in Census years, it's highly likely he was on the road performing. Also, he married three times, just to confuse things.

Neophyte - if you haven't already contacted me (two people have in the last decade or so) and you're still after additional information about Professor (aka Signor) Trevori, especially if it's genealogical research, please feel to drop me a PM via this forum. Who knows - we might be related.

Thank you to those of you who've added to my knowledge of my ancestor by contributing to this thread.

 

[Susan D]

Hello MSB,

There was some discussion on this forum a while back as to where David Trevor was buried. Do you have that information?

 

[MSB]

Hi Susan D,

I'm afraid I have no information about where he was buried as I've not looked into it in detail. I can confirm that he spent part of his life in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, between the early 1870s and at least 1901 (ie Census), before returning to Birmingham in advanced old age, so Ashby might be an option.

David's only son to survive infancy, Harry, was my great-grandfather, who lived in Ashby when he wasn't serving abroad in the Army.

An earlier post in this thread claims Eliza (1861 Census) was his first wife - this isn't so.

His first wife was Jane Holtom, who died in childbirth with their infant son, David. They also had a daughter, Phoebe.
Eliza may have been his second wife but details are very sketchy - all I have so far is the Census entry claiming she was his 'wife' whilst lodging in Wiltshire. No other confirmed records about her have been found - yet.
His next wife was Elizabeth Clear Knight, from whom I'm descended via their surviving son. She probably died in childbirth with their second infant son, Ernest.
He married again, to Mary Jane Lester and she died a year before him. That was his longest marriage, and they had four surviving daughters. Their sons Frederick and Leopold died in infancy and Leopold was buried in Ashby.

If you find anything about Eliza beyond the 1861 Census entry I'd be most interested.

 

[Susan D]

Thank you for your reply MSB.

The main reason I contacted you is that a couple of years ago I decided to surprise a childhood friend by researching her and her son's family history. She had not requested it. It unexpectedly took a long time but it was the most interesting family I have come across. One of her ancestors (not direct) is your David Trevor. He was certainly a colourful character and a fascinating one and I tried to track his movements throughout his life. I have a view on mystery 'Eliza'. I think he died at 370 Green lane, Small Heath (standing, but not nicely maintained) as his death was registered at Aston 4th quarter 1916. I thought he may have been buried at St Giles churchyard, Sheldon like his sister and her husband who ran the Garrison Tavern in Garrison lane but I haven't found anything on-line and I can't go and look as do not live nearby. Although some aspects of his life are probably of public interest as he was a public figure, as I was researching my friend's family much of it is personal to her therefore I don't feel that it is appropriate for me to put large parts of it on-line. I am happy for you to have my e-mail address and we can do this off-line if you don't mind sharing yours with me and the moderators are happy to facilitate it.

Do you have a photo of David? I would love to see one.

 

[mikejee]

You can communicate privately using the conversation facility b y clicking on envelope symbol on the top right hand corner of the page

 

[MSB]

Susan D: Please feel free to contact me using the Conversation facility as outlined by @mikejee in post #25 above. Others have already done this, to mutual benefit.

I have photos of David in later life, and line drawings from earlier promotional material, which can be scanned.

I've been delving into the wider family history in recent months, so I should have some information I can share. David looms large because of all the ephemera that's been passed down through my family.

There is a supposed Peaky Blinders link to the Garrison Tavern. Then again almost everybody in Liverpool is somehow linked to The Beatles, so it might just be Birmingham legend!

 

[MWS]

If you find anything about Eliza beyond the 1861 Census entry I'd be most interested.

Been having a little look for Eliza 'Trevor' and as there doesn't appear to be a marriage for David between the death of his first wife and the 1861 census nor a death for an Eliza between the 1861 census and David's marriage to his second wife it seems as suspected they weren't actually married.

I did find an interesting candidate for Eliza. In 1861 her birth is listed as 1838 Spalding and there doesn't appear to be too many Eliza's born around that time in Spalding and most seem to stay in that area.

There is an Eliza Love though b1836 in Spalding. She is in Spalding with her parents in 1841 & 1851. However she doesn't seem to appear on the 1861 census reappearing again in 1871. By this time she has married a Henry Fisher in 1863 in London and is living in South Marston in Wiltshire.

Completely circumstantial and totally unprovable (unless David miraculously happened to be a witness on her marriage).

 

[MSB]

Thank you @MWS. Following any Elizas born in Spalding c.1833 (1861 - 28 = 1833) was on my To Do list, so you may have saved me some time there! Eliza Love marrying (again?) in 1863 and settling in Wiltshire only 12 miles away in South Marston makes her strong candidate for being David's companion in Ramsbury in 1861, but as yet there's no evidence of them being married in the formal sense.

It's possible that David was on tour in 1861, and only lodging temporarily in Wiltshire, whilst his 8 year old daughter Phoebe was left with Aunt and Grandma at 356 Nechells Park Road. Interestingly David has younger brother Joseph (age 20, a Baker) with him, possibly as an assistant. However, David is listed as a 'Boarder' which is crossed out and replaced with 'Head' (of household) so I'm not sure if that implies a more permanent residence. In 1881 he was touring in South Wales and was listed as boarding at an inn in Merthyr Tydfil - he spent a lot of time on the road.

I suppose the simplest explanation for 1861 is David had a short-lived marriage to a lady called Eliza, for which records are elusive. Other options include a transcription or recording error by the enumerator (who has spelt 'Spalding' incorrectly), possibly with Eliza being the wife of Joseph, albeit 7 years his senior, transcribed in the wrong order onto the form. It's also possible that Eliza is the wife of a different resident at the property (Castle Inn, 17, 17a and 17b, The Square, Ramsbury) and she's in the wrong row of the form.

A theory put forward by another family history researcher is that 'Eliza' is actually David's next wife Elizabeth (Clear Knight) who was born in Sussex, and there's been some falsification of the Census return to hide the fact they were living 'in sin', especially as there was an 11 year age difference between them. Personally I will always favour the simplest explanation over the conspiracy theory every time!

 

[Susan D]

I came to the conclusion in 2017 when I researched this family that David that wife Eliza on the 1861 census was most likely one of two people. I found no marriage despite an extensive search so I think that her being defined as his wife was for respectability. Yes, one possibility was that it was Elizabeth Clear Knight who he later married. The other was that she was David's what I would call 'glamourous assistant', 'Miss Louisa Sinclair' who he mentions working alongside him in 1862. I could not find her in the records - you might - but I think that as it has a nice ring to it that it could have been her stage name and her real name was Eliza Unknown.

You mention a possible connection to the TV series Peaky Blinders in relation to the Garrison Tavern. From discussions on this web site it appears that the pub was the real ones epicentre in the 1920s-30s (although a set on TV). Members of your family ran or worked at the pub and the shop next door from the 1860s - 1900 so right place, wrong time.

 

[MSB]

The other was that she was David's what I would call 'glamourous assistant', 'Miss Louisa Sinclair' who he mentions working alongside him in 1862. I could not find her in the records - you might - but I think that as it has a nice ring to it that it could have been her stage name and her real name was Eliza Unknown.

That's an interesting lead. Do you have a specific source for that? I have plenty of newscuttings in an album (and I've not read all of them yet), and there's loads more still to be studied online, but I've not seen her name mentioned before.

In an ideal world I'll create a timeline of his movements around the country based on news cuttings, but that requires far more time than I have available at present. He kept a diary of engagements but I only have two pages left of it.

I found a newspaper story suggesting he ran a 'Music Warehouse' in Union Road, Plymouth in 1853, aged 24, early in his performing career. His initial training was in accordian/concertina making, based on a publicity flyer that was handed down to me.