Category Archives: 18th Century Cornwall

08/15/14

Cornish Genealogy

I was delighted to be a speaker in mid-August at the 2014 International Gathering of the Cornish American Heritage Society. My topic, The Cornish Chronicle, tells the story of my native shire drawn from my historical novel The Miner & the Viscount.

 A major purpose of the Cornish American Heritage Society is to help members track their ancestry and find out about their own family history. See www.cousinjack.org

Tracing family roots is a particular fascination for the Cornish people. We are, naturally, special. We are Celtic, a unique race with our own language, spiritual connections, culture, traditions, and character. Cornwall itself is remote, self-contained, with scenery that ranges from picturesque towns and villages, fields and woods to rugged moors and rocky cliffs. Perhaps our isolation instills our character. We Cornish are sturdily independent; some even say we are stubborn.

Why are we so fascinated with our antecedents? Perhaps it is because of the eternal questions we ask ourselves. What is the purpose of our existence? Why were we put upon this earth? What hereditary characteristics or abilities make us the way we are? What places do we came from, and what communities are we part of? Perhaps we validate ourselves by knowing about our origins. There are some excellent resources to aid our search. www.ancestry.com is an extensive general source. For the Cornish in particular, the Cornish Global Migration Programme is a treasure trove. It is based in Murdoch House in Redruth. It was founded by our family friend,Dr. F. L. Harris, and ably directed for many years by Moira Tangy (cousin of my friend Mary Tangye Fryer). Its current director, Mike Kiernan, is speaking to the International Gathering. Find out more at www.murdochhouse.org/CGMP

Murdoch House by the way was the first house in Britain to be lit by gas, another example of Cornish inventiveness.

For those of you who would like professional help in tracing your Cornish roots, try Rachael Eustice at http://www.cornish-cousins.com in Penzance. If you are interested in the great emigration to Australia take a look at the Heraldry and Genealogy Society of Canberra at www.hagsoc.org.au/

You will discover many, many resources as you follow the trails that most interest you. You might also want to look at my essay, entitled “ancestry.com,” which I’ve posted on this website under the Meet the Author tab.

 

 

 

07/24/14

Try the first chapter!

My new book is turning out to be a great adventure. So thrilling for an author! Readers around the world tell me they find The Miner and the Viscount really interesting, a great story filled with fascinating characters, a page turner, as one reader put it.

Of course, I want everyone to read it. But you probably want to judge the book for yourself. Here’s my offer:

Sign up for my Newsletter and I will send you the first chapter of The Miner and the Viscount.  It’s an easy way to be introduced to the characters and plot of my book. If you like it and decide to buy a copy, you can easily do so right on my website.  If you decide to pass, no problem. But by getting my newsletter, I’m hoping you will soon change your mind and come around to purchasing a copy.

The Newsletter, by the way, is intended to share information and answer questions from readers wanting to know more of the background of the story, Cornwall itself, and the exhilarations (and travails) that went into writing the book.

Here’s the link to the newsletter/free chapter sign-up: http://eepurl.com/XMEor Be sure to check the box indicating you’d like me to send you the chapter.

Many thanks!

 

 

 

07/16/14

What or Who is a Viscount?

Anyone growing up in the U.K. would likely know the answer, but our American cousins might be unfamiliar with the term. As explained in my talk, The Cornish Chronicle, British peerage had a series of heriditary titles in masculine and feminine form, of which Viscount was one, as shown here:

MASCULINE FEMININE
Duke Duchess
Marquess Marchioness
Earl Countess
Viscount Viscountess
Baron Baroness

The peerage hierarchy of aristocracy actually predated the Norman Conquest of 1066. Simply stated, it was a system that described the ranks of nobles owing fealty to the king.  In return for swearing loyalty and promising troops when required, the barons received land (manors) and privileges from the king. Over time the roles have become more ceremonial and less hereditary. But the privileges were much sought after and the wealthy would trade cash for “honours”. Today Life Peers are created with the right to sit in the House of Lords without being able to pass on their titles to their heirs.

My fictional villain Sir James Trenance inherited upon the death of his father the barony that the family had previously purchased. Not content with this he also purchased an Irish Viscountcy, but got into trouble with the king when he was slow in paying for it.

In Chapter 32, you will find this exchange when Sir James informs his wife that he has come into a Viscountcy: 

 “You have been raised to a viscountcy? How did that come about? Will a place come with it? Will there be emoluments?”

“More likely more damn expense,” he replied. “All I have to do is support the king’s friends in the election, make sure they’re elected in some of these boroughs as well as the county. Made me a viscount. Cost me a pretty penny though, ten thousand pounds. Need new robes too, and the old coronet won’t do, need one with eighteen silver balls. Suppose you’ll need one too, now that you’re a viscountess. Worth it, though, should show these Cornish gentry how to make real money.”  

The English aristocracy were sticklers for pomp and circumstance, ritual and costume – which they valued as markers of rank and importance. Peers enjoyed the privilege of attending the coronation of a new monarch, when ceremonial robes and coronets would be worn. Shown here is a typical viscount coronet, featuring the desired 18 silver balls.

07/12/14

Who’s Who in The Miner & the Viscount?

One of the joys and, indeed, challenges of writing an historical novel is creating fictional characters and integrating them with real people from the time of the book’s events.  Interweaving real people with fictional persons helps enliven a bygone era and engage the reader in a way a dry, historical account might not.

I have my own favorite characters in The Miner & the Viscount; I wonder who yours might be.

Here is the cast of characters — the imagined and the long dead — which you can also find in the front pages of the book.

The Historic Characters

ELIOT FAMILY, of Port Eliot

Edward Eliot (1727-1804), created first Baron Eliot 1784

Catherine Elliston Eliot (1735-1804) his wife;

Edward James Eliot (1758-1797) their eldest surviving son;

John Eliot (1761-1823) their second son, first Earl of St. Germans;

William Eliot (1767-1845) their third son, second Earl of St. Germans;

John Eliot (1742-1769) younger brother of Edward Eliot

 PITT FAMILY, of Boconnoc

Thomas “Diamond” Pitt (1653-1726) East India merchant, Governor of Madras;

Robert Pitt (1680-1727) his eldest son, married Harriet Villiers (c.1680-1736);

Thomas Pitt, (1705-1761) elder son of Robert, former Lord Warden of the Stannaries, married Lucy Lyttelton;

William Pitt, the Elder (1708-1778) second son of Robert, married Lady Hester Grenville (1720-1803);

William Pitt, the Younger (1759-1806) second son of William Pitt the Elder;

Harriot Pitt (c. 1758-1786) younger daughter of William Pitt the Elder;  

Other Characters of Note:

Ralph Allen (1693-1764) Postmaster of Bath, entrepreneur;

Thomas Bolitho, merchant, investor, man of business;

Frances Boscawen (?-1805) widow of Admiral Edmund Boscawen, member of Blue Stockings Society;

Hannah More, intellectual, educator, member of Blue Stockings Society;

St. Piran (c. 6th century) patron saint of Cornwall and of tin miners;

Joshua Reynolds, portraitist, patronized by Eliots;

John Smeaton, inventor, first civil engineer, Fellow of the Royal Society;

Philip Stanhope, illegitimate son of Earl of Chesterfield, MP for Liskeard and later St. Germans, diplomat;

Reverend John Wesley, founder of Methodism;

John Williams, captain of Poldice Mine;

James Davis, Mayor of Liskeard;

Edwin Ough,Town Clerk of Liskeard;

Stephen Clogg, Councilman of Liskeard;

Thomas Peeke, turnpike witness

The Fictional Characters

PENWARDEN FAMILY

Addis, a tin miner in the Poldice mine; mine captain at Wheal Hykka; Lizzie, wife of Addis;

Jedson, a tin miner and younger brother of Addis;

Jeremiah (Jemmy), his firstborn son;

Jedson, second son;

Jennifer, his infant daughter

TRENANCE FAMILY, of Lanhydrock

Baron Trenance

Sir James Trenance, his son; becomes Baron Trenance upon the death of his father; later acquires title of Viscount Dunbargan

Lady Elianor, his wife

Honorable James Trenance, their son;

Honorable Gwenifer Trenance, their daughter;

Willy Bunt, valet and footman at Lanhydrock , then worker at Port Eliot;

Mary Bunt, née Abbott, Willy Bunt’s wife and former maid at Lanhydrock;

Catherine Bunt, their daughter, goddaughter to Catherine Eliot;

Charles Bunt, their son, godson to Charles Polkinghorne;

Joseph Clymo, steward of Lanhydrock estate;

Morwenna Clymo, his daughter

Tom Kegwyn, member of a mining family, ringleader at Wheal Hykka;

Reverend Peter Perry, Perranporth, Methodist minister;

Charles Polkinghorne, man of business for Port Eliot estate.