(David Trelford 1862, wife Sarah Younge and daughters, Margaret, Sarah Jane, and Letitia)The purpose of the website is hopefully to obtain information concerning the Trelford family's Belfast connection. So far we can establish a link to James Trelford 1720, with branches in Canada and Australia.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
Willliam Trelford, born 1782 had seven children 4 daughters and 3 sons. Three of his daughters, Jane, Susan and Ann all married men with the surname Coates. Jane married Matthew, Susan married William and Ann married Francis. Whether these 3 men were brothers or cousins I do not know. There were a lot of marriages between Trelfords and Coates. In fact the first James Trelford was married to Anne Coates.
William Trelford, born in 1804, was married three times. He had three children to his first wife, Elizabeth Brown, two children to his second wife, Agnes Nocher and nine children to his third wife, Mathilda Nelson.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
Willliam Trelford, born 1782 had seven children 4 daughters and 3 sons. Three of his daughters, Jane, Susan and Ann all married men with the surname Coates. Jane married Matthew, Susan married William and Ann married Francis. Whether these 3 men were brothers or cousins I do not know. There were a lot of marriages between Trelfords and Coates. In fact the first James Trelford was married to Anne Coates.
William Trelford, born in 1804, was married three times. He had three children to his first wife, Elizabeth Brown, two children to his second wife, Agnes Nocher and nine children to his third wife, Mathilda Nelson.
I have found a few cases where a child had died young and a subsequent child has been given the same name.
I would really like to find out where James Trelford, born about 1720 came from. I wonder if he came to work with an English landowner, or if he came with the army.
I would really like to find out where James Trelford, born about 1720 came from. I wonder if he came to work with an English landowner, or if he came with the army.
Thetford was a Norfolk name in the 16th century. Trelford was spelt many different ways and this was one of them so that is another possibility. An early case of this was Margaret Thetford baptised on 12 July 1761.
At any rate it appears that James Trelford (1720) may have had two brothers, William and John. James married Anne Coates about 1744, William married Diane Pinkerton and John married Mary McFall. James had five children, William had a daughter and John had six children.
Tracing the history of the Trelfords has been quite difficult as they keep using the same names. For instance there are 8 James, 13 Williams, 7 Janes, 4 Margarets and various other names, which have been used more than once. If there is a change of name it probably means that the child has been called after their maternal side, as happened in the case of my Mother. She was called Letitia after her maternal grandmother. From the early 1900’s there is more variety and you find names such as Kathleen, Eileen, Denise, Laura and Evelyn creeping in.
Three people on the family tree were killed in the First Work War. William McIvor and brothers Hugh and Hamilton Mitchell. Jack Murdie was killed in 1946 just after the Second World War. My uncle Wm. James Beattie Trelford served in the First World War and my cousin Tom Russell served in the RAF during the Second World War.
There are approximately eighty surnames in the family history and almost half of these are in “The Book of Ulster Surnames” by Robert Bell. Two of the main names Trelford and Coates are not in this book, but Coates is in “The Surnames of Ireland” by Edward Maclysaght.
In 1987 I was given the undernoted explanation as to the origin of the name Trelford.
TRELFORD
Although we know that the name Trelford has been in use for at least 250 years it does not appear in the Penguin Book of Surnames or any other reference book I have read. Because of this we have to look at corruptions of other listed names e.g. Telford, Telfer.
The origin of these is Taille Fer (cutting iron), which was given to someone who was strong enough to use a cleaver in battle or perhaps to those who made the weapons. Incidentally this Taille Fer goes back a long way in history. The minstrel of William the Conqueror was named Taille Fer and he had the doubtful honour of being the first casualty in the battle of Hastings. I read that there were no Taille Fers in the Doomesday Book but this mainly applied to landowners. Another possibility is from Threfal, which is associated with a clearing. This author suggests that this name is common in Lancashire and that Ford is used in Northumberland.
Tre means homestead in Cornish and Ford means water crossing.
Any further information would be greatly appreciated.
