George Daniel Tompson and Alice Oldfield

St Andrew's Church, Whittlesey
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Tiger - geograph.org.uk/p/924937

George Daniel Tompson (b. 1885 in St George in the East, London), son of Dan Tompson and Sarah Jane Baker, married Alice Oldfield (b. 1879 in Whittlesey), daughter of George Oldfield (Licenced Victualler and Blacksmith. Pubs in East Delph were the Anchor, The Three Fishes and the Hare and Hounds, but records don't show which one George Oldfield kept) and Caroline Hemmaway, in the parish of Whittlesey St Andrew, on on 29 Mar 1910.

On 7 March 1908, George Daniel Tompson had sailed from Liverpool, on the Lusitania and arrived in New York, to Ellis Island, on 13 March 1908. The passenger manifest shows the 22 year old bricklayer's intended destination had been Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. However, there's a line through his name, so it looks as if he was refused entry to the United States. Quite when, how and why he ended up in Toronto, Canada instead remains a mystery, but clearly he set himself up there, then returned for his bride.

House on the right 133 Morrison Avenue, Toronto, Canada

After their marriage in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire in 1910, in 1911, George, with wife Alice, were back in Canada, where, on 25 Apr 1911, Alice gave birth to a stillborn son at 133 Morrison Avenue, Toronto, Canada.

On the 1911 Canadian Census on 1 Jun 1911, living at 133 Morrison Avenue, Toronto, were George Tompson (27), Alice Tompson (32), Richard Oldfield (26), Walter Oldfield (22), Charles Oldfield (19), William Tinkler (26) and Fred Tinkler (26), the last two being boarders. Richard, Walter and Charles Oldfield were all Alice's younger brothers. Richard and Walter were Bricklayers Labourers and Charles a labourer. Alice's three brothers hadn't been in Canada long, as they had been listed on the 1911 United Kingdom census on 2 Apr 1911 in their father's household. Pure speculation, of course, but it would make sense if, having arrived in Toronto around 1908, George Daniel acquired the plot in Earlscourt and built the house at number 133 Morrison Avenue in the intervening years before going back to England to claim his bride once he'd prepared a home for them. The workforce of brickies' labourers turned up a year later and they built the house at 131 Morrison Avenue ready for Dad to move into in 1912. Possibly. Maybe.

George and Alice went on to have at least these children:

1. Stillborn son b. 25 Apr 1911 at 133 Morrison Avenue
2. Daniel George Tompson (Dan) b. 23 May 1912 at 133 Morrison Avenue
3. Ruth Tompson b. 3 Sep 1914 (d. 2008)
4. Richard Tompson (Dick) b. 18 Mar 1916 at 131 Morrison Avenue
5. Charles Gordon Tompson (Chuck) b. 20 Mar 1919
6. Walter Tompson (Wally) b. 11 Mar 1921

In 1921, George Daniel Thompson (36) was living at 124 Hatherley Road, Toronto (which, once more, he may have built) with Alice (41), Daniel George (9), Ruth (6), Richard (5), Charles Gordon (2), and Walter, 2 months.

In 1931, George D Thompson (46) still at 124 Hatherley Rd, with Alice (51), Daniel G (19), Ruth (16), Richard (15) and Charles (12) and Walter (10).

George Daniel Tompson was also listed at 124 Hatherley Road, in the Toronto Centennial City Directory in 1934 and their son, Daniel George, was listed in that directory at that time as a teacher at a York Public School. 

Alice Tompson (90), wife of George Daniel Tompson, died at Riverdale Hospital on Thursday, 26 Jun 1969. The announcement of her death, in the Toronto Star, lists her as the dear mother of Mrs Ruth Blackman, Richard, Walter and the late Daniel and Charles and that they had nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Alice's brother Richard Oldfield was also mentioned by name. Alice was interred at Westminster Memorial Park.

George Daniel Tompson (88), beloved husband of the late Alice Oldfield, died on 16 Aug 1973. His obituary lists his children Ruth Blackman, Richard, Walter; Charles Gordon and Daniel George both pre-deceased and that he was the "loved brother of Ivy, Nellie and Toots" (his three younger sisters: Ivy Maud Tompson, Ellen Hoile Folville Tompson and Amelia Mary Tompson.) 

(Obituaries via Christine Miller of GIN AND GENEALOGY).

Dennis Blackman son of George Blackman and Ada Alice Young, married Ruth Thompson (with an H in her name), in Fairbank, York, Ontario, Canada on 29 Oct 1937. Born Dennis Leslie James Blackman in 1911 D Quarter in READING Volume 02C Page 665 and bap. 15 Oct 1911 at St Luke's Church, Reading, Berkshire, he emigrated to Canada with his parents and older sister, Dorothy Margaret Annie Blackman, sailing on the S/S Ausonia from Southampton, arriving in Quebec, Canada on 14 Jul 1913.

Daniel George Tompson married Dorothy Adeline Bryant on 30 Apr 1938. Daniel George Tompson, Head of Science Dept., York Memorial Collegiate, died suddenly on Friday, 19 Nov 1965 at Humber Memorial Hospital. His obituary mentions two sons, his parents, 1 sister and 2 brothers. Daniel is buried at Westminster Memorial Park. Dorothy died in 2009, at 96.

Charles Gordon Tompson married Irene Mary McQueston (b. 1919), daughter of John McQueston and Annie Holmes, in Toronto on 18 Dec 1940. Sergeant Charles Gordon Tompson (25), B/69674. Mentioned in Despatches. "C" Sqn., 3rd Armd. Recce. [Reconnaissance] Regt., of the Governor General's Horse Guards, R.C.A.C., was killed in Italy on 18 Dec 1944. He is buried at Villanova Canadian War Cemetery, Villanova di Bagnacavallo, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Plot VI, C, 3. Second World War Book of Remembrance. From his obituary: "Sgt. Charles Gordon Tompson, 25, of the Governor General's Horse Guards, Reconnaissance Unit, was killed in Italy on Dec 18, according to word received [from his wife] the former Irene McQuestion, 522, Delaware Ave. Born in Toronto, Sgt. Tompson attended York Memorial Collegiate. Before enlisting in October 1939, Sgt. Tompson was employed by Timmins and Timmins brokerage firm, a member of the GGHG Reserve Sgt. Tompson trained at Camp Borden and arrived overseas in October 1941. He went to Italy in May of the next year. He saw action at both the Hitler and Gothic Lines. Sgt. Tompson was the son of Mr and Mrs George Tompson, 124 Hatherly Road. Surviving besides his wife and parents are two brothers and one sister; Lieut. Richard, who was wounded at Normandy and had just returned to Canada [as a stretcher case]; Flt. Lt. Walter, stationed at Ceylon, India [now Sri Lanka] and Mrs Ruth Blackman of Toronto. A brother-in-law [Ruth's husband], Sgt. Major Dennis Blackman is stationed in England with GGHG."

It appears that Richard Tompson married his brother Charles' widow, the former Miss Irene Mary McQueston, but [as yet], I've been unable to find a record of the actual marriage. Richard Tompson died peacefully on Sunday, 13 Oct 1996 in his 81st year. Irene Mary Tompson died, at 80, in 1999.

LAC Walter Tompson married Gladys Marion Tulloch (b. 22 Sep 1924), daughter of Walter Edgar Tulloch and Mildred Ann Hermiston, in Blind River, Algoma, Ontario, Canada, on 17 Feb 1942. Gladys Marian Tompson died, aged 90, on Sunday May 3, 2015 and Walter Tompson died on Sunday February 5, 2017, at the age of 95. (Links include bios.)

124 Hatherley Road, Toronto

Con Colleano and Winifred Constance Stanley Trevail

Winifred Constance Stanley Trevail and Con Colleano

Cornelius Sullivan (b. 26 Dec 1899 in Lismore, New South Wales), Theatrical, son of Cornelius Sullivan and Julia Robinson, married my 2nd cousin twice removed, Winifred Constance Stanley Trevail (b. 16 Sep 1900 in Lambeth, Surrey), Actress, daughter of Herbert Fleming Trevail and Alice Maud Stanley Blazey on 10 July 1926 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan. The marriage licence states they were married by the Associate Pastor of the Central Methodist Episcopal Church, from which I deduce that the venue was the Central United Methodist Church (Detroit), although they were resident in Brooklyn, New York. Both stated they'd not been married before.

While researching, I found a record of a marriage of a Winifred C Trevail, in Victoria, Australia, in 1919 to a Leonard Mendoza. Even sounded like Winnie's "type" and I knew I would need to obtain the certificate to confirm, but just how many people named Winifred C Trevail were there likely to be, and in the same area? As expected, the record clearly tells us that the marriage between Leonard Mendoza (24) Bachelor, born in Melbourne, Victoria, son of Charles Mendoza, Carpenter and Annie Gordon, and Winifred Constance Trevail (19) Spinster, born in Brixton, England - both list their occupations as 'Theatrical' - in the Parish or Church District of Melbourne on 15 Aug 1919, lists her father as Herbert Trevail, Carpenter and mother as Alice Blazey, so there can be absolutely no doubt whatsoever that this was indeed 'our' Winnie.

It's said that Winnie met Con, in Melbourne, Victoria, when she was 22. What can have happened to Leonard Mendoza in those 3 years? If he'd died, or they divorced, Winnie would have listed that she was a widow or a divorcee when she married Con, so I'm certain Winnie was committing bigamy in 1926.

We know Winnie was in Melbourne before that first marriage, because in the Victoria Police Gazette of 11 Apr 1918, appeared the following report: 

"TREVAIL, WINNIE theatrical, 7 McKenzie Street, Melbourne, reports stolen from the dressing-room, Bijou Theatre, Bourke Street, Melbourne on the 3rd inst. a diamond cluster ring, diamond in the centre set with other stones around, the centre stone is set a little to side, gold band at side of setting is wavy. Value £8." There can be no doubt who made this report either. 

Several articles mention that Winifred "claimed descent from the Earls of Derby" and it appears the source is her brother, Eric, so I assume the story was perpetuated within the family. It is very tempting to dismiss this entirely as theatrical fantasy, but I have no actual evidence to disprove it. 

Known professionally as Con Colleano, Cornelius Sullivan, was the most famous and highest paid "swashbuckling circus performer with matinee idol looks" of his time, “The Australian Wizard of the Wire”. A member of the Circus Hall of Fame, Con Colleano is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first person to prefect the forward somersault on the tight wire. 

"Mrs. Winnie Colleano (neé Trevail) was herself a well known Australian Vaudeville Soubrette", dancer and trapeze artist." One article says that Winnie Trevail began appearing on the stage in Sydney as a child, but actually, she was performing before that in New Zealand. There in Lyttelton, New Zealand in 1909 - where her father's aunts, Ellen Higgs and Mary Ann Burn Trevail Bawden then lived - reports in the Lyttelton Times in Oct 1909 detail that Miss Winnie Trevail was appearing in one of the principle roles in a production staged by the Garrick Juvenile Opera Company, at the Opera House there. 

Trevail abandoned her own career in 1924 to travel with her husband.

Con Colleano on a slack-wire, circa 1920

Con Colleano, was of Aboriginal, Anglo-Irish and West Indian descent and adopted a Spanish persona and a costume of a ‘toreador’ or bullfighter.

Colleano’s Indigenous heritage was unknown to his fans – which included one of history’s most infamous racists - "Few people are aware of the fact that in the 1930’s, Adolf Hitler issued an Aboriginal Australian tightrope walker with a German passport so he could come and go as he pleased."

Passenger lists reveal that Cornelius Sullivan and Winifred C. S. Trevail left Southampton, England on 13 Sep 1924, on the RMS Berengaria (former SS Imperator), The first Cunard "Queen". This was their first trip to the US, so their port of arrival was the infamous Ellis Island, New York. Various sources tell us that, in 1924, Con made his debut at the New York Hippodrome before returning to the circus with Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

There's also record of Cornelius and Winifred C Sullivan Colleano travelling from Southampton to New York, on the Berengaria, on 24 Feb 1937.

On 7 Jan 1938, Cornelius and Winifred (Sullivan) Colleano, left Sydney, bound for California, on the luxury ocean liner, SS Mariposa (1931).

On 8 Sep 1939, Cornelius and Winifred Sullivan, listed as British, boarded the Italian ocean liner, SS Rex, leaving Genoa, bound for New York.

In 1940, they are shown arriving in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

These, I'm sure are just the tip of a globe-trotting iceberg, but it was finding these records of voyages that led me to discover more of their story.

The former Albion Hotel (pub) at Forbes, New South Wales, Sheba, CC BY-SA 2.0

"Sadly Con and Winnie ultimately lost all their money indulging in a luxurious lifestyle, giving it away to friends and making a disastrous investment in a pub in outback Australia in the 1950s (what were they thinking?)."

Con Sullivan died, in Miami, Florida, on 13 Nov 1973 and in his obituary in The Stage, the wife of Con's brother is quoted as saying, "His wife WINNIE has cabled that she is broken-hearted because she found my dear brother-in-law lying dead, obviously she is too shocked to tell me more."

Winnie returned to Australia, where she died, in Sydney, in on 5 Jan 1986. 

Con Colleano home movie: circus preparations (1928)

Sources (many of these links contain images):

1. Con Colleano From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2. “The Australian Wizard of the Wire”
3. AUSTRALIAN VARIETY THEATRE ARCHIVE
4. Inducted into the Ring of Fame: 1992
5. Meet the true circus wonders
6. Con Colleano: Australia's 'Wizard of the Wire'
7. Con Colleano: Wizard of the Wire
8. Colleano, Con (Cornelius) (1899–1973)
9. Circus pays homage to wire wizard
10. Interview with Eric Trevail, brother of Winnie Colleano
11. The Aboriginal tightrope walker who duped Hitler & Mussolini

Videos:

1. Con Colleano rehearsing his tight wire act at his home, circa 1939
2. COLLEANO, CON, Australia's tightwire wizard (USA, c.1929)
3. COLLEANO, CON, a life commemorated, (Australia, 2005)
4. COLLEANO, CON, mini-doco of tightwire artist (Australia, 1994)
5. Con Colleano home movie: circus preparations (1928)

Further reading: The wizard of the wire : the story of Con Colleano