Who Were They

The postings on this blog on August 28 included photos from Jesse and Rhoda Mewett’s photo album showing the wedding party of Martha (Matty) Mewett and Jonathan Dover at the Jesse Mewett farmhouse. What I had forgotten then and later remembered on a prompt from Sue Stevens (nee Trestrail) that the scene of the photos was the property known as “Trevale”. There is quite a connection between the Mewett and Trestrail families and includes Trevale.

For me, the story begins with the marriage of Jesse’s daughter Sarah Ann (born 1859 at Park Farm) to Albert Edwin Trestrail in 1881 at the Wesleyan Church, Williamstown S.A.  Jesse’s son David and Sarah Giddings, Rhoda’s youngest sister, signed the marriage certificate as witnesses.

In 1883 Jesse purchased from James Trestrail, storeman of Gawler, and Albert Edwin Trestrail, farmer of Williamstown, the 163-acre property known as “Trevale”. It comprised Sections 1529 and 1535 and was located to the left of the road on the way from Kersbrook before crossing the South Para river to Williamstown. Jesse paid 500 pounds cash and mortgaged the balance of 396.5 pounds with interest of 7.5%, paying 5.5 pounds per acre. When the writer visited the site about 35 years ago (circa 1980) the ruins of the house were situated in a pine forest in the vicinity of the South Para Dam.

In 1888 Jesse’s eldest son, David William, married Eva Emma Louisa Trestrail at the Wesleyan Parsonage at Gawler S.A. Albert Edwin Trestrail, beefarmer, and Martha (Matty) Mewett, clerk, were witnesses. There were six daughters and four sons born to David and Eva.

Sadly, Sarah Ann Trestrail died of tuberculosis at Wangolere in 1885. Her daughter Annie Mabel Trestrail was born in 1883.
                                                                                       Effie Trestrail
From dates of birth certificates it would appear that Jesse and his family worked and lived on Wangolere up until the purchase of Trevale. It would also appear that the Trestrail family worked and lived on Wangolere after their sale of Trevale to Jesse.

In Jesse and Rhoda’s photo album there is only one photo identified as a Trestrail, that of “Effie”.  I do not know her relationship to the Trestrails described above but she was obviously a close friend or relative of the Mewetts to be included in the album. The photo is included in this post.

– almewett

The labour force at Wangolere photographed along with three dogs, a horse, large barrels, and not forgetting the young lady at your left!  Jesse Mewett is said to be the man at the viewer’s left in the front row, still wearing his wide-awake hat, waistcoat and jacket. I had thought for years that the tall man at centre front was a Mewett, but …..?  A boy at the viewer’s right, at the back, could be a Mewett. I believe that members of the Trestrail family could be present in this photo. The Trestrails were residing at Wangolere later than the Mewetts. Lucy Trestrail was born here in 1890, Adeline in 1894. More about the Trestrails and their farm Trevale in another posting. Wangolere was situated on the South Para River and was flooded when the South Para Reservoir was built 1949 – 1958.

This photo was not taken from the Jesse Mewett album but was obtained separately. It was taken on the wine-growing property known as Wongalere, owned by Joseph Gilbert. It was here that Gilbert married Anna Browne in 1848. Gilbert also owned the Pewsey Vale property which lent its name to a brand well known to wine lovers. It has been pointed out to me that Jesse Mewett is at the back of the group, wearing a wide-awake hat, that is, with upturned front brim; he is the only adult wearing a waistcoat and jacket and growing a grey beard. The appearance of the boy at the front centre wearing a cap and shoulder pads prompts me to suggest he could be a Mewett. It seems that the property name was spelled Wangolere when Jesse and Rhoda resided there. Birth certificates of Anne Marie (1868), Rhoda Ann (1874), Catherine May (1877), and death certificate of Anne Marie (1873), list Wangolere as the usual residence.