This thread seemed to get forgotten and consigned to distant memory.
However, the Crowan Trewhelas remain the source of quite a number of unanswered questions!
I believe I have finally found the probable solution to one of those questions so I think it quite appropriate that this old forgotten thread be resurrected to lay host to the explanations!
This particular problem involves the marriage at Crowan 19th August 1811 between Joseph Smitheram and Jane Treweeler/Trewheela. For some time I considered the possibility that Jane might have been Jane Blewitt Trewheeler who had been baptized at Crowan in 1774 to Thomas Trewhela and Martha (nee Blewett) but subsequent searching of Census and other records proved that I should be looking for a much younger person. In fact all the records I found indicated that Jane Trewheela should have been born sometime around 1792 at Crowan. Unfortunately, even allowing a few years either side as well as the possibility that a baptism might have occurred in another Parish, I still had no possible Jane/Jennifer to fill the void.
Jane Blewett Trewheeler remains a mystery with no burial and no possible marriage found and after searching all the records again I have still not been able to find a baptism for Jane/Jennifer Trewhela anywhere around 1792. BUT ...................................................
Those interested or connected with the Smitheram families will be aware that there are many variations of the name including SMITHERAM, SMYTHAM, SMETHERAM, SMITHAM, SMYTHRAM to name just a few and of course that makes the task of tracking them down all that much harder.
(And the Trewhellas are equally as difficult with more than 27 variations in my own database!!!
)
Joseph and Nicholas sons of John and Phillis Smitheram, paupers, were baptized at St Hilary 18th April 1786 (John Smitham and Phillis Bawden married at Perranuthnoe 28th October 1769)
Joseph Smitheram of Camborne and Jane Treweeler were married at Crowan by Banns 19th August 1811 with both marking their mark. One of the witnesses to this marriages was a 'Benney Trewhela' who signed his name. I made some comparisons of that signiature with some other marriage records and discovered that this was Benjamin Trewhela who had been baptized at Crowan in 1777 to Thomas Trewhela and Martha (nee Blewett). This meant that Benjamin was the brother of the Jane Blewitt Trewheeler mentioned above.
Joseph and Jane/Jennifer baptized five children at Camborne between 1812 and 1819 with Joseph being buried at Camborne 22nd November 1819 just two months after the baptism of his last child. On January 8th 1822 at Camborne 'Jennifer Smitherham, widow, married again to Nicholas Donnithorne who had been baptized at Marazion in 1789. There appear to have been no further children.
Armed with all this information it should have been relatively easy to identify Jane/Jennifer but as has already been pointed out I could never find any baptism for a Jane/Jennifer Trewhela (var.) to match the results of those searches.
Just a couple of hours ago I tried one more search of the Crowan records looking for anything slightly out of the ordinary that might offer a clue. I searched between1787 and 1794 for any Jane or Jennifer with a surname beginning with 'T' and I also searched all baptisms for that same period where the surname began with 'T' but was unsuccessful. And then I decided to try just one more thing ..............................
Again searching the same period from 1787-1794 I decided look at all baptisms where the name began with Jan or Jen and finally one particular entry caught my eye!
Jenifer daughter of Thomas Blewett & Elizth. his wife born 1 Dec and baptized 30 Jany 1792There were two reasons this entry caught my eye - 1. the surname 'Blewett' and 2. the parents being Thomas and Elizabeth. I already had a Jane Blewitt Trewheeler in 1773 who had been ruled out as the possible wife of Joseph Smitheram but the fact that Joseph's marriage was witnessed by Benney Trewhela suggested there should be a connection.
I next decided to have another look at the family of Thomas Trewhela and Martha Blewett to see if there was any possibility there might have been room for an unbaptized grandchild and it was at that point that 'all became clear'!
The eldest child of Thomas and Martha was Thomas Trewhela who was baptized at Crowan 5th June 1763. Thomas married Elizabeth Hancock at Crowan 31st January 1785 and had the following children all baptized at Crowan:-
Thomas 28th August 1785
Elizabeth 22nd July 1787
Richard 23rd June 1789 (btw - it was this Richard who took his family to Ireland. One son ended up in New York and another found his way to Chile)
<gap> <=======================
John 21st September 1794
Margaret 15th December 1796
Martha 2nd February 1800
Ann 5th May 1802
Note the regular gaps between most of the children with the exception of the rather large gap of five years between Richard and John!!
Now let's add that baptism of '
Jenifer daughter of Thomas Blewett & Elizth. his wife born 1 Dec and baptized 30 Jany 1792' and then consider the following points:-
1. between 1760 and 1810 there is just ONE marriage involving a Thomas Blewett (var. incl Bluett) with wife Elizabeth and that was not until 1797 at Camborne.
2. between 1761 and 1798 there is just ONE baptism for Blewett/Bluett (var.) where the parents were Thomas and Elizabeth and that was the baptism of Jennifer at Crowan in 1792.
All baptisms between 1799 and 1810 for Blewett where the parents were Thomas and Elizabeth belong to Thomas Blewett, widower, and Elizabeth Vincent who married at Camborne in 1797.
SO! - there is no possible marriage to account for Jennifer Blewett at Corwan in 1792. In fact the nearest marriage for a Thomas Blewett and Elizabeth prior to that baptism is back before 1760 in the St Just area and that is more than 30 years!
And there are no other Blewett children with parents Thomas and Elizabeth until after the 1797 Camborne marriage. Widowed Thomas Bleweet was 'of Gwinear' when he married and the first child of that marriage was baptized at Gwinear. The next child was given the name Richard Vincent Blewett when baptized at Camborne in 1800 and his name unmistakably links him to the 1797 marriage.
The only logical answer to this is that Jennifer Blewett of 1792 must be the Jane Treweeler who married Joseph Smitheram in 1811!
And I would suggest the possibility that Thomas Trewhela was sometimes known as Thomas Blewett Trewhela so when the Vicar entered the baptism in the register he merely wrote 'Thomas Blewett' rather than 'Thomas Blewett Trewhela'. (Remember that there is already a precedent in the family with Jane Blewitt Trewheela baptized in 1773.
So Jennifer was the daughter of Thomas Trewhela and his wife Elizabeth (nee Hancock) and not, as recorded, of Thomas and Elizabeth Blewett.
CT