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 grandmother's 2nd cousin, 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 also 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 was her brother, Eric, so I assume the story was perpetuated within the family. It's very tempting to dismiss this entirely as theatrical fantasy, but as Winnie's great-grandfather on her mother's side, Augustus George Stanley, came from a quite well off background, and the family name of the Earls of Derby, is also Stanley, who knows? On the other hand, I can confirm that Winnie was a cousin of Silvanus Trevail, famous architect and former Mayor of Truro, as her great-grandfather, Joseph Trevail, was the younger brother of Philip Trevail, Silvanus Trevail's grandfather.

Known professionally as Con Colleano, Cornelius Sullivan, was the most famous and highest paid "swashbuckling circus performer with matinee idol looks" of his time, also hailed as “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 successfully attempt a forward somersault on a tightrope. The forward somersault on a high wire (or tightrope) is widely considered one of the most difficult and dangerous balancing acts in circus history. Unlike a backward somersault—where an acrobat can keep the wire in their field of vision for a longer period—a forward somersault forces the performer to blindly rotate forward, losing sight of the wire until the absolute last millisecond before landing.

"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. 

In 1913, a talented troupe of 40 children from Mount Victoria, under the direction of Mr. Herbert Fleming Trevail, presented an entertaining pantomine entitled "Babes in the Wood”. Winifred (Winnie) Trevail, who was one of the babes, lived with her family in Mount Victoria having emigrated from England. She was a rising vaudeville soubrette and dancer who made a name for herself on the Tivoli circuit. [Source]

Trevail abandoned her own career around 1924 to travel with her husband. Winifred "Winnie" Trevail played a vital role in transforming Con Colleano from a highly skilled acrobat into an international sensation, acting as his choreographer, creative director, and primary documentarian. [1], [2]. Winnie taught Con how to dance seamlessly on the high wire. Colleano's performances took them to all the big American theatres and on to Europe where Winnie became an important part of his act choreographing his routines. She helped him fuse intense wire acrobatics with stylized dance, such as the Spanish bolero. [3] While Con originally performed in a top hat and tails, Winnie encouraged him to adopt the dramatic Spanish toreador persona. This visual identity became his signature trademark, providing the necessary cover to bypass racial restrictions that targeted Indigenous performers at the time. [4] (That first marriage to Leonard Mendoza, which curiously, is never mentioned anywhere in these articles, looks to me like the source of her inspiration.) Winnie occasionally took part directly in the production. The couple presented a rich contrast on stage, Con with his handsome, dark features, and Winnie with her blonde hair—the proverbial English rose. [5] Behind the scenes, Winnie acted as the archivist of his career. She filmed behind-the-scenes rehearsals and life on the road using a 16mm home camera. Decades later, she donated these historic collections to the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) and Arts Centre Melbourne, ensuring his legendary feats were preserved for history. [6], [7].

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.

Con Colleano performed for several seasons with Bertram Mills' Circus at Olympia London.

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." Hitler wasn't the only dictator to be conned by "the Wizard". The Italian prime minister, Benito Mussolini, gave him a medal and called him "a stud of a man" [Source]

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. Clearly they were let in. 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. 

In 1997 the Australia government issued a postage stamp honouring Con Colleano.

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
12. Wire wizard Con Colleano's incredible legacy celebrated on highwire in Lismore for NAIDOC Week
13. Con Colleano - a Landing after a Forward Somersault (Olympia 1932)

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 

Henrich Schumacher and Alice Hannah Blazey

Redfern Street showing Court House and Post Office, Redfern (NSW)

A part-Anglicised Henry Schumacher (b. ~1859), Baker, son of Frederick Schumacher, Smith, married Alice Hannah Blazey (b. 6 Feb 1865), Servant, daughter of Samuel Blazey and Elizabeth Wiggins, at St Thomas, Baroness Road, Bethnal Green, London on 17 Mar 1888. Witnesses to their marriage appear to have been an Adolf Fritz and Elizabeth Theresa Emily Duke.

Various records point to the couple having thirteen children:

1. Caroline Alice Schumacher b. 1889 S Qtr in GREENWICH Vol 01D 958
2. Mary Elizabeth Schumacher b. 1890 D Quarter in SAINT GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 319
3. Heinrich Friedrich Schumacher b. 1892 M Qtr in ST GEORGE IN THE EAST Vol 01C Page 398. Died 1892 J Qtr Vol 01C Page 245
4. George Schumacher b. 1893 in Waterloo, Sydney, NSW. Died 1895, also in Waterloo, NSW with parents listed as Heinrich and Alice.
5. Amelia Schumacher b. 1895 in Newtown, New South Wales
6. Francis Joseph Schumacher b. 1896 in Waterloo, Sydney, NSW
7. Henry Stephen Schumacher b. 1897 in Waterloo, Sydney, NSW
8. Alice Paulina Schumacher b. 1900 in Waterloo, Sydney, NSW
9. Frederick Ludwig Schumacher b. 1901 in Waterloo, Sydney, NSW
10. Hilda Lilian Schumacher b. 1 Jun 1902 in Waterloo, Sydney, NSW
11. William J Schumacher b. 1903 in Waterloo, Sydney, NSW. Died in 1903, also in Waterloo, NSW, with parents listed as Henry and Alice
12. Rose Nell Schumacher b. 1905 in Waterloo, Sydney, NSW
13. Alfred Louis Schumacher b. 1909 in Waterloo, Sydney, NSW

The UK GRO birth registrations list the mother's maiden name as BLAZEY. The Australian birth records give their father's name as Henry/Heinrich F (or some variation or misspelling thereof) and mother's name as Alice.

In 1891, Heinrich Schumacher (32) Skin Dyer from Failsbach, Germany, was living at 1, Mary Ann Street, St George in the East, with Alice Schumacher (27) birthplace listed as New Cross, Surrey (Alice was born in Witney, Oxfordshire, so this may be where she was previously living and working); Caroline Schumacher (22 months) and Mary Schumacher (7 months), plus three boarders: Christian Kress (26), William Rudolph (26) and Antony Scruse (31), all also Skin Dyers, who were from various towns in Germany.

Then on 16 Feb 1893, H Schumacher (34), Elise (sic) Schumacher (29), Karoline (sic) Schumacher (3) and Mary Schumacher (1) were passengers on the SS Thermopylae, who embarked in London, bound for Sydney, Australia, where they arrived in the April of that year.

In 1913, Henry and Alice Schumacher are on the Australian Electoral Roll in Collins Street, Botany, NSW, with Henry listed as a Baker.

Henry Frederick Schumacher died on 8 Dec 1916 in Redfern, New South Wales and is buried at Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park (Botany Cemetery), Matraville, New South Wales. The record of Henry's death list his parents as Frederick and Catherine, but I've been unable to locate his birth.

The six daughters of Henrich Schumacher and Alice Hannah Blazey. Photo via Karen Lewis.

Alice Hannah Schumacher died on 22 Jan 1932, also in Redfern, New South Wales and is buried with her late husband. The record of her death confirms her father's name as Samuel and her mother's as Elizabeth. The last will and testament of Alice Hannah Schumacher, of Collins Street, Botany, Widow, dated 29 Oct 1930, appointed her children as executors. She directed her daughter Mary Elizabeth Humphry to "Draw my insurance money and pay all funeral expenses"; also that, "My house and home to be left as it is till my daughter Rose Nell Fraser Widow marries again [she didn't] nothing is to be taken from the home unless they all agree. Mrs Paulina Woolley is to stay in the home as long as she wish to she will be risponsible (sic) for all rates and taxes if at any time they wish to break up the home and sell the house no furniture is to be sold the girls can divide what there is if the house is sold." Then bequeaths: "£100 is to be given to my son Francis Joseph Schumacher; £100 to Alfred Louis Schumacher; £100 to Caroline Humphry and Mary Elizabeth Humphry to divide the rest: give Henry Stephen Schumacher £5 - also Frederick Ludwig Schumacher £5 - and to divide the balance between the girls names Amelia Barlow, Alice Paulina Woolley, Hilda Lilian Kenward, Caroline Humphry, Mary Humphry, Rose N Fraser, Widow."

The marriages of their ten surviving children:

1. Henry William Humphry married Caroline Alice Schumacher in Waterloo, New South Wales, in 1908. 
2. And Frederick Charles Humphry married Mary Elizabeth Schumacher, also in Waterloo, New South Wales, in 1910, in yet another case of two brothers marrying two sisters.
3. Harold Barlow married [Amelia] Queenie Schumacher, in 1913.
4. Cecil Augustus Woolley married Alice Paulina Schumacher in 1916; 
5. Henry Stephen Schumacher married Irene Eleanor Free in 1918; 
6. In 1924, David Fraser married Rose Nell Schumacher 
7. Frederick Ludwig Schumacher married Lily Rita Day; in 1925 
8. Sydney Victor Kenward married Hilda Lilian Schumacher in Parkes, NSW 
9. In 1932, Alfred Louis Schumacher married Melba Olive Myrtle Barker.
10. In 1936 Francis Joseph Schumacher married Annie Webber in Redfern.

In 1935, the Australia Electoral Roll lists Henry William Humphry, driver, Caroline Alice Humphry and Alice Annie Humphry at Dolly Cottage, Collins Street, Botany; Frederick Charles Humphrey, wool sorter, Mary Elizabeth Humphry and Henry Frederick Humphey at Sono, Collins Street, Botany; Cecil Augustus Woolley, collar maker, Alice Paulina Woolley, Francis Joseph Schumacher, tanner, and Rose Nell Fraser as living at Francis Cottage, Collins Street, Botany; Frederick Ludwig Schumacher, tanner, and Lily Rita Schumacher were in Bourke Street; Henry Stephen Schumacher, wool scourer, and Irene Eleanor Schumacher were at 3 Spring Street. Sidney Victor Kenward, Labourer, and Hilda Lilian Kenward were also in Bourke Street; Harold Barlow, tanner and Amelia Barlow were in Smith Street.

Burials (some lead to further records and family members):

• Henry Frederick Schumacher and Alice Hannah Blazey Schumacher
• Henry William Humphry and Caroline Schumacher Humphry
• Frederick Charles Humphry and Mary E Schumacher Humphry
• Harold Barlow and Amelia Schumacher Barlow
• Francis Joseph Schumacher
• Henry Stephen Schumacher and Irene Eleanor Free Schumacher
• Cecil Augustus Woolley and Alice Pauline Schumacher Woolley
• Frederick Ludwig Schumacher
• David Fraser and Rose Nell Schumacher Fraser
• Alfred Louis Schumacher and Melba O M Barker Schumacher
• Sydney Victor Kenward and Hilda Lillian Kenward