Post by Mal on Sept 26, 2008 12:47:34 GMT -5
I thought this article may be of some interest to some members-----
members.lycos.co.uk/troonexiles/the_cornish_in_west_cork.htm
THE CORNISH IN WEST CORK
(by)
Diane Hodnett (copyright)
‘Wherever in the world there’s a hole in the ground at the bottom of it you’ll find a Cornishman searching for metal’ 1
Ireland is not the first country that springs to mind when one thinks of copper mining and the Cornish. However, this summer my husband Frank and I visited Allihies, at the tip of the beautiful mountainous Beara Peninsula in South-west Ireland, as guests of the Mining Heritage Committee2, and discovered a fascinating Cornish connection with the copper mines there, stretching from 1812 to 1884.
The history of the Berehaven (or Bearhaven) mines is bound inextricably with the Puxley family, of English origin. John Lavallin Puxley formed the Allihies Mining Company in 1812.3 The first Mine Captain was a Cornishman, Edward NETTLE, and he commenced work at Dooneen, where a quartz vein extends into the sea. Even today, this vein is visibly stained green from the copper within.
In 1813, another mine, the Mountain (or North) Mine, was opened. This appeared at first to have been worked as an open cast mine. Captain NETTLE was dismissed in 1815, and was followed by Captain Richard MARTIN and Captain John Richards REED. These two Cornishmen were to spend over 30 years in Allihies.
Very little is known of Captain NETTLE. Captain Richard MARTIN was born in 1872, either in Helston or near Penzance. He was married in Helston in 1807 to Grace Caddy BAWDEN. They had eleven children, nine of whom were born in Ireland.3
Captain John RICHARDS REED was born in 1788 at St. Agnes, the first of ten children born to Nicholas REED and his wife Elizabeth. His siblings were Nicholas (1793), Mark (1795), Elizabeth (1798), James (1799), William (1801), Mary Ann (1803), Martha (1806), Thomas (1808) and Samuel (1812). Mark, James, Samuel and William were also brought over from Cornwall, as time passed, to become captains of the copper mines in West Cork.
On 25 March 1815, in St. Agnes, John Richards REED married Maria NANKIVEL
The following summer he sailed from St. Stephens, near St. Austell, via Wales, to Ireland. (He was to remain at the mines until his death in 1852) Captain Richard MARTIN preceded him, sailing from Portreath. Before leaving, however, Captain MARTIN travelled to Redruth, to be trained in copper ore assaying from ‘Mr. Jenkins, assay master, Redruth’ 3
In 1818, the Dooneen mine appeared to be failing. Work began at another site, that of Caminches, to the east of Allihies village. Apparently two engine houses, one of which contained a whim engine, stood here, but there is very little to be seen today. In 1821 Captain Mark REED arrived from Cornwall. He had married his wife Agnes in St. Agnes in 1817, and had three children – Thomas (1815), John Richards (1817) and Mark (1821). They had six more children in Ireland – James (1824), Mary Ann, Elizabeth, William, Samuel Joseph and Agnes.
In 1822, Captains John REED and Richard MARTIN recommended that John Puxley buy a steam engine for the Dooneen mine. The engine was built by in Cornwall by Harvey and Co, Hayle, and had a 36 inch diameter cylinder. In the summer of 1823 the ‘Sophia’ left Hayle under her master William BERRYMAN, and landed the eagerly awaited engine at Ballydonegan Beach, near Allihies, at the beginning of September. 3
By 1826, William REED had arrived from St. Agnes, and was working as the officer in charge of the underground timbering. By 1834 he is listed as a Captain. Two other Cornish mine captains were brought over from Cornwall in 1835 - Samuel REED and William TAMBLYN. Samuel evidently did not find things to his liking, for he left quite quickly, and emigrated to America. He is known to have worked at the galena mines in Illinois, and ended up as a farmer in Iowa. 3
There was a substantial house built at the foot of the Mountain mine in 1834 for John Richards REED. The site was pointed out to me, but nothing remains. Not long after, a school-cum-chapel was built for the Cornish children. In addition, the Cornish captains and tradesmen were also housed by the Mining Company, in a separate cluster of houses close to the Mountain Mine. This cluster is known as the ‘Cornish Village’, and is now on private land. Griffith’s Land Valuation of 1852, for the parish of Kilnamanagh lists 11 people as living there, in 14 dwellings, most having a garden.
They are listed as:
James Mayne (Office)
John Moffat
William Carter
Mary Paul
Richard Puxley
Benjamin Jago (Dispensary)
John Mark Reed
Richard Martin
John Hain
James Mayne
Benjamin Jago
Mining Company (Offices)
John Nicholson
Richard Pepper
In the same valuation, William REED has ‘gardens’ in the townland of Cahermeelebae, and land of almost 15 acres leased from the Earl of Bantry John REED senior appears in the townland of Cloan (Allihies) with house, office and garden ( and again in the same townland with a ‘garden’ and with ‘office and land’), as does William REED and William ‘TAMBLING’. Richard MARTIN appears with ‘land’ and ‘garden’. The valuation (which I obtained from the National Archives, in Dublin) 4 is handwritten, and quite difficult to read in parts.
The Cornish Village is still there, although the houses are roofless and ivy covered and in a derelict state. The remains of a track that led from the houses to the Mountain Mine is still visible.
In 1838 the Dooneen mine ceased production, and the Captain, Mark REED, was let go. He returned to Wheal Vor mine (near Helston) in Cornwall 5. In 1850, his daughter Elizabeth married Henry PASCOE in Crowan. (She was to return to Allihies when her husband was appointed a captain there.) Two years later, Mark’s nephew John Richards REED junior (son of John Richards Reed, the senior mine captain) was appointed a mine captain.
In 1845 a small single storey Protestant chapel was built in Allihies village. It has now been re-roofed, thanks to the efforts of the local Mining Heritage committee, who have great plans to turn it into a Mining Museum. The committee are making strenuous efforts to locate anything connected with the mines. Local historian Mr. Con Murphy 7 recently visited Cornwall, including the King Edward Mining Museum in Troon, and some of the historical mining sites.
The years of the potato famine in Ireland (1845 – 1849) took a terrible toll. The miners and their families were starving, and the Company began purchasing food such as Indian corn for them. When I was in the National Archives, I discovered a letter written by John Richards REED senior to the Relief Commission in Dublin, dated 21st March 1846. He required about two hundredweight of Indian corn for his ‘1000 to 1100 workpeople with their families’. The request was forwarded to the Relief Commission with a positive recommendation
Mine captain Henry PASCOE, his wife Elizabeth and their son Peter H. were in West Cork by 1855. A son, Henry Albert was born in the Big House, Urhan, Eyeries, in that year. 7 Four more children followed – Joseph (1857), John Richards Reed (1861), Samuel W. (1867) and Elizabeth (1869)
In 1862, a new pumping-engine house at Mountain mine was built, and a steam-engine powering a man-engine was installed. (A man-engine was a series of small platforms carried on a rod that moved up and down – the miners stepped on and off the platforms.) The remains of this engine house are the most impressive of any of the mining remains around Allihies. Unusually, most of the stone boiler house remains.
In 1864-65 Henry PASCOE dealt with a strike at the mines (harshly by all accounts)3 and was made head captain. John Richards REED junior, who had been born at the mines 43 years previously, left with his wife Pricilla and his children William Bowles, Maria Louisa, John Richards and Langer Walter.
In 1868 Puxley sold his interest in the mines. The new mine manager was now Captain James W. CRASE. Dooneen mine was re-opened (1870) and finally abandoned (1878), and Coom mine was reopened. A new mine was opened – Tragh na Mban - but still the mines were losing money. Heavy losses mounted at the mines – Captain Crase was dismissed – but a Captain TREVELLIAN was named as working there at the time. (Captain Crase might have returned to South Providence Mine in Cornwall from 1877-78)3
In 1875 the manager was Robert Richard NANCARROW, with Captains John CHIGWIN and Joseph CHYNOWETH. 3 The latter’s daughter, 19 year old Elizabeth Emrina, became the second wife of Robert Nancarrow.7
The mines struggled on, but the closure of the Mountain Mine in 1881 signalled the end. The company was wound up in 1884.
It is known that many of the Irish miners emigrated to the copper mines at Butte Montana. The Cornish are generally believed to have returned to Cornwall.
The following research shows what became of some of them:
John Richards Reed Junior - born Cork 1822
1881 census
Living in Ryde, Isle of Wight, aged 59
With:
Maria T. Reed, 26 (daughter)
Langer W. Reed 18 (son)
Mary Cronin, 26 (servant)
Mark Reed (uncle of John junior– born St. Agnes 1795)
1871 census
Living in Crowan (near Helston) Cornwall aged 75
With:
Mary (wife) aged 61, born St. Agnes 1810 - second wife?
Mary Allen, 27, servant
Elizabeth Reed PASCOE (Mark’s daughter) born Cork 1829
1871 census
Elizabeth is now a widow – Annuitant
Living: Penzance, Cornwall
With:
Peter H Pascoe 18 (son) born Crowan, Cornwall
Henry A Pascoe 15 (son) born Cork, Ireland
Joseph Pascoe 13 (son) born Cork, Ireland
John R.R. Pascoe 10 (son) born Cork, Ireland
Samuel W. Pascoe 4 (son) born Cork, Ireland
Eliz Pascoe 2 (daughter) born Cork, Ireland
1881 census – Elizabeth Pascoe has remarried – her two youngest children are still living with her. She is now a farmer’s wife, living with her husband John and four stepchildren on a 55 acre farm.
Living: Acton, Perranuthnoe, Cornwall
With:
John Berriman 64 (Head, Farmer)
William Berriman 18 (son)
Elizabeth Berriman 17 (daughter
John Berriman 15 (son)
Edwin Berriman 13 (son)
Samuel PASCOE 14 (son)
Elizabeth PASCOE 12(daughter)
James Reed (Mark’s son) born c 1824 Co. Cork
Married Jane EUSTICE, Feb 1852. Crowan
See 1881 census for his brother Samuel Joseph Reed’s widow, Mary
Samuel Joseph REED (Mark’s son) – Mine agent, born Cork 1834
1871 census
Living in St. Hilary, Crowan , Cornwall - Tregembo Farm
With: Mary Reed, wife, 37
Agnes Reed (daughter) 13
Bessie Reed (daughter) 11
John R. Reed (son) 9
Mark Reed (son) 7
Chas C. Reed (son) 5
Henry T Reed (son) 4
Saml T Reed (son) 3
Emily J Reed(daughter) 2
Mary A Tructt, servant 14
1881 census
Mary Reed – now a widow– farming 64 acres, Tregembo Farm
John R. Reed (son) 20
Bessie Hubbard (daughter) 21
Mark Reed (son) 18
Charls. C. Reed (son) 17
Henry Temple Reed (son) 15
Samuel S. Reed (son) 14
Emilie J. Reed (daughter) 13
Helena Hebbard, grand daughter 8 months, born Illinois, USA
Susan Penberthy, servant, 27
James Reed 55, Boarder, Miner agent (tin), born Co. Cork- he is the son of Captain Mark Reed
Jane Reed, 48, Boarder, Miner agent wife
1891 census
Mary Reed has married again and been widowed again.
Tregembo Farm –
Mary Bud, 58 (Head, Widow, Farmer)
Henry Temple Bud, 24(Son,Farmer)
Helena M Hibbard, 10 (Grandaughter, born U S A, Brit Subject)
Mary Honeychurch, 45 Servant
Mary Ann REED (Mark’s daughter) born Cork c 1826
1847 – married Edward CHEGWIN, Crowan
1881 census – now living in St. Hilary, Crowan, near to her late brother Samuel’s widow, Mary.
Living: Relubbus Lane, St Hilary, Cornwall, England
With:
Edward CHEGWIN 58, Miner Agent (Copper) born Illogan, Cornwall,
Joseph CHYNOWETH – mine agent – born St. Agnes 1833
1881 census
Living: 8 Roskear Villas, Camborne, Cornwall,
With:
Elizabeth Chynoweth 47 (wife)
Elizabeth E. Chynoweth 26 (daughter) M*
Sarah J. Chynoweth 19 (daughter) born Ireland
John Hy. Chynoweth 14 (son) born Ireland
Mary E. Perry 14 (servant)
Elizabeth E.Chynoweth has described herself as married – but is using her maiden name. (Riobard O’Dwyer7 – she was married to mine agent Robert Richard Nancarrow of the Berehaven Mines – their son Robert Richard was buried on May 20th 1874 aged three weeks)
Elizabeth MAY, whose husband Josiah was a miner at the Allihies mines
1871 census
Living: St. Agnes, widowed, aged 65,
With:
Josiah May (son) age 30, tin miner
Other miners at the mines were: Captain William SILVESTER, Captain NICHOLSON, Richard TREWHELLA (head Smith, died 1839), his son Thomas TREWHELLA, James FAULL, Josiah MAY (died 1846), James TONKIN, Edward ROBERTS, John SEYMOUR (1846) Absolom HOLMON, John HOLMON, James MAYNE, Joseph HOSKINS and Robert CLOGG (a native of Liskeard, Cornwall). Mrs. Marianne FAULL (wife of a Cornish miner) was buried in February 1847 A farmer and scripture reader (died 1848) called William HODGES has descendants in the area today. 7
Sources
1) A.K.Hamilton Jenkin The Cornish miner, 1927
2) Contact Theo Dahlke, Email: O.theo@oceanfree.net
3) R.A Williams The Berehaven Copper Mines 228pp ISBN 0 9521173 0 4 The author had access to a large archive of mining company papers found in about 1960 in John Puxley’s Welsh house. Pub A.B. O’Connor, Kenmare Bookshop, Co. Kerry. Tel: +353 – 64- 41578
4) The National Archives of Ireland, Bishop Street, Dublin 8. www.nationalarchives.ie Tel: +353- 1-4072300
5) An agent acting for the Children’s Employment Commission interviewed Mark Reed at Wheal Vor mine, near Helston, Cornwall, in 1841. Available from Picks Publishing. www.cmhrc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
6) Mr. C. Murphy, East End, Castletownbere, Co. Cork, Ireland. Any information about the Bearhaven mines, or articles for the Mining Museum in Allihies will be gratefully received by Mr. Murphy.
7) Genealogist Mr. Riobard O’Dwyer
My thanks to J. Arthur Osborne, Camborne, for searching through the Griffith’s valuation pages for Cornish surnames.
Further information
The author is a native of the former mining village of Troon, Cornwall. She has lived in Ireland for almost thirty years. She may be contacted via email: troonexiles@lycos.co.uk This article may not be reproduced without written permission from the author.
Return to The Cork and Cornwall Connection
Return to the Berehaven Copper Mines photo page
members.lycos.co.uk/troonexiles/the_cornish_in_west_cork.htm
THE CORNISH IN WEST CORK
(by)
Diane Hodnett (copyright)
‘Wherever in the world there’s a hole in the ground at the bottom of it you’ll find a Cornishman searching for metal’ 1
Ireland is not the first country that springs to mind when one thinks of copper mining and the Cornish. However, this summer my husband Frank and I visited Allihies, at the tip of the beautiful mountainous Beara Peninsula in South-west Ireland, as guests of the Mining Heritage Committee2, and discovered a fascinating Cornish connection with the copper mines there, stretching from 1812 to 1884.
The history of the Berehaven (or Bearhaven) mines is bound inextricably with the Puxley family, of English origin. John Lavallin Puxley formed the Allihies Mining Company in 1812.3 The first Mine Captain was a Cornishman, Edward NETTLE, and he commenced work at Dooneen, where a quartz vein extends into the sea. Even today, this vein is visibly stained green from the copper within.
In 1813, another mine, the Mountain (or North) Mine, was opened. This appeared at first to have been worked as an open cast mine. Captain NETTLE was dismissed in 1815, and was followed by Captain Richard MARTIN and Captain John Richards REED. These two Cornishmen were to spend over 30 years in Allihies.
Very little is known of Captain NETTLE. Captain Richard MARTIN was born in 1872, either in Helston or near Penzance. He was married in Helston in 1807 to Grace Caddy BAWDEN. They had eleven children, nine of whom were born in Ireland.3
Captain John RICHARDS REED was born in 1788 at St. Agnes, the first of ten children born to Nicholas REED and his wife Elizabeth. His siblings were Nicholas (1793), Mark (1795), Elizabeth (1798), James (1799), William (1801), Mary Ann (1803), Martha (1806), Thomas (1808) and Samuel (1812). Mark, James, Samuel and William were also brought over from Cornwall, as time passed, to become captains of the copper mines in West Cork.
On 25 March 1815, in St. Agnes, John Richards REED married Maria NANKIVEL
The following summer he sailed from St. Stephens, near St. Austell, via Wales, to Ireland. (He was to remain at the mines until his death in 1852) Captain Richard MARTIN preceded him, sailing from Portreath. Before leaving, however, Captain MARTIN travelled to Redruth, to be trained in copper ore assaying from ‘Mr. Jenkins, assay master, Redruth’ 3
In 1818, the Dooneen mine appeared to be failing. Work began at another site, that of Caminches, to the east of Allihies village. Apparently two engine houses, one of which contained a whim engine, stood here, but there is very little to be seen today. In 1821 Captain Mark REED arrived from Cornwall. He had married his wife Agnes in St. Agnes in 1817, and had three children – Thomas (1815), John Richards (1817) and Mark (1821). They had six more children in Ireland – James (1824), Mary Ann, Elizabeth, William, Samuel Joseph and Agnes.
In 1822, Captains John REED and Richard MARTIN recommended that John Puxley buy a steam engine for the Dooneen mine. The engine was built by in Cornwall by Harvey and Co, Hayle, and had a 36 inch diameter cylinder. In the summer of 1823 the ‘Sophia’ left Hayle under her master William BERRYMAN, and landed the eagerly awaited engine at Ballydonegan Beach, near Allihies, at the beginning of September. 3
By 1826, William REED had arrived from St. Agnes, and was working as the officer in charge of the underground timbering. By 1834 he is listed as a Captain. Two other Cornish mine captains were brought over from Cornwall in 1835 - Samuel REED and William TAMBLYN. Samuel evidently did not find things to his liking, for he left quite quickly, and emigrated to America. He is known to have worked at the galena mines in Illinois, and ended up as a farmer in Iowa. 3
There was a substantial house built at the foot of the Mountain mine in 1834 for John Richards REED. The site was pointed out to me, but nothing remains. Not long after, a school-cum-chapel was built for the Cornish children. In addition, the Cornish captains and tradesmen were also housed by the Mining Company, in a separate cluster of houses close to the Mountain Mine. This cluster is known as the ‘Cornish Village’, and is now on private land. Griffith’s Land Valuation of 1852, for the parish of Kilnamanagh lists 11 people as living there, in 14 dwellings, most having a garden.
They are listed as:
James Mayne (Office)
John Moffat
William Carter
Mary Paul
Richard Puxley
Benjamin Jago (Dispensary)
John Mark Reed
Richard Martin
John Hain
James Mayne
Benjamin Jago
Mining Company (Offices)
John Nicholson
Richard Pepper
In the same valuation, William REED has ‘gardens’ in the townland of Cahermeelebae, and land of almost 15 acres leased from the Earl of Bantry John REED senior appears in the townland of Cloan (Allihies) with house, office and garden ( and again in the same townland with a ‘garden’ and with ‘office and land’), as does William REED and William ‘TAMBLING’. Richard MARTIN appears with ‘land’ and ‘garden’. The valuation (which I obtained from the National Archives, in Dublin) 4 is handwritten, and quite difficult to read in parts.
The Cornish Village is still there, although the houses are roofless and ivy covered and in a derelict state. The remains of a track that led from the houses to the Mountain Mine is still visible.
In 1838 the Dooneen mine ceased production, and the Captain, Mark REED, was let go. He returned to Wheal Vor mine (near Helston) in Cornwall 5. In 1850, his daughter Elizabeth married Henry PASCOE in Crowan. (She was to return to Allihies when her husband was appointed a captain there.) Two years later, Mark’s nephew John Richards REED junior (son of John Richards Reed, the senior mine captain) was appointed a mine captain.
In 1845 a small single storey Protestant chapel was built in Allihies village. It has now been re-roofed, thanks to the efforts of the local Mining Heritage committee, who have great plans to turn it into a Mining Museum. The committee are making strenuous efforts to locate anything connected with the mines. Local historian Mr. Con Murphy 7 recently visited Cornwall, including the King Edward Mining Museum in Troon, and some of the historical mining sites.
The years of the potato famine in Ireland (1845 – 1849) took a terrible toll. The miners and their families were starving, and the Company began purchasing food such as Indian corn for them. When I was in the National Archives, I discovered a letter written by John Richards REED senior to the Relief Commission in Dublin, dated 21st March 1846. He required about two hundredweight of Indian corn for his ‘1000 to 1100 workpeople with their families’. The request was forwarded to the Relief Commission with a positive recommendation
Mine captain Henry PASCOE, his wife Elizabeth and their son Peter H. were in West Cork by 1855. A son, Henry Albert was born in the Big House, Urhan, Eyeries, in that year. 7 Four more children followed – Joseph (1857), John Richards Reed (1861), Samuel W. (1867) and Elizabeth (1869)
In 1862, a new pumping-engine house at Mountain mine was built, and a steam-engine powering a man-engine was installed. (A man-engine was a series of small platforms carried on a rod that moved up and down – the miners stepped on and off the platforms.) The remains of this engine house are the most impressive of any of the mining remains around Allihies. Unusually, most of the stone boiler house remains.
In 1864-65 Henry PASCOE dealt with a strike at the mines (harshly by all accounts)3 and was made head captain. John Richards REED junior, who had been born at the mines 43 years previously, left with his wife Pricilla and his children William Bowles, Maria Louisa, John Richards and Langer Walter.
In 1868 Puxley sold his interest in the mines. The new mine manager was now Captain James W. CRASE. Dooneen mine was re-opened (1870) and finally abandoned (1878), and Coom mine was reopened. A new mine was opened – Tragh na Mban - but still the mines were losing money. Heavy losses mounted at the mines – Captain Crase was dismissed – but a Captain TREVELLIAN was named as working there at the time. (Captain Crase might have returned to South Providence Mine in Cornwall from 1877-78)3
In 1875 the manager was Robert Richard NANCARROW, with Captains John CHIGWIN and Joseph CHYNOWETH. 3 The latter’s daughter, 19 year old Elizabeth Emrina, became the second wife of Robert Nancarrow.7
The mines struggled on, but the closure of the Mountain Mine in 1881 signalled the end. The company was wound up in 1884.
It is known that many of the Irish miners emigrated to the copper mines at Butte Montana. The Cornish are generally believed to have returned to Cornwall.
The following research shows what became of some of them:
John Richards Reed Junior - born Cork 1822
1881 census
Living in Ryde, Isle of Wight, aged 59
With:
Maria T. Reed, 26 (daughter)
Langer W. Reed 18 (son)
Mary Cronin, 26 (servant)
Mark Reed (uncle of John junior– born St. Agnes 1795)
1871 census
Living in Crowan (near Helston) Cornwall aged 75
With:
Mary (wife) aged 61, born St. Agnes 1810 - second wife?
Mary Allen, 27, servant
Elizabeth Reed PASCOE (Mark’s daughter) born Cork 1829
1871 census
Elizabeth is now a widow – Annuitant
Living: Penzance, Cornwall
With:
Peter H Pascoe 18 (son) born Crowan, Cornwall
Henry A Pascoe 15 (son) born Cork, Ireland
Joseph Pascoe 13 (son) born Cork, Ireland
John R.R. Pascoe 10 (son) born Cork, Ireland
Samuel W. Pascoe 4 (son) born Cork, Ireland
Eliz Pascoe 2 (daughter) born Cork, Ireland
1881 census – Elizabeth Pascoe has remarried – her two youngest children are still living with her. She is now a farmer’s wife, living with her husband John and four stepchildren on a 55 acre farm.
Living: Acton, Perranuthnoe, Cornwall
With:
John Berriman 64 (Head, Farmer)
William Berriman 18 (son)
Elizabeth Berriman 17 (daughter
John Berriman 15 (son)
Edwin Berriman 13 (son)
Samuel PASCOE 14 (son)
Elizabeth PASCOE 12(daughter)
James Reed (Mark’s son) born c 1824 Co. Cork
Married Jane EUSTICE, Feb 1852. Crowan
See 1881 census for his brother Samuel Joseph Reed’s widow, Mary
Samuel Joseph REED (Mark’s son) – Mine agent, born Cork 1834
1871 census
Living in St. Hilary, Crowan , Cornwall - Tregembo Farm
With: Mary Reed, wife, 37
Agnes Reed (daughter) 13
Bessie Reed (daughter) 11
John R. Reed (son) 9
Mark Reed (son) 7
Chas C. Reed (son) 5
Henry T Reed (son) 4
Saml T Reed (son) 3
Emily J Reed(daughter) 2
Mary A Tructt, servant 14
1881 census
Mary Reed – now a widow– farming 64 acres, Tregembo Farm
John R. Reed (son) 20
Bessie Hubbard (daughter) 21
Mark Reed (son) 18
Charls. C. Reed (son) 17
Henry Temple Reed (son) 15
Samuel S. Reed (son) 14
Emilie J. Reed (daughter) 13
Helena Hebbard, grand daughter 8 months, born Illinois, USA
Susan Penberthy, servant, 27
James Reed 55, Boarder, Miner agent (tin), born Co. Cork- he is the son of Captain Mark Reed
Jane Reed, 48, Boarder, Miner agent wife
1891 census
Mary Reed has married again and been widowed again.
Tregembo Farm –
Mary Bud, 58 (Head, Widow, Farmer)
Henry Temple Bud, 24(Son,Farmer)
Helena M Hibbard, 10 (Grandaughter, born U S A, Brit Subject)
Mary Honeychurch, 45 Servant
Mary Ann REED (Mark’s daughter) born Cork c 1826
1847 – married Edward CHEGWIN, Crowan
1881 census – now living in St. Hilary, Crowan, near to her late brother Samuel’s widow, Mary.
Living: Relubbus Lane, St Hilary, Cornwall, England
With:
Edward CHEGWIN 58, Miner Agent (Copper) born Illogan, Cornwall,
Joseph CHYNOWETH – mine agent – born St. Agnes 1833
1881 census
Living: 8 Roskear Villas, Camborne, Cornwall,
With:
Elizabeth Chynoweth 47 (wife)
Elizabeth E. Chynoweth 26 (daughter) M*
Sarah J. Chynoweth 19 (daughter) born Ireland
John Hy. Chynoweth 14 (son) born Ireland
Mary E. Perry 14 (servant)
Elizabeth E.Chynoweth has described herself as married – but is using her maiden name. (Riobard O’Dwyer7 – she was married to mine agent Robert Richard Nancarrow of the Berehaven Mines – their son Robert Richard was buried on May 20th 1874 aged three weeks)
Elizabeth MAY, whose husband Josiah was a miner at the Allihies mines
1871 census
Living: St. Agnes, widowed, aged 65,
With:
Josiah May (son) age 30, tin miner
Other miners at the mines were: Captain William SILVESTER, Captain NICHOLSON, Richard TREWHELLA (head Smith, died 1839), his son Thomas TREWHELLA, James FAULL, Josiah MAY (died 1846), James TONKIN, Edward ROBERTS, John SEYMOUR (1846) Absolom HOLMON, John HOLMON, James MAYNE, Joseph HOSKINS and Robert CLOGG (a native of Liskeard, Cornwall). Mrs. Marianne FAULL (wife of a Cornish miner) was buried in February 1847 A farmer and scripture reader (died 1848) called William HODGES has descendants in the area today. 7
Sources
1) A.K.Hamilton Jenkin The Cornish miner, 1927
2) Contact Theo Dahlke, Email: O.theo@oceanfree.net
3) R.A Williams The Berehaven Copper Mines 228pp ISBN 0 9521173 0 4 The author had access to a large archive of mining company papers found in about 1960 in John Puxley’s Welsh house. Pub A.B. O’Connor, Kenmare Bookshop, Co. Kerry. Tel: +353 – 64- 41578
4) The National Archives of Ireland, Bishop Street, Dublin 8. www.nationalarchives.ie Tel: +353- 1-4072300
5) An agent acting for the Children’s Employment Commission interviewed Mark Reed at Wheal Vor mine, near Helston, Cornwall, in 1841. Available from Picks Publishing. www.cmhrc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
6) Mr. C. Murphy, East End, Castletownbere, Co. Cork, Ireland. Any information about the Bearhaven mines, or articles for the Mining Museum in Allihies will be gratefully received by Mr. Murphy.
7) Genealogist Mr. Riobard O’Dwyer
My thanks to J. Arthur Osborne, Camborne, for searching through the Griffith’s valuation pages for Cornish surnames.
Further information
The author is a native of the former mining village of Troon, Cornwall. She has lived in Ireland for almost thirty years. She may be contacted via email: troonexiles@lycos.co.uk This article may not be reproduced without written permission from the author.
Return to The Cork and Cornwall Connection
Return to the Berehaven Copper Mines photo page
