Leonard John Prowse Trewhella (1888 - 1889)

[tenpoundpom]

I have found an inquest report in the Royal Cornwall Gazette regarding this young lad which has him as a child of the unmarried Emma Jane Trewhella. I cannot find any other suitable candidates for the mother apart from Emma Jane who married a Mitchell and later a Quick in NZ. There are several threads about Emma Jane but I can find no mention of such a child. The only other Emma Jane Trewhella I can find was baptised in 1858 and buried 1863 at Madron.

I am curious about the forenames. Leonard is not a Trewhella forename that I have seen, but seen in Quick families. The Prowse name suggests a prospective father, but I haven't seen other Trewhella Prowse connections. The Prout name comes up from time to time.

So...is Leonard a previously unknown Trewhella? (Can't imagine so as he is found in the GRO birth indexes)..and is Emma Jane Trewhella (born 17 Feb 1862, daughter of William Trewhella and Mary Ann Clatworthy), his mother? Why was he named Leonard, and how does the Prowse name fit in?

Simon

[Cornish Terrier]

Simon - I did not have Leonard in my database but I did have it noted in my Birth Index that his mother was Emma Jane Trewhella. To have done that I suspect I must have at some time seen that same report but unfortunately I can not find it again.

Belay that - I just found my copy which is from The Cornishman!

There can be little doubt that the mother was the later wife of Christopher Osborne Quick. Within a year of the death Emma had travelled to New Zealand and she married Simon Thomas Mitchell at Christchuch 30th July 1890.

The report on the death in The Cornishman is a little confusing as it does not actually 'quote' but rather states facts and names days of events which appear to be based on the date of publication. To put everything in perspective you need to 'presume' that the information must be based on the date of the Inquest itself.
The date of publication was May 2nd 1889 and it states that 'An Inquest was held on Friday at Treloyan' which would have been April 26th. All information therefore should be based on this date.
'On Monday night last the child was taken worse and Dr Staff was sent for again, but he did not see the child alive.' Monday would have been April 21st so this statement indicates the child died that night however it is confused a little by the statement immediately following which continues:-
'Mrs Bolton went to the assistant-overseer of Lelant to get an order for Dr Staff to attend, but, by the time she returned to Carbis-water, the child had died.'

It would appear that these last two statements, quoted one immediately after the other, might have been quoted in reverse order. If that is the case then Mrs Bolton went for the assistant-overseer's order for Dr Staff and then returned home to find the child had died and during that time Dr Staff received the order. I expect then that the doctor arrived after Mrs Bolton had returned and, as quoted, did not see the child alive. The probability appears to be that the death occurred on Monday 21st April 1889.

The Lelant Parish Register shows the following burial recorded in 1889:-

'Unbaptised male child of Trewhella of Carbis Water age 9 months April 27th' (buried C118)

I don't know the reasons for the forenames but there is certainly an indication that the father may have been a Prowse.
It is interesting though that Emma Jane's brother John Trewhella had a son born at Marrickville, Sydney in 1896 and that son was named 'William Leonard'!

CT