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Tam Kernewek Tam Rosalie Armstrong (Eastlake) Tam Kernewek “ A bit of Cornish” Kevrol (Volume) 34 Dyllans (Issue) 3 Kynnyav (Fall) 2016 CAHS SAYS THANKS TO OUR LEADERS Cornish American Heritage Society is grateful for the vision and dedication of those who initiated an organization which ensures the celebration of all things Cornish. Cornish women and men came to North America during the 18th, 19th and 20th centu- ries, settled here, and established families which live on into the 21st century. Preserving the values and memories of those pioneers was well– served in the Society’s Mission Statement: The Cornish American Heritage Society is dedicated to preserving the unique Cornish- American Heritage throughout North America, stimulating interest in the traditions, cul- ture and language of Cornwall, providing a link to other Cornish heritage associations and to Cornwall. Members are encouraged in genealogical research and documentation, and involvement in the biennial informational Gatherings. Grateful thanks goes to these early leaders: Paul Liddicoat Arlene Barsamian Rosalie Armstrong (Eastlake) Jean Jollife Nancy Heydt William Symons Vivianne Bradley Cornish American Heritage Society Cornish American Heritage Tommi O’Hagan Thomas Rusch 23 Messach an Lewydh (Message from President) Greetings to all American-Cornish Cousins, Is CAHS relevant? Is this organization important to you? Do we provide anything of worth to you? Why did you join? And why do you renew? Who cares? The membership survey which you will find in this issue is one developed after Board discussions this summer. It is our hope that CAHS will remain relevant, moving in the 21st century, utilizing some of the new technology available to us. A new Facebook page is in the works, as is research into the use of online webinars and conferences. It is most important that you give us your frank, honest opinions on the matter of CAHS relevance and your reliance on its information. Thoughtful input on the survey will be much appreciated. The political climate (talk about global warming!) continues to heat up, and while there may be differing political opinions in the U.S. and Canada, we can all agree on one thing: the celebration of all things Cornish! CAHS is pleased to welcome new and renewing members from California, Illinois, Washington, Virginia, Tex- as, Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, New York, Oregon, and Arizona. Cornish Cousins are everywhere! Congratulations go out to the California Cousins who recently celebrated their 25th anniversary with the very successful Gathering and Reunion on the scenic University of Pacific campus in Stockton. Honoring and featuring past presidents of their organization, and complete with the wonderful Grass Valley Male Voice Choir, they proclaimed "Everyone's Cornish Day" by holding the traditional pasty toss. A proper job! Our London Cousins continue to meet often, providing significant programs, celebrations, and the joy of food. Their Cornish Connections Conference held in March not only feted St. Piran and Trelawny, but pre- sented speakers such as Leslie Trotter (presenter at the 2014 Milwaukee Gathering), Dr. Garry Tregidga, Di- rector of the University of Exeter Institute of Cornish Studies, as well as others who are authorities in various areas of Cornish culture. Should you be planning a visit to London, it's nice to know, as their newsletter always proclaims, "A warm welcome awaits you at the London Cornish Association." Contact them to plan a meeting at www.londoncornish.co.uk By way of underlining an article in the last issue of Tam Kernewek, remember, 52 years-worth of the WEST BRITON weekly newspaper is on microfilm at the O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library in St. Paul MN. Our thanks go to St. Piran's Society of Minnesota for making it possible. You can request up to 3 reels at a time through your local library to be used at the library. This is a wonderful resource as we continue researching our past. And it makes fascinating reading! My personal thanks to Carolyn Haines who has agreed to continue to work with CAHS as our most able newsletter editor, and to Ron Carbis for staying on as Treasurer/Membership Chair. How many terms is this now? Do let us hear from you. Kathryn Herman 44 Correspondence from Societies The Houghton Genealogical Society announces that their local Family History Center has activated the following sites for free: 19 and Cousin Jack Website Century British Library Newspaper Digital Archives, American An- cestors, Ancestry, Findmypast, Fold3, The Genealogist, Godfrey Memorial Library, Heritage Quest Online, Historic Map Works, Kinpoint, My Heritage, Newspaper Archive, Paper Trail, ProQuest Obituary List, Puzzilla and World Vital Records. They are open on Thursday afternoons from 1-5 PM, 906-482-7110. *************************************************************************** The folks at CanadianHeadstones.com (CH) announced their online web site has now surpassed 1.5 Million records. The an- Judy Powell sent the editor an updated email. The nouncement states, “CH was founded in 2009 as a completely Cornish Language Petition reached the 10,000 signa- FREE archive of headstone photographs. As a Canadian non- tures needed. Now we wait and see what happens. profit corporation, CH is staffed and controlled by unpaid- volunteer Directors. As a corporation, its longevity does not de- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ pend on a single person or private control. CH is the only fully Hello, Cornish Cousins! Canadian site which indexes every name on the headstones, provides the complete transcription and is fully searchable on As a new member of this organization, I'll share some infor- multiple levels including the text of the transcription.” mation to see if I can locate any Cornish relatives! Some of you may remember my second cousin, the late “Hundreds of volunteers and volunteer groups are submitting Marjorie May from Pen Argyl, PA. She thoroughly enjoyed over 800 records per day!” connecting with her Cornish folk. You can learn more or even submit your own headstone photos My second great-parents were William Bonney (1815-1883) for others to enjoy at http://www.CanadianHeadstones.com and Mary Kent Bonney (1815-1875). They lived in the Par- ish of St. Teath, Cornwall, England, before coming to the Eastmans Online Genealogy Newsletter U.S. Their son, John Bonney (1845-1922) & his wife, Friedrike Rohrbach (1845-1920) were my great- ******************************************** grandparents. (She was a.k.a. Martha Whitesell, as she Crying the Neck was called by her adoptive parents. She had been kid- napped. I'm still working on that story!) John was baptized in the Parish of St. Teath, Cornwall, England, on April 1, John lives and farms near St.Wenn in mid-Cornwall. In this story 1845 at Meadrose Chapel. John & Friedricke/Martha John explains the tradition of Crying the Neck which takes place moved to Pen Argyl, PA, in 1881. towards the end of Harvest time each year. The footage in this film is from Zennor in 1970 and shows a ceremony conducted That should be enough information to get started. If anyone by the Old Cornwall Societies. would like to contact me, please e-mail me at: This digital story was made as part of 'Tallys an Tir,' a Heritage [email protected]. Lottery Funded project working with communities and primary I look forward to hearing from my "lost family!" schools in Cornwall. This project was a collaboration between Storylines and the Institute of Cornish Studies. Ruth Widmann https://vimeo.com/120831798 Nesconset, Long Island, NY Enjoy! Susan Little 45 Cornish Association of South Australia newsletter Correspondence con’t: Email from Betty Bellous of Midland, MI Hi Everyone I worked for the telephone company in the UP for 4 years Today Anne and Len and I went down to the old brewery and retired in Marquette in 1988. I had a genealogy re- site to welcome Will Coleman's Man Engine to Redruth. search business then and helped people get started on their family trees. That got me interested in the Finlanders We had seen pictures of it at St Austell and Truro, but even so it really was a sight to behold. Folded there asleep till and Cornish men. My son, who also worked for the tele- Will woke it up in his usual fashion with a brief history of phone company was transferred to the Hancock central mining in Cornwall and around the world and lots of singing office and lived in Mohawk until he had a major stroke. It from the choir there. was there that I became interested in the Cornish settle- ment in Central Mine. No, I don't have any Cornish blood When it came to life it was about 35 feet tall and moved in our family. really well .. very impressive and the largest mechanical puppet in the UK, maybe the world. In spite of the rain it I came upon the article about the mine disaster of 1872 was a super afternoon. Email from Shirley Moorish and intended to write an article for a historical magazine. But once I got into researching the 13 miners of that dis- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ aster, I was hooked and wanted to know more about life in the Keweenaw. The book includes the genealogies of the Celebrating 10 (Tinth) years as a UNESCO World Heritage miners in the 1872 accident as well as the genealogies of Site, The Man Engine ends his transformation with the massed crowd singing Trelawny! 50 Cornishmen who sent money back to their families in Cornwall the last quarter of 1876. In addition, there is a https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqb9_-PjNe0 section on extractions from newspapers during the years 1859-1873 which include a few marriages, deaths, but The Man Engine visits Penzance on the last leg of its tour mostly newsworthy items...some folksy news. There is a across Cornwall, celebrating ten years of the Cornish min- ing landscape becoming a World Heritage Site.
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