The surname Trefry emerged as a notable English family name in the county of Cornwall, England. The first record of the name Trefry was found in Cornwall where they were anciently seated as Lords of the Manor Treffry , some say, at the time of the taking of the Domesday Book survey in 1086. The first on record was Roger Treffry about the year 1200 and 11th in descent from him in the main line was John Treffry , living in 1620.

Sir John Treffry of Fowey fought under the Black Prince at the Battle of Poitiers and personally took the French Royal Standard for which he was awarded his Coat of Arms charged with the Fleur dys lis of France. French marauders later besieged the family seat, Place House, but met with the repulse at the hands of Mistress Treffry. Later, Thomas Trevry built a tower to protect the mansion from the French attack. Earlier, other stems of the family branched to locations in Cornwall, and this ancient and noble house proceeded down to John Treffry of Place in 1658. A younger branch settled at Rooke, in the parish of St. Kew. Joseph Austen married into the family and changed his name to Treffry. He became High Sheriff of Cornwall in 1838. Their present family seat is still at Place.

Cornwall, with its rugged cliffs and bleak wind-swept moors is home to the distinguished surname Trefry and its history is interwoven into the rich fabric of the ancient chronicles of that country, famous not only for its tin mines but for being one of the earliest trading partners of the Biblical Phoenicians about the time of Christ. Cornwall emerged about 300-400 A. D., as the nation of Damnovia, or Dumnovia, the land of the southern Welsh. Included within the Cornish perimeter were parts of Devon and Somerset, even Wiltshire, a nation forced into the south-western most peninsula of England by the Saxons. But the indomitable Cornish people resisted. It was not until 926 A. D., almost 600 years later, that they were defeated by the Saxons.

The ancient Cornish people were collectively known as the Dumnonians and consisted of three tribes of Ancient Briton, the Veneti, the Curiovolitae and the Asismii. They spoke a dialect of the Welsh language, their ancestors to the north.

Traditionally, many of the Cornish names stem from the almost mythical, pixieish land of King Arthur and the Round Table, Sir Galahad and the great sword, Excalibur, the names frequently beginning with Pen, Pol or Tre, although many other names without these prefixes abound. At the time of the Norman Conquest, William, Duke of Normandy, granted almost the whole of Cornwall to his half-brother Count Robert of Montain. The Duchy of Cornwall is now an hereditary possession of the Prince of Wales.

Many spelling variations of the name Trefry are found in the archives. Although the name, Trefry , occurred in many references, from time to time the surname was spelt Treffry , Treffrey , Treffray , Trefrey , Trefry , Trefray , Trefary , Trevry , Trevney , Trevray , and these changes in spelling frequently occurred, even between father and son. Scribes and church officials spelt the name as they thought appropriate. It was not uncommon for a person to be born with one spelling, married with another, and yet another appeared on his headstone.

For the next two or three centuries the surname Trefry flourished locally in Cornwall. It was traditionally noted for its seafaring families who have explored the world. Most of the valiant crews of Hawkins, Frobisher and Drake who vanquished the Spanish Armada were from this area.

During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries England was ravaged by religious conflict. The newly found passionate fervour of Cromwellianism, and the Church rejected all nonbelievers. And the Roman Church still fought to retain its status. Cornwall was strongly Methodist and fervently loyal to the crown of England. Cornish and Devon people along with settlers from the Channel Islands formed much of the population of Newfoundland on Canada's east coast. Newfoundland was alike climate, and the almost exclusive livelihood was from fishing. The surname Trefry was amongst the many who were freely "encouraged" to migrate to Ireland, or to the "colonies".

In Ireland they became known as the "Adventurers for land in Ireland". Essentially, they contracted to keep the Protestant faith, being granted lands for next to nothing, lands which had been previously owned by the Catholic Irish, so long as they "Undertook" to stay Protestant, and to ensure their employees did likewise. There is no record of this distinguished family migrating to Ireland, but this does not preclude the possibility of individual migration.

The migration or banishment to the New World also continued, some voluntarily from Ireland, but mostly directly from south-west England, their home territories. Some also moved to the European continent. In North America, one of the first migrants which could be considered a kinsman of the family name Trefry, of that same family was James Trefary who settled in Boston, Massachusetts in 1765.

From mainland North American port of arrival many settlers joined the wagon trains west, some settling in the prairies, others making the trek across the Rockies to the west coast. During the American War of Independence some remained as loyal Americans whilst those remaining loyal to the Crown moved north to Canada and became United Empire Loyalists.

Meanwhile, the family name Trefry continued to play an active and important role in the politics of the Old country. There were, and are, many prominent contemporaries of this name Trefry and the family continued to make import and cultural and political contributions to society.

The most ancient grant of the Coat of Arms to this distinguished surname found was:
Black with a chevron between three silver trees.

The Crest was:
A blackbird's head (actually a Chough - pronounced "chuff" - a crow-like bird with a red beak.) In the beak a sprig of laurel.

This does not preclude other branch Arms being appropriate to the name.

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