HE TRIMINGHAM FAMILY in Bermuda, and their descendants, trace back to the first Trimingham to arrive there – John Trimingham.

Extensive research on the Trimingham family in England by William E. Trimingham of Seattle led to John Trimingham's roots in Fishlake, Yorkshire. John was baptized in the Church of St. Cuthbert in Fishlake on 10 January 1590, the second child of John Trimingham and his wife Brigitta, or Bridget. Andrew Trimingham, of Bermuda and England, another researcher and a descendant of John's, believes that John Trimingham went to Bermuda as an agent for John Dyke, an investor in the Bermuda Company which planned to develop the Bermuda islands. It is thought that John Dyke, through his family roots in Yorkshire, might have known John Trimingham or his family.

It is not known when John and Ann (sometimes spelled Anne) Trimingham were married, where their children were born nor when they arrived in Bermuda, but in 1627 there is a reference to their seating in Southampton Church; and a Richard Williams was bound apprentice to John Trimingham for seven years starting 7 June 1639. On 25 September 1649 John was elected governor of Bermuda and served in that office until 22 May 1650. John Trimingham was also a counsellor of Paget Tribe.

In her Genealogical Notes From Bermuda, Julia E. Mercer notes that it is believed that John Trimingham came to Bermuda with his wife, son Paul and two daughters, Bridget and Ann, as well as a stepson Robert Williams. Her assumption is that Ann was a widow, Ann Williams, when she married John. It is unknown if the apprentice Richard Williams is related in some way.

John Trimingham died in London and his will was proved 25 January 1655/56. Ann Trimingham died about 1677. Her will was written in 1673 and proved 22 Oct 1677.

John’s son, Paul, married Jane Nicholls and they had two children born in Bermuda: John and Ann, born about 1669 and 1671. John also married a Jane, last name unknown, and they had five children: Paul, John, Daniel, Catherine and Jane, not necessarily in that order.

Catherine married George Brent, ca. 1703 - ca. 1778, of Woodstock Plantation, Stafford County, Virginia, about 1730 in Bermuda. Sarah, their first child, was born in Bermuda, and it is thought they did not return to Virginia for several years. It is not known which other children were born in Bermuda, but two of the children’s births were recorded in the Overwharton Parish Register in Stafford County: Jane (or Jean), 10 April 1738; and George, 23 October 1740. Various sources say that Catherine was related to George Brent’s mother, Susannah Seymour, also from a Bermuda family, but no relationship has been found yet.

The Trimingham family continues in Bermuda to the present day. Originally the family was in the shipping business, but in the early 1840s James Harvey Trimingham opened the first Trimingham store in the cellar of the family home. Known as Trimingham Brothers and later located on Front Street, the department store was a fixture in Hamilton. Sadly, the store closed in 2005.

George and Catherine’s oldest son, Robert (d.1780) married Ann Carroll (1733-1804), daughter of Daniel Carroll and Eleanor Darnall of Upper Marlborough, Maryland, and sister of John Carroll, the first Catholic Archbishop in the United States and the founder of Georgetown College, now Georgetown University. Another brother was Daniel Carroll of Rock Creek who was a member of the Constitutional Convention and a signer of the Constitution.

Robert and Ann Carroll Brent had eight children, one of whom, Robert Brent, was the first mayor of Washington D.C. Their oldest son, George, sold the sandstone quarry that had been in the Brent family since about 1650 to Pierre L'Enfant in 1791 to quarry Aquia freestone for the public buildings, including the White House and the Capitol, in Washington City, then under development.

Their youngest child was Col. William Brent (1775-1848) who married twice, first to Catherine Walker Johnson, and after Catherine died in 1822, to Elizabeth Neale, and had children by both wives. Robert and Ann Carroll Brent's grandson, Robert Carroll Brent, sold Woodstock in 1832. There is nothing remaining of the Woodstock estate, which also included the town of Woodstock, except for the Brent family cemetery, just off Route 1. Although heavily vandalized during the Civil War, the cemetery is still there.

William and Catherine’s oldest child, Thomas William Brent (1803-1875) became an officer in the U.S. Navy and married into a prominent and long established Pensacola family. His wife, Merced Gonzalez (1824-1919), was the daughter of Col. Celestino Gonzales (c.1795-1844) and Pauline Granpera (1800-1896). All the Pensacola Brents descend from Thomas and Merced Brent.


Related Links
Descendant report for William and Jenet Trimingham of Fishlake, Yorkshire, eleven generations
The Trimingham family of Fishlake, Yorkshire, England
Trimingham family tree
Burial of Bridget Trimingham, Fishlake, Yorkshire, 1605
John Trimingham's baptism, Fishlake, Yorkshire, 1590
Will of John Trimingham, 1655, first of the family in Bermuda
Will of Ann Trimingham, d.1677, wife of John Trimingham, d.1655
Will of Paul Trimingham, 1689, son of John and Ann Trimingham
Extract from the will of John Trimingham, d.1735, father of Catherine Trimingham Brent
Will of John Trimingham, d.1735, father of Catherine Trimingham Brent
Letter of Marque issued to John Trimingham, d.1735, in 1704
Inventory of the estate of Jane Trimingham, 1741, mother of Catherine Trimingham Brent
Bermuda connection to the Brent family of Virginia

The photograph of Waterville, above, shows one of the old Trimingham houses as it appears today. Built around 1725, it was home to seven generations of Triminghams. In 1842, the storage cellar served as the beginnings of the family business, Trimingham Brothers. The house was located on the water across the Hamilton Harbour from Hamilton near the very end of the harbour - "The Lane" - convenient for shipping. The famous department store, which by 1861 was located on Front Street in Hamilton, is now closed.Catherine Trimingham most likely lived in another of the Trimingham homes, Tankfield. Waterville today is the headquarters of the Bermuda National Trust, open to the public.
Photograph by Anne Healy Field, 1999.

Much credit goes to William E. Trimingham for his research on the Fishlake Triminghams and to Andrew Trimingham for his research on the Bermuda Triminghams. Both have since died, but we are fortunate that they were generous enough to share their knowledge.