After much research I must conclude that the "Homestead by the Sandhills" is the closest meaning of Trethowan as source #8 suggests.
Source #1:
From my aunt Diane: The name comes from an old Celtic phrase meaning "Hearth of the Owens Clan."
Source #2:
From the Cornish Cousins web site: This is not for the full name, but rather a component of the name "Tre".
Tre is a place origin or to be in proximity or come from that place.
Source #3:
From an e-mail sent to me from John Symonds:
... I have a couple of books about Cornish names and surnames which certainly have material which would be of
interest to you.
Source #4 (I concider this the actual definition): Source #5: Source #6: Source #7 The Welsh Lexicon: Source #8 The Cornish Lexicon: TRE, f.: town, plural; trevow. From these differing sources it is safe to conclude that "Tre" can have the meanings The first is the book "Cornish Names" by T.F.G. Dexter, published by D. Bradford Barton Ltd in Truro CON. First
published in 1926, mine is a 1968 reprint. Here is his TRE definition: TRE, f.: a homestead and its surrounding buildings, a "town" as the Cornishman understands it in "Church
Town". In Scotland "town" (O.E. tun) is still used for a farmstead and its buildings. Tre is generally used in the
singular, and is an abbreviation of TREV f.; p. trevow, trevon, treven . The v is generally dropped before a
consonant, and it is sometimes difficult to decide whether the v belongs to the trev or to the epithet. The second book is "A Handbook of Cornish Surnames" by G. Pawley White, published by Dyllansow Truran in
1972. Mine is a second edition of January 1981.. Here is his statement about the surname Trethowan: TRETHOWAN from tre-(D)thewin: Homestead of Dewin. Place name Trethowan, Constantine. Spelt
Trevewen 1295. Found in Mid West Cornwall. I must explain the (D) bit in this explanation. In Cornish, adjectives like nouns can be of two genders, masculine
and feminine. The adjective which follows a Feminine noun is modified to agree with the Feminine noun. This
modification takes place at the beginning of the word and not at the end. In the name Trewthowan, we have the feminine noun Tre requiring that the epithet Dewin should have the D
mutated to TH. Another example is the name Carthew, which could be translated as the camp of Dew or as we
would say Dew's camp. There is the possibility in Pawley White's interpretation that the "in" on the end Dew is
actually a plural of Dew. I have discovered that Dew also can mean "god" so Trethowan might mean the
homestead of the gods!!! Dexter gives an example that Saws means Saxon and Sawson means Saxons, so that Tresawsen means the
town of the Saxons and not the town of the Saxon. Perhaps in our case, I should have written Dews' camp!
Trethowan could become the homestead of the Dewins. Source #4: The earliest records of the name Trethowan are detailed in a book called "Constantine in Cornwall "by Charles
Henderson where he mentions that in the time of the Doomsday Book it was owned by the king (William The
Conqueror ) . I quote: "Trethowan (120 acres) gave name and origin to a family of small gentry, resident here in the 16th and 17th
centuries. The name Trethowan is still found in the parish. Alan Trethouen paid the subsidy in 1327. Henry
Trethowyn did homage to the Lord of Merthen for a Cornish Acre held in Trethowyn in Knight's service. In 1528
part of Trethowyn was held by the heirs of Trethowyn and part, with Polpry, by Gerveys of Bonallack, both under
the manor of Merthen in Knights service. John Trethowan of Trethowan married, in 1588, Avis, daughter of Thomas Enys of Enys C.S. Gilbert (Survey of Cornwall ) in 1820 noticed a " a shield over the entrance to the house which is supposed
to bear the Arms of Trethowan , apparently three garbs. Trethowan is now farmed with Merthen. There is said to be a crock of gold buried at Trethowan, and more than
one vain attempt has been made to discover it." The ruins are still visible and I do have a photograph of a print
purporting to be the old manor.
From http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~kernow/names_t.htm:
TRETHOWAN tre-(D)Thewin, homestead of Dewin, (d mutates to th)
From misc. source:
TRETHOWAN from the farm by the sandhills
http://www.summerlands.com/crossroads/celticlanguage/labara6.html
Divinour 'diviner, fortuneteller, wizard' - compare Welsh DEWIN, covered in "Labara 4: A Taste of Welsh Verse"
http://www.cs.cf.ac.uk/fun/welsh/LexiconWE.html
dewin [-iaid, m.] - (n.) mage, diviner, magician, wizard, augur
As for "Sandhills" closest is - bank of sand - (n.) traethell [-au, f.]
As for Homestead - cartref [-i, -ydd, m.], pentref [-i, -ydd, m.], ty+ [tai, m.], tyddyn [-nod, -nau, m.]
As for Owen - (prop.n.) Owain
http://www.pauldavies.net/cornish/lexicon.cfm
Sandhill - (m.) towan
From, By the, Of the, Home stead of, Hearth. . .This squares with Source #2.
But Still there is no firm agreement on Thowan/Dewin. Owins, Sand Hills, Diviner or Wizard?
There was a farm with the coat-of-arms presenting 3 shieves of wheat, hung above the door.
From an e-mails sent to me from David Trethowan:
I LIVE IN Constantine where the Trethowan name seems to have originated Trethowan Manor(remains) is
nearby.
by Katherine Reskymer of Merthen. In 1649 and 1660 Thomas Trethowan was living at
Trethowan, which was his Freehold. In 1726 John Trethowan owned it. After that the family appears to have
sold its land to the Vyvyans of Trelowarren.
" Trethowan farmhouse is in ruins and shows no trace of ancient work except some granite quoins. The shield
has disappeared.
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